FanGirl Squeal (RockStars of Romance Book 1) (26 page)

“You think I don’t see what’s going on? I don’t have on
white boy blinders, Mom. I’m very aware. I just am not one of those people who
will count out an entire race because of the actions of a few. Cash is a good
person. Not a good white person, just a good person in general.”

“I don’t like this, Savannah. I really don’t. There are
plenty of eligible black men out there. Don’t let the actions of one have you
running into the arms of a white man.”

I rubbed my temples in utter frustration. She’s impossible.
Absolutely clueless.

“Mom, Dad,” I said. I made sure to look straight at them so
they could see how serious I am. “You don’t have to like it. What you have to
do is accept that it’s happening and decide how you’re going to deal with it. I’m
not going to stop seeing him because his skin doesn’t match mine. I’m not
dating him to make your lives miserable or discredit anything our family is
known for. I’m a hundred percent confident that I’m dating him because I
genuinely like him and see a future with him. I hope that one day you can see
past the race thing, but if you don’t, you just don’t.”

I stood up. “The guestroom is already made up. And my car
keys are on the hook if you want to go have lunch or something. I have a few
more hours of work to do so make yourself comfortable.”

I walked away and headed downstairs to my office. I can’t
even say I’m disappointed in the doctors. I knew what they were going to say
before they even said it. I’m just surprised that they didn’t have more to say,
especially my father. Maybe he’s becoming more open-minded.

Or, he could be waiting until he got some food in his belly
and a few hours of sleep. I’m almost scared to think about what he’ll say once
he’s well rested and has a clear head. I do know that this conversation isn’t
over. As long as I’m with Cash, it will never end.

“Hey Cash,” Sabrina, the receptionist at Stone Management,
greeted him as he walked past her desk. “You’re lookin’ good.”

Cash had been up to the office no less than ten times since
signing his contract so the girl had gotten used to seeing him. Sabrina always
flirted with him. Cash wondered if her flirting was a directive from Bryan now
that Cash was single considering he’d heard rumors that Sabrina was Bryan’s
niece.

Not that it mattered . Bryan and Olivia were turning out to
be great assets to Team Cash. They were efficient and didn’t follow Cash around
all the time or call him up to the office every single day. Bryan handled the
business end of Cash’s empire with a cool hand that didn’t require Cash’s
presence that often. Olivia handled the day-to-day operations of Cash’s career.
Cash was satisfied with his choice of new management.

The only reason he was up at the office was because he’d
requested a two o’clock video chat with Bryan, Olivia, and Tracy. He had
important news for them and it was easier to tell them at the same time. He
hoped his team didn’t drag the meeting out for hours. He had another important
appointment at four. He couldn’t be late for that.

“So, I’ve been waiting to bring this up,” Bryan said as he
and Cash waited for Tracy to connect to the Skype call.

He and Cash had just finished going over some new ideas for
merchandising and lined up a few meetings with designers to create a new brand
for Cash Myers Ltd.

“What’s going on?” Cash asked.

“With this album, you’ve fulfilled your Sony contract. It’s
negotiation time and you’re a free agent. Are you interested in seeing what
else is out there or should we just negotiate another deal with Sony?”

Cash was sure in his decision not to leave the label that
him famous. He wanted to keep all of his L.A. connections especially since
Savannah had no plans to move back to New York and he was sure that Victoria
wasn’t going to stay in New York after she had the baby.

At two on the nose, Tracy connected to Skype. She and her
assistant’s bright faces peered out over them from the monitor mounted to the
conference room wall.

“Afternoon, ladies,” Cash greeted Tracy and Erin.

Tracy smiled at her favorite client. “Hello Cash. I have
great news.”

“What?” Bryan asked.

Tracy frowned. “I have great news for Cash.”

“What is it, Tracy?”

“My dad called me this morning. Michaela is responding well
to the new treatments. Her tumor has shrunk enough that he feels that he can
successfully perform the surgery to remove it. She’s going to make it, Cash.
Thanks to you.”

“That’s awesome! I have to fly out there.”

“I figured you’d say that. I had Erin put you on flight next
week after the surgery. And guess who just left my office.”

Cash grinned. He already knew. Savannah had sent him a long
email detailing everything that she and Tracy had discussed in regards to his
fan appreciation event coming up. Every single detail.

