Rock Me: Sexy (New Adult Rockstar Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Erotic Romance) (4 page)

“Ms. Winston? Jeff Thornton. Very nice to
meet you. Cindy is escorting Cold Fusion’s manager up now, so we’ll start
shortly. After the meeting, please stick around if you have time. I want to
discuss some things with you.”

I agreed and then Jeff left to take his seat,
which seemed to be a signal for the other employees to begin taking their
seats. I chose a seat next to Rob, the program director, leaving an empty seat
on the other side for my assistant, the very sexy and very absent Michael. I
felt lame arranging my yellow notepad and pens while everyone else was opening
up their laptops.

A few minutes later, the door opened.
Cindy, presumably, spoke. “Mr. Thornton? This is Mr. Scott Boyd, the manager
for Cold Fusion.”

Cold Fusion. They sounded vaguely
familiar. Manager? Of course the band had a manager. It just served to remind
me how little I knew about rock bands and the rock music industry in general.
But, the middle-aged guy from the lobby was not my rock star. I still had some
hope left.

“Welcome, Mr. Boyd. Please have a seat.”
Jeff gestured toward an empty chair.

Scott sat down. “Please call me Scott.”

Jeff nodded. “Let’s go around the table
and introduce ourselves to Scott.”

I only half-listened to the list of usual
participants: Director of Sales, Market Research, Promotions Manager, Public
Relations, and several writers. I would collect their business cards later,
because I would need to work closely with them. So far I had only placed two
words on my notepad, Cold Fusion. I picked up my pen and underlined the words
twice. Cold Fusion would be the key to my success. Whoever they were.

Finally, the introductions came around to
me. Jeff jumped in before I could introduce myself. “This is Ms. Kaitlyn Winston.
She’s our Executive Producer / Director and frankly it’s quite a coup to have
gotten her for this project. We are lucky to have her on board.”

I managed some inane greeting for
everyone as I seethed silently. I was fairly certain that Jeff was testing me
already. If I didn’t step up, I was going to get fired from this project even
before I got officially hired. Crawling back to Hugo and begging for my old job
back would be humiliating.

When Scott Boyd, the band’s manager, started
speaking, I vaguely began taking notes. I was a terrible note taker. Where was
my damn assistant? It figured that I had an inexperienced assistant that
ditched me for the first meeting. Who could blame him? Maybe he had the right
instincts to jump ship on this Titanic of a project.

Scott finished speaking about his history
with the band and then started listing the band’s many accomplishments. The
platinum albums, the chart-topping songs, the various awards, the venues that
they had headlined and sold out; it all sounded impressive to me.
But, what
did I know?
Still, I felt a buzz of excitement. If this band was half as
good as they sounded, the show couldn’t help but be a hit.

As Scott continued talking about the
band, the conference door opened and all eyes shifted toward the door. I heard
a gasp from someone and one woman actually tittered. Curious, I turned to see
what the excitement was about.

My assistant, Michael walked in. He
walked with a swagger I hadn’t noticed before. He looked at me, and the intensity
burning in his eyes made me swallow. My pulse pounded as he walked over to the
empty chair next to me.

He took off his jacket and I could see
the tattoos snaking up his arms and how well his jeans hugged his ass, which
just happened to be at my eye level. My palms grew sweaty.
I was insanely
attracted to my assistant.
Michael took his time sitting, even though
everyone was staring at him.

My heart was beating a mile a minute. I
felt panicky. Should I introduce him to the group? Several people were not
introduced; I assumed they were lower level staff. I didn’t want to break with protocol,
but Michael had interrupted the entire meeting. They were probably shocked by
his unprofessional appearance. They most likely thought I was crazy having this
guy as my assistant.

I couldn’t find my voice and the moment
passed. Michael wheeled his chair as close to me as it could get. How was I
going to work with this guy? I certainly wouldn’t judge his ability based on
his appearance, as I knew all too well how unfair that was. No, he might turn
out to be a great assistant, but how was I going to be able to take normal
breaths around this guy?

