Page 141 of Wingwoman
His eyes went wide and with a quick look back at Josh through the glass he joined us out in the hall.
"Hey you," he said, dropping a kiss to Maggie's lips. "This is a nice surprise."
"I hope it's okay we came by," she whispered. "We brought cannolis."
Matt groaned, tilting his head back. "Now it's definitely okay."
"Can he hear us?" I asked, angling my chin at Josh.
Matt glanced at me and though I wasn't sure if I imagined it or not, a wave of apprehension tilted his features.
"No," Matt said. "He probably can't even see you out here, which might be for the best." Then, realizing what he'd just said, Matt added quickly, "I just mean that he's been really nervous today.”
I nodded. “I can see why,” I whispered.
"This isn't working," one of the men in a suit said to the woman.
"Matt!" the woman called out. "Can wepleasehear that other song he’s been working on? The one he said was his backup? I don’t even care if it’s not finished.”
Grabbing a cannoli from the box, Matt kissed Maggie's forehead quickly, then went back into the room.
"He was pretty firm that he didn’t want to record that one," Matt said.
“If we don’t hear a hit today, then we have no choice but to cut Josh free from the label.” The man crossed his arms as he stood nose to nose with Matt.
I held my breath waiting. After a moment, Matt sighed. Then leaning forward, he hit the button and spoke into the microphone. "Hey, buddy. Let's take a quick break from this one. Why don't you sing through that new piece for us? As sort of a warm up?"
"Warm up?" Josh snorted and bent to grab a bottle of water from the floor. Tipping his head back, he took a swig. "We've been at this for two hours. I’m pretty fucking warm."
"I know. But we want to keep things fresh, right?"
Swiping the back of his hand across his mouth, Josh shook his head. "That song isn't ready yet."
"I know, I know. No big deal, okay? We won't even record it."
Matt lifted his finger off the button just in time for the woman in the suit to say, "Wearerecording it though, right?"
"Of course," Matt muttered, jaw tight. "But if he doesn't know we are, it might take the pressure off."
I glanced at Maggie who shifted uneasily on her feet and I knew just what she was thinking.If he could lie that easily to his best friend and client, could he also lie to her?
She wasn't wrong to be skeptical.
Since she'd done so much for me this last month, I wanted to be there for her too. "Hey," I whispered and nudged her with my elbow. "It's just business."
Her lips pulled between her teeth. Though she nodded, doubt creased her eyebrows. "Sure. Business."
"And if he lies to you? I'll personally castrate him myself."
That earned me a small smile.
"Fine," Josh muttered. Adjusting his guitar and shifting in the stool, he cleared his throat, then strummed the first few chords of a brand new melody I hadn't heard before.
Josh's fingers ran up and down the fretboard, plucking out the melody. His thumb picked at the strings, each note a haunting, gentle hum as if the instrument was singing a lullaby.The melody streamed from his fingertips in bright, colorful ribbons.
But the lyrics. Those lyrics...
Chestnut hair...
