Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

NOAH

A few days before Thanksgiving, I was excited about my trip to Texas to see Gemma. The guys and I had been in New York all along, working on finishing the new album, and I was looking forward to the change of scenery almost as much as I was looking forward to spending some more time with her.

Over the last few weeks, the amount of time I’d spent thinking about her had surprised me. Seriously.

She’d quickly become the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last thing I thought about before I fell asleep. Partially because she’d also become the only subject of my fantasies.

I sighed as I walked into a meeting with our management team, wanting to get it over with so that Brandon and I could head to Austin. This was one of the last formalities we had to handle before we would be able to leave, and I was getting desperate to get moving.

Lewis gave me a surprised smile when I walked into the conference room situated on the top floor of an iconic skyscraper. “You’re early.”

I grinned. “It’s an early Christmas present for you. You’re welcome.”

He chuckled. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Where’s Brandon?”

“Probably still waking up,” I joked. “According to the posts I saw him tagged in last night, he had a late one.”

“What did he do now?” Lewis groaned. “Please tell me it doesn’t involve a court appearance.”

I laughed. “It’s nothing like that. He just found a mechanical bull and a bar that had a line-dancing night. It looked like a good time.”

“You weren’t with him?” He frowned. “What’s been going on with you lately? Don’t get me wrong, I approve of whatever is happening, but it’s not like you to go to bed early—and alone—or to sit out on all of Brandon’s wild adventures.”

Jack smirked at the other side of the table. “I have a theory. If you’re interested in hearing it.”

“Bring it.” I dropped into a seat of my own. “What’s your theory?”

“You’ve met someone.” His dark eyes bored into mine. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’ve met a girl who’s actually gotten to you.”

I held his gaze, trying to keep my expression neutral, but the corners of my lips kept twitching. “Damn it. How are you so fucking intense? You’re right, okay? I’ve met someone. Before either of you ask, it’s not serious. I’m not in love, but I do like her.”

“You do like who ?” Brandon asked, walking in and sending me a grin that said he wouldn’t quit until I’d told him everything.

“Just a girl I met on a plane. I saw her again at that charity thing, and that’s all there is to it. Let’s move on. Where are the people we’re actually meeting with?”

“That’s the thing about being early,” Lewis said, laughing. “Sometimes, you have to wait for people to be ready to see you.”

I frowned. “Well I hate it.”

A few minutes later, our management team finally walked in and our meeting got underway. While we were discussing our schedule for the rest of the year, Alana, who had been part of our team since the beginning, made a suggestion that finally made me really sit up and pay attention.

“I would suggest hiring an events manager,” she said, looking around the table at each of us in turn. “As a band, you should host two events leading up to Christmas. That kind of thing is always great for exposure and publicity, and if you hire the right person, you wouldn’t have to lift a finger to make these events happen.”

“Two events,” Lewis said as he chewed it over. “Alright. Sounds doable. What did you have in mind?”

“A Christmas party for the production team, the sound people, you guys, us, and anyone else you feel helps you achieve all the things you do each year. After that, I’d suggest a super high-end New Year’s Eve party for the elite. You’re not complete newcomers anymore and it’s time to start asserting yourselves in the industry. Establish the band as a real influence.”

Brandon scoffed. “A real influence? Please. We’ve been that since the beginning. Why do we need to pay for other people’s booze to prove it?”

Alana sent him a sweet smile with an icy undercurrent. He’d brought it upon himself, though. When we’d first started working with her, he’d decided that it was absolutely paramount to get into her pants, and he’d persisted despite the amount of times she’d shot him down.

In the end, she had fallen into bed with him. It hadn’t ended well and she’d been pissed at him ever since. Even I had to fight a wince and that cold smile wasn’t aimed at me, but Brandon didn’t even twitch.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re not a child anymore, Brandon,” she said sharply. “If you would look beyond your incredibly overinflated ego for a moment, you’d realize that this is important for your brand. It’s?—”

“I’ll do it,” I said, cutting her off before they really started arguing. “Let me take point on this. I know exactly which company I’d like to hire and I’ll work with them to make sure everything is perfect.”

A hush fell across the room, every eye turning to me. Lewis frowned, but Alana looked so surprised, I was afraid she might keel over. “Are you sure about this, Noah? Obviously, it would be great if you really are willing to run point on this, but it might take quite a bit of time if you’d like to work with this company.”

The more time, the better. “I’m sure. Look, as it happens, I agree with you. It’s about time we started showing our gratitude to everyone we work with and to make our mark on the industry. I’m onboard with both events. I’ll do this.”

