Page 25 of The Boss
The look on her face would’ve made me laugh if I wasn’t pissed at what she was telling me.
“Zed asked if I was one of the ‘perks’ he’d told Stu – I mean, Mr. Hancock – he wanted.”
Stu and I were going to have a discussion about these ‘perks’ and what we would or wouldn’t be offering in the future. I didn’t believe for a minute that Stu had provided women for Zed or the rest of Unraveling, but we were going to make it abundantly clear to all of our artists the sort of things we wouldn’t have available for them.
Ashlee continued, “When I told him I wasn’t a perk but rather Mr. Hancock’s personal assistant, he made a rather crude assumption about my role, and then suggested we get a hotel room key so he and the band could all ‘get a piece’ of me.”
I bit back a growl. The idea of the entire band and Ashlee…no. Just no.
“I turned him down and tried to walk around him.” Her mouth flattened into a thin line. “He grabbed my arm, and then he grabbed my…butt.”
Hell no. She’d clearly told him that she wasn’t interested in him. That was so far over the line…
“I used what I learned in my self-defense classes to get out of his grip and put him into a position of submission.”
The word rolled off her tongue and flipped that switch inside me that was definitelynotwork friendly. I wrestled it back into the place I kept it when I needed to be professional.
“Son of a bitch,” I said, my voice low as I turned away. I paced, continuing to talk to myself. “This needs to be dealt with. We can’t condone this. I knew he was a lecherous bastard, but that’s too far. He went too far.”
“I’m glad you agree with me.”
I turned back toward Ashlee, something about the way she spoke, the earnest quiet of her statement, touched that protective part of me. “You haven’t lied to me yet. Zed and I have…history that already made me suspect he was lying.”
“But you signed him.” She seemed calmer now, more in control of herself. “Unraveling was the first platinum artist Manhattan Records had, if I’m remembering correctly.”
I nodded. “Yes, to both. Zed was an asshole back then too.”
“I would ask why you signed him, but I already know the answer.”
“You do?” My insides froze.
“Rock stars are supposed to make headlines, and Zed being who he is, he makes headlines. Which makes you money.”
Right. Money.
“He went too far this time.”
I said it directly to her because I needed her to understand that not only did I believe her, but I didn’t approve of what Zed did. Sure, I’d kissed her without warning, but as soon as she saidno, I backed off. Zed hadn’t.
“I’m glad you think so,” she said. “A lot of men don’t.”
“I’m going to take care of this.” My anger finally bled through my words.
The more I thought about Zed putting his hands on Ashlee, the angrier I got. The control that I had was slipping, and that never happened. What was it about this woman that made me want to not only end Zed’s contract but also knock out some teeth in the process?
As a Dom, I’d always been possessive of what was mine until I decided I didn’t want it anymore, but Ashlee wasn’t mine. Had never been mine. We’d barely interacted. Had a single, brief kiss. But I wanted to protect her.
More than wanted to. I was going to. And I wasn’t simply going to protect her. I was going to punish Zed for laying hands on a woman who didn’t want him. Just like I would’ve done for any other woman…but harder because the woman was mine.
Not mine.
I looked at her, and my stomach clenched.
Mine?
“What are you going to do?” Ashlee came over to stand next to me.
“Don’t worry about that.” I hadn’t decided yet, but my instincts told me to walk back out there, find Zed, and punch him in the face.
