Page 37 of Strike A Chord

“I fully intend to spoil you, sweetheart.”

Filled to the fucking brim. Every inch of my body thrummed with the sweet sensation of what love was. Corny much? Hell yeah, and I intended to bask in every fucking moment of it.

But as I sat there eating it dawned on me how hard Reagan and his team worked. “Hey, man,” I stopped Daniel, “what can I do to help?” Never having held a real job, I wasn’t sure what I could do without fucking up, but I was more than willing to try.

“Come around the back of the bar. We need to get a handle on these glasses. I’ll show you what to do.” Simple enough, got it on the first try. Had I not, I’d have smacked myself upside the head.

“I don’t remember seeing your name when I ran payroll.” Reagan smacked my ass as he walked past. “What gives?”

I shrugged. “Wanted to help out. Felt bad you guys are working your ass off while I sat there.”

“You’re a paying customer.”

“I’m the boyfriend of the owner which to me implies…” My jaw dropped as two familiar bodyguards came in before Joey and Stoli did. “You guys slumming it?”

“Hey,” Reagan snapped a towel at me. “Boyfriend. Owner.” Joey and Stoli smiled at us, enjoying our playfulness. Their two guards, that was a different story as they worked to keep the growing crowd back.

“Wanted to see the place. Google stalked Reagan and landed here. Have a couple ideas for us to chat about if you can break away from dish duty.” Stoli, ever the smartass. A couple stools cleared at the bar, or maybe their guards cleared them. Made it easier for them to keep an eye on things with Joey and Stoli seated in a stationary area. Was this what I had to look forward to? Losing a portion of the freedom I’d only recently come to enjoy?

“Anything to drink?” Reagan asked, already pouring me a fresh one.

“I’ll have a beer. Whatever IPA you have on tap,” Stoli ordered.

“Same.”

“Anything for the guards?”

“Nah, they’re in Hulk smash mode right now so I don’t want to distract them.” Stoli was no petite femme which made those words twice as funny. Was he stacked with muscle like the guards? No, but he and Joey met them in height. I was a fucking munchkin beside them, and I stood around five-ten and Reagan only beat me by an inch.

“Wanna talk here or in private?”

“Private once,” Stoli paused and glanced around, “if the crowd dies down. What time do you close?”

“Midnight.” Reagan looked at his watch. “In like twenty minutes. Usually, the crowd is nearly gone by now but I’m guessing our guests of honor are the reason they’re still here.”

“Yeah, with fame your anonymity goes down the toilet. We’ll shoot the shit, drink our beer, and wait for the doors to close if that works for you?” Stoli took a drink. “Unless you lovebirds had plans.”

“Just moving some boxes I already packed.”

“Shacking up?” Stoli, so blunt and to the point, and even knowing that I still blushed.

“Something like that.” We talked while Reagan and his team funneled the mass of bodies out at closing time. Went over the schedule Sal and Jeremiah sent and as mentioned, we’d kick off a couple shows in Vegas after Christmas. Then down to Arizona, LA, and back up to Seattle. The month of December would be spent in a whirlwind of studio time and practice.

“You mentioned having a bunch of songs ready. Tomorrow I’m sure you’ll be unpacking and settling in so why don’t you and that fancy notebook of yours head over Wednesday around noon and we’ll run over them. If that’s okay with you? I know our beloved notebooks are the keys to our souls and I’ll understand if it’s too soon for that.” Stoli meant well but he was right, that’s a leash that’s hard to pull back on. But given the positive steps our relationship had taken I wasn’t about to be the cause of a setback.

“I’m good with that. Now that the bar’s empty, wanna tell me what your surprise visit was really for?”

Unspoken words passed between Joey and Stoli before Stoli spoke. “I was thinking maybe you and I could do an acoustic set here to drum up some business and blow up Chaotic’s social media.”

“That would fucking do it for sure.”

“You up for it, stud?” Stoli teased. “And is Reagan okay with that? Not gonna lie, we’ll handle the extra security, but you’ll probably need a dozen hands on deck staff wise at minimum.”

Reagan was all smiles. “Hell yeah, I’m good with it, just give me a couple of weeks’ notice if possible so I can make sure we’re not only fully stocked and loaded, but that hotel management is ready for the onslaught, too.”

“Deal. Meanwhile, Joey and I will get your man prepared to release his first album. I’m thinking maybe the week between Christmas and New Year for the show here.”

“That’s usually a light week for us, though these last few months have been insane. Pick a date and let me know and it’s yours.” Reagan was just as excited as we were. My heart pounded inside my chest. Stoli had my success, Chaotic’s success at the forefront of his mind. He could make all the decisions he wanted, and I’d happily follow. Stoli was far more in tune with this business than I was, and I had a hell of a lot to learn from him.

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