Page 3 of Mine

Jeff washappy.

“Great. We’re all wrapped up.”

I stayed seated as everyone but Tommy shuffled out of the room. He waited until Jeff was out of earshot before leaning back in his chair with a heavy sigh. “What the fuck was that?”

“Don’t even start with me right now,” I muttered, massaging my temples.

“Why don’t you just fire him?”

I swallowed hard. “It’s complicated?—”

“Just treat it like business, Pepper.”

“You know it’s notjustbusiness with him.”

Tommy pressed his lips into a thin line. “I know. We’ve been friends for almost two decades, and I just hate seeing you this way.”

I hated it too. “He’s your friend, too.”

Tommy shook his head. “He’s not the same person he was, Pep.”

My stomach twisted. I sank back in my chair, studying him. “Do you really think that one artist is worth scouting? The one who’s playing tomorrow.”

Tommy always had a good eye for artists. In the early days, we’d been the ones surfing bars, meeting musicians, finding new sounds and new drugs and havingfun. Jeff had the cash though, which was how our label eventually came together. Without the seed money, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here. But without our insight, Jeff would just be another trust fund baby searching for a passion project.

He nodded. “He’s young. Hot. Has a grunge look going for him. He wears a mask on stage and it creates a sexy mysterious persona. His songs are very erotic. Dan loves him.”

Tommy was happily married to our friend Dan, a producer who had more than a handful of Grammys under his belt.

I wrinkled my nose, not completely sold. “What happened to good old-fashioned love songs?”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Sex sells, Pepper. Especially songs about kinky, hot sex.”

Oh god. “I don’t care about anything but the music itself. But I guess if you’re saying it’s that good, it has to be decent, right?”

His hand flattened over his heart in feigned offense, but then he grinned. “Wow.You’re damn cold sometimes. But that’s why you’re the boss,right?”

I gave him a flat look. “Don’t you know you don’t need to kiss my ass?”

“Well, you do sign my checks,” he teased.

“Oh, fuck off,” I muttered, leaning forward. I planted my forehead against the table and sighed. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I do. You’re coming out with me and Dan tomorrow night,” Tommy insisted. “It’s been too long. We’ll have some drinks and hear some fresh music. It’ll be good for you. Maybe you’ll meet someone.”

“I doubt it,” I muttered, sitting back up.

His smile softened into a boyish grin. Flecks of silver glinted in his sandy brown hair. Had I ever noticed those before?

“You’re getting old,” I noted.

Tommy feigned a gasp. “My god, you are in a bad mood today. Come on, now. You’re not too old to go out.”

“That’s absolutely not true.”

“We’re not even forty yet. We still have at least half our lives left.” He leaned back in his chair and studied me. “It’s been a couple years since the divorce, but it’s like…”

I gave him a sharp look. “I don’t want to talk about it. And it hasn’t been a couple years. It’s been a year and a half.”

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