Microsoft Word - Seven Nights of Sin (2 page)

BOOK: Microsoft Word - Seven Nights of Sin
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Kelly stepped back to the table, peering down at the book still lying open. Then she let out a huge harrumph . “Oh my God! Trust me, honey, you do need penises. We all need penises. Penises are one of God’s gifts to women. Sure, He gave us labor pains. And periods. And kept us oppressed for centuries. But He did give us the penis, and that makes up for a lot.”

Brenna simply sighed. Then buttoned up her blouse, hiding the cleavage Kelly had just revealed. This was pointless—the cleavage and the conversation. “Did you come in here just to harass me or did you have a purpose?”

“Oops, sorry—I almost forgot. Your moratorium on men totally sidetracked me. Jenkins  wants to see you in his office.” Their boss and the CEO of Blue Night. “Word in the halls is  that he’s got some big announcement to make, but no one knows what it is. So go check it  out and end the suspense for all of us.”

An announcement, huh? It was the first Brenna had heard of it, and being Jenkins’ right-hand gal, she usually knew what was going on around here. So, after wiping away donut crumbs with a napkin, stowing her book in her desk drawer, and checking to make sure she’d rebut-toned her blouse correctly, she grabbed up a notepad and pen and headed toward Jenkins’ office, knocking gently on the open door as she peeked inside.

“Brenna, come in,” he said with what she thought a rather devious smile. “And close the

door.”

Carl Jenkins was exactly the kind of man people commonly referred to by his last name.  Smart and calculating, no nonsense, all business—more the kind of guy you’d expect to

work at one of the majors than a small indie label. That said, Blue Night had grown fast the

last few years, in no small thanks to him.

Sporting slicked-back hair and rather beady eyes, he was also the kind of guy you never

felt completely comfortable with, and Brenna still didn’t, even after three years as his

administrative assistant.

After pushing the door shut, she eased into the chair across from him, wondering exactly what the big news was. “Kelly said you wanted to see me. There’s some sort of big announcement afoot?”

Her boss’s gaze widened as he chuckled lightly. Clearly, he was surprised but not startled to hear his employees suspected something was up. “An announcement? Sort of, dependent upon this conversation. But first, a secret. And I know I can trust you to keep a secret—right, Brenna? Especially when it’s in your best interest professionally.”

“Of course,” she said, hoping he didn’t see her nervous swallow. Brenna hated secrets.  Professional, personal—either way, she just didn’t like them. She’d gotten divorced over a  secret, after all—a secret affair. But it sounded as if she was about to have one dropped  on her anyway.

“I’ve watched you grow in this business the last few years, Brenna. You’re a quick learner,  smart, responsible, and people like you. Plus, you’re nice. In a city like L.A., you don’t  always find a lot of nice, and that makes you a commodity.”

She was a commodity? When had that happened? But no matter—maybe this meant she was getting a raise. Maybe a secret raise no one else was getting? A secret like that she could probably keep. “Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. I’ve really loved learning about the music business since coming to work here.”

“You may not realize this, Brenna, but you probably know the ins and outs of this company  better than most people in this office. I hear you on the phone with everyone from our  artists to our distributors, and you know what you’re doing. To a degree that I think it’s a  sin to keep you in your current position.”

At this, Brenna blinked. This wasn’t just a raise?

“I want to groom you to be Blue Night’s next A&R rep,” Jenkins said—and she struggled

not to let her jaw drop.

He wanted to give her —little Brenna Cayton from Centerville, Ohio—the most coveted position at the label? Most of the people who worked there, from the mailroom guy on up, had taken jobs at Blue Night with the aspiration of someday advancing to the glamorous post of artist and repertoire representative, scouting for and signing new talent. She, on the other hand, had not. She’d simply needed a job, gone on an interview. She found it fulfilling enough just to work at a cool record label. But to be that cool label’s A&R person—wow, talk about a head rush.

Then it hit her. “Is Damon leaving? Going to one of the majors?”

