Chapter 26
Alice
“Thank you, 1924.We’ve had a blast so far.We’re taking a little break, but we’ll be back in a bit with more music!”Lark waved at the crowd before the stage lights went dark.
We all stumbled off the stage and headed for the bar for drinks.
“This place is awesome,” Bailey shouted as we settled on barstools.“We gotta come back for a girls’ night sometime.”
She wasn’t wrong.The whole place had a glitzy art deco vibe.But it wasn’t the geometric black and gold wallpaper or the backlit golden bar with built-in sculptures that had my attention.I was too busy craning my neck at the patrons, searching for Noah to take in the details.
Where was he?He never missed one of our shows if he could help it.Was there something wrong with DJ?
“Where’s your boyfriend?”Lark asked, literally reading my mind.“He’s usually bought us at least one round by now.
I swung my gaze between Lark and Bailey, unsure how to answer that.I hadn’t come right out and told them I was with Noah, but I guess we’d been suspect, given how often he showed up and bought us drinks and helped us load up at the end of the night.We really did need a roadie.Especially if my boyfriend was going to flake out on us.
Wait…
Shit.
I opened my mouth to refute their assumption when someone spoke over me.
“That’s quite some show you ladies put on tonight.”
Rolling my eyes at the patronizing asshole, I turned around to give him a piece of my mind but stopped short when I saw who’d made the comment.
Tyler Worthington was here.
Tylermother fuckingWorthington.
AKA the Tin Gods’ manager.
One of the biggest names in the music business, Tyler Worthington, was here.
Talking to us!
I sent a holy shit look at Bailey, but she was too busy hacking up a lung as she’d apparently swallowed her drink wrong when she’d realized who was in front of us.
“Tyler.”Lark gave him a little smirk as she put her hand out for a shake.“Nice to see you.I didn’t know you were in town.”
He shook her hand.“And I didn’t know you had a band.You’ve been holding out on me.”
“I wasn’t aware I needed to run every career decision by you.”Lark dropped her hand and leaned back against the bar.“Last I checked you aren’t our manager.”
Tyler tilted his head as he looked at her, then me, then Bailey, before he turned his attention back to Lark.He kept his poker face in place as he replied, “And maybe that needs to change.”
“Holy shit,” Bailey whispered next to me.Her fingernails bit into my arm as she grabbed me.“Is this really happening?”
“Yes, this is really happening.”Tyler gave her a genuine smile.“I like your sound, ladies.You’ve got spunk, bounce, and ballads.Not to mention balls.I think you can really go places with the right representation.”
“And that’s you?”I asked, raising my eyebrows.I tried to stay calm even as my blood whooshed in my ears.It felt like an out-of-body experience.How was this real life?
“I think so.”Tyler shifted his weight and shoved his hands into his dress pants pockets because the guy had shown up to an off-Strip bar in a full suit.“And I guess that’s for you three to decide.Unless you already have representation…”
Lark did that thing where she raised only one eyebrow.“There’s been some interest, but we haven’t signed with anyone yet.”
“Good.Because you’re going to want to sign with me.”Tyler reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a business card.“Give me a call in a day or two.I want to look at all the songs you have, and maybe we’ll be able to talk terms.”