His long legs extended under the table and
brushed up against mine as he pushed his chair so close. Little shivers of
awareness danced down my spine. I tucked my legs under my own chair and out of his
reach and couldn’t help but notice the mischievous smile on his face.
This
guy knows he’s hot. And he knows that I think so, too.
I had to rein him in
while I took control of this meeting fast.

The manager was still rambling on about
the band and most of the participants were looking slightly bored. I pointed to
the words ‘Cold Fusion’ on my yellow pad and circled them. When Michael read
the words, I added a big question mark after them.

Michael shrugged in response.
Crap
.
There goes my hope that they were a wildly popular band. He looked more into
the rock scene than I was and if he’d never heard of them…

He picked up a pen and scribbled on my
paper.
What are they like?

Truthfully, I had no idea. I wrote:
talented,
according to the manager.

I felt like a teenager goofing off in
class, but for some reason I waited eagerly to see what he was writing next.

But are they sexy?

I almost laughed out loud.

God, I hope so.

I glanced over to see his reaction and
his megawatt smile had my stomach fluttering. My insides turned to liquid heat
as a current of physical awareness zapped between us. I felt trapped within his
smile, mesmerized; the rest of the room faded away as time stood still.

He had me pinned with a knowing, sultry look.
He leaned over and whispered in my ear sending new shivers running down my
spine. “I can’t wait to assist you. I know we’ll be so good together.”

I blinked a few times trying to decipher
his meaning, and then squirmed uncomfortably in my chair. Only one thing made
sense and that was outrageous. Had he crossed the line? Or was he just playing
with me?

Suddenly, I realized that Scott stopped speaking
while I was so thoroughly distracted by Michael. Now, the Vibe marketing guy was
excitedly talking about something. “… ‘On the Road’ or ‘Front Row Ticket’ are
the current top choices.”

Scott jumped in, “Front Row Ticket with
Cold Fusion. The band’s name should be in the title of the show.”

I shook off the lusty haze clouding my
mind and tried my best to forget about my assistant, who was still sitting way
too close to me. “That’s not going to work for me. I need something more
intimate. So fans think they are getting a private peek at the band. Something
personal. Like a diary – a diary entry is like getting a secret and
intimate glimpse into the guys behind the band. I like that. Rock Star
Diaries.”

Heads were bobbing with agreement around
the table and the marketing guy was repeating the name out loud, over and over.

Jeff nodded slowly. “That’s perfect. I
think we’ve nailed it.”

Scott tried again. “But what about the
band? How about ‘The Rock Star Diaries of Cold Fusion’?”

“No. Ms. Winston had it right. I’ve been
at this game a long time, Scott. I trust my instincts and I’m sure that Rock
Star Diaries is a winner. Bruce, what else do you have for us?” Jeff turned
back to the marketing guy, his action further cementing the finality of his
decision.

I turned my focus back to Bruce and almost
jumped when I felt a warm hand on my bare knee. Despite the secret thrill I
felt as I imagined the hand sliding slowly upwards, I knew I had to stop this.
I dug my fingernails into the skin on the back of his hand, scratching his
flesh. I heard a soft chuckle before Michael grabbed my hand and captured it tightly
in his own.
He was so fired when this meeting was over.

It was hard to concentrate, but I
listened as Bruce continued, “We have a lot of promotional material available
already. Due to the short notice, we need to put together the ads as soon as
possible, but luckily we can license some great material from existing photo
shoots and the band’s promo work. We’ve got some excellent head shots of them
already. Sandi can you hit the lights, please?”

I hadn’t noticed when Michael had
loosened his death grip on my hand, but now as his finger was tickling my palm,
I realized that we were holding hands under the table like lovers. I snatched
my hand away and shot him a warning glare.