For a moment, the conference room was quiet enough to hear a mouse cough, but then Alana flashed me a bright, grateful smile and nodded. “Excellent. Thank you, Noah. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I know you said you have an events company in mind, but I know people who work for several of the best, so if there are any issues?—”

“There won’t be.”

For the rest of the meeting, I couldn’t stop grinning.

I finally had a reason to reach out to Gemma that wouldn’t involve her finding out how much I liked her, and I would have so much more time with her if she accepted the offer I was about to make. As we left, Jack chuckled and punched me in the arm.

“It’s your girl, isn’t it? That’s who you want to hire.”

“Sometimes, I wonder why they made you the shy one and not the smart one,” I joked. “You might not be wrong, but don’t worry. I have a feeling that she’s really good at her job.”

He groaned. “You have a feeling ? Does that mean you’ve never seen her work or spoken to anybody who’s hired her?”

“No, I haven’t, but trust me. These events are going to be great.”

He smacked his palm over his face, laughing quietly as he shook his head at me. “Oh, brother. I hope for your sake that you’re right. May the force be with you, man.”

“Thanks, but it already is,” I said, heading back to my long-term hotel condo. I pulled my phone out of my pocket as soon as the door shut behind me.

Scrolling to Gemma’s number, I hit dial and speaker, then strode to the wall of windows and looked out over the city as the sun started setting. The digital sound of the phone ringing filled the air for so long that my heart dropped.

Shit. She’s not going to take my call?

And then it happened. The line connected and her beautiful voice came over it.

“Noah?” She sounded puzzled. “Is that really you?”

“It’s really me.” I smiled as I stared out at the most famous skyline in the world. “New York isn’t the same without you.”

“You’re still there?”

“I am. For now. Austin soon, though. We’re still on for the weekend, right?”

There was a brief pause on her end of the line. “Sure. Yeah. Of course.”

“Gemma?”

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I… nothing. I just, uh, I wasn’t sure if I’d really hear from you. You know how it goes. People meet other people all the time and they don’t always stay in touch.”

I frowned. “We did a little more than just meet.”

“Yeah. No. Of course. Never mind. What’s up? How has your month been so far?”

“Busy,” I admitted, but I didn’t tell her that I’d made sure I was even busier than I had to be just so I wouldn’t use her number every damn day. “Yours?”

“Busy,” she said. “Mariam has gone off to Idaho, and it’s been a bit of a learning curve doing everything around here by myself.”

My heart started pounding. “Yeah, I can imagine. Hey, so, speaking of doing everything by yourself, do you think you’ve got the capacity to take on two more events before the end of the year?”

Another brief pause. “That depends. What are you thinking?”

“Our management team has suggested that we host a Christmas party for everyone who works for us year round, and they also think we should have a super fancy New Year’s Eve bash for some of people in the industry. I was kind of hoping I could rope you in to help me organize both of them.”

“Are you serious?”

“As a dead fly.”

“A dead fly?” She laughed. “Is that a California thing? I’ve never heard the expression before.”

“God no, my people probably wouldn’t like it much. I just don’t like the ‘serious as a heart attack’ expression. Heart attacks are too serious. Too many deaths because of heart conditions every year, you know?”

“Yeah, I think that’s kind of the point, though, but okay. I’m sorry, by the way.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For whoever you lost to a heart attack.”

My eyebrows jumped up. “How did you know?”

Her voice was gentle. “It was right there, Noah. It’s called reading between the lines. I’m pretty good at it.”

“Yeah, you really are,” I said quietly, blowing out a deep breath. “It was my uncle, but it was a long time ago. Thanks, though.”

“Of course.” She hesitated for a long moment. “On a happier note, I’d love to help you with your events. It’s pretty short notice, so we’re probably going to have to start working right away if you want everything to be ready in time, but I love a challenge. Let’s do it.”

“Let’s do it,” I agreed, a grin on my lips. “I’ll see you real soon, Gemma. Just so you know, you’re not alone in this. I’m going to be right there with you every step of the way. It means a lot to me to be having these events, so I really want to be involved.”

All the way involved . So involved that I would be seeing more of her than of Brandon’s ugly face once we got to Texas. My grin spread. “Good night, Gem. Sleep tight.”

“You too,” she said softly, and for a second, I considered changing the subject to keep her on the line, but she’d said she’d been busy and I didn’t particularly want to come across as a needy one-night stand, so I let her go.

But I didn’t stop thinking about her, and I already knew I wouldn’t until I finally got to see her again.