I looked away.
The two guys moved closer to each other, chests puffed out and backs straight. They locked eyes and the stench of testosterone drowned out the beer smell.
If I didn't stop them, man-ego would be leaking out through the cracks in the walls. Drew glanced at me. I knew what he was thinking. A fight in the storeroom would mean even more mess for him to clean up.
"There is nothing here for either of you. This is a YOU-free zone. Both of you." I waved at them, wanting them gone.
"Violet Mason?” the stranger asked. “I was told you’re the woman to see in this town if I want to score a gig."
Wow, if his eyes were coffee, his smile was the whipped cream on top.
"There's contact details on the webpage. You didn't need to come in. I don't accept demos in person." I kept it cool, avoiding his eyes.
"This one you'll want to listen to," he said, flipping a USB stick at me. "There's footage of me playing on there too."
I caught it and put it in my back pocket. I'd listen to it later, sometime. I had enough work to be getting on with. A pair of sexy eyes didn't mean you could jump my queue.
"Listen, mate," said Razer, "You can't just waltz in here with your demo and expect to get a slot. There is a system. A process. I'm not even sure you'd make the kind of music that'd go over well here. Maybe you should just run along. Violet is very busy, you know."
Razer moved beside me as though staking his claim. He stood so close, the hairs on his arm tickled on my skin. That was way too close for my liking.
"Razer, I'm the band booker here – and you, you are the band that might never play here again if you don't watch your mouth."
The stranger's mouth curled a little. A half-smile lifting one side of his lips in an enticingly arrogant manner.
"Do you have a bio?" I asked him. I really just wanted to get out of the storeroom. The cold concrete was a killer on my bare feet and I was far too aware of the skimpiness of my outfit.
"It's on the USB but I've got a paper version if you need that." He handed me a sheet of paper.
I gave it a scan.
"Alex? That's you?"
He nodded. "That's my phone number and email for you to contact me."
His words said so little but his eyes actually managed to make that sound so dirty that I blushed.
With a brief glance at his bio, I could see he'd played some big-name clubs. I'd contact them to make sure he wasn't shitting me but this was some impressive list.
"What are you doing, playing in a town like this?" I asked. I mean, the rock scene here was pretty darn hot but it wasn't big city hot. It wasn't “make a zillion dollars and retire wealthy” hot. If you’re into that kind of thing.
"I have my reasons," he said. Then he smiled as though I was the only woman in the world and, for a split second, I forgot any resolve I had.
"Hey, listen, she's already told you she'll listen to the demo. There's no need for you to stick around. This place is officially off-limits and you shouldn't have been let in here."
Razer glared at Drew and poor Drew just put his head down and kept mopping. Although, to be honest, I had little sympathy for him because he'd let both of them in.
"Well, I guess I'll see you later," said Alex. Again, the words seemed loaded with so much subtext.
Razer grabbed Alex by the arm, pulling him out of the storeroom. Alex shrugged and went with him. At the same moment, both of them turned back to ogle me.
God, if I had one problem in this life it was too many rock stars.
Chapter 3 RAZER
I CHECKED THAT CREEP was well away from the club before I left. Violet didn't need guys like him hanging around her and I sure as hell didn't want him at the club either.
After I watched him walk away, I needed to kill some time. I’d be back at the club as soon as the place opened to get the bitter taste of that loser out of her mind. Who was he and where had he popped up from?