Damon Andros was Blue Night Records to the industry—and the paparazzi. His heart-stopping sex appeal combined with his rock star persona to make him deliciously photo-worthy, especially when out partying with rock bands or on the arm of the latest female pop sensation. He was also Blue Night’s sole A&R rep—so successful and well-known in

the biz that there was no need for anyone else. Brenna attributed the label’s

accomplishments just as much to Damon Andros as she did to Jenkins.

Whose smile stayed in place but stiffened. “That’s where the secret comes in.”

“Oh?” Brenna held her breath, waiting.

“It’s like this,” her boss said, tilting his head. “Despite Damon’s obvious success, over time  he’s started to…become a liability. If you don’t believe me, just ask Kelly—she takes the  calls from the reporters, fields the rumors. But I’m sure you don’t have to ask her— because everyone knows.”

Brenna nodded shortly, sighing. There were rumors. That Damon Andros ran a modern-day casting couch—signing women only after they’d slept with him. That he partied illicitly hard with the musicians he hung out with. He was the L.A. music scene’s official bad boy.  “I just didn’t realize Damon’s behavior had any significant impact on Blue Night’s business.” After all, it was a rock-n-roll lifestyle and this was La La Land.

“Fortunately, it’s been a slow-coming thing. But now I’ve got Claire Starr threatening to sue  us, claiming he wouldn’t give her a contract until she had sex with him.” Starr was a recent  Blue Night one-hit wonder whose bad attitude had gotten her ousted from a label that  usually nurtured performers and stuck with them through ups and downs. “Could be sour  grapes since we dropped her, but on the other hand, it’s the kind of publicity that could kill  us, and whether or not it’s true, his general behavior makes it plausible.” A hopeful smile  slid back onto Jenkins’ face. “So, would you like to hear my proposition?”

Sadly, despite how exciting it was, this whole thing was suddenly making Brenna break out into a sweat. Still, she said, “Sure.”

“I want to announce that we’re adding you as an A&R rep due to our growth over the last  couple of years, and I want Damon to begin training you—starting on his scouting trip to  Vegas next week. You’ll shadow his every move. He’ll show you the ropes, introduce you  around, teach you how to spot a star as opposed to a flash in the pan.

“As for Damon’s fate, I’m holding steady until we see what happens with Claire. But the  minute she sues, he’s gone. That might be next week, next month, or never—we’ll have to  let it play out. Either way, I want you ready to take over. And…if it works out that Damon  can clean up his act and put a more professional face on Blue Night, I won’t leave you out  in the cold. If I end up keeping Damon on the payroll, it’s safe to say we’ll continue making  good money, and I’ll need youboth out there finding new talent.

“In the meantime, everything I’ve told you about Damon stays between you and me. To the

rest of the world, you’re training for anew position, not Damon’s existing one. Got it?”

She drew her lips together, again trying to hide the nervous swallow. “And that includes

Damon? He has no idea he’s going to be grooming me to take his job when you fire him?”

Jenkins answered with a succinct but conclusive nod.

Okay, regroup. Your boss has just offered you the opportunity of a lifetime. And to get it, all you have to do is lie your ass off to the sexiest guy you’ve ever encountered. For a week.  Maybe longer. Oh, and you have to lie to everyone else about it, too.

Her stomach churned.

“Can I count on you, Brenna? Are you on board?”

For a dream job? “Definitely.” What else could she say?

Two

She knew she’d just promised to keep a big, ugly secret from everyone, but the moment  Brenna rose from her chair, she planned on making a beeline to Kelly. She could trust  Kelly. And she had to tell somebody or she’d never survive this.

Yet as she exited Jenkins’ office, eyes cast toward the floor, her gaze fell on a pair of masculine black boots, small silver buckles on the sides. She stopped, looked up slowly, and found none other than Damon Andros standing before her. Her blood ran cold even as her body tingled with unadulterated lust. Except for the blood running cold part, because of the impending lie, it was her usual reaction to him.

Of course, she’d learned to push that down. Because it only made sense. Every woman in the office—or on the planet, for that matter—went gaga when Damon Andros walked into a room, all sexy ripped jeans and vintage T-shirts, his wavy black hair brushing his shoulders, and his dark eyes looking like a place where you could easily drown. There was no point in wallowing in it, so she’d simply learned to look away, not let herself get lost in that intense brown gaze, not let herself imagine how it would feel to be pressed against that bulge behind his zipper.

