Play for Me (10 page)

“If you don’t mind, I ordered in. I am so sick of eating out
all the time and my waistline will appreciate it,” said Marvin as he brought
out a huge sack containing deli favorites. He carefully arranged them on the
desk along with coffee and soft drinks. “Help yourself.” He spread his hands
invitingly. Sam took a sandwich and a soft drink eagerly, not realizing how
good the food smelled.

“Thanks,” she murmured gratefully between bites of her
lunch.

“So, you’re working with Jett now.” Marvin paused
momentarily. “You don’t have a crush on him, do you?”

“Goodness, no!” said Sam with a laugh. “I think that’s why
he hired me because I’m totally opposite of his type. Well, at least that’s
what he told me. But no, Marvin. No crush here.”

“Good, because sometimes these things could get complicated.
So what brings you to Los Angeles?”

“Pretty simple,” explained Sam. “I’m originally from Chicago and I just lost my job last week. Whoops! Sorry about that,” exclaimed Sam
sheepishly as half of her sandwich fell out of the bread. “Honestly, I do have
better manners than this.”

“It’s fine.” Marvin smiled. “I find it refreshing. Now, what
did you do?” He smiled warmly at her.

“Vice President of Marketing for a life insurance company,”
mumbled Sam between bites. “My sense of direction for the company didn’t match
theirs, so I got the short end of the stick.”

“You were a financial liability, you know that, right? You
were probably pulling down quite the salary and they figured they could hire
someone younger and cheaper than you.”

“You’re probably right,” admitted Sam. “They hired me right
out of college.” Sam felt blessed not to have any more incidents with her
sandwich.

“Are you sure you want this job? I mean, it’s not what
you’re used to. Jett can be pretty annoying at times, but I can be a buffer if
he gets on your nerves.”

“I’m used to egos,” laughed Sam. “My brother is a musician,
too.”

“Right,” exclaimed Marvin in recognition. “I know who he is.
That’s why you looked so familiar.”

“And she can play better than him,” interrupted Jett as he
entered the room looking into the sandwich bag. “You didn’t save anything for
me?” He glared at Marvin.

“I didn’t know you were there,” said Sam sheepishly. “Actually,
Jordan made me do it. I hate playing in public.”

“You’re not trying to worm into the music business, are you?”
Marvin looked suspicious.

“No way!” Sam remained firm. “Jordan is the performer and
I’m the business partner. When I play, it’s for my own pleasure.”

“I don’t buy it,” said Jett angrily. “You’re gonna let all
of that talent go to waste?”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” said Sam smoothly, her gaze challenged
Jett’s.

“Enough you two.” Marvin came between them and faced Sam. “Here’s
the deal, Sam. You answer Jett’s fan mail and email. Keep both of us posted
since we’ve had some incidents of stalkers and people trying to weasel money out
of us. You’ll probably be seeing me more than Jett.”

“Perfect, and as a matter of fact, I can do more than that. I’ve
studied the way everything is set up on the system and I’m going to overhaul
it. I’ll redo all the information into Access and build tables. That way, I can
run queries of the fan’s demographics and start there. I can't believe there’s
so much to do!” Sam started jotting ideas down while Jett and Marvin looked at
her in amazement.

Jett did not want to let the subject drop. “I always heard
that music and computer programming go hand in hand,” stated Jett as he stared
at Sam.

“What do we need to do to get you out here?” asked Marvin
trying to steer the conversation elsewhere while Jett crossed his arms and
continued his frosty look at Sam.

“Well, Jett said there's an apartment,” begin Sam, trying to
ignore Jett’s angry gaze.

“Yeah, there is,” answered Jett.

“Is it furnished? I mean I have my things back in Chicago. What
about transportation? Should I have my car driven out here?

“The apartment is furnished, so don’t worry about that. Jett
has plenty of cars at his disposal you can use, but please use Toby as much as
you can. As far as your dog is concerned, what do you want to do?”

“Of course I want him with me. He’s my best friend.”

“He’s a Siberian Husky,” commented Jett. Jett finally
stopped looking at Sam and turned to Marvin. “I told her to use our plane to
fly the both of them back here. Monday, no later.”

“Okay. I’ll make the arrangements,” said Marvin as he jotted
down some notes to himself. “You leave tomorrow and Toby has your schedule. I’ll
have the plane ready to fly you out on Sunday. Oh, we have to get you a new
phone and business cards.”

