Page 22 of The Bitter Words

He kisses my shoulder. “I thought you were asleep.”

“No. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Sorry that took longer than I wanted.”

“I’m not upset.” I peek back at him. “Do you want to tell me how it went?”

He buries his face in the crook of my neck and breathes for a moment. My stomach does a flip.

I roll to see him. It’s dark in here, but there’s enough light coming in from the window that I’m able to make out his features.

He trails his thumb over my jaw. “It’s a lot to take in, Lily. Part of the meeting was great. Other parts were confusing. I felt like I was trying to read between the lines of some script he had prepared.”

“He’s been in the industry for years, Callum. He knows what he’s doing. You’re moving on to the next level and probably just don’t understand how he works.”

“There’s no doubt about that.”

“Are you sure this reaction isn’t just you being a little scared?”

He forces out a fake laugh. “I’m terrified. That’s the problem.”

“Why?”

“I’m going in blind.”

“No, you’re not. You know the business. You just don’t know what it’s like to work with someone of his caliber. It was like this with my acting career. Every bigger opportunity I got, I felt like I was starting over.”

Callum twists, switches on the light, and turns back to me. His eyes, lined with worry, along with his deep-set frown, focus on my face.

“Lily, it’s more than that. Leon was talking about my pops and shit like that. It was fucking weird. There seems to be an underlying agenda. I can feel it in my bones.”

I push myself up and sit cross-legged before him. “What was he saying?”

“Things like how much I look like my pops and how long he’s waited toreconnect.” Callum shakes his head. “I’ve never met Leon. Not even in passing. What the fuck does he mean by saying shit like that? I’m telling you, it was strange.”

“It sounds like it, but…” I glance around the room, looking for answers I know we won’t get. “Tell me about the good stuff. Maybe we can figure out the meaning behind his words by seeing what he’s willing to give you.”

“Leon believes in my vision with Mayhem. He says he can make all my dreams come true.” Callum takes my hand in his and runs his thumb over my knuckles. “He wants to sign us to his label. It would be a multi-album option deal with all the top-level perks.”

“Callum, that’s wonderful.”

“Ur Boyz has to be dropped first. And if that happens, Leon won’t sign us until I turn eighteen.”

“Why?”

“That’s the other thing that confuses me. I’m telling you, Lily. He’s up to something.”

I shudder. “I think you need to talk to John before you do anything more with Leon.”

“Agreed, but if I turn down this chance, I have a feelinghe’ll take me down.” Callum rakes his teeth over his lip. “He didn’t come right and say it, but he alluded to it by telling me I could always try to live off your money.”

“Oh, whoa. That’s kind of cruel.”

“Tell me about it.” He pauses for a moment. “If I don’t do this, I’ll lose everything.”

Callum slides his fingertips along my thighs. We stare into each other’s eyes while trying to make a life-altering decision.

Something he said jumps into my head. “You said the deal came with all the perks. What does that mean?”