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The talent agency I worked for, The Reynolds Group, promoted and managed talent, mostly country music talent, had already signed Hot Sugar. So far, Marcia Reynolds, the founder, hadn’t been unable to sign the Austin Sentry Band into her burgeoning stable of performers. I intended to change that, which probably meant I shouldn’t mix business and pleasure. That never seemed to work out… at least not for me.
Adding Austin Sentry to their roster would certainly put The Reynolds Group on the map, and it was up to me togit-er done!
In the last couple of years, they’d stopped touring, despite having several of their tunes hit number one on the country music charts. Fortunately, they’d recently parted company from the talent agency they’d been with since they’d started. The time couldn’t be better to scoop them up.
Of course, we weren’t the only agency after them, but I wasn’t about to let that deter me from my goal… especially now.
There was a lot of speculation on what was going on with them, but so far, no one could pin down the actual reason for all the changes. They’d stopped giving interviews, so they’d become somewhat of a mystery, which only added to their charm and mystique.
“Not tonight,” Austin told her. “The latest nanny walked off yesterday, and we have to start interviewing tomorrow. Gotta be clear-headed for the task.”
“Another one bites the dust, huh?” Tammy asked. “What’s going on over there with those kids? That’s the third one to leave in as many months. Don’t make me come over there and straighten everybody out because you know what’ll happen.”
I’d known that Austin had a kid, but when Dolly said kids, as in more than one, mywhat the fuck just happenedantenna shot up? Did he have more than one kid? Or maybe one of the other members of his band had a child? If that were true, and I was any kind of a journalist, that would be a real story for their fans, mainly because they were so secretive with their personal lives.
“I know. I know. You’ve told me a thousand times… it’s not the dog’s fault when it misbehaves. It’s the trainer’s fault, and in this case it’s mine, and the other adults in the house. Yeah, we’re a sorry lot.”
“Those kids have y’all wrapped around their baby fingers.”
“That’s for dang sure, and they’re about as mischievous as kittens in a yarn factory.”
My attention drifted between the conversation Austin was having with Tammy and my dirty thoughts about sex with him.
So dirty.
I couldn’t help myself. He was sodangsexy, it hurt to look at him.
To say I was a fan girl like all the other women here tonight who swooned over their music didn’t quite categorize me. I seriously needed to salvage my life and my plummeting ego.
Having grown up in Nashville, I’d always loved country music, so it only made sense that I worked in the business. I didn’t have many musical abilities of my own, but I could recognize talent a mile away, and the Austin Sentry Band had been on my radar for several years. When Marcia heard they parted ways with their old agency, she’d tried everything to get them to sign on the dotted line, but they continually refused.
I intended to change that.
Austin took a few deep pulls off the longneck Tammy had put down in front of him, then he rubbed his scruffy chin. I couldn’t help turning my attention back in his direction. “Kids are getting older, I guess. We need someone who can get a handle on them quickly, or it’s a lost cause.”
“Kinda like their dads?” she teased.
“Exactly like their dads,” he agreed, then chuckled as he guzzled more of his beer.
“Problem is, we may have to cancel the rest of our shows here for this month. The service we use can’t send anyone for a permanent position for another two weeks. They said they think they have the perfect nanny for us, but she isn’t available yet.”
“That’s not good. Getting someone to take over them kids for a couple of weeks might be next to impossible,” Tammy warned.
“Unless you want to help out? You know how much the kids love you.”
“Oh, no. My babysitting days are over. But I can see how this is gonna be a mess for my Jimmy. Your band brings in a lot of folks.”
He gazed over at me for a moment, and my world brightened.
Finally!
“How ya’ doing tonight? Enjoying the music?” His voice rolled over me like a butter balm, soothing any remaining kinks of tension. “Nice tatts.”
My left arm had several colorful tattoos that wrapped up to my shoulder: birds, a butterfly, a couple of flowers, and a multicolored dragon. I’d taken off my jacket, so my tatts were visible. I even had a little lacy patch on the top of my left hand.
“Thanks. I can do it,” I blurted out, knowing this was the perfect opportunity for an inside track to his band. Besides, I knew a little something about handling kids. Nothing official, but I used to babysit for my much younger siblings all the time.
I’ve got this.
