Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar (Raising Havoc Bandmates #4)

3. Mallory

3

Mallory

The studio rumbles with barely contained energy. Bright lights cast a harsh glare on the polished floor, reflecting off the cameras and making everything seem hyper-real. It's a familiar scene, one that usually energizes me, but today, it only magnifies the tension coiling in my stomach.

The moment Jace walked through the back entrance of Jankin’s studio, my carefully crafted plan crumbled. Ignore him, I’d told myself this morning. Easy, right? Wrong.

My eyes drink him in—the white tee, the red and black flannel draped over his shoulder, those biceps threatening to burst through his sleeves. My mouth goes dry. So much for ignoring him.

I can tell he’s been working out because the long sleeves hug his biceps in a way that makes my mouth water. Every detail of him is etched permanently into my brain, but nothing compares to seeing him in person.

A throat clears beside me and I shake from my wayward thoughts, then turn my attention to Hilary, who’s glaring at me. “You want to stop ogling the guests and pay attention to your clients, Miss Dominic?”

I bite my lip hard as I force my gaze away from Jace. My heart races, a mix of desire and panic. Focus, Mallory. You're a professional now. Act like it. But even as I try to steel myself, I can feel his presence, like an electric current in the air. Every fiber of my being wants to turn back, to drink in the sight of him again. It takes every ounce of willpower to keep my eyes on my clients.

My cheeks heat, and I turn back to the group of men seated across from Deanna Jankins, relieved to find that Jace is no longer looking at me with those bright eyes. “I’m not ogling,” I mumble. “More like studying them.”

Hilary scoffs but doesn’t say anything in return.

Deanna leans forward, a bright smile on her face, and looks over Raising Havoc’s shoulder at Sweet Surrender. “This is your first time playing for a crowd of this capacity. How do you think you’ll be able to handle the pressure of it?”

Trevor flashes that lazy grin and looks at each of the members in the band. “Pressure isn’t something we feel easily. This tour is about getting our names out there and performing to our heart’s content. My only hope is that our music can change people’s lives like it’s done for us.”

I nod, throwing a thumbs up at him from across the room, and he responds with a discrete wink in my direction.

“What does it mean to be opening for Raising Havoc?”

“It’s a dream come true, really. They are a great group of guys who we’ve all looked up to and I’m excited to see what this could mean for us.”

Jankins smiles and nods, then leans forward. “I’m sure everyone else is dying to know. Do you have any new music you’ll be sharing on tour?”

“Actually,” Trevor says while rising slowly from his seat. “Today, we’re going to play one of our newest singles that hasn’t yet been released. As long as that’s okay with you, of course.”

“That would be wonderful. An exclusive look into what your next album will look like is a great way to end the show!”

While Deanna helps get Sweet Surrender situated on the small stage facing the afternoon crowd, I turn around and head back to a table that’s filled with hors d’oeuvres. I just finish putting a few meats and cubes of cheese onto my plate when a throat clears beside me.

Brent grins at me. “Congratulations, little sis, for landing this marketing gig. Julia told me this morning.”

“Ready for our big collaboration?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Collaboration?”

He chuckles. “The joint promotional activities for the tour?”

My heart races. Right. The promo Julia mentioned. I force a smile. “Of course. Just... a lot on my mind.”

I suppress a groan. I’d been so focused on seeing Jace again that I’d completely forgotten about the ‘special plans’ Julia had mentioned. Working closely with Raising Havoc means more time around Jace. Just perfect.

As if summoned by my thoughts, I feel a presence behind me. The air shifts, and I know, even before I hear his voice, that it's him. My body tenses, bracing for impact.

His large frame comes up behind me, and he chuckles. “Lookin’ good in that skirt, Mal.”

I hate how my body reacts to his words and how easily he can affect me. This is exactly why I need to keep my distance. I can’t let one flirtatious rockstar derail everything I’ve worked for.

Jace’s voice sends a shiver down my spine, but I keep my face neutral and roll my eyes like I normally would. “That shirt looks like it came from a thrift shop, not really your style.”

He chuckles, throws me a wink, then saunters away without saying another word.

“What do you think it would take for him to stop?” I ask, feigning annoyance.

Brent smirks. “Awe, what’s wrong, sis? Can’t handle a little teasing from a rockstar?”

Trevor’s voice swirls through the air, while the rest of the guys play their instruments in the background, and I give Brent a quick hug before making my way back over to Hilary. She’s got a resting bitch face, but there’s something about it that seems to light up as she stares at the guys performing.

I track her gaze, finding it on Ledger as he strums the chords on his guitar with a look of pure concentration, and trail it back to Hilary. Her features are brighter now, a small smile tipping the corners of her tips, and her green eyes sparkling while she bounces along to the music.

It’s weird to see her this way since all I ever see is the scowl. I’m starting to believe she saves just for me, but it gets a lighter side of me out as well.

“Don’t you have a job to worry about?” She spits, the light leaving her eyes as she glares at me with an eyebrow arched.

“I’ve done everything I need to do for the day, actually,” I mumble, then flash her a smile I’m sure will annoy her. “You’ll be happy to know that there could be a chance that Ledger will get a partnership with Fender, think he’d be interested?”

