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“Yeah, and you’re my brother.”
“And Eli.” Owen gestured to a very quiet Eli across the table.
“Yeah, I gotta go,” I said, loading my full plate into the box that the waitress had set at the end of the table. “I don’t want to be late—might meet Mr. Right or something. Who knows?” I threw up my hands awkwardly, grabbing the box and sliding out of the booth.
“Uh, yeah, have fun,” Owen muttered in response, still giving me a weird look.
“Be careful of weirdos,” Eli finally said something, his blue eyes boring into mine. “There’s a lot of them in the city.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure that there’s anyone in this city that’s weirder than my sister.” Owen burst into laughter. “Go have some fun, sis.”
I looked Eli right in the face. “Oh, I will, I will.”
6
ELI
I drummed my fingers on the conference room table, waiting for Harlee Mendez to arrive for our morning meeting. I’d kept Olivia at arm’s length, but I didn’t know if it had done any good. I still got stuck staring at her, wondering what her pussy would’ve felt like had I just gone further with her...
I mean, she wanted to.
“Sir.” Brittany stuck her head in the door. “Harlee is here with her manager, Chris. Do you want me to send them back now? Also, she mentioned wanting some coffee—would you like for me to pick some up?”
“Um…” I paused. “Actually, why don’t you send Olivia to pick up the coffee. Get Harlee and her manager’s order and then send her. I don’t have anything else for her to do today, to be honest.”
“With all due respect,” she chuckled, “you never have anything for the woman to do. I don’t know why you don’t just tell her to find another job.”
You don’t know how much I wish I could.
I took a deep breath instead. “Just do what I asked, Brittany.”
She nodded, slipping out of the room without saying anything else. I went back to drumming my fingers on the heavy, solid-oak table, pondering Brittany’s suggestion. Olivia was a distraction, no matter how much I wanted to try and say that she wasn’t. So, maybe the answer was to find her another place of employment. However, Owen would be crushed—or pissed—if I did that. It wasn’t even like Olivia had done anything wrong; she always did exactly as I asked of her. It was just...
She...existed.
Ugh.
And that whole singles’ shit that she’d pulled on Saturday brunch with Owen and I had left me worried—and fucking jealous. The feeling was a new one for me, considering I never gave two shits about what women I slept with did. Except, I hadn’t even really slept with Olivia.
But she tasted so good.
“Mr. Whiss?” a voice called out, grabbing my attention. I jerked my head to the door, which I hadn’t even heard open. “I’m Chris Vera, Harlee’s manager.” The tall, sophisticated gray-headed man held out his hand for me to take.
I jumped to my feet, giving it a firm shake. “It’s so good to meet you in person. I know that we’ve talked on the phone and via Zoom, but in person is always better.”
“Absolutely,” he chuckled, just as a dark-headed young woman walked in behind him. I instantly recognized the pop superstar, but she was dressed down from the extravagant looks that usually flooded the screens. She also looked much younger—which made sense, since she was barely twenty-one.
“Hello,” Harlee greeted me, her perfectly manicured hand taking mine for a weak shake. “I’m excited to work with your team.”
“We’re very excited to work with you,” I said quickly, feeling a little nervous in the moment. It wasn’t really like me to be so anxious, but landing this video—and seeing it through—could make or break the company.
Harlee flipped some of her dark waves over her shoulder before pulling out one of the conference room chairs. She plopped her petite frame down, crossing her denim-clad legs. For such a profound meeting, the superstar was dressed very casual, in just a designer sweatshirt, ripped jeans, and Vans.
Guess she can dress however she wants at this level of fame.
“So.” Chris cleared his throat. “Harlee has a few ideas for the video. We’re hoping that it’ll drop twenty-four hours after the single releases. I have all of the NDA paperwork that everyone on your team will have to sign. We take this very seriously, and I’m sure that you understand that. One leak and it ruins the momentum of the drop.”
“Absolutely,” I answered. “We’re very familiar with operating under NDAs. I’m incredibly picky about who I hire for my team. All of them are thoroughly vetted to ensure that they’re trustworthy.”