And even after three years, she barely knew him. He worked from home—or from local clubs, or various scouting locations—only stopping in once every week or so to meet with  Jenkins behind a closed door. He didn’t come to office happy hours or luncheons or  Christmas parties—he just sauntered in, all rock star hot and confident, scarcely glancing at her as he went by. Of course, she usually got a short, not-unfriendly “Hey.” Which is what he gave her now—as her eyes met his and her panties dampened.

“Hey,” she said in return, trying to hide her reaction.

“He’s in?” He motioned behind her to Jenkins’ office.

“Yeah.” It was the most complex answer she could muster.

He gave a short nod in response and headed inside, shutting the door.

And she stopped, turning to stare at the slab of wood that had just separated them, her heart still beating too fast.

Soon, very little would separate them. She was going to spend a week in close quarters with the man—Damon Andros, Greek god—soaking up his knowledge, practically

breathing his very breath.

And probably lusting. A lot.

Because it would be way harder to push it down when she was with him all the time, looking at that gorgeous face, wanting to run her fingers through that soft mane of hair.

But she’d just have to be professional about it. And sometimes, when you knew a guy was that completely out of your range, it was just easier—healthier—not to think of him sexually at all and concentrate on the business at hand. In this case, stealing his job without his knowledge.

She cringed, remembering the deal she’d just made with the devil—and found it surprisingly effortless to think of her boss that way. Then she made the intended beeline to

Kelly’s office down the hall, where she was now the one closing the door.

“Did you get the scoop?” Kelly glanced up from her computer screen, still looking modelperfect in her fitted red suit, her blond hair swept up on top of her head.

Brenna blinked nervously in reply. “Oh yeah, I got it.”

“Then spill.”

“It’s a secret.”

“But you’re going to tell me anyway, right?”

Brenna leaned closer. “Just swear you won’t tell anyone, Kel. Jenkins would probably fire me if this gets out—from both my jobs.” She rolled her eyes at the craziness of it all.

Kelly raised her eyebrows. “Both?”

Brenna let out a breath, then sat down on the corner of Kelly’s tidy desk and told her everything, concluding with her impending trip to Vegas, on which she would be leaving in only four ridiculously short days.

To her vast surprise, when she finished Kelly was smiling. “Problem solved,” her friend said. “Instant lover. Just add lust and stir.”

Brenna’s jaw dropped.“What?”

“You heard me. Damon is the perfect lover for you. No fuss, no muss, no long or messy

attachment. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. It’s the perfect fuck.”

Brenna blinked again, barely knowing which aspect of this to tackle first. “Okay, to start with, Damon Andros has barely ever even looked me in the eye—so I’m pretty sure he’s not dying to get me into bed. And to end with—are you even listening to me? Jenkins intends for me to baldly lie to Damon for an entire week during which I will be with him during every waking second! That’s seven full days and nights of lying.”

Kelly appeared unfazed. “Let’s focus on the nights. And on the fucking, not the lying.  Because trust me, with a few tweaks, he will be dying to get you into bed. You’re a very lucky girl, Brenna,” her friend said with a confident smile, as if this were a done deal. “You get to have down and dirty sex with Damon Andros, something most women only dream about. I mean, doesn’t the man just make your pussy quiver?”

Brenna simply slapped her hand to her forehead. “You’re crazy. No, wait—you’re driving me crazy. I need your help with a moral dilemma and all you can talk about is sex.”

But it was as if Kelly was in her own little world now. “I’m taking you shopping this weekend. Block out all of Saturday and plan to get an early start at the Third Street  Promenade. Wear your most supportive bra. Or, actually, never mind. We’ll get new bras—you’re going to need some very hot lingerie. And I’ll wrangle you an appointment with my hairdresser. He’s always booked solid, but for me, he’ll squeeze.”

BOOK: Microsoft Word - Seven Nights of Sin
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