Page 1 of Stuck With My Rockstar Boss
1
Lucas
My heart is pounding and I feel like there’s a clot of wet paper trapped in my throat. It doesn’t help that the walk to the rehearsal studio is down a long gray hall that makes me feel like I’m in a horror movie and something is going to pop out and rush toward me.
This should be fun. Rehearsal for Soul Sounds’ Twentieth Anniversary Tour. The hype has been insane. The fans are so excited.
Too excited.
I walk into the rehearsal hall. All the guys, Dylan, Jay, and Chase, are already there shooting the shit, wearing big grins. Ken, our manager, is also there, trying to pal around and hold his own, but his potbelly and graying hair makes him stick out like a sore thumb.
“Hey guys,” I say with forced casualness.
“There he is! Fashionably late as always,” Jay announces. “Very lead singer of you.”
I roll my eyes. The rhythm section of Jay and Chase is always giving me shit for any behavior that even slightly comes off as diva-ish. “Sorry, traffic.”
“You’re here now. We’re still waiting on the last backup singer anyway,” Ken said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
I look over to the side of the room where two young women are talking quietly over steaming cups of tea. I don’t recognize either of them. The girls on our last tour have all moved onto other things. One started a solo career, one left music to go back to school, and the other…
The door abruptly flies open and someone trips in, a figure dressed entirely in black with a bleached blonde pixie cut. Mika.
“Sorry I’m late!” she announces, clearly out of breath. “Traffic was balls.”
Everyone stares at her and then bursts into laughter, except for me. I can’t manage a laugh with the ever-growing wad of anxiety in my throat.
“Glad to have you back, Mika!” Ken announces and goes over to her. He throws his arm over her shoulder and ushers her toward the boys. “You remember everyone, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do,” she says cheerfully. Mika’s eyes scan each of our faces in a line, until they land on me. Her smile crinkles the slightest bit, as if it’s about to fall off her face.
I swallow. Mika was a backup singer on the last tour, the last of the trio. She’s got a great voice and everyone likes her. I just…
Her eyes break away from me. “Hey guys.”
“Don’t act like you don’t love us. Come here!” Jay says, pulling her into a bear hug.
Dylan and Chase follow suit with their own versions of greetings. It’s clear I need to greet her separately too although my heart is racing and I’m not sure what to say other than, “H…hey.”
“Good to see you, Lucas,” Mika says, her pretty blue-green eyes twinkling.
I nod. “You too.” I mean it. It is good to see her. I’ve always liked her and… she’s good people. Really good. It’s just the last time we saw each other, things were so different. I was different. And then…
I shake that off. Can’t think about that now. Won’t think about it now. Things are stressful enough as it is without having to relive that.
“I love the new tracks,” Mika smiles. “’Tourniquet’ is really special. I hope I get to sing it with you.”
“Of course, you will. You’d sound great doing some harmonies on the chorus. Or some riffing on the bridge,” I reply, feeling the excitement grow. Talking shop is always a great distraction. Mika is a powerhouse. She shouldn’t be wasting her talents backing us up. She should be playing the big stadiums all on her own.
She smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, I’ve definitely never done that in the shower.”
“Alright, alright, you two, we’ve gotta get to work,” Ken interrupts before I can respond and shepherds Mika over toward the other two backup singers for them to meet. “We’ve only got a couple days to get this shit together and then we’re on the road. And I’m not settling for anything less than perfect.”
“Wow, Ken, we’re so scared…” Chase says teasingly.
Ken glares at Chase. “You should be. The label is counting on you all to make this tour good. Like really fucking good.”
“Great, even,” Dylan says, grinning at me.
