16. Salt
SIXTEEN
SALT
Sweat slicked my body as I stepped off stage. I breathed out the moment I was out of view from the rest of the venue. Where is Pepper?
I’d seen her go off with Tara, but she’d never returned. I raked my guitar string smudged fingers through my hair, looking around the backroom wildly.
“Hey.”
I looked up at Tara, startled by her. She raised a brow as she slid off an amp, rolling her shoulders.
“Watching you play is always something else,” she said. “Got them warmed up for us.”
“It’ll be a great show,” I said. “Where’s Pepper?”
She offered a sly smile. “She’s running lights. Told her she didn’t have to, but she jumped right in. It was nice of her.”
I clutched my guitar a little tighter. “That was nice of her.”
I was a little surprised, although I shouldn’t have been. Standing around and doing nothing seemed like it would be torture for her, so of course she’d found something to stay busy.
“The light booth is on the other side of the venue, up a set of stairs, and in a private room.” Tara wiggled her brows.
“I don’t know what you mean by that,” I said lightly.
Before she could quip back, Jack came off stage with his bass, his body gleaming. “That was great,” he said.
“It was,” I agreed. “Does Tyler need help with the drum set?”
“Nah,” Jack said. “That’s what you pay us for. Um, can I talk to you for a minute, though?”
What the fuck could this possibly be about? “Sure,” I said.
He put his arm around my shoulder as we moved out of the way of the steps. I almost shrugged him off, but felt like that would not be received well.
“So, why is the Rosethorn CEO here?” he asked.
“She just came to listen.”
He made a face. “Okay. Listen, dude. Word of advice, okay? You’re a good looking guy. She has a lot of power. Don’t let her take advantage of you, you know?”
My breath whooshed out of me from his implication. “Jack. You’re not saying you think she’d use that to try and fuck me? Surely not.”
“I’m just saying, it happens all the time. That woman has no feelings. Plus, she’s a lot older than you. You’re too young to be fucking around with someone like that . It wouldn’t be good for your career to get entangled with her.”
Everything went dead cold, and I didn’t just shrug him off, I shoved him back. And without skipping a moment, I did something bad. “You’re fired.”
Jack’s expression scrunched up with laughter, but the longer I stared at him, the more it melted into shock. Then more shock. Then anger.
“ What? ”
“You’re fired,” I repeated. “One, you’re not a fucking feminist. You were repeatedly a dipshit in the garage yesterday, and I just have zero interest in working with someone with so little respect for women. Two, what you just insinuated is beyond disrespectful to both me and Pepper.”
“Pepper?” he scoffed. “So you’re on a first name basis then? Already fucking her?”
“Jack,” I warned, my temper scorching all reason. “Get the fuck out before I break your jaw.”
“I’m not stupid. She’s hot as fuck, Salt, but you should tread lightly given who she is. This is a stupid thing. I get that you’re young, but?—”
“She’s just an acquaintance,” I lied. “Get the fuck out. Now.”
What she was, was mine . And I needed to touch her now, the way I’d been imagining since we got off the phone last night.
“Sure,” Jack sneered. “Musicians talk, man. This was fucking stupid. You don’t piss off the band.”
I sighed and unclasped my mask, giving him a look that made him take a step back. “Do I need to tell you to leave again?”
“No. I’m out of here. Good fucking luck with that record deal. You’re gonna need it if you become her little pet.”
I stood still, clenching my fist as I watched him pack up and go. Tyler and Eric approached warily, but Tyler shook his head.
“I don’t know what that was, but that fucker was off beat half of the time. I got a good bass player who would be down to fill his spot,” Tyler said.
I breathed out slowly. “That would be great. Sorry.”
“I’m glad he’s gone,” Eric said with a shrug. “Bad vibes.”
“Agreed.”
Tyler grimaced. “You’re not dating the CEO, are you?”
“No,” I said. “She’s here to listen tonight. That’s all.”
Both of them accepted that. The three of us debriefed, and I glanced up as Tara waved from the stairs. “Put in a good word for us with your boss, please. A record deal would change our lives for the better.”
Before I could say anything else, Tara darted up the steps onto the stage. The other band members shuffled up behind her. The crowd was super engaged tonight, and I felt the excitement in the air, magnetically charged. I looked through the doorway at the stage as the lights changed from red to a pearlescent blue that made the four of them pop.
“I’m out for the night,” Tyler said. “See you Monday for practice?”
“Yeah, if that works.”
“I’ll be there,” Eric said.
“Great. See you then.” I took my guitar to its case in the corner and put it away carefully, tossing my mask into a black bag next to it. I pulled out a black hoodie and tugged it on, my stomach twisting at the thought of having to cross the bar right now. But, with any luck, everyone’s focus would be on Tara’s band. I grabbed my guitar case and bag, and left the room.
“Salt!”
Fuck. All I wanted was to get to Pepper. Why the fuck was everyone up my ass today? I turned as Dale approached me down the hall.
“Was I worth it?” I asked, not keeping the venom out of my tone. I was over his behavior and Jack’s.
Was Jack wrong to give a warning? I knew Pepper wasn’t using me in any way. But the fact that he’d guessed so easily that there was something between us made me wonder if I was being reckless.
Dale blanched. “You were. I’m sorry I was a dick earlier. She just rubbed me the wrong way. If anything, I probably owe her now for running the lights…”
“You do. I’m going to go sit in the light booth with her.”
Dale nodded, but clearly there was something else he wanted to say. I raised a brow as I waited, and he finally spilled. “I just want you to be careful. I know tonight didn’t go as smoothly as usual, but your performance was great. And I just want to warn you about having someone like Pepper interested in you. Just be careful.”
Ugh. Everyone was on me tonight. “She can’t hurt me,” I said.
“She can hurt anyone in this city, aside from a handful of CEOs of other companies. Rosethorn may be a small label, but it’s the biggest independently owned one there is. The roster they have is damn good. Everyone wants to work for them, especially since they treat their artists and employees well.”
“And all of that is because of Pepper,” I said. “At least, that’s what I’ve heard.”
He winced. “I don’t like her because of what happened to my sister. But I don’t like any of the suits in this town, they’re all a bunch of snooty assholes. I don’t want to see you get trapped in something you can’t get out of.”
“I’ll be careful.” Frustration clawed up my spine. His warning was starting to get under my skin. So was Jack’s.
They were wrong about her.
But I knew a different Pepper, didn’t I?
The one he knew was the woman who told him his sister was a piece of shit to his face.
The one I knew was the woman who’d begged me to fuck her.
Needless to say, we weren’t the same. But he didn’t know that.
“I’ll be in the booth,” I said. “Can I leave my equipment back here? I’ll grab it after the show.”
“Of course. We'll pay out once the show ends and the bar closes. It’ll be a late night.”
“Thanks,” I said. I set down my guitar case against the wall, but kept my bag in hand. “I’m going to go cool off.” I needed to get the fuck out of here. Between firing Jack and dealing with everything else, I felt claustrophobic. Like walls were caging me in.
I wanted Pepper. It’d been days since I’d felt her skin against mine, and I was desperate. Crazed for her.
“Maybe pull your hood up if you don’t want to be stopped,” he suggested. “They’re a little wild for you. We sold a lot at the bar and our social media girl told me the bar is getting tagged online a lot. It’ll be a good payout.”
If the comment section on my most recent video was any indication, he was right. But, I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy it. I may or may not have been an attention whore sometimes.
But I needed Pepper’s attention the most right now.