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I let out a groan and lean against the wall. "What did I ever do to make her hate me so much? I don't get it."
Kate laughs. "You have more talent for this business in your pinky finger than she has in her entire body. She knows it; hell, everyone knows it. Jealousy is an ugly thing, sweet Jules."
I can't help but smile at Kate's endearment. "Thanks. That means a lot."
When the conference room door opens and the band members file out into the lobby, Ryan's emerald eyes find mine. The fluorescent bulbs make them almost appear to shimmer as he walks. He's wearing dark denim jeans and a plain black v-neck T-shirt. Without all the oil and leather, he seems much more real. Don't get me wrong, he's still a god among men- but in this setting, he doesn't seem so much like a figment of my imagination.
"Let's plan a call for Friday, Olivia. We can have all the fine print ironed out by then," Max says, outstretching his hand. She takes it and shakes it firmly.
"Good deal. I look forward to seeing you pull this all together," she states after releasing his hand.
Ryan is the last to exit the room. He tilts his head as if to ask me for a word. When I approach him, the air seems to vibrate. It's like when you’re in science class in high school, and the teacher shows how different elements can affect each other when they are brought together.
"Ryan," I say once the space between us has been reduced to about a foot.
"Juliet. I had a feeling we'd be seeing each other again someday, funny how life works." The tone of his voice raises alarm bells. The knowing look he gives me, paired with the scheming smirk on his lips, tells me that finding Acton PR was no coincidence.
How did he manage to find me? He had little to nothing to go off of.
"How?" I ask, barely a whisper.
"Well, when you have an unlimited supply of grunts that are happy to locate anything you request and all the money in the world to pay them, it isn't so hard," he replies, matching my hushed voice.
I purse my lips. "Stalker."
He grins. "I prefer... determined. Let's say you made an impression that wasn’t easy to forget."
Something happens that I am not accustomed to, and I’m at a loss for words. The silence only intensifies whatever cosmic reaction is happening in the air around us. Ryan leans into me and I can smell the minty residue from his mouthwash on his breath.
"I have to get going," he says after a beat, taking a step away from me and breaking the spell. "I look forward to working with you very closely."
The way he draws out the last word sends a shiver down my spine.
The elevator closes, and I feel like I can finally breathe again. This man is going to be a challenge. I can already tell. I may be many things, but a woman who turns to putty over some sexy rock star is not going to be one of them.
Chapter Nine
Ryan
“I have to give it to you, Ryan; you might be onto something,” Olivia says with a smile as she slides into the back of a blacked-out SUV.
I give her a knowing grin and wrap my fingers around the door frame. “I told you we needed a change.”
It hadn’t been easy to convince the team to waste an afternoon hearing a pitch from an unknown PR company that had zero experience dealing with a rock band, especially when my only motive for forcing the meeting was to see her again.
“I won’t say it’s a home run just yet, but I do see the potential. It was a good call.”
Coming from Olivia, that’s as good a compliment as I can expect.
I wouldn’t know the difference between this company or any other PR firm in the city, not that I gave a fuck. I was only concerned with my own selfish desires, and those desires made making this pitch happen a necessity.
“I’ll connect later this week. Stay out of trouble until then.”
I give my manager a wink before shutting the door.
The Juliet I saw today couldn’t have been more different than the one from the concert, aesthetically speaking, anyways. She was dressed to fit into my world that night, but now she looked more… polished.
Those big curls were trained into a tight bun that hit right at the base of her neck, and the dark makeup was nowhere to be seen. This version of her was perfectly professional in every way.
