Dream of you every night, making love till daylight
Only you satisfy my burning need inside
When I look in your eyes, you see through my disguise
Baby, love me tonight, and I’ll never let you go
I’ll make you feel so right, baby, just love me tonight
The concert is finally over, and all I want to do is leave and never look back. Charlie, Artie, Syndi, Joe, and Mack all surround me. Apparently, the CEO of Heavy Handed Boxing Gear is backstage meeting the bands, and he wants to meet me, too. This is my big chance at gaining a huge corporate sponsor, but I have to go to him because he doesn’t want to leave his present company.
So I’m forced to go backstage and play nice with Travis and Andi just to have a shot at taking my dream to new levels. What kind of shit is this?
“Does Andi know about this?” I ask Mack.
“I don’t know, Luke. I’m going to tell her how proud I am of her, and I’ll know then. You know she’s my daughter by love even if not by blood. I don’t want to see either of you hurt, but if you want the chance to meet Steven Garrett before any of these other boys get to him, now’s the time,” Mack says, pinning me with his serious gaze.
“Shit. Fine. Let’s get it over it,” I concede. “Now. Before I change my mind.”
Backstage looks nothing like the party scene I’ve pictured in my mind. Maybe it’s just because this is more of a social event than a normal concert, but everything back here is decorated just as elegantly as the main concert area. I’m glad I agreed to wear this tuxedo because everyone here is dressed similarly.
My eyes land on a familiar tattoo of a colorful phoenix, plainly visible on her shoulder blade under the thin strips of beaded material crisscrossing her back. Her dress is completely open on her back to just above her ass, and I immediately notice a new tattoo. Moving slowly up behind her to get a better look, it takes my breath away when I realize what it is.
Feeling the weight of eyes on me, I raise my gaze to find Travis watching me. Intensely staring me down, Travis narrows his eyes at me as he slowly snakes his arm around Andi’s waist, covering the tattoo as his arm moves into place. He takes his time raking his fingers across her exposed skin and around her hip before he pulls her into his side. She’s busy talking to someone else and absently steps into his space.
When he smirks at me with a shit-eating, fuck-you grin, I lose all semblance of control and charge at him full throttle. His shocked reaction fuels my carnal drive to knock him the fuck out. Just as I reach him and grab his jacket, both of our security teams react quickly to separate us.
Andi jerks her head around, oblivious to the silent taunts and wordless jabs that instigated the altercation. She reads my face easily and turns to look at Travis, her eyebrows rising in question to him. He can feel her stare, but he won’t move his eyes from mine.
Mack and Joe are standing in front of me and Brandon is behind me, holding me back. “Luke,” Joe hisses at me. “Fucking control yourself right now.”
“I got it,” I say, straightening and collecting myself.
My gaze strays to Andi, and she’s watching me closely. I feel someone move up beside me, and Andi’s eyes instantly harden again. Glancing sideways, I see Syndi at my side, and I wrap my arm around her waist. Andi follows my subtle movement before her eyes swing back to mine, unshed tears shining in the lights.
Travis takes her hand and starts to lead her away, and I call her name.
Turning to look at me, I dig the dog tag necklace she gave me out from under my collar, jerk it off my neck, and fling it at her. “You can have this back now.”
She catches it, looks at it for a second, and then glares at Syndi before turning her stony gaze back to me. “Why the hell would I want it?” she sneers before she throws it back at me and walks off.
“Didn’t like the show?” a new voice laughingly asks me.
“Luke, this is Steven Garrett, the CEO of Heavy Handed Boxing Gear,” Joe says to alert me.
Extending my hand, I shake his. “Luke Woods. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m impressed with you, son. You don’t take shit off anyone, do you?” he asks with a smile.
“No, sir. No one,” I reply.
“That’s what I like to hear. We should set up an official meeting, get to know each other better. You may be just the perfect fit for the image we want to project,” Steven says.
“Lucky for us both, my PR person is right here. She keeps up with my calendar, tells me where I’m supposed to be, and how I’m supposed to act.” I smile in return.
Steven gives Syndi his personal card with instructions to call his secretary to set up some time on his calendar. Maybe my hotheadedness isn’t completely unappealing after all.
We continue mingling with others, rotating through the room and meeting new people. I’ve been introduced to so many people, there’s no way I’ll remember who even half of them are or what they do.
