I slammed my cup on the table harder than I intended, causing the hot black liquid to jump out of its cup and stain the sleeve of my suit. I couldn’t force myself to care.
Calm down, Finch. Your anger has nothing to do with her. I took a deep breath and looked Lilly in the eye. She looked alarmed. Confused. Not at all like someone who had just fucked my entire plan. How could I blame her? She was just offered a spot on stage at one of the most hyped music festivals in Los Angeles. I’m sitting here, stewing in my past, while Lilly just sees the greatest opportunity she’s ever had. I’m the unreasonable one here. Not her. “Goddamn it, why is it so impossible to stay mad at you? What did he tell you your opportunity was, exactly?”
The corners of her mouth perked up, like a puppy that had just been told she was still a good girl, right after getting in trouble. She ran a hand through her hair, stopping behind her head and rubbing her neck sheepishly. “I’m kind of worried about what exactly he told you now.”
“I’m guessing we have two different stories.” I shouldn’t be taking Baek’s word for anything. The last thing I wanted to do was create a rift between us because of my own assumptions.
“Yeah.” Lilly shifted her gaze to her iced matcha latte and stirred it with his straw. “He told me he managed to get me a spot on the Bass Jumpers Tour.” She bit her lower lip for an extended second. Submissive. Odd. “If we can draw a big enough crowd, he said we could have anything we need going forward.”
I see. How could she say no to that. Knowing what she knows, if she had told me she turned down an opportunity like that, she probably figured I would be far more livid. “And what if we can’t?”
“Those consequences are on me.” She remained fixated on her drink as she wrapped her lips around the straw and sucked in the soft green latte. That can’t be good. I’m starting to wonder which one of us sold our soul further down the river.
“How exactly does he expect you to outshine Parrot Marionette and Lemon Park?”
“He said he’d discuss some ideas with you…” Lilly’s eyes finally met mine again. A glint of rebelliousness flashed through her dark irises. “Honestly, Finchy, I didn’t even think twice about it. Because you’re in charge. And you’re the best there is. You couldn’t let me down if you tried.” She shrugged and returned to his drink.
My face instantly flushed, and I took another sip in an effort to hide that, too. Here I was, ready to be furious at her, and here she was, placing trust, above and beyond, in me.
I breathed in and out a few counts with my mug still at my lips, letting my breath bounce off the hot coffee and return steam around my nose. I closed my eyes as I set my drink back on the table. There’s no reason I can’t deliver a package. Thirty minutes from the hills to the coast would have been child’s play to dad. And I was always a faster driver.
Lilly slurped the last of her drink, catching every drop she could with her straw, then she set it aside. “So what did he suggest to you?”
Should I tell her? It’s so ludicrous it seems silly to even voice it. I paused long enough that I knew it was going to start coming off as suspicious if I didn’t say something. “We just need to come up with a good promotion strategy. Find some way to get your name in the public eye.”
Lilly slurped the last of her drink, using her straw to capture every last drop of liquid. “Like… a scandal or something?” Her gaze moved upward, looking to the cogs in her head. “Like… us? Do you think if we went public with-”
“No.” There was no need to let her finish that sentence. Certainly not in public. “We’ll just… don’t worry about it. I’m still brain storming. We have a couple more days to think of something.”
“Alright.” Lilly stood up and stretched her arms over her head. “Well… sorry for going behind your back. I thought it was going to be for the best.”
“Apology accepted.” I nodded. “Your heart was in the right place.”
She smiled that easy smile. “It won’t happen again, Finchy.”
“Good.” I finished the last gulp. “We’ll make this work. It’s going to be alright.”
I watched her walk out, holding my composure til the end. I released a deep sigh and slumped my forehead to the table.
I had talked a good game, but I didn’t have any idea of what I was going to do.