She waved me off again, bringing a resume template up on her screen.
“Okay, let’s see. Highest level of education: Bachelor—”
“In Finance,” I cut in.
“Shush. Let me work. Motivated problem solver with experience maintaining composure in stressful situations—Shut up, drinkingishandling stress well—well connected within the music industry with experience in a wide array of genres and musical subcultures.”
“This is all bullshit. How am I going to support any of this?” I asked, chewing the edge of my thumbnail.
“It’s not bullshit, just creative interpretation. Remember, you helped me with the sound check during my tragic country music phase? It counts. Plus, we still occasionally keep in touch with Courtney May, and she presented at the CMA’s last year.”
“I almost got tossed out of the bar for brawling with Courtney May the last time we saw each other, remember?”
Ruby’s face screwed up as she searched her wine-soaked memory for the night in question.
The second her face lightened, I regretted bringing the night up.
“Holy shit! TP Tits! Oh my God, I completely forgot about that!” Ruby cackled at the memory while I once again questioned my life choices.
“Okay. A, we swore never to speak that name again. And B, Courtney was the one who stuffed her fucking bra. Now let’s get back to lying on a legal document so I can earn a living again.”
“That’s the spirit, girl,” Ruby cheered, typing another few lines onto her work of fiction. I spotted the wordscreativeandpersuasiveand decided to see how quickly I could finish the bottle in my hand.
Chapter
Three
Tatum
A tickleunder my nose dragged me up through alcohol-sodden layers of consciousness the next morning. As the sensation irritated my poor nostril again, I winced against the glaring light that painted my closed eyelids red. Slapping at my face did nothing to alleviate the discomfort, but the soft snicker gave me the strength to crack an eyelid and glare at the evil provider of wine. She grinned, tickling my noseagainwith a fistful of the blonde tips of my hair.
“Let me die in peace,” I grumbled, burying my face in the sofa cushion beneath me.
Ruby laughed, a tinkling, joyful sound that made me hate her. She’d had as much to drink the night before as I had but showed no sign of a hangover.
“Can’t, babe, your new life is calling. Take a shower and raid my wardrobe, because you’re rank right now and in no shape for an interview.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, sitting up gingerly and praying my head wouldn’t explode.
“You got an email from the record company this morning. They want you to come in for an interview. You’re totally going to be our manager!”
I rubbed my eyes and grimaced at the smear of black gunk that came off on my hand. I must have looked like a frazzled raccoon, and the conversation wasn’t helping matters.
“How do you know I got an email?”
“Tatum. Tates. Babe. You have the worst security of anyone I’ve ever met. Your passcode is one, two, three, four, for God’s sake.”
“Everything needs a stupid password these days. If I didn’t use an easy one, I’d forget it.”
Ruby gave me a rueful look and headed toward the kitchen. It was then that I noticed she was freshly showered and dressed for the day. How long had she been up?
“Go shower. I’ll put on the coffeepot, but no caffeine for you until you’re clean. You stink of alcohol and regret.”
“Regret doesn’t come out in the wash, you know,” I called after her, but dutifully got off my ass and headed into the bathroom.
After scrubbing my face, body, and hair with Ruby’s overpriced products, I finally felt like I was somewhere in the vicinity of human. I wished I could stay in the white-tiled slice of heaven. The thought lasted half a second before Ruby burst through the door with two coffee mugs in hand. She carefully placed one beside the sink and rested her ass on the counter, cradling the other.
“You know I’m naked,” I said.
