CLASS ACT (A BRITISH ROCKSTAR BAD BOY ROMANCE) (21 page)

“Charlotte, Charlotte! Are you listening to me?”

I looked up to see Jared Douglas glaring at me. My mind had been on Heath’s electrifying concert from earlier. The man continued to mesmerize me long after his performance was over.

Nevertheless, I was in the middle of a business meeting. I couldn’t look like a brain dead fan girl replaying the image of Heath’s exposed pectoral muscles over and over again. Or how I made passionate love to him the night after the concert.

“Sorry,” I blushed, straighten my skirt. I straightened up my back as well in order to look more professional. “What were you asking again?”

He sighed. “How are Heath’s studies going?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you get his files? I sent them to your email account.”

“I’m not a teacher,” he explained, thumbing over his phone. “I can’t make sense of this crap! Give me the layman’s version of it.”

Maybe I should’ve made Jared participate in class as well. “At first, I thought he was on a collision course with failure.”

He nodded. “Same with me-”

I continued. “But he’s actually shown progress.”

Jared did a double take. “He’s improving?”

“Yes, he’s improved quite a great deal over the past month,” I explained, barely containing my excitement. I loved it when a student put in the work and was rewarded for it. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him but he’s starting to take his studies more seriously.”

I honestly didn’t know whether Heath had genuine motivation to improve or our relationship had given him the boost he needed. If anything, I was the one who needed to focus. My attraction to Heath had made me forget I was here to teach him. The very notion sullied the romance we had but it was the hard truth.

Jared looked shell-shocked. “I thought you said he had dyslexia?”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t read or learn,” I stated a bit more harshly than I would’ve preferred. I never liked people who frowned down on students with learning disabilities. “Heath’s problem has always been an issue of motivation rather than disability. He needed the right environment to overcome his disability. With even enough focus and practice, we’re working through his problems with reading.”

Although it had been a good teaching device, Heath had begun to read without the aid of sheet music.

Jared ran a hand through his receding hairline. “He’s doing well in mock exams already?”

“When we first started, he couldn’t even finish a test in time,” I continued. “Now, he can actually fill out all the questions. The last one he did actually had him receive a passing grade by a hair.”

“Do you think he’ll be able to pass the upcoming GCSE?” he asked, looking concerned. “The first exam is scheduled in five months.”

“If you asked me when I started tutoring him, I would’ve said it would take a miracle,” I admitted. “Now, I think we have a real shot. If the two of us can buckle down a month in advance and prepare with practice exams, I think there’s a good chance he’ll pass it. He might even earn his certification when all of this is over.”

There was a strange silence in the room.

I thought he would be ecstatic about Heath’s progress. He was the rock star’s personal manager. If Heath lost his job, Jared would have to join him at the breadline. Perhaps, the shock of potentially having a career in six months hadn’t sunk in just yet.

“Keep me in the loop,” Jared said firmly. “And keep Heath out of it.”

“Mr. Douglas,” I said in bewilderment. “Heath is my student. If nothing else, he’s going to obviously know how much he’s improving.”

“I understand I hired you to teach him but he has to focus on his music for now,” Jared replied. “Don’t let his ego swell and allow him to think he can slack off when the test arrives.”

“We’ve made such good progress in such a short time,” I argued. “Don’t you think we could do more?”

Jared sighed. “Saving Heath’s career is as much about him doing well publically as it is about him doing well academically. We haven’t had any major scandals during this tour. We have a stretch in California before we’re done. Let him focus on his music and show he can behave while on tour.”

I felt like I was talking to the parent of a student athlete. Their type always wanted to refocus on the athletics when the grades had gotten good enough. Nonetheless, the man signed my paychecks. “Of course…”

“Good,” he said plainly before turning to leave. “Keep me updated.”

I’d never understand managers. I suppose it was a bit hypocritical since I had put my students on a schedule and held their feet to the fire if they broke off it. However, I wanted what was best for Heath instead of his record label.

I looked outside the hotel window and watched the Dallas sunrise. It was one of the perks of traveling. You get to experience new places or see a sunrise from another point of view. On the other hand, I wouldn’t miss the aches in my legs or the jetlag.

The serious side of me knew I should focus on my job. If people found out that I was fucking Heath Lawrence, then my teaching career would come to an unceremonious end. Who would hire a teacher who fucked her student? It didn’t matter that Heath was voted the sexiest man alive by People magazine for three years running.

Everything was falling out of my hands. My relationship with Heath was hot in the bedroom and cold in the classroom. I didn’t know how long we could go on, especially if he didn’t past the first exam or his label let me go.

The man was a dream. He could be sexy one moment and tender the next. I had never met a man who was so charismatic yet vulnerable at the same time. Just being around him felt liberating. Next to him, I felt like I could take on any challenge.

I knew the emotions we shared were genuine even if we both had our fair share of secrets.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. I guessed Jared forgot something. I wasn’t in a mood to see him again but I didn’t have much of a choice. I swung the door open and expected to see the middle-aged man.

Instead, I saw Heath looking at me with a boyish grin on his face.

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked, glancing back. “I saw Jared leave.”

I shook my head. “No, just business.”

It was the truth. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel like I was telling him that the moon was made of cheese. Indeed Heath noticed my nervousness. “Can I come in or are you busy?”

I nodded. “I always have time for you.”

After shutting the door, he sat on the bed next to me. “We’re heading to California tomorrow. I hope you remember to pack more sunscreen.”

“I can’t believe the Texas portion of the tour is over,” I sighed. It felt like we barely had time to get settled in before traveling half way across the country. “I just don’t know how you guys keep moving from one place to another.”

Heath chuckled. “I have my youth, liquor, and the company of a very lovely tutor. Some of the older bands cut down on the traveling when their knees start getting wobbly.”

I blushed. “Do you think you’ll reign it in when you start pushing fifty?”

“I’ll be touring the world when I’m geriatric, even if it’s in a wheelchair,” he boasted. “Excited for California? It’s the last leg of the tour.”

Unfortunately, I had more somber thoughts. “Heath, what will happen to us after the tour ends? Will we be able to spend more time together?”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” he sighed, rubbing his forehead. I felt my heart sink at the news. “I’ll probably be even busier after the tour ends. I have to write and record my next album. There will be more endorsements and photo-ops I’ll have to show up for. It’ll be a packed schedule.”

“I’m sure we’ll work something out,” I said, mustering all my strength. “You still have to pass the first part of the GCSE exam. It’s why they hired me.”

“Just enjoy our time together in California, Charlotte,” he whispered, stroking my face. “I’ll show you around.”

“I always wanted a tour of California,” I said, planting a soft kiss on his lips. “So many places and people I’ve wanted to see.”

Heath flashed teasing smile. “Speaking of people, Megan will be in Los Angeles.”

I recalled Heath’s close friend. “Will you be spending a lot of time with her?”

“Only for business,” he said, sensing and defusing my envy. I didn’t know why I felt that way about her. I guessed that she had history with Heath that I lacked. “I have you for pleasure…”

With that, he took me into his arms and placed me flat against the bed.

I forgot about my job.

I forgot about Jared’s orders.

I even forgot that this romance would have to come to an end sooner or later.

I just forgot everything except the taste of his lips.

Coming to back to California was like putting on an old shoe. The state had been where Howard and I had cemented our overseas success. Many of the bands we looked up to, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, were natives of the state.

I loved my motherland of England. I loved mushy peas and fried cod in newspaper wrappings. I loved the trolley service. Nevertheless, there was something liberating about The Golden State.