Page 31 of The Librarian and the Rock Star

He looked at me with an ocean of regret swimming in his eyes. “We really didn’t know what we were doing – not at all. Nobody had ever taught us how to behave on live TV. Nobody ever told us how to do interviews. We’re really just a bunch of old kids who wanted to make music. How the hell are we supposed to know about all of this public relations and media junk?”

I slid closer beside him and took his hand. “You were supposed to know, because your people are supposed to train you. Some people are naturals at this stuff and some aren’t, but you should never put your talent on the air until they have been properly media trained, and briefed with their talking points for each interview. Somebody at the record label, or your band’s management completely dropped the ball here, and it’s not your fault.”

He squeezed my hand, then kissed the backs of my knuckles. “Thank you.” He sighed. “I’ve never really been embarrassed before, and that was... well, I had nightmares for months.”

We sat together in silence for a bit while he collected himself. A mixture of rage and sorrow was seething through him, and I could see that his fingers were twitching.

There was a soft knock on the door, and I jumped up to grab our food while Jack grabbed a handful of clothes and popped into the bathroom to get dressed.

When he came out, we positively devoured lunch, while chugging coffee, without needing to talk for a bit. Looking out over the lake, I found myself randomly wondering why bad people always had to mess up the projects of good people.

“What is it?” Jack asked. “You look like you’re a million miles away.”

“Jack, I don’t want to upset you, but Paul’s blog alluded to getting rid of a bunch of losers soon. Sounds like he’s seriously up to no good.”

Jack’s jaw shook while he tried to control his anger. “What do you think he’s trying to do?” he finally asked.

“I don’t know,” I said softly. “If I had to guess, maybe he’s trying to make his two bands fail so that he gets new bands to work with, hopefully in the metal genre. But really, if he fails completely, he should be thrown out. Why would anyone reward failure, when it’s completely his fault?”

“That’s the thing,” Jack said. “He really seems to deflect everything so nobody realizes that anything is his fault. He was trying to keep us out of the media completely for months after that horrible interview, and Marky begged the record company directly for PR help. That’s when they gave us Kelly.”

“I’m guessing that she’s helped a lot?”

“Yeah – we barely had any social media before her, and now we’re pretty well covered. Album and concert sales have been steadier.” He stared off into space for a moment, concentrating. “But come to think of it, Paul complains every time one of his impossible goals isn’t hit. Like how he booked us for this gigantic venue in Montreal next week and now he’s complaining that we haven’t sold it out.”

Jack’s jaw tightened again. “What is it?” I whispered. He looked seriously mad.

“I bet he’s trying to renegotiate our new contract on our behalf. I’ve heard rumors that he’s a swindler, but I thought those were just rumors. If he tanks us, or drafts something we can’t possibly agree to, he’ll make us look like prima donnas and try to dump us.”

“What a fucking asshole,” I said with more anger than I intended.

Jack stared open-mouthed at me, surprised and amused. “Why, Miss Librarian, your language!”

I laughed, then grew serious again. “Seriously, who the hell does this guy think he is to mess up someone else’s career just because he’s messed up his own?”

Jack nodded. “Well, yeah, but what can we do?”

“You have a team of people and a whole week. You can do anything.”

Jack stared deeply into my eyes for a moment before kissing me hard for an instant, fire flashing between us. “You are so inspiring,” he whispered.

“I don’t want to overstep my bounds,” I said softly. “I don’t even know what my boundaries should be, so please tell me if I’m too pushy? Or stick my nose somewhere it doesn’t belong?”

Jack shook his head. “Baby, you don’t understand. Nobody has ever told me about this stuff in a way that makes any sense to me, even though the fate of the band depends on me doing well at things I hate. You’ve appeared at the perfect time. I need you.”

There was that word again. Need. I didn’t want to be his next addiction. His muse, an attachment. The worry may have shown on my face, as he suddenly looked horrified.

“I just realized that I’ve been calling you ‘baby’ without asking if you’re okay with that. Some women aren’t. Is that alright? It just sort of felt right.”

I pushed his hair back and kissed his nose. “I like it. It’s cheesy cute, and I like a little cheese. But you don’t need me. You’re fabulous on your own.”

He rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed. “Precise language. Okay, fine. I crave you?”

He kissed me gently, his lips lingering softly as his fingers wrapped in my hair. “Mmm, coffee and roast beef,” he murmured, causing me to giggle. I swear I haven’t laughed so much in the past year as I have spending a few days with him.

“Where is the interview today? Do we have to get going soon?” I asked.

“The interviewer had agreed to come to one of the meeting rooms here in the hotel.”

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