She’s My Kind Of Rain (Rawlings Ranch #1)

Chapter 22

22

DAISY - JUNE 28, 2004

I feel like a new woman.

It hasn’t even been a week since I met Sawyer. Not even a week, and my world already feels like it’s been flipped upside down in the best way. My job is going great, I’ve made a really good friend, and now I am having the time of my life with the kindest, and hottest, guy I’ve ever met.

Walking into the office this week, I have had a new spring in my step and a smile not only on my face, but on my heart.

“Good morning, Miss Holloway.” Julie peers up from her desk. “Would you like me to get you a coffee or anything?”

“I’d love a sweet tea, thank you,” I say, truly grateful for her attentiveness.

“Of course, I’ll have that to your office in a few minutes.” She gets up from her desk and heads toward the common room that is always stocked to the brim with anything you can think of—another wonderful amenity to working at Telluride.

I’ve just barely set my stuff down on my desk when Julie enters the room.

“Here you go, Miss Daisy.” Her bright smile shines on her face, a warmth she always has following her every move. “You seem rather exuberant this week. It’s nice to see another person in the office so happy to be here. Some of the more seasoned employees have lost the excitement walking through these doors.”

It seems wild to me that at some point this job could feel as if it’s just a job and nothing more, but knowing that many of the people who roam this office have been here for as long as I have been alive means there’s bound to be a person or two that are no longer phased by the wonder of this place.

“I’m sure once you’re twice the age of the talent, it’s no longer as exciting when a hot country singer graces our presence,” I joke, assuming it’s okay since she, too, is young and probably doesn’t take everything as seriously as some of the much older employees would.

She giggles and nods her head in agreement. “Oh, girl, even for us young folk, the eye candy loses its sparkle. Telluride has a very strict policy preventing anyone who works here from intermingling with anyone who is signed.” She lets out an exaggerated huff. “I guess it’s a conflict of interest or something,” she says in a sarcastic tone while rolling her eyes.

And while she laughs about the rule she deems silly, my stomach crashes to the floor and my heart skips a beat. I wish that I had just heard her wrong, but there wasn’t a single way for what she just said to be misconstrued, and then real panic sets in.

I force a laugh, doing my best not to out my apparent off-limits relationship because even though we are friendly, that doesn’t make us friends, and the last thing I need is for her to gossip about something I haven’t fully figured out myself. The phone rings from outside my office at her desk and I’m thankful that it pulls her from our conversation and out of the room.

I think for a long moment on how I can fix this, coming up short, because there is no undoing any of what I have done.

What will make this less bad? Can anything make this less bad?

What if I find someone to offset the blow when I tell Blake about being in a relationship with the talent . Maybe if there is another, just as exciting artist it won’t be quite as bad? I sit down at my desk and then it clicks. We just had a meeting the other day about new ways to find artists and how we need to evolve with the industry. Friendspace seems to be the new IT thing for music. Artists have found a way to make themselves more accessible to not only the industry itself, but listeners too. Followers or fans, as far as they are concerned, speak for themselves.

This has to work.

I have spent hours in my office looking through endless profiles. Pop artists seem to have taken this new trend by storm, which, unfortunately, is not what I’m looking for.

Dad, if you’re listening, please help me find someone. Anyone who will hit the mark.

I click on another profile and my jaw just about hits the floor. Sage Summers. Her name alone screams star, but to top it off she’s gorgeous and her profile claims she sings country music. I click play on the song uploaded to her profile.

Her EP is amazing and her followers aren’t astronomical like most of the pop singers I have found this far—which I thought was important, but for some reason feels rather lucky. I click into her photo albums and scroll through her pictures, landing on a photo of her and what I assume is her horse. She looks like she has come right off the cover of a CD with her warm blonde hair and brown eyes beaming bright in what could only be described as golden hour.

I redirect myself back to her page and click on message . Eager to get a response, I include all of my contact information and hours, and click send. If she doesn’t answer, I will for sure be back to the drawing board, but if she does, I’m almost certain I found another star. Hope blossoms in my chest. Please let this work.

I gather my bag and phone, and head out the door, eager to tell Kaylee my new plan—hopeful that she thinks it will help my current situation like I yearn for it to.

“Daisy, you could bring in fifteen new singers, that is not going to change the fact that you’re sleeping with one. Honestly, Mr. Montgomery might even feel like this is the start of a downward HR spiral that he’s not willing to deal with.” Kaylee’s tone rings with disapproval.

“You don’t think just maybe that he will be disappointed in the situation, but give me another chance since I found not only one, but two really talented singers to potentially sign?”

She shakes her head. “Dais, he’s your boss, not your parent. It’s not one of those forgive and forget moments where you screw up big time and they still have to love you for you regardless of your mistakes.”

The excitement from earlier, thinking that I had figured out something to fix my current issue, dwindles with every word she says—mostly because I know she’s right.

How am I going to tell Sawyer?