Page 19 of Diva Pop

Silas let his gaze travel over each man, and when it landed on Jett, he could tell there was something troubling him. When Jett didn’t say anything, Silas jerked his chin in Jett’s direction.

“What’s on your mind, Jett?”

“So...since I only got the Cliff Notes version of this morning’s saga, can I ask what this means in terms of, you know, the individual members in the band? Are we changing things up again or…?”

Leave it to Jett to bring up what Silas was hoping to avoid for the time being. Despite being a straight shooter when it came to interacting with his clients, he wasn’t prepared to make any promises to anyone. Especially not before he had the chance to consider all angles of the clusterfuck he was dealing with.

“You’ll know when I know. That’s all I can say right now, since I wasn’t prepared for this morning’s upheaval any more than you were.”

Jett pressed his lips together and held up his thumb. “Got it.”

Silas chuckled to himself. The volatile response he’d been bracing himself for from Jett hadn’t materialized. Perhaps Jett was tired of constantly battling him at every turn. Then again, maybe he was just tired.

Silas considered his superstar band, teetering on the edge of disaster. If Silas couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again soon, the label might decide to cut their losses and move on from Three Trick Pony and scoop up whatever fresh meat was out there instead.

Silas’ gut clenched at the thought. As much as he wanted to lie to himself, it would crush him if he didn’t have a reason to be around Jett anymore.

“If there aren’t any other questions, let’s wrap things up.” Silas rose to put a cap on his announcement. “You’ll hear from me as soon as something’s in the works. Feel free to call if you think of anything else before then.”

Silas regarded Jett, who hoisted himself from his chair then slogged across the room, dragging a velvet, patchwork tote on the floor behind him. Silas imagined it contained his dancewear, but Jett was acting as if it were a bag of bricks.

“Jett? Hold up.”

Silas jogged the short distance to the man he wished he could take under his wing, could devote his time to caring for. Never before had he met someone who practically screamed ‘I’m a lonely, misbehaving boy. Come save me from myself’ as much as Jett did.

Jett turned around, a frown marring his features. “What did I fuck up now?”

Silas almost tripped over his own feet as he came to a halt. Had he been too harsh with him? He didn’t tolerate any nonsense, but maybe Jett was more sensitive than even Silas realized.

“Well, unless you count last night, and I’m guessing several nights before that as well -- no.”

“Oh.” Jett stared at the ground, fiddling with the long strap of his Boho style bag that was probably some pricey designer item. “Then what is it?”

“Jett, my primary function here isn’t to discipline you, it’s to help you. I wish you didn’t perceive me as your enemy. I promise I’m on your side.” He chuckled. “Even if you could use a good spanking sometimes.”

Jett’s eyes widened and Silas wanted to smack his own forehead. Why the h

---