Hilary’s eyebrows shoot up and blink a few times before a giant grin overtakes her face. “This would be amazing for him. How could you have possibly gotten that set up so quickly?”

I chuckle and throw a hand in the air. “It’s not a done deal just yet. I’ve still got a few hoops to jump through, but his chances are pretty high at getting it.”

As if remembering how she’s supposed to be acting with me, Hilary clears her throat, and the smile vanishes before she sticks her chin a little higher in the air. “Right, maybe you should focus on more important things. Like handling their rebranding before the tour starts.”

“It’s already getting handled,” I say softly.

I clutch the papers I’m holding closer to my chest, suddenly growing more self-conscious of myself. This wasn’t who I used to be — I was the most outgoing woman, but something changed after I saw my brother and Julia together.

Suddenly, I realized that I wanted more than I’d been giving myself. I want the husband I get to come home to, complaining about what idiot thing one of my clients decided to do, but not until I get a little further in my career — which is where Sweet Surrender comes into play.

I’m going to do everything in my power to get myself higher up in the industry, eventually working with the most popular names, and this is where that starts.

Hilary frowns. “Already? You only just started. How could you have possibly gotten it handled?”

“Stick around, and maybe you’ll find out,” I say with a wink before a throat clears behind us.

When I turn around, my breath catches in my throat and Jace smirks at me like he knows exactly the kind of reaction he’s getting out of me. I give him a smile, one that should be forced but most definitely doesn’t feel that way, and cock my head to the side. “Are you following me now?”

Jace chuckles softly, running his fingers along his jaw, and smirks. “Trust me, sweetheart, you wish I was following you. Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question, though?”

Hilary is side-eyeing us, and I quickly grab hold of Jace’s arm to pull him into a dark corner away from her prying eyes. I take a look around, making sure no one else is watching us, but thankfully find that no one else from Raising Havoc is within the distance.

“What the hell are you doing coming up to me like that?”

“Not allowed to talk to an old friend?”

I narrow my eyes at him, hating that he’s calling me a friend even though I know it’s the right thing to do, then shake my head. “Is there something wrong?”

He leans against the wall we are standing by and crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t know, could be the fact that I had to find you would be here by seeing you walk into the room.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, didn’t realize I was supposed to tell you every move I make,” I mutter and roll my eyes. “What do you care, anyway?”

He shrugs. “I don’t, but looks like we’re going to get very friendly with each other on the tour.”

“Great,” I grumble.

Trevor saunters across the room, stopping at the hors d’oeuvres, and pops a cube of cheese into his mouth just as the rest of the guys come up beside him. I clear my throat, nudging my head toward the group, and clap a hand on Jace’s back with a smile.

“Duty calls got a rock band to rebrand and all that.”

He narrows his eyes at Trevor, jaw ticking, but he forces a smile and pushes away from the wall. “Right, see ya once the tour starts.” Before he can get too far away, he spins around and looks my frame up and down. “You should wear that skirt more often, though I wouldn’t mind if you showed off a little more leg.”

My pussy clenches at the compliment, causing me to rub my thighs together as discreetly as possible, and only after Jace is out of my view do I take a deep breath and strut over to Trevor. “You guys did great back there. The fans are going to love that new song!”

Ledger grunts in response, while Reggie and Drew nod in response.

Trevor, on the other hand, drapes an arm over my shoulder and pulls me into his side with a smile. “It’s all thanks to you, Mal. Suggesting we release a new single early, through the interview, was a great idea.”

Ledger nods toward me. “What’s next, coach?”

I smirk. “I need you to pose for a few pictures, mostly with that fancy guitar of yours, so I can try to get you this partnership.”

His eyebrows jump in the air. “Partnership?”

“I’m not just a pretty face, you know?”

He rolls his eyes and pushes away from the table with his eyes focused over my shoulder. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

Without another word, he walks past the rest of us and heads back out the entrance we walked through.

“Don’t mind him,” Trevor says beside me. “He’s always been a little slow with trusting people.”

When the door closes behind Ledger, I snap my attention back to the rest of the guys and clear my throat before stepping away from Trevor when I realize his arm is still draped over me. “For the rest of you, let’s get some traction on the new single.”

“Whatcha thinkin’?” Trevor asks, head cocked to the side.

“Let’s take it to social media, all the band accounts. Maybe we can make a small contest for the best cover of the song?”

Trevor nods slowly. “What would the winner get?”

“A couple of backstage passes or a free photo op if they attend a concert in the area?”

“I feel like the photo op idea is more appropriate for that kind of contest. We should go with that idea.”

I nod. “Great. In the meantime, I’m going to keep checking in with the rebranding. I’ve got a few people working on your website, submitting new merchandise designs, and I really think it will help you guys in the long run.”

Trevor throws his arms in the air and smiles. “You’re the boss, seems like you’re killin’ it so far to me. Not gonna step in your way.”

For some reason, Trevor isn’t the one I want to be hearing that from.

This is going to be a long few months on tour, that’s for sure. With Jace’s eyes burning into me every time we’re in the same room and Trevor’s friendly advances,

I’m walking a tightrope. One wrong move and I could lose everything I’ve worked for.

As I gather my things to leave, one thought echoes in my mind.

How am I going to survive this tour with my career – and my sanity – intact?