Page 16 of Perfectly Wrong

“Oh, I see,” I teased. “You sing that after having sex with me? Very classy. I’m flattered.”

“At least I said you’re honest and never hide the truth.” Sam shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face.

“You’re ridiculous.”

I let him finish his shower and went back to the room to get dressed. As I was putting on my shoes, Sam came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and making me jump.

“Greek goddess is the least of what you are,” he whispered, kissing the spot just behind my ear. He turned me around and looked into my eyes. “You’re my summer day in the middle of winter.”

I cupped his face and kissed him lightly. We stood there, gazing at each other for a few seconds, lost in our thoughts. Then my phone buzzed, reminding me the van was waiting for our team.

“You’re a lucky bastard to have me in your life!” I kissed him again and left, his laughter echoing in the room and bringing a smile to my face all the way to the elevator.

We were almost closing the deal with the Japanese team. The band had been present at the last meeting, and I got to learn more about their daily schedule. It was insane! The boys were kept on a tight leash by their management, and I started to consider doing the same with our artists. Compared to how this band was treated, we were practically mothering ours.

We spent a lot of time talking. I explained how we operated in Canada and shared my thoughts on how best to promote them. It was just a rough idea since I wouldn’t be the one guiding them directly. They said their biggest dream was to become as popular as BTS, and they were really grateful for the opportunity from Icon Records. That told me the issue was clearly with their management, who seemed intent on squeezing every penny they could out of the boys.

A text popped up on my phone, and I excused myself to go to the restroom so I could read it without being rude.

What are your plans for lunch today?

I giggled.

I’ll have lunch somewhere. You’ll have lunch exactly where I expect you to be: in my hotel room. People can’t see you, remember?

Sam was like a puppy—constantly needing to be kept in check. If you let him off the leash, he’d get himself into trouble. Unbelievable!

If I order food, people will know I’m here anyway! :( Come on, Lena, let’s meet somewhere. I can wear a hat and sunglasses. Please?

As if a hat and sunglasses were enough to hide that perfect jawline of his.

No. Period. I have to get back to work. See you later.

I turned off my phone and went back to the meeting. To my surprise, the band was signing their contract with Icon Records. There were five bottles of champagne and some very happy lawyers.

“I can’t believe we finally did it!” one of them exclaimed as I approached the group.

“It feels like heaven!” another murmured. “Thanks for all your help, Elena!”

“Just sign the damn thing so we can get out of here,” I joked, and we all laughed. “But first, I want a whole bottle of champagne to myself. I plan on getting drunk to celebrate the end of this torture.”

At lunch, we joined the Japanese team at a fancy restaurant just a couple of blocks from the office, conveniently close to the hotel too. I wouldn’t have to go back to work afterward, so it was perfect. And remember what I said about champagne? Well, Elena Vaughan had her own bottle and some ideas in mind. All I needed to do was get back to the hotel and meet a certain Canadian boy.

Lunch was going smoothly, although Rento had seated himself on my right and was asking a ton of questions that weren’t exactly appropriate for a work setting. I was trying to brush him off politely, but he was testing my patience.

And, of course, when things could go wrong, everything had to go wrong at once. The door to my left opened, and in walked an almost six-foot-five Sam Martin. At that exact moment, Rento decided to grab my hand and bring it to his chest. It was like a scene out of a slow-motion movie. On one side, Sam looked surprised to see me and clearly unsettled by the situation. On the other, I almost fainted when I realized he was outside the hotel and I wanted to punch Rento for the audacity of touching me without my consent. But things got even worse when Marco, one of Icon Records’ lawyers, recognized him.

“Sam!” he called out from across the table. “Hey, man, come over here! What are you doing in Japan? Did you know he was here, Elena?”

They greeted each other with a hug, and both sets of eyes turned to me. It was only when Marco said my name and gave me a confused look that I realized Rento was still holding my hand. I yanked it away and forced a smile.

“I didn’t,” I replied through gritted teeth. Sam gave me a quick hug, but it was long enough for me to whisper in his ear, “Any specific way you’d prefer to die?”

“So?” Marco persisted, clearly not letting this go anytime soon.

“Oh.” I could almost hear the gears turning in Sam’s head. “You know how it is; I’m looking for inspiration for my new album. I’ve wanted to visit Japan for a while, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I just stopped by to pick up my lunch order.”

“That’s great.” Marco grinned. “Sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone to create. Right, Elena?”

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