Aftershock (15 page)

They came fast and thick. Rick’s manner, which she’d been afraid would be brusque, was in fact smooth and easy. As was Marc’s when the questions came up about the story behind “Music Lady.” He even pointed to Emma in the front row. When she stood and waved to the crowd, Sydney let out another soft breath. It was all going well.

She breathed easier when she saw the effortless way Rick dealt with everyone. Of course, she should have known. The band was his life. He’d handled all contract negotiations with the clubs, with all the small venues where they performed, with each opportunity that came up. It seemed he had all the information catalogued in his head.

Sydney made sure no one was ignored, smiled when someone had to wait his or her turn, jumped in if there was a query Rick wasn’t sure how to answer. Danny and Garrett had their turns also but most of the focus was on Rick and, after him, Marc. More than an hour passed before things wound down, much longer than she’d expected. That was a good sign. It meant the interest was there and they should get some good coverage. If the interest level was high enough, especially for the reporters and bloggers who had national audiences, the release of the single in one week would get a huge boost in airplay and downloads.

She noted Butch and Linc studying the crowd from the back of the room. Their posture might have been casual but Sydney knew they were mentally cataloging the questions and responses. Who asked what. How she’d prepped the band to answer. How she juggled the reporters. She also noted the cameramen hoisting their big video cameras and moving around the room to get shots from different angles. Good. Maybe the segments would be longer than sixty seconds.

She could feel the energy surge in the room, sense the excitement about the band. Although many of these people had been in the game a long time, a new client of Butch Meredith’s always drew a lot of interest. Especially since he was pairing them with his top talent, Deep Blue River, on their first tour.

Sydney continued to call on people and made sure everyone in the band got a turn in the limelight. When the questions became repetitive and sometimes idiotic, she called a halt and motioned for the band to come down off the platform. She asked them to just hang with her for a few moments while she gave the reporters access to Marc and Emma. The media lapped up the love story, recorders on to catch every detail they could. Marc stood with his arm around Emma’s waist the entire time, obviously protective. When Sydney thought the questions were digging too hard into personal territory, she eased Marc and Emma away and grabbed one of the mics. Time to shut it down.

“Thanks so much for coming today, everyone. Lightnin’ and I look forward to working with all of you.”

Acknowledging that their access to the band was finished for today, the media moved on to Linc and Butch, especially Butch. Sydney knew exactly what they’d ask him: why he decided to contract Lightnin’ and send them on tour with Deep Blue River. How and why he’d gotten them signed to that band’s record label. Digging for dirt if there was any. That was, of course, always a priority with the media.

Sydney thanked everyone who came up to hand her a business card, and there were a lot of them. Another good sign. It meant there was real interest in following the band. They all wanted T-shirts, which she promised they’d get. Actually, what they wanted was back at the office set for delivery. Linc had taught her that you don’t give them everything at once. Always angle for yet another contact, even if it’s third hand. So, tomorrow, the messenger service they used would be out distributing the shirts along with a promo sheet on how and where people in general could get them.

She wanted to do a little happy dance of excitement at how well the event had gone. She knew how to take the temperature of the media by now, and today it was blazing hot.

Take that, Janine
.

“You guys did great,” she praised the band. “We’ll get some excellent coverage out of this.”

“Are we out of jail now?” Rick gave her a crooked grin, the first smile of any kind he’d given her all day.

She laughed, although the sound was a little shaky. “Yes. The mob scene is over.” She glanced over her shoulder. “And here comes Butch to tell you what a fantastic job you did.”

“I’m proud of you,” the man in question said, a big grin on his face. “You acted and sounded as if you’d been doing this forever.” Then he turned to Sydney. “Linc and I will try to monitor things until everyone’s gone,” he went on. “Some of the reporters want to speak to each member of the band, individually, in a less-formal environment. You’ll need to set up a schedule around their rehearsals.” He looked at the guys again. “But don’t panic. Sydney will be right there with you.”

“We don’t freak,” Marc said. “But having her there will keep things under control.”

