I needed to make Alex understand. I needed him. The club needed him.
"They'll get over it. Although, they'll never forget who let them down. Anyway, I can't play. I'm not prepared. I can't just jump on stage and fill in like some second-rate loser. I'm sure you have plenty of other bands who could do it."
I glared at Alex. He was serious and he might just be the most selfish asshole I’d ever met.
“You could do it, you just choose not to,” I said.
That vodka bottle sat on my desk looking so appealing but I wasn’t sure if I should drink it or use the bottle to glass Alex. Both options had their appeal.
“So, where are we going for this date?” Alex said with a sly grin.
I leaned forward, fixing him in my stare. “There will be no date. All bets are off.”
Carlie scowled. “All bets are off! But that means...” Her scowl deepened. “All bets are off. I’ll be screwed.”
“If the competition’s off, we’re all screwed,” I told her. “The club will be sold and none of will have jobs. Even if the club doesn’t close, we’ll have pissed off our entire customer base. They’ll never come back into the place again, and this joker has no intention of helping out. We may as well spend the night updating our resumes.”
Alex held his hands up. “Don’t blame me. I’m not the one who dumped you in the shit. You can call me selfish but Razer’s the one you should be angry with me, not me.”
He made some sense but I couldn’t be angry with Razer. He had good reason for his actions while Alex stood right in front of me with no reason for not playing
except sheer churlishness.
Drew knocked on the door. “People want to know what’s going on,” he said.
Of course they did. The rumors would be running through the crowd already. Then they’d start demanding their money back.
“Come on, Alex,” I said. I even mustered up a sweetish smile. “Surely you can do a few songs. You’re our only chance.”
Carlie stepped forward. “You can call it your victory gig. Let everyone know you’re the winner.” Her smile was even sweeter than mine.
“Yeah, you can say Razer ran away scared, like a little girl,” Drew added.
I thought we’d have him there. The heavy weight still dragged my stomach down but if I got through this night with minimal damage, I could worry about what Razer’s leaving meant to me later.
“Nice tries,” Alex said. “But I’m not playing. It might look good for me tonight but it won’t take that long until the truth gets out and everyone will know I only played because Razer got a better offer. So, no way. I’m not playing”
He gave me a pointed look when he said that.
“If Razer doesn’t play, the competition is forfeit,” I said.
“Not so. If he doesn’t play, I’m officially the winner.”
“You can think what you like but I’m saying the competition’s off. What’s in it for me? You can’t force me to date you and, if the club gets sold, Chuck can’t either. I’ll be a free agent.”
Alex gave a little laugh. “It’s not that easy, Violet. And don’t worry about Chuck selling the club. That’s not going to be an issue. You’ll find that out soon enough.”
He looked so smug, I jumped up with my fist raised but Carlie grabbed my arm and stopped me before I punched him.
Alex gave me a strange look then walked out of my office.
I picked up Carlie’s phone, double-checking that Razer hadn’t called. Then I tried ringing Razer again but his phone just rang out.
It was done. All finished. Everything lost. Except... I had no idea what Razer’s plans were. I assumed he'd already left. He was on the plane and that's why his phone was turned off.
But maybe not. Razer was famous for not answering his phone. Maybe he hadn’t left yet.
And, if he hadn’t left town, there was still a chance I could convince him.