I sit up, grab my phone, and text Owen: You up?
Two seconds later, I get his reply: No, I’m asleep.
Calling now.
Oh, yay.
Of course, Owen dutifully picks up after one ring. Because he’s Owen.
“Hello, boss,” he says. “How lovely to hear from you at midnight after I worked all day and night.”
“Yeah, don’t you mean after you fucked up? You’re the one who let Georgina out of your sight, just long enough for C-Bomb to get her alone.”
“I let Georgina out of my sight because she was with Leonard and his daughter, and you texted me a demand to meet you outside the VIP door.”
“Okay, we’re wasting time. Moving on. I need a favor.”
I explain what I want and Owen tells me what I’m asking for might as well be the moon and the stars, thanks to the short turnaround time I’m demanding.
“If anyone can work a miracle, it’s you,” I say.
Owen mutters something under his breath.
“I’ll pay triple market price,” I toss out. “I don’t care how you make it happen. Just do it.”
He sighs. “Okay, I’m sure I know someone who knows someone who can help me. I’ll see what I can do. No promises, though.”
I smile to myself. When Owen Boucher says he’ll “see what he can do,” the task is as good as done.
“So, based on this ‘favor,’ I’m assuming Georgina’s interview of you is either going very, very well... or you’ve somehow really pissed her off?”
I roll my eyes to myself. Fucking Owen. Nothing gets past him. “It’s door number two, unfortunately. She’s in my guestroom down the hall at the moment, trying to resist her stated desire to ‘punch me in the face.’”
Owen chuckles. “Oh my. What did you do, Reed? And is it wrong I’d kind of like to see her follow through with that threat?”
“I did something monstrous.” I flap my lips together. “I didn’t sugarcoat my opinion regarding her stepsister’s music demo.”
“Oh, the horror.”
“I know.”
“Were you harsh about it?”
“No, I was honest.”
“You were harsh.”
“No. Well, maybe a little bit. I got pissed for a second there, so maybe I didn’t word things as nicely as I should have.”
He chuckles. “Was she already planning to sleep in the guestroom before you listened to the demo, or is she freezing you out because of the demo?”
“She was already planning to sleep there.”
“Well, that’s good, right? At least, you know she already hated you, even before you pissed her off.”
“There was never any question she’d sleep in a guest room,” I lie. “Georgie and I have a purely professional relationship, Owen.”
“Oh, really? Then why wasn’t I allowed to let C-Bomb get her alone?”
“Which you fucked up.”
“And why am I moving heaven and earth to arrange that delivery for first-thing tomorrow morning?”
“For your information, I had the idea to give Georgie this present hours before she wanted to punch me in the face. I just didn’t get around to asking you to arrange it before now.”
“Uh huh.”
“I can give a gift to a woman I’m not romantically interested in. Look how many gifts I’ve given to CeeCee over the years, to celebrate a birthday or whatever accomplishment.”
“CeeCee isn’t a twenty-something-year-old fireball who’s built like a brick house. And CeeCee isn’t staying at your house for a full week, at your invitation, when a hotel would have been perfectly convenient. And CeeCee isn’t a woman you won’t let tour with RCR, or party with C-Bomb, even though both things would have made for an awesome article, and you know it. Should I go on, or are you going to cut the bullshit?”
“No, don’t go on. In fact, shut the fuck up.”
He chuckles.
“I’m already cranky, thanks to Georgie hating me and wanting to punch me. Why are you actively piling on?”
Owen laughs uproariously. “Wow, she’s really gotten under your skin, hasn’t she? Good for her.”
I drag my palm over my stubble and say nothing. Because, what is there to say? It’s obviously true: Georgina has gotten under my skin. In fact, I think she’s done a whole lot more than that, not that I’d admit it to Owen. I’m pretty sure, just this fast, the girl has infiltrated my bloodstream. How the hell did Georgie do that? I’ve had all my usual guards and defenses up... But, somehow, she keeps finding ways to slither around and through and over them, like they’re not even there.
“I’ve gotta go,” Owen declares. “My cranky boss wants something unreasonable, so I’ve got to move heaven and earth to make it happen. I wouldn’t want to get fired.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t fire you tonight, after I found Georgie with C-Bomb.”
“I’m counting my lucky stars. I’ll call you if I manage to get a delivery scheduled. So leave your ringer on.”
I smile broadly. “Thanks, O.”
“Just think of me as your personal genie in a bottle.”