Butch nodded. “And that’s going to be a big part of her job from here on out. Managing media access, making sure we get the coverage we should, and that it’s all positive.”

“The last thing any of us wants,” Rick added, “is to say the wrong thing and have it come back to bite us.”

“Well, here’s your first test,” Butch pointed out as a reporter approached. Right behind her was a cameraman hoisting his equipment on his shoulder.

Sydney guided them through the quick video interview, staying out of camera range but making sure they could see her. If they needed her, they could just signal. Sydney was flying on the ultimate high. She glanced at Rick, more relaxed now, engaged in conversation with Butch again. She thought she’d done a good job maintaining a professional attitude throughout the day where he was concerned. Not personal at all. But the sight of him in the Lightnin’ T-shirt, the blue fabric stretched across his broad shoulders and sculpted muscles had her hormones doing a happy dance. Her breasts ached, and the throbbing in her cunt echoed through her body.

No, no, no. Eyes on the prize, Sydney. And right now, it’s not him
.

All through the event, she waited for Macey to make her move. Approach her or most likely Rick. She stayed as close to him as possible so the woman couldn’t get him off by himself. The room was all but empty and the band was waiting to ask Sydney what came next when it happened. The tall blonde in designer jeans, high-heeled, strappy sandals, and a tight red top wiggled her way up to Rick.

“Hi.” She held out her hand to him. “Macey Schreiner. I write the
On the Scene
blog. We’re—”

“Sydney Alexander.” Syd held out her own hand, forcing the woman to take it. “We haven’t ever met formally although I’ve seen you at a lot of these events before. I’m the Full Moon agent for Lightnin’.”

The handshake was polite, but it was obvious Macey Shreiner’s attention was focused elsewhere. A fist knotted in Sydney’s stomach but she mentally threw back her shoulders. No way would she let this woman get her claws into Rick.

“So.” Macey smiled at him. “I’d love to have a long conversation with you about the band and what it means to you. When are you free, so we can meet?”

He looked at Sydney, obviously expecting her to take the lead here, but something perverse made her wait to see how he responded. Macey was the epitome of the predatory female, regardless of how valuable a mention on her blog was. It was somehow very important to Sydney that Rick be the one to turn down a private meeting.

Macey just waved her hand. “Oh, I’m harmless. I just thought it would be nice to chat in someplace more informal.” She plucked a piece of pasteboard out of the slim messenger bag slung between her breasts. “Here’s my card. Call my cell anytime.” She pulled out her phone. “And why don’t you give me your number, so we can be sure to connect?”

Now Sydney stepped in. “All interviews go through our office, Macey. You’ve been doing this long enough to know that. I’ll be happy to set something up for you. We’ll work around the band’s rehearsal schedule.”

“Of course, of course.” She winked at Rick. “We’ll get together one way or another, right?”

“Sure thing. I’ll have Syd set it up.” His mouth curved in a crooked grin. “Did you get a T-shirt? Syd, you’ve got a shirt for Macey, right?”

A
shirt
for her? Yeah, she’d give her a shirt. She’d shove it up her ass. And what was going on? Was he
flirting
with her?

“You’ll be getting one from a messenger,” Sydney said, her voice so saccharine she even made herself sick. “Along with a full package of Lightnin’ items, which we hope you’ll use in public.”

“I love doing things in public.” Macey was looking at Rick again. “In private, too. Maybe when we meet you can autograph my shirt for me, Rick. I’ll be sure to wear it.”

“We’ll see what we can work out,” Sydney said smoothly.

“Great.” Macey practically purred. “I’ll look forward to it. You know, not to toot my own horn too much, but my blog can help push you to the top in a very short time span.”

If the woman got any closer to Rick, her body would be imprinted on his.

“We’ll call you,” Sydney answered for him. “We really appreciate the fact you want to feature Rick and the band. I’ll be sure to get in touch with you in the next couple of days to set it up.” And then because she couldn’t resist, she added, “We’ll both meet with you. Part of my responsibility is to go along on all interviews.”

If looks could kill, Sydney thought, as Macey shot daggers at her. But she was a professional and a graceful loser. For the moment. Still, the message in her eyes was clear: this was far from over.