Sandi turned off the lights and all eyes
turned toward the white screen. The first shot was of the band, four guys,
leaning against a graffiti covered wall. I couldn’t see the band members up
close, but my heart started beating a little bit faster at the sexy image that
I could see. Young guys. Handsome. Definitely swoon-worthy material to work
with, thank goodness. But I needed
fresh
swoon-worthy material. Bruce
cycled through several more photos from the same shoot.

I spoke up. “Thousands of fans have
already seen these pictures. I want all new shots. And I need individual shots
of each guy which showcases their individual personalities.”

The marketing guy answered in a somewhat
put-off tone. “Impossible with such short notice. And I’ve got head shots of
each guy which will work perfectly for our marketing campaign – ”

“Head shots won’t work. We need to create
buzz. An intimate new look at the band. Something fans haven’t seen before. And
the teaser needs to be plastered all over social media. We’ve got to target our
demographic.”

Bruce started mumbling, “Yes. Of course.
I was thinking social media, too.”

I turned to the band manager. “Scott, can
you tell us a little bit about the guys in the band? Their personalities, what
they like to do…”

Michael’s hand returned to my knee. This
time, I pinched his arm as hard as I could. I didn’t want Rob, the Programming
Director, who was sitting next to me to notice anything going on, so I grabbed Michael’s
hand and squeezed his fingers in what I hoped was a painful, stilling grip.

As the band manager began talking about
the lead guitarist, Alex Lavigne, Bruce brought up the headshot of the musician.
Well, hot damn. This just might be our star.

My stomach fluttered and I felt
goosebumps as Michael’s finger began swirling soft circles on my wrist. I
squeezed harder.

“…Nick, the bass guitarist, is the quiet,
brooding type…”

The headshot of Nick was just as stunning
as Alex’s. Dark, classic good looks, but not as friendly looking as Alex. He
would provide our drama and emotion. Young girls would be crying for this
heartbreaker.

When had I let Michael’s hand go?
Now it was tracing circles just above my
knee. All this stimulation was driving me crazy. Thank goodness I had a suit
jacket on so that no one could see how hard my nipples had become. I was
becoming sexually aroused in the middle of the meeting.
Great.
I halted
Michael’s hand again.

“…Tommy, the drummer, is funny, carefree,
athletic. He rock climbs, surfs every chance he gets…”

Tommy’s photo went up. The band was a
veritable goldmine - another sexy guy that would appeal to just about any
woman. His friendly smile, blonde hair and even white teeth screamed California
boy. He would play off the other two perfectly.

“…Tyler is the lead singer of course.”

That’s when the room began spinning and I
stopped breathing. Because, the picture projected on the electronic board was
of my assistant, Michael James, the man sitting next to me, slipping his warm,
sensuous fingers slowly inside my skirt.

Scott gestured toward my assistant, Michael.
“Tyler, why don’t you tell them about yourself.”

Tyler grinned boyishly as all eyes turned
toward him. His hand still rested carelessly in my lap, his fingers casually
stroking the inside of my thigh. I wondered if he could feel the heat burning
between my legs or if anyone could see what he was doing. And, my God, it took
all my restraint not to open my legs up wider and invite him inside. I gritted
my teeth to keep from moaning.

Tyler looked around the room. “You can
read my diary any time you like, but most of it will be x-rated.” Several women
tittered and Bruce, the marketing guy, audibly gasped. “There is only one thing
that I’d like to guarantee gets included in this show. And that’s promoting the
charity I support.”

“What charity is that?” One of the
marketing guys asked, sounding interested.

Tyler paused before answering. “Pediatric
organ donations.”

I wondered at his slight pause. There was
a hint of vulnerability there and it was the first sign of any insecurity I had
noticed out of the massive ego seated next to me.

My voice came out sounding harsher than I
intended. “No. That’s too much of a downer. How about rescue dogs? Something
that the audience will viscerally respond to that’s more uplifting.”