Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Instead, Beat could indirectly drag her into something she definitely wanted to avoid. Attention. Because no matter how many angles from which he viewed the situation, he couldn’t figure out a way for Applause and Danielle to accomplish the reunion without Melody’s name coming up at some point.
It just wasn’t possible.
“Mel,” he said gruffly, his smile feeling heavy.
“Hey,” she responded, her voice barely above a whisper.
And he hadn’t planned on hugging her, but as soon as that single, husky word was out of her mouth, he couldn’t stop himself from crossing the office and wrapping his arms around her. His eyelids drooped involuntarily, because she fit against him as well as he remembered. Like she was meant to be there all along. A star-crossed best friend.
Melody dropped her giant purse onto the floor and hugged him back—and that made him feel more important than any press coverage or birthday party in his honor. It was instantaneous. Honest. How had he missed her like this when their acquaintance had been so brief? It made no sense, but there it was. His reaction to her at sixteen hadn’t made a lot of sense, either. It just was.
“Thanks for coming,” he said into her hair. She smelled of gingerbread and wind.
“You’re welcome.” Her amused reply was muffled by his shoulder. “Someone has to try and talk you out of this.”
His smile turned lighter. He squeezed her. Just a little more.
“Miss Gallard,” said Danielle gently from behind her desk. “I’m so glad you could make it. I hope the subway commute wasn’t too much of a hassle on a Monday morning.”
“Um . . . it was fine, all mystery substances considered.” Slowly, Beat and Melody disconnected from each other, and she seemed to realize for the first time that she’d dropped her purse, the skin of her cheeks pinkening slightly as she stooped down to retrieve it. “It wouldn’t be a New York commute without at least one unidentified substance congealing on the seat beside me.”
Danielle laughed, gesturing to the side-by-side chairs facing her desk. “Very true. Please. Have a seat.”
Beat held out Melody’s chair and did his best not to inhale her scent as she sat. He forced himself to park his ass a good foot away from her, as well. To give himself time to come down from their hug and prevent the strange impulse to continue touching her in some way.
When they were both seated, they went right on looking at each other for several moments, like they were the only two people in the room and Beat started to wonder if seeing her again was an even worse idea than he’d originally thought. Why did he have to like her so much? What was it about her that made him feel normal almost instantaneously?
He forced himself to break their stare. It took him effort to focus on Danielle, but once he did, he couldn’t miss the producer’s keen speculation. And she was pleased as punch over whatever she’d witnessed. Why? Did she think his distant-but-potent relationship with Melody would be an entertaining angle for the show? Because Melody wasn’t going to be involved. Not directly. No way would he let that happen, especially since he had an ulterior motive.
To make enough money to pay off his blackmailer.
“Okay. First of all, wow. I did it. I got you two in a room together and that’s a victory in itself,” Danielle started, clapping her hands. “But I digress. You both have busy lives and I won’t waste your time. In fact, we have no time. Applause wants to reunite Steel Birds and bring the public along for the ride. If we’re going to move on this, it needs to be fast.” She gestured at Beat. “During our phone conversation, Beat made it clear that he is volunteering as tribute. He will be the only one participating in the project.” She transferred her focus to Melody. “However, because of your proximity to the band, Melody, he won’t do it without your consent.” She folded her hands together on the desk. “Unfortunately, due to the time crunch, if you’re going to give your approval, it needs to be today.”
Beat’s pulse started to thrum faster. “We’re going to need more details first.”
Danielle nodded. “Essentially, we need to strike while the iron is hot,” the producer continued, splitting her focus between them. “‘Rattle the Cage’ is number one again on Billboard. Thirty years postrelease. The hashtag #BringBackSteelBirds has been trending on and off for weeks on various social media platforms. A new generation is demanding a reunion of this band that wasn’t even around when they were born. I’ve never seen anything like it. If there was ever a time to consider bringing Octavia and Trina back together, it’s now, when there is a shit ton of money on the table and enough demand for a possible tour.”