“Bound.”
My eyebrows kissed my hairline. I swore I could feel the strands touching. “Really?”
“Try not to look so surprised,” she tossed back.
“Sorry, it’s just…I had no idea.” I would never have guessed, considering the words they exchanged at the meeting. “They don’t seem very grateful.”
Oni snorted before rolling her eyes. “They’re not. They hate me, themselves, and each other. In my case, the feeling is mutual.”
“But why? Without you—”
“Savant would have never found them,” she finished for me. “They were a lot like you. They weren’t looking for fame. Fame found them. Although they weren’t as hard to convince.”
Oni gave me a pointed look, a reminder of the months she spent wooing me with the promise of a record deal until one day, I simply gave in. I was fine letting her believe that since I preferred my cards close to my chest.
Clearing her throat, Oni looked away, and I had a feeling we’d finally arrived at the real reason we were meeting in secret. “There’s something I’d like you to do for me.”
I should have been ready to do anything for her. I should have been grateful, but the graveness in her tone kept me wary. “Okay…” I drew out instead.
Reaching over the round table, she grabbed my hand and squeezed. My spine was ramrod straight from the unexpected touch and the warmth that, until now, Oni hadn’t shown toward me…or anyone. Oni Sridhar was all business, all the time. “Find a way to keep them together.”
“Keep who together?” Her nostrils flared with impatience, and I realized I was starting to sound like a parrot who’d been crossbred with an owl.
“Bound.” Seeing the question in my eyes, she went on. “When I met them, they were finishing each other’s sentences, and now they can barely stand to be in the same room together.”
“They seemed fine to me,” I mumbled. I couldn’t forget how they had circled and preyed on me the moment I stepped into that room.
“Because you saw what they wanted you to see. The only time they’re united is when they’ve set their sights on the same game.”
“Meaning me.” She gave an apologetic nod in confirmation. Splendid. “So what am I supposed to do? Put an apple on my head so they hate each other a little less?”
“Nothing quite so dramatic,” she replied with a tip of her red-painted lips.
“Then what?”
“In short? Find what’s broken and fix it. If you can’t, at the very least, keep them from killing each other. I don’t care how as long as it gets you all home in one piece.”
“I’m confused,” I said as my gaze narrowed. “Am I playing for Bound or babysitting Bound?”
“You’re securing your future,” she vehemently shot back. “I know those assholes seemed like a unified front in there, but they’re one bad argument from breaking up, and they’ve all been best friends since their first boner.”
“How is that my problem?”
Sitting back in her seat, she studied me, searching for a weakness. Obviously, she found it because she finally answered, “No Bound, no deal.”
My eyes were mere slits now as I regarded the cutthroat businesswoman lurking underneath that angelic face. “I’m starting to see why they don’t like you.”
I was also getting that it was hard to rattle Oni Sridhar when she shrugged. “It’s this business. It brings out the worst in everyone.” She tipped a head full of dark curls toward me. “Including you.”
My stomach turned as cold dread replaced the warm blood in my veins. God, I hoped not. I’d seen me at my worst, and it wasn’t just ugly. It was catastrophic. The casualties were endless.
I found myself staring a little too closely at Oni’s lips as she bounced her head in time to the music, completely unaware of my focus or interest.
“Anything else?” I demanded curtly. I needed a distraction before I hit on the A&R rep. There was no reason for me to sleep my way to the top. I was already there, and I still didn’t understand how.
“In a few days, you should hear from a man named Xavier Gray.” I didn’t miss the way her lips flattened at the name. Another fan of hers, I supposed. “He’s Bound’s manager, and he won’t like this any more than they do. Luckily, he’s a professional, and he’s good at his job, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble from him.”
I felt my heart quicken. “Why wasn’t he there this afternoon? Couldn’t he have done something?”
“No,” she said as she stood from the stool. I guess our clandestine meeting was over. “And they blame me for that too.” She walked away without saying goodbye, and I watched her disappear before finally exhaling.
Fantastic.It’s been two weeks since I became Bound’s guitarist and not a peep from Xavier or my new bandmates. I knew Oni had given them my contact information. I also knew they weren’t occupied with anything pressing. Just last night, a blog had reported spotting them walking inside a Las Vegas casino.