“Business cards? Why do I need a business card?” asked Sam
confused.

“Just in case,” said Marvin as he finished up his notes. “Anything
else?”

“What about insurance and time off?” Sam had to be practical
because she could just see something happening to her as luck would have it.

“No problem with that,” said Marvin. “Vacation? Depending on
how you work out, take what time you need when you want. There will be times
where you might be putting in some overtime.”

“And traveling,” commented Jett his eyes still on Sam.

“Traveling?” echoed Sam still trying to read Jett’s
expression.

“The house in Maui,” answered Marvin. “I don’t have time to
check the progress, and neither does Jett. If you could spend a week out there
to see how things are going. Would you have a problem with that?”

“Are you crazy?” Sam almost fell out of her chair. “I’d
love
to go to Hawaii. I’ve never been there before.” She couldn't believe her good
luck.

“I didn’t think you’d have a problem with that.” Marvin
smiled. “Look, guys, I have to run. Sam, call me if you have any further
questions.” He packed up his briefcase and left. Jett still stared at Sam not
even bothering to address Marvin.

“What?” said Sam somewhat unnerved by Jett’s intense gaze.

“Let’s get back to the music thing. I don’t like surprises,”
announced Jett.

“What about it? Jett, really, it’s not an issue with me.” Sam
would not back down.

“I’ve got Matt in the studio now. He wants to hear you.” Jett
didn’t leave Sam any choice but to follow him.

“Suppose I don’t want to play? I don’t have my guitar, come
on, Jett, please?” Sam begged to no avail as they reached the studio.

“Matt? This is Sam. Sam? Pick a guitar.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Sam politely as she turned to
Jett. “Please, Jett. I really don’t want to do this.”

“Don’t worry,” assured Matt who looked on kindly. “Jett,
leave us alone, okay?”

“But I want to hear,” protested Jett, his blue eyes intently
focused on Sam.

“Then don’t just stand there,” said Matt with a flip of his
hand. “Go sit on the piano bench or something.” Matt dismissed Jett and turned
his full attention on Sam. “Here, this guitar is one of my favorites.” He
handed Sam an acoustic guitar and Sam reluctantly took it. She sat down on a
stool facing Matt and the two of them tuned their guitars. Matt started in on
one of their hits, and Sam easily led into the song, trying to get acquainted
with the instrument.

“Now, I’m going to lead into the next chorus and see if you
can follow,” said Matt as his hands flew over the frets. Sam kept pace with
him, throwing in variations and melodies. She forgot all of her fears, tuning
into the music. Relaxed, she smiled at Matt, and the two of them played
perfectly together. Matt finally ended the song and stood up. “Good job,” he
commented. “I’m pretty impressed. Have you ever thought about going
professional?”

“See, I told you,” shouted Jett, unable to keep quiet any
longer. “She should be doing studio work, am I right?”

“Yeah, she should,” said Matt thoughtfully as he stroked his
beard. “She could even be on one of our tracks.”

“Hello?” Sam waved her hands to get their attention. “I’m
here. What about me? Do I get any say into this matter?” How could she get
these people to listen to her?

“Nope,” said Jett, his mind made up. “Not only are you going
to be doing my fan stuff, you’re going to play on our recordings.”

“I agree.” Matt smiled at Sam. “What’s your schedule?”

“She flies back to Chicago tomorrow, but she’ll be here
first thing on Monday, right?” confirmed Jett.

“Yeah,” grumbled Sam. These two had really railroaded her
for now, but that had to change once she got here for good. It would be her
mission in life. “If you two would excuse me, I’ve got work to do.” Sam gently
put the guitar on its stand and walked out of the room. Jett’s eyes followed
her out the door.

“She is
really
good,” said Matt as he looked at Jett.
“You’ve got the hots for her? She’s not your type, man.”

“No, I don’t,” said Jett adamantly. “It’s just she’s got
talent, and I hate to see her waste it. Besides, she doesn’t really like my
image which is one of the reasons I hired her.” Jett had had enough. “Okay,
Matt, down to business. What’s going on with the tour?”

Sam slunk back to her office, muttering the whole way. “It’s
like I don’t exist.” She started on answering Jett’s emails and jumped in
surprise when her phone rang.