“Yeah, I know. That’s part of the reason I wanted to do this
call. There’s a situation I need to make everyone on Team Cash aware of.” He
looked at Bryan and Olivia. “You may want to bring Alicia in here,” he said,
referring to their assistant.

As they waited quietly for Alicia to join them, Cash peered
at his managers and publicist. Neither had the cool and calm demeanor they
usually exhibited. Tracy almost looked disappointed, as if her most well
behaved client had disappointed her and he hadn’t said anything yet.

“Here’s the deal,” Cash spoke once Alicia was settled at the
conference table. “Savannah and I have been dating since June.”

“June?” Tracy screeched. “It’s August, Cash! How have you
managed to keep this quiet for three months?”

“Easy,” was Cash’s simple reply. “We’ve been staying in our
apartments or meeting up in different cities. It’s amazing how low key you can
be in places like Charleston and upstate New York.”

Tracy shook her head. “You are a mess. If you wanted to
carry on a secret relationship, why are you telling us now? What did you do?
You didn’t marry her, did you?”

“No,” Cash chuckled. “We’re not married. We’re not planning
on holding a press conference about our relationship either,” he said. “But I
do want to be able to take my girl out in public when I go to L.A. People are
going to be calling you for a statement and whatnot when they see us out
together. I just wanted to give you a heads up.

Tracy was beaming. “Well, I think it’s great news. You made
a good choice. She’s such a great girl, very down to Earth and smart as a whip.
You guys should be good together.”

Olivia didn’t share the same sentiment as Tracy. In fact, she
looked damn near appalled.

“Good choice?” she screeched. “Are you kidding me? You were
engaged to one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses! The only way you do better
than Victoria Williamson is if you’re dating Jennifer Lawrence or ScarJo. You’re
dating a gossip blogger. A black one at that! What the hell?”

Olivia’s attitude instantly rubbed Cash the wrong way. He
stiffened in his chair and slowly faced the woman he was paying to manage his
career. Twenty percent didn’t give her the right to talk about Savannah.

“Don’t talk shit about Savannah,” Cash warned. “All you have
to do is confirm that we’re dating when the calls start coming into your
office. That’s it. Your opinion on who I date doesn’t matter.”

When Bryan puffed up his chest in the familiar way Cash
remembered his coaches doing when they felt he’d stepped over the line, Cash
figured that he felt the same as his wife. Cash wasn’t the least bit
intimidated. Even though he was raised by a single woman, he never felt
intimidated by men. Growing up, the only men in his life were his coaches since
his mom didn’t have any brothers. She only had sisters and they taught him that
he was the most important man in their lives.

“How could you think that this is a good idea?” Bryan
huffed. “You’re Cash Myers, an A-list celeb and we’re in the middle of
rebranding you. You’ve never been seen in public with a black girl before.
Excuse my bluntness, but your image can’t take a hit like this. Back me up,
Tracy. You know I’m right.”

“Excuse my bluntness,” Tracy spat, “but you sound like an
arrogant, racist, bigoted prick! I’m not backing you up on that bullshit!
Savannah Ford is one of the top entertainment journalists in the industry. She’s
fashionable, gorgeous, and comes from a prominent and influential
African-American family. What the hell is wrong with you?” Tracy continued to
shout. “Our client could do a hell of a lot worse than Savannah Ford! You may
be good at your job, Mr. Stone, but you’d do well to remember that we work for
Cash. We don’t get a say in his personal life.”

Bryan wasn’t backing down. He, Olivia, and Tracy continued
to argue over who Cash had chosen to date while Bryan tried to defend himself
against the allegations of him being racist. Cash impatiently looked at his
phone. He still had to something very important to do and something even more
important to tell them. He didn’t have time to listen to them bicker over
Savannah’s blackness.

“Yo!” he shouted to grab their attention. “That’s not
everything. You all can argue over if Savannah is good enough for me after I
go. I don’t care what you think. We’re together. That’s all there is to it. The
real problem is Victoria.” Cash paused and lowered his voice when his managers
and publicist stopped talking. “She’s pregnant.”

Tracy and Bryan dropped the F-bomb at the same time while
their assistants just gasped. Cash sat back in his chair and waited on the
aftermath of his announcement.

