Taking Something (7 page)

“No rush on the breakfast.” I grabbed an apple from the bag in front of her. “Sadie's pretty worn out from last night,” I said with a wink. “My guess?” I paused, taking a bite, wanting her to be as annoyed with me as I was with her. “She'll be out for a few more hours.” It pissed me off that she'd written me off so quickly as the bad guy. Even if I was, she didn't know all the facts.

“One night together and you're already an expert on Sadie Sinclair, I see.” She shook her head. “You know, after seeing you in the studio yesterday, I started to think that maybe, just maybe, you were a legit producer. Like maybe the music was what mattered to you and your arrogance was just a defense mechanism or something. Should have known better.”

I shrugged. I had her figured out. She didn't like me. Thought I was using Sadie. Winning over Gia was going to be impossible. Especially considering that she could apparently see through my bullshit. My old tricks weren't going to work on this one. Sadie was going to have to convince her that I was the real deal, stick-around kind of guy. In my mind, Sadie owed me. She'd wanted my attention and I'd given it to her. Many times. Now, I just needed her to gush about me a little to her assistant and then she'd see that I was in this for the long haul.

“Look, I don't know what you think, but what's going on between me and Sadie…” I was flustered, which pissed me off. I hadn't expected to be called out first thing in the morning, especially by a girl who barely knew me. She hadn't even given me a chance to convince her that I was good guy. “I actually care about her,” I tried to reason with her. Reason that included flat-out lying.

I bit into the apple again, letting the frustration I felt around this girl out on the sweet flesh of the fruit.

Her eyes narrowed in on me, and I felt as if she could see right through me.

“And for your information, I wasn't running out on her. I was going to grab us some breakfast. I had no idea that she had her
assistant
make it for her. I was trying to do what any decent boyfriend would do. And for the record, I never claimed to be an expert on Sadie Sinclair.” At least out loud. In my head, I was pretty sure that I did have her all figured out.

After a minute, she smiled. She’d bought it. I was golden. Hell, I'd even pulled out the big guns—the word
boyfriend
. Which I never used. She was amused with me, but not in the way I wanted her to be. I wanted her to smile because she was convinced I was a nice guy with Sadie's best interest at heart, but there was something else in her expression. I could tell by the way she dropped her head and shook it with a snicker, as if I'd said something I would regret.

“So defensive,” she said. “If you are as into her as you say you are, you might want to learn her schedule. She's up at seven thirty on the dot. Every day. No matter what—or who—she did the night before.” Gia nodded her head to something or someone behind me, indicating that she was right once again.

Shit
.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, feeling Sadie's presence behind me. I didn't want to turn around and see the love-struck grin on her face that undoubtedly was caused at my mention of being her “boyfriend.”

I'd made my bed. Guess it was time to lie in it. I felt her fingers lock in mine as she rested her head on my arm. I would have to force myself to be exactly what she wanted.

“So you're my boyfriend now?” Sadie asked when I finally looked down at her. There she was, looking up at me as if I'd just given her the moon.

I looked back at Gia briefly before pressing my lips to Sadie's forehead. Now was as good a time as any to convince everyone that I could be trusted.

“I didn’t mean to assume,” I offered up as innocently as I could. “We just really connected, and I know it's fast, but—”

“Of course it's what I want!” She pulled my face to hers and kissed me, morning breath and all.

This was perfect. Lila and Gia had been right all along, and I was just now catching a damn clue. Because I was a complete and total dumbass.

“Is my breakfast ready?” Sadie turned her attention to Gia and waited for her to nod. “Good. I'm fucking starving.”

“I made enough for two,” Gia informed her, pushing the tray across the counter in front of the barstools.

“You don't have to go get me breakfast, baby,” Sadie cooed, walking over to the counter and pulling a piece of fruit from the bowl before raising it to her lips. “That's what I have
her
for.”

My eyes went to Gia for a split second and I saw the insincerity in her smile as she played off Sadie’s comment.

“Oh, okay,” I said, walking over to join her. “Thank you,” I added, not sure if I was supposed to thank Sadie or Gia for the meal. Neither of them responded as I sat down and pulled a piece of toast from the plate. Unfortunately, between my new girlfriend and the ration of shit Gia had dished out before, I'd lost my appetite.

“W
HAT DO
you mean she's your
girlfriend
? You haven't even been there a week!”

I could have done without Lila's interrogation, but I had to bite the bullet and ask for her advice. I'd rushed into a couple relationships before when I was trying to get what I wanted, but this was quick, even for me.

“Yeah, it happened kinda fast,” I said into the phone, trying to hold it up with my shoulder while I tied the black silk necktie around my neck. “Plus side, I get to be her date tonight for some industry shindig.”

“Plus side?” Lila laughed. “Nothing like taking it public. You are like a runaway train, I swear. It's no wonder I handled all the
relationships
in the past.”

She was right.

When she was still running scams with me, I was the wrangler. I found the mark and set it all in motion. Then she did the dirty work, so to speak. I was usually on the outside. This shit was way harder than it looked. And now, I was going to have to really test out my acting chops, because Sadie was insisting I accompany to her the opening of some swanky new restaurant a couple of her label mates were opening.

