12. Phoenix

CHAPTER 12

Phoenix

" A re you serious, Anthony?" I sighed into my phone. "Why did you agree to that?"

"Oh, you're full-naming me now?" he chuckled, his tone sarcastic as usual. "Am I in that much trouble?"

"You know I hate public events! And now you want me to do twenty-five of them back-to-back? Why the hell would you put me through that?!"

" You are putting you through it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's in your contract," he laughed. "You know the one you signed when the company gave you a half a million dollar advance?"

I reached up, pinching the bridge of my nose as I sighed into the phone once more. That fucking contract was going to kill me. I was starting to wish I had never signed it. Well, that's not true. I was glad I did because yay money and success, but I was tired of the never-ending stream of tasks that the lawyers had apparently baked in .

"What is the absolute minimum amount of work I have to do for this?" I asked, walking over to the couch and flopping down on it with my arm thrown over my eyes. "Because I'm not gonna do anything more than that."

"They aren't gonna be happy about that."

"Like I give a fuck," I snapped. "I'm number one on every list in the country. They're making plenty of money off me, Tony."

He sighed as well, knowing I wasn't going to give in. Being my agent, he was used to putting up with my artistic eccentricities , as he called them. According to him, all artists, whether writers or painters or photographers, were all the same. They were emotional, hard to work with, and prone to fits of being illogical. Secretly, I agreed with him. But that would never be spoken aloud.

"You need to go to the twenty-five events in bookstores across the country. They have to be at least three hour long signing events. You're not required to speak at them, but it would make the company happy if you read aloud at a few of the bigger venues."

"I'll read aloud if that means I have to sign for less time."

"That's fine. We can have you pre-sign copies on the bus."

"Bus? What bus?"

"Oh, we're taking a bus across the country to do all these. Believe me, you don't want to deal with airports and rental cars for all this."

"We? Are you coming too?"

"I'm your agent. Of course I'm going." I could already hear the smirk in his voice. "Somebody has to keep you in line during this trip."

"Uh-huh. And I'm sure the free blowjobs you'll require have nothing to do with it. "

"Well… there is a private suite in the back of the bus. It has a queen-sized bed so…"

I rolled my eyes and huffed, but I couldn't help smiling. Leave it to Tony to have already scoped out this bus so he could make sure we could fuck on the road.

"Besides, I'm sure you'll need to blow off steam. So, let's call it mutually beneficial?"

"That's fine," I muttered. "As long as you don't go falling in love with me."

"Phoenix McKean, you know I already love you."

"Only because I made you a shit ton of royalties."

"That definitely helps." He paused for a moment. "But we both know this is just casual between us. You don't love me like that and I'm not the settling down type, anyway. I like my weekends free and my dick freer."

"I know that. And don't worry, I'll never ask you to give that up. I know we're just friends."

"Good. Now when do I get my first BJ on the road?"

"Why do you get to go first?" I scoffed. "I'm the one making all the money!"

"Fine, fine. I'll blow you first." A voice rose up behind Tony and I heard him muffle the phone for a moment. After a few seconds, he came back. "Looks like our plane tickets are all ready to go. We fly out tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?! How long have you known this was going to happen?"

"Like two weeks, give or take."

"Fucking christ, Tony! You couldn't give me a little warning? I was planning on going out tomorrow! I have money now, so I'd like to have a life as well!"

"Oh please. That check has barely cleared. You can't have that many plans."

I pursed my lips in annoyance. He was right of course. But still, I wanted to take a fucking break. It took me five long years to write the goddamn book to begin with, then another year to get it sold to one of the big publishers in New York. After that it was endless edits, meetings, designing, rewrites, and publicity. It just never seemed to end. And now, when the book was finally out and selling like crazy, I didn't even have time to enjoy my hard-earned success. Instead, I was being shoved on a bus and driven across the country for who knew how long to sign books for strangers that were far too parasocial for my liking.

"How long are we going to be on the road, Tony?"

"Don't appreciate that tone, Phie."

"How long?"

"Uh… you know… maybe three months."

"THREE MONTHS?!"

"Calm down, Phie. It's March anyway. What are you going to do in Boston in the middle of March? Enjoy the outdoors? Please." He blew a raspberry through his lips. "Boston is fucking miserable ten months out of the year and that's mostly because of the people. I still can't fathom why you wanted to live there in the first place."