“Pregnant?” Tracy shouted. “Are you kidding? You better be
kidding!”

“I wish I was kidding,” Cash answered. “She told me a couple
of weeks ago. Turns out that Vic’s having a little Christina Elizabeth Myers.
She was a couple weeks in when we broke up.”

“Goddamnit!” Olivia muttered angrily. “How far along is she?”

“Almost four months.”

Cash hated that he had to tell his managers and publicist before
he told Savannah. She should have been the first person he told about Victoria
but he still wasn’t able to do it. What they had was going perfect and he wasn’t
in any hurry to ruin it. Tracy was the first to ask the million-dollar
question.

“Who knows that the baby is yours?”

“Mom, Brittany, and Victoria’s people. She told her manager,
her family, and her boyfriend.”

“Savannah doesn’t know?” Tracy guessed.

Tracy gave Cash a disapproving glance that made him wish he’d
had this conversation over the phone. There wasn’t a woman alive who would
understand why he hadn’t told his current girlfriend about his ex-girlfriend’s
pregnancy. He could feel the
you ain’t shit
looks from Tracy, Olivia, Alicia,
and Erin burning into his skin.

 “I’m going to tell her next week after the fan appreciation
event, I promise.”

“And how are you and Victoria going to handle this? You’re
going back on the road soon. What are you going to do about your pregnant ex-fiancée?”

Cash looked downright deflated. The prospect of having a
child made him insanely happy. He couldn’t wait to be a father. It was
everything else about the situation that had his stomach knots.

“I assume that Victoria wants you involved as must as
possible,” Olivia spoke up. “All the doctor’s visits and baby shopping,
parenting classes…the works, right?”

Cash slowly nodded his head. “I promised her I’d be there
for her. She understands that we’re not getting back together though.”

“This is a cluster fuck. This is worse than when Aiden Tyler
knocked up his best friend while he was married. What the hell am I going to
do?” Tracy groaned while looking at her assistant.

“We should get in touch with Victoria’s people as soon as
possible,” Bryan suggested. “We all need to be on the same page when the calls
and emails start pouring in.”

“At least she’s not showing yet,” Olivia added. “We have a
little time to put together a statement that won’t have Cash looking like a
jerk.”

“Hey!” Cash protested. “Why would I look like a jerk? She
cheated on me. I didn’t know she was pregnant when I kicked her out of my hotel
room.”

“Still,” Tracy shook her head. “You’re about to go public
with a new relationship. No matter how cool you and Victoria are or the fact
that she’s with Paul, none of that is going to matter when it comes out that
you are her child’s father. If anyone, Paul is going to look like the good guy
for sticking by her. You’re going to look like a jerk.”

“Well, that’s why I pay you guys. Make me not look like a
jerk.”

“Then you need to keep this relationship with Savannah under
wraps a little while longer,” Bryan stated. “It’s the only way.”

“Not really,” Olivia interjected. “What if Savannah dumps
him after she finds out that he knocked up his ex? That could happen.”

“Thanks for that,” Cash replied sarcastically. “Like that
hasn’t crossed my mind.”

“It’s the truth, though, Cash. We don’t know how she’s going
to react.”

“Yet another reason you shouldn’t be dating a damn blogger.
What the hell do you think a heartbroken and scorned gossip blogger is going to
say in the media once she finds out the man she’s screwing has a baby on the
way with his ex?” Bryan said, not even trying to hide his frustration.

“Savannah is not going to write about me on her site,” Cash
replied, although he had no idea if he was telling the truth or not. He trusted
Savannah with some of his secrets because they were happy together. However,
she had enough ammo to ruin him if she wanted to. That was something he couldn’t
tell his manager. He’d tell Tracy later.

“Look, you guys,” he said, “Savannah isn’t vindictive. I’ll
tell her and if we split, it’ll be okay. Trust me on this. I gotta run.”

Cash hopped out of his seat and left the conference room
quickly before anyone could stop him. He knew the situation was precarious but
what could he do? He couldn’t change the past. His mind was racing as he left
the building and looked up and down the congested Manhattan street. He had a
better chance of getting to his appointment on time if he jogged the two miles
instead of trying to drive.