“Look, I said something stupid trying to get her assistant off my back and it just so happened she was standing in the room when I said it. I couldn't just take it back and confirm what she already suspected.”

“So the assistant is taking a little more persuasion than the rest?”

“She's something else. I swear she can read me like an open book. I've been on my A-game with Sadie, but the second I'm around Gia, I turn into a complete fucking rookie.”

“Sounds like it, dumbass,” Tucker's voice rang out in the background.

“Why am I on speaker phone?” The last thing I needed was my brother weighing in on the situation. It was hard enough to be the bad apple of the family without him reminding me every chance he got.

“Because Tucker's part of the team now,” she defended. Just like always, Lila was the peacekeeper. “Plus, I thought a guy's perspective might come in handy.”

“So what's the perspective, dick? Gonna tell me I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing? Give me some 'where's your moral compass' spiel?”

His deep laughter echoed through the receiver. “Well, considering that you don't have a moral compass, no. Besides, Hollywood is completely different playing field. You're not the first person out there to use someone to get ahead.”

“True.” We agreed. Rarely happened.

“What I'm wondering is, why in the hell is Sadie Sinclair so anxious to lock you down? I mean, she's like the hottest celebrity on the planet and she's just going hitch her wagon to yours? I don't get it. My advice? Slow things down. Something's up.”

“Remind me not to call you guys anymore for advice. You're really good at deflating a guy's ego.”

“Hey now,” Lila piped in. “We love you, Nick. It just seems a little off that she's so eager to start a relationship with a guy she barely knows. You’d think with her experience she’d be more cautious.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to slow things down?” I finally asked them. “I've already sealed the deal. Gave her the night of her life and said the word boyfriend. It's not like I can make her forget all of that.”

“I'm sure you gave her an
okay
night.” Tucker laughed.

“Quit it,” Lila warned, and I heard her hand slap against his arm or chest. “I think what Tucker meant to say was pull the reins a bit. Maybe refrain from sleeping over for a while and all the other boyfriend things.”

“I'll try, but she's like a rabbit. She about killed me last night. I'm not sure if no sex is even an option.”

“Why don't you just try having a real conversation with her?” Tucker suggested. “I'm sure after about five minutes she'll realize you’re a complete tool.”

“Very funny,” I deadpanned. Tucker and I had a weird way of showing our affection, but the fact that he was even participating in this conversation meant that he cared.

“I'm going to bed. You've got my two cents, Nicky. Not that you listened to anything I had to say,” he said with a chuckle.

“Gia didn't seem surprised. She actually tried to warn me.”

“Gia?” Lila asked.

“The assistant.”

“Ahhh... You mean your new mark. She's one you need to convince before she calls you out. Or worse, tells Sadie to cut you loose, right? I mean, you've already got Sadie where you want her.”

“Yeah, attached to my fucking hip.” I forced a laugh.

Sadie thinking I was greatest thing ever was exactly what I wanted, but now that I had her on the hook, I was having second thoughts. As fun as sleeping with her had been, I didn't know if I'd be able to convince her that I was actually falling in love with her. Especially after the day we'd spent in the studio together. She had recorded two more of the songs from Hollace's list with no complaints. But she’d made sure that I’d paid for them with a make-out session every time I hit the reset button. Plus, I’d had to agree that next week we'd focus on a few of the songs she had written. And she’d kept calling me “boyfriend” with a stupid little grin on her face. If she annoyed me after one day of dating, what was the rest of my time with her going to look like?

“That's what you wanted, right?”

“It is. It's making the recording process so much easier. She'd record a tampon jingle if I asked her to. I just think I should have taken Gia's advice. Your advice,” I added through gritted teeth. “Took things slower or kept them separate altogether. I'm pretty sure I could have convinced her to do what I wanted without sleeping with her.”

As bad as I knew she wanted to tell me “I told you so,” she didn't. Instead she started prying about the one person I was trying really hard not to think about.

“So this Gia… Tell me more.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked. “That she's a smart-mouthed know-it-all? That I've been around her twice and both times she made me want to scream? That I'm pretty sure she's got me all figured out and could blow my whole cover any second if she wanted to?”

“Ummm…okay. I just meant tell me about how you plan on convincing her that you are with Sadie for the right reasons, but now that you opened that can of worms…” she trailed off. “Is Nick I-don't-care-about-anyone Kline actually concerned with how a girl feels about him?”

Not fucking possible.

She didn't give me a chance to answer. “You got the hots for this girl or what?”

“The hots?” I scoffed. “What are we, twelve? And, no. I mean, yeah she's hot, but she wouldn't piss on me if I was on fire.”

“Hmmm,” she offered.

“Hmmm? That's all you’ve got?”

“Oh, no, I've got lots more I want to say about it, but I think you've got other things to worry about tonight, Nick. My suggestion? Get your jacket on—the Armani one I packed in your bag—and go out and convince the world that you love Sadie Sinclair. Don't think another thought about the assistant you may or may not have the hots for. You got yourself into this mess and somehow you have to manage to convince everyone else that you are a decent human being.”

I told her goodbye. As I waited for the car Sadie was sending over to pick me up, I started to wonder if I was actually a decent human being.

Sadie had been at my side the entire night. Introducing me to quite a few people I could see myself working with in the future. The night wasn't a total bust.