Because it was a big city and because it was the opposite of where I'd grown up. It was also near New York and the big publishing houses. But the biggest reason was because it was as far away as I could get from home without leaving the country. The distance helped me pretend that I didn't feel the pain anymore. Not that I would ever tell anyone that, especially Tony. I'd never hear the end of it.

"Fine," I huffed at last. "But you get to figure out how you're getting my bike on the bus."

"You want me to fly your goddamn motorcycle to Savannah in the morning so you can travel with it?"

"Oh good, we're going to Georgia. I bet it's a lot warmer there so I can finally take it out on a ride."

"Phie… you can't be serious."

"Tony," I said, ignoring the pleading tone in his voice. "I'm dead serious. You want to eat up the next three months of my life doing stupid bullshit and getting free sex? Then figure out how to get my motorcycle to Savannah."

"In twelve hours?"

"Tick-tock."

With that, I hung up the phone, feeling rather pleased with myself. I threw my arm back over my eyes, dropping my phone to the rug beside the couch. I really didn't want to get on a plane in the morning, but I was quickly coming to the conclusion that I had no choice. Contracts and lawyers were the last thing I wanted to deal with because I never won those arguments. My degree had been in creative writing, not law. Even then, I'd barely graduated college to begin with.

And yet, somehow, I'd managed to write a bestselling romance novel. I didn't think it was because the book was particularly brilliant or original or even that well written. Mostly it was due to timing. There was a big demand for more representation in the publishing sphere and the big publishing houses were desperate for decent content. I'd like to think that it was my book that got me noticed by the company, but really it was Tony. He was loud, charismatic, and he didn't give up. That's how he got me into bed the first time and that's how he got my book sold for half a million dollars.

While all of that was thrilling, I had sorely underestimated the amount of work it would entail. I figured the company would cut me a check, and I'd give them the book. After that it was hands off. But there was so much more to it than that. It seemed like I spent every day working harder than I'd ever worked in my life. Then at night it was headshots and press conferences and interviews for newspapers.

Most nights I just collapsed in my bed, too tired to even shower. But on those rare nights when Tony and I were staying in a hotel or he'd come down to work with me in person, I was allowed to give in to my carnal desires. It was nothing more than innocent fun of course. Both Tony and I knew that. But it was nice when it happened. In a world full of stress and deadlines and demands, it was a brief respite from the insanity of my life.

And now I'd be able to have a lot more of those nights on the road. However, I still didn't feel good about travelling across the country. Mostly because of one thing.

Creekside, Oregon.

I hadn't seen my parents in over a year thanks to the book deal. While I'd promised to fly them out as soon as I got settled, now that I was going on tour, they'd want me to come home. I wanted to see them, I really did. Mom was beside herself being away from me for so long. I missed her too of course and I missed Ted. Both of them had been so supportive of my dreams. In fact, they'd sent me nearly ten thousand dollars to keep me housed and fed when my bank account ran dry and negotiations were dragging on for months with the book. It was because of them that I had this book deal. So, when they inevitably asked me to come home, I knew I wouldn't be able to say no.

But I was terrified of going back to Creekside for one single reason.

Him .

I'd promised myself long ago that I would never step foot in that town again. Not after the way he'd cut me out of his life and broken my heart. The man I thought was my best friend… my special someone that I would spend the rest of my life with.

Well, it turned out that all of that was nothing more than a stupid teenage dream. However, that realization only made it hurt worse. Not only had I allowed myself to fall in love… but I'd been fucking stupid with my affections at the same time.

Typical Phoenix.

But I'd learned my lesson. Now guys were kept at arm's length. I didn't date, and I didn't want to, especially now that I was well known and had come into a lot of money. Chances were any guy that showed interest in me was just trying to get their fifteen minutes of fame or fuck me out of my hard-earned dreams. That's why Tony was the perfect companion. He didn't want feelings, and neither did I. We just wanted to get off and move on. And I was perfectly happy with that.

Sitting up on the couch, I made a promise to myself. First off, I would go home to see my parents at some point during the trip. I owed them that. And secondly, I would see them and only them while I was there. No wandering around town, no visiting old haunts, and no searching for people that obviously didn't want me around anymore.

And then, after this tour was done, I'd move my parents out east and I'd never have to set foot in that horrible, painful place again.

With my mind made up, I got off the couch and went back to the bedroom, pulling my suitcase off the top rack of the closet. I had a three-month trip to prepare for and I only had twelve hours to do it.

Being a famous author was far busier than I wanted it to be.