“Hey there,” said Ian as Sam answered the phone. “Where are
you?”

“I’m at Jett’s place,” said Sam, pleasantly surprised to hear
from him so soon. “Are you back home in Maui?”

“Yeah,” said Ian with a sigh. “But more important, how are
you? Did you get everything squared away? What’s your schedule like? In other
words, when can I see you again?”

“I’ll be back here on Monday,” said Sam carefully. She tried
to slow her heart down. Greek God wanted her. Unbelievable! A relationship? “There’s
a furnished apartment I’ll be staying there, along with my dog. Jett is
actually letting me use his private plane so my dog can come, too!”

“I love dogs,” said Ian, settling comfortably in his chair. He
wanted to talk to Sam for hours on end.

“He’s not too happy at the kennels, that’s for sure. I don’t
know how he’s going to take to the heat around here.”

“As long as there’s air conditioning, he’ll be fine,”
laughed Ian. “Are you going to have transportation?”

“Not right away,” explained Sam. “I’ll be using Toby, and if
I want a car, I can borrow one of Jett’s, but I don’t feel comfortable doing
that.”

“Good, because I’m going to be in Los Angeles on Thursday
next week. My buddies and I are renting some Harley’s to ride along the coast. Want
to come along?”

“That would be awesome,” breathed Sam excitedly. “I’ve never
seen the California coast and I just love Harleys. But I have to check with
Jett first.”

“Let me know if he gives you a hard time and I’ll talk to
him.” Ian smiled at Sam’s enthusiasm. He hadn't been real thrilled about going
in the first place, but now that Sam would be in the picture, things were
different. He closed his eyes and remembered those last minute kisses and how
sweet they were. But he never would forget the moment of Sam in the bathroom
with just her panties and top on. The scene would be etched in his mind
forever.

“I don’t think he’ll give me a hard time. You’re his friend,
right?” asked Sam, perplexed.

“He’s a guy, Sam,” said Ian smiling. “I know what goes
through a guy’s mind. Don’t let him fool you into thinking you’re not his type.
You may not be, but I know Jett and he’s going to try, anyway.”

“I’ll be on my guard,” said Sam, laughing. “Besides, he’s
too angry with me for not telling him I play guitar. He happened to be there
last night at the club and today, I played with Matt and he wants to use me on
some of their work. You know I’ll avoid it like the plague.” Sam switched
subjects. “So tell me, Ian, what’s on your mind?”

“Getting to know you better,” said Ian sensually. “Maybe
then you can see what a nice guy I am so you can trust me.”

“Well, those are honorable intentions,” admitted Sam. Oh,
did she like Ian but then it dawned on her that she had to make a living. “Hey,
I have to get back to work.”

“I work, too,” protested Ian good-naturedly. “Remember, I
design homes like the one your boss owns?”

“Oh, that’s right.” Sam had totally forgotten what Marvin
had discussed with her. “Jett and Marvin said something about me following up
with the house on Maui. You might be seeing me more than you wanted.”

“I could definitely live with that,” said Ian.

“I don’t know, Ian,” teased Sam. “I’m a pretty tough
customer. Ask Jordan. He says I push customer service to their limit.”

“Don’t worry, because I won’t disappoint.” Ian smiled
waiting for Sam’s response.

“Oh pull-ease,” laughed Sam. “Now you’re getting sappy on
me.”

“Got ya,” laughed Ian. “Okay, I’ll let you go but keep in
touch this weekend, okay? Call me when you get to Chicago,”

“I’ll try,” promised Sam. “But I’ll have a lot on my plate;
the biggest will be my mother.”

“Bunny.” Ian rolled his eyes. “If you need someone to talk
to, I’ll be here,”

“Thanks,” said Sam somewhat touched. “I appreciate it.”

“Take care, Sam.” Ian’s soft low voice touched her with
tenderness and Sam almost melted. Sighing, she went back to work and tried to
stay focused on her task, but the thought of Ian kissing her kept running
through her mind.

****

As the plane made its descent into O’Hare, Sam had a sad
moment. She had lived in Chicago her entire life and the realization set in she
would be leaving, hit hard. She mentally shrugged off this feeling by telling
herself it would be for the better. However, she did not look forward to
listening to Bunny. As she made her way to the baggage claim area, her cell
phone rang and Sam looked at the display and cringed. She knew she better take
it.