Page 221 of Off Limits Mogul

“Just sayin’.” Tomas flashes his music partner a devilish grin. “We’re playing tomorrow night to a sold-out crowd and wehave some of the best musicians on stage with us. You don’t want to come across like an amateur newbie.”

I lean into Levi, who’s sitting next to me.

“See what I have to endure when I work with these two?”

“I feel your pain,” Levi says. “Anders and Tomas have perfected the good cop, bad cop routine with a twist. In their case, it’s more like the uptight cellist, pompous cellist routine.”

I crack up.

“It’s not difficult to figure out who’s who,” I say.

Levi grins from ear to ear. “Tomas Lazovic is the cockyandpompous cellist.”

I chuckle.

Levi Aldridge and I are sitting in the audience while some illustrious musicians warm up for Cello2Cello’s concert for two thousand adoring fans taking place tomorrow night. It’s happening right here at the Los Angeles Music Center.

Contrary to the musicians on stage, Levi is more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy. The tall man with brown hair and mesmerizing aqua-blue eyes is part of Rhys’s entourage. He and his brother Linc are the genius magicians responsible for the set design for tomorrow’s concert.

Along with their talented drummer extraordinaire, Anders and Tomas, aka Cello2Cello, invited rock gods to perform with them: Beckett and his band––Random Misconception––which includes Holt, their cousin Jace Halsey, and drummer Hall of Famer Rod Wolfe. Badass female guitarist Stasia van Gameren will also join the cellists and the rockers on stage in an unprecedented musical collaboration. Judging from the rehearsal, tomorrow night will be wild.

Like Levi, Rhys is hanging out amongst friends. I’m here because Tomas and Anders asked me to sing the closing song tomorrow night. I’m honored beyond words. We’ve been practicing a lot and I’m totally ready, but it never hurts tofine tune our performance. Not to mention, the concert marks the release of my new single, so we want to nail it.

“Keep talking shit, Tomas, and I’ll shove my bow right up your ass.” Anders’s repartee elicits a round of laughter.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Anders,” Tomas says. “So testy.”

Anders ignores Tomas and rolls his eyes.

“Isn’t it ironic that amongst us, you two are still single, yet, you sound like an old married couple,” Rhys says. He’s on stage with them. “You guys should learn from Beckett and me. We have a great working relationship. You’ll never catch us bickering like five-year-olds.”

“Fuck off!” Anders and Tomas shout in unison.

We all laugh.

Anders locks eyes onto Tomas. “Let’s take it from the top so I can make you eat your words.”

“Challenge accepted,” Tomas says.

They take Nirvana’s‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’from the top and crush it.

Anders and Tomas are classically trained cellists. It was a struggle for them to get noticed. The cello doesn’t scream cool… that’s until they came onto the scene. They single-handedly brought back to life an instrument that was almost a relic. Once they meshed the deep tenor of their classical instrument with edgy rock music, there was no stopping them. Their electric cellos add to the whole dazzle effect. Today, they’re on top of the world.

When the musicians on stage reach the last note, I jump to my feet and clap like a crazy woman. “That was amazing.”

Anders and Tomas stand up and take a bow.

“Let’s take a break and then we’ll rehearse‘Thunderstruck’,” Anders says, dropping his cello on his seat.

Everyone agrees.

“Hey, Rhys, why don’t you earn your dinner and sing ussomething,” Tomas says. “Oh yeah, you can’t sing. You canonlyrap.”

“Fuck off, Tomas,” Rhys says.

“For once, I agree with Tomas,” Anders says. “But since I have more manners and tact, I would’ve phrased it differently. Rhys, it’s been a while. It would be great to hear you work the mic.”

“Really?”