Chapter 2
Chapter Two
ALY
You’re right, Bono! I won’t!
Every morning, I choose to wake up to this song—one of my all-time favorites—hoping it sets the tone for my day to be beautiful, to be exciting. To be memorable.
My smile widens as I open my eyes to see the sunlight creeping in through my curtains, telling me it’s going to be another gorgeous day here in Nashville.
I throw the covers off me, put my slippers on, and start my morning routine of getting ready for work.
After I take care of business in the bathroom and shower, I head to the kitchen to make coffee.
While the coffee brews, I fill my cat’s bowl up with his breakfast before making my own.
I pour myself a bowl of cereal, grab my cup of joe, and sit down to start eating.
As usual, I stare off into space while my mind thinks of all the things I need to accomplish today.
Apollo jumping on the table startles me out of my trance, and even though I should yell at him to get down, I instead scratch behind his fluffy ears where his sweet spot is.
“We’re going to rock this day, aren’t we, Apollo?”
Yup, I’m that girl. That girl who’s the optimist, the romanticist with a bohemian, hippie flair and Goody Two-shoes way of life.
I’m that girl who thinks the glass is always half full and am grateful for every day I get to wake up and live another day.
One might call my exuberance for life annoying, but in a world where life can become dark and depressing in the blink of an eye, I call my positivity “survival.” My happiness and love for life makes people roll their eyes, but honestly, I’m beyond the point where I care what other people think.
If they want to live their life with doubt, stress, and anxiety, then so be it.
I choose to be this way, and let me make it perfectly clear, I’m damn happy to be that girl.
When I’m done eating breakfast, I load the dirty dishes into the dishwasher before heading back to my room to brush my teeth and finish getting ready for work.
Once my hair is done and makeup is complete, I grab my purse and car keys and head out the door.
The beautiful morning sky makes me wish I could walk to work, but because my hours are unpredictable, it’s safer for me to drive, even if I only live a couple miles away.
I live in the same house my parents did when they went to college - a rental property my grandparents bought as an investment located between where Belmont and Vanderbilt Universities are.
When my parents took it over, they completely gutted and updated it with modern fixtures with the intention of selling it to make some money.
Because of the exclusive area it was in, they decided to keep it instead of selling it.
My sister, Valerie, and her best friend, Emma, lived in it during their college years, and then I moved in when it was my time to start college.
I was hoping Valerie was going to continue living here when I moved in, but because she’s four years older than me and needed quietness while she worked and studied to become a certified CPA and auditor, she decided to move into her own condo close by.
My best friend, Willow, was living with me up until we graduated and then moved out to be closer to her new job.
I make the quick drive to my office and pull into the parking lot.
I still can’t believe I’m actually working in the music industry.
I’ve always known I wanted some sort of career in the music world.
Music has always spoken to my soul, starting out when I was a little girl and my mother would play classical music for me to fall asleep to.
I studied piano and violin but grew more interested in the business and gossip side of the industry when I was in high school.
Just driving up and down Music Row excited me, knowing how much history was behind those walls of the famous music houses.
I immersed myself into researching what I needed to do to start my path into the industry.
I applied and got accepted into Belmont University and studied in their music business program.
I busted my butt in school, knowing if I really wanted this, I was going to have to stand out amongst all the other students who had the same dream as I did.
Fortunately, I found a cute, boutique-style record label called Big Little Music to intern at during my senior year.
Nashville is known for country music, but all genres of music are produced and recorded here.
Big Little Music started off with indie rock artists, but it now has a full catalog of music and represents some of the biggest names in the industry.
Proving to my bosses I’m a hard, loyal worker paid off, and I was offered an assistant’s position in the A&R department as soon as I graduated.
It’s been three months since graduation, and most of my college classmates still don’t have a job, so I know how truly blessed I am.
There are a lot of perks that come with my job, from working with famous artists, to planning VIP parties, to attending concerts and award ceremonies.
I take every single assignment I’m given seriously, because if I want to move up in this world, I have to act professionally, be on time, and never, ever act star-struck when in the presence of a celebrity, even if I am star-struck.
The biggest rule of them all, one I set for myself is that I don’t date men in the industry, especially good-looking musicians.
I walk in and wish a good morning to anyone whose path I cross on the way to my office.
I sit down, turn on my computer, and start making my to-do list for the day.
Every morning, I arrive one hour earlier than my boss in order to catch up on emails and relish in the silence, because once he arrives, my day—and sometimes my evening—is filled with chaos.
Fifty-four minutes later, I hear his booted footsteps coming and look up from my computer.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” Shane Adams sings in greeting before resuming his phone conversation and shutting his office door.
Shane is one of the A&R managers here, and boy did I hit the boss lottery when he hired me.
He acts more like my big brother and trusts me enough to let me do my job, gently guiding me along the way when he feels I need help.
There are two other assistants who report to him, but they don’t have the close relationship he and I share.
I can’t explain it, but we just clicked from day one.
He makes every day at work an adventure and keeps things exciting for me and the rest of the people on staff.
Moments later, he comes right back out of his office with his empty coffee mug and parks his hip against my desk. “I’m going to get more caffeine and then let’s get together for our morning meeting. We have lots to discuss, and I need to meet with all my staff before eleven thirty.”
“Sounds good,” I respond with a smile, but internally, I’m questioning how much we really have to discuss.
Is there something I’m forgetting? I wonder, glancing at my short to-do list once Shane walks away from my desk.
I shrug my shoulders in confusion, since I’m sure I will soon find out what else is going to be added to my plate.
I grab my notebook and pen and wait for him to return to his office.
“All right,” he drawls out once he shuts his door and walks around his desk to sit behind it. “Let’s get down to business.” He folds his hands together and stares at me intently. “Please tell me you’ve heard back from that hot hockey player and have a date lined up with him.”
I burst out laughing at his eager expression while he waits for me to answer him. Only Shane would consider my love life as the most important topic of business to start off our morning meeting.
“Yes, he has called me. But!” I hold up my hand to stop him from screaming with glee.
“I’m honestly only interested in being his friend.
” Ever since my college boyfriend dumped me a year ago, men have been the last thing I’m interested in.
I’m just starting to figure out what I want to do with my life and what I need to do to reach my goals.
And if I’m honest with myself, my busy work schedule doesn’t leave me much time to date.
Heck, I can barely give attention to my cat—much less a man!
“Alyson Dawson, what is wrong with you? Do you know how many women would die to have Brodie Larsen calling them?” He looks at me with such disdain that I start laughing again.
Brodie Larsen is a hotshot NHL player who comes from a very famous hockey family.
His father played for Nashville as well, so Brodie is a local hero.
Fans went crazy when Nashville drafted him straight out of college, and he has been one of the more popular players since then.
Our marketing department decided it would be a good idea to give tickets to the local sports teams to any concerts our artists were having in hopes they would come and return the favor to us with hockey tickets.
Brodie and two other players showed up to our suite at the arena during one of our clients’ concerts.
I knew of Brodie, but was surprised at how good-looking he was with his dark hair, intense blue eyes, and lean, hard body.
He was not shy at all in introducing himself to me, and I enjoyed chatting with him, but I didn’t get the sense he was interested in me.
Not that it mattered, because I definitely didn’t feel any sparks for him, so imagine my surprise when he asked for my number at the end of the evening.
I didn’t hesitate in giving it to him, thinking it would be cool to have a potential new friend.