“Whatever you say.” She patted Rick’s cheek. “See you soon. If I don’t hear from Sydney, I’ll just have to hunt you down myself, right?”

She clacked across the floor on her high heels, ass wiggling in a blatant attempt at a tempting movement.

A huge bolt of jealousy stabbed through Sydney, so intense it nearly brought her to her knees. She wanted to scratch the woman’s eyes out. Insinuate herself between the two of them and tell Macey
Hands off.

Wait, wait, wait! Wasn’t she the one who said they had to really cool it in public? And how could she be so jealous when they’d only had the one intense night together plus a lot of phone calls? They were still exploring their situation.

He can explore me anytime
.

And that thought would easily get her in trouble.

It was a lot harder than she thought to maintain control, especially when sharks like Macey came cruising. The devil inside her wanted to haul him off to a dark corner, while the angel reminded her she had a lot of people looking over her shoulder on this gig—Butch, Linc, the media, the rest of the band.

Remember the gossipmongers, Sydney
.

And that was a big dash of cold water. She didn’t want to be one of those women who fucked their way through the industry. She wanted respect for her work. Well, she was getting it. But it wouldn’t replace the erotic dreams that invaded her sleep every night.

She turned back to him, trying to figure out what to say next, and caught him studying her face for a long moment, something indefinable in his eyes. Heat stoked with a liberal mixture of emotions.

“Everything else aside, thanks for today, Sydney.” His words were impersonal and polite in tone but the softness of his voice gave him away. “This was terrific. I was in awe of the way you handled everything. I know we clashed in the beginning and we’ve had our differences about—other things. But you were great today. And I saw Butch smile a lot, so he knows it, too.”

“I appreciate that, Rick.” She could be just as professional as he was. “The success of the band is my top priority.”

“Mine, too.” He paused. “So what’s with Macey Shreiner? You’ll take care of whatever she wants without getting me in trouble, right?”

She swallowed a grin, thinking,
That bitch
. “Oh, yes, I’ll take care of Macey. You bet. I’ll check with Linc and see when he thinks a one-on-one interview would do the most good. I need to make sure she understands the rules without ticking her off. She’s a force to be reckoned with. If she takes to the band, she can give you a huge boost.”

“I’ll talk to you later?”

“Absolutely.” Then she realized Danny had walked up to them and struggled to keep her tone professional and objective. “Feel free to call me anytime with any questions at all.”

“I will. Thanks.”

Danny gave her a strange look before he said, “Yeah, thanks from me, too. Syd. This was great.”

But as she walked away, she heard him say to Rick, “Something going on between the two of you?”

She slowed down so she could hear the answer.

“Of course there is, you idiot. I’m the leader of this band and she’s our publicity person. If nothing was going on between us, today would never have happened.”

Grinning, she headed toward the back of the room. Well, she thought, he told the truth. No one could say he hadn’t.

Rick headed to the private room where he’d told the band to wait for him. He wanted a few words with everyone before they split for the rest of the day. They still had a rehearsal schedule to firm up. Butch had indicated he needed to speak with them, too, about the logistics of the tour. But what Rick really wanted to do was bite nails. Or something else. Anything else. Maybe Sydney’s nipples.

Whoa!
  He needed to get those thoughts out of his head when they were in public like this. Today, he could see her point of view with a lot more clarity. The two of them were working together. He was her client. And under scrutiny from every single person, from here on out. But they were adults, entitled to their own private lives as long as they kept them just that—private.

He wasn’t sure he even understood his feelings for her himself, at least the passion of them. It reminded him of Emma and Marc, whose connection to each other was so vivid they lit up a room. He’d thought he had his priorities so organized—the band, the album, and the tour. But when something like this hit him in the face, he couldn’t turn away from it. Could he?

The thing with Macey Whateverhernamewas had been interesting. He could see what Sydney meant about the vultures out there. He must have been very naive not to realize that some of the media people were nothing but groupies with power. He swallowed a grin when he thought of Sydney’s assurance to Macey she’d be along on all interviews.