Rivals. That’s all we are.
After an extended silent conversation between Jaxon and his manager, Jaxon finally says, “We’re not changing anything up at this point. Kelsey, I trust you to get this handled before the show tomorrow.”
“Of course,” Kelsey says.
“This is just the first night, and mistakes are bound to happen.”
I don’t miss Kelsey’s flinch at the wordmistake.
“The concert went smoothly, and besides being taken to somewhere other than my dressing room—which no fans would’ve known about—the experience was exactly what it should’ve been. Henry will work with the PR team to get something released to the press to get ahead of the story, leaving out the part about the saw in her shoe.”
“It was more like a serrated butter knife. Kinda like one of those little pumpkin-carving knives you get in the kits at Halloween. I don’t think she could’ve injured anyone or anything but some flimsy drywall with it,” Kelsey tells Jaxon. “She really didn’t make it that far as it was,” she says, pointing to the thin line running about two feet from top to bottom in the middle of the wall. “I was worried she was going to have a whole hole popped out by the time I got here.”
“Regardless, let’s not give people ideas,” Henry chimes in.
We finish debriefing the incident, both Kelsey and I promising a full report by noon tomorrow. Finally, Jaxon and Henry leave, Trent going with them to “confirm Jaxon’s personal guards are doing what they should be.”
Kelsey lets out a long sigh before pushing to her feet.
“Want me to drive you back to the hotel?” I offer, watching her for signs of concussion, even though I know she allowed the on-site EMT to at least check her for that, even if she didn’t let him bandage her head.
She scoffs. “No. I’ll be spending my night checking earpieces.”
“Want some company?”
Her weary eyes hold mine, searching for something—I don’tknow what.
“No. That’s okay. It’s going to be a long night. There is no way I’m going to lose this contract because of one tech issue.”
That might not be the reason why, but I’m feeling more and more confident that Mitchell Security might actually stand a chance of winning this contract.
She stops in the doorway, holding on to it with one hand as she turns back to me. “What happened to ‘You did have a plan’?” she asks, the bite in her voice cutting through me. “Didn’t think that’d be something Jaxon would want to hear?”
“I…”
She raises her eyebrow, waiting for me to finish. But what can I say? No matter how I feel about Kelsey or her work, securing the long-term contract with Jaxon—making sure my mom is cared for—is the most important thing right now.
“Got it,” she says before walking out the door.
Chapter twelve
Kelsey
“Greatshowtonight,”Nashsays to me as he hands in his earpiece before clocking out.
“Can you actually hear the lyrics from the dressing room?” I ask. “Or is it just crowd noise like in Vancouver?”
“Could hear every lyric. Mikayla bet me twenty bucks that I couldn’t pick someone up tonight using just Jaxon Steele lyrics. They’re going to be like putty in my hands.”
“How did the ladies of Toronto get so lucky?” I joke.
He leans in close, his boyish enthusiasm lifting my spirits for the first time since the comms incident two days ago. “She doesn’t know it yet, but by the end of this tour, she’s going to be the one I have convinced to date me.”
I cross my arms, giving him a stern look. “No fraternizing, Nash. You know Mitchell Security’s contract is stricter than the tour’s.”
“I said by the end of the tour. I know the rules.”
I laugh, considering how much trouble they could get in if they were caught hooking up while on the job. Though, maybe if I don’t tell Carter, it’ll look bad for Mitchell Secur— I shake my head, knowing that’s not how I want to win this contract, even if it’s possible the issue in Vancouver was caused by someone from Mitchell Security.
