Page 51 of Lexi Lets Go

Liam woke to a knock on his door. He grabbed blindly for his phone to check the time. It was eight-thirty. He had slept another five hours after their late-night conversation. Lexi was going to be good for his sleep. He had already slept more in the past three days than he had in the previous three weeks. This was a very welcome change among the other obvious perks of having her around. The fondness he felt for her was deepening. He wanted to label that deep fondness differently, but he wasn’t ready to go there yet.

The knock sounded again, even and non-urgent, meaning it couldn't be Jacinda. Extricating his arm from under a sleeping Lexi he took special care not to wake her. If this was something they were going to do, he wanted her to be well rested for the day.

He pulled on a robe on the way to the door. When he opened it, Heinrich was standing there. "Sorry to disturb you, sir. Ms. Moore is adamant about speaking with you."

"It's fine, I need to talk to her anyway. Can you get breakfast going while I talk to her?"

"Of course, sir. What would you like the cook to prepare?"

"Ummm." He thought about Lexi, still asleep in the bed. "Tell her I have company and to make something special."

"Right away." Heinrich turned and made his way down the hall. Liam found his discarded sweatpants and t-shirt and slipped them on to go find Jacinda. The thought of firing her was running through his head with more frequency. After all the NDA stuff, the way she had treated him and spoken about and to Lexi really bothered him.

He hated that part of being in charge. Firing people was something he’d never done, but it just might be time. Jacinda came on right after the scandal. He thought Jacinda's protection of him was out of wanting to make his life easier, but he was starting to think that it may be more about the bottom line. He was a commodity and not a person, that thought did not sit well with him.

As he turned the corner, light was pouring in from the windows. It was an overcast rainy day, perfect day for lounging around, playing music and hanging out with Lexi. But those thoughts were doused at the sight of Jacinda on the couch. She was on her phone. The terse expression on her face told Liam all he needed to know, and he was ready to turn around and go back to bed, but at that moment she turned. "Oh good, you're here."

"I'm here," he said, flopping into the chair next to the couch.

"We need to go over today's schedule. As of right now you have a sound check at twelve, an interview at two, another online interview at two-thirty and, of course, the show tonight. I went ahead and scheduled a meeting with the label to discuss the next album. We are still trying to solidify the concert that needed to be rescheduled, but after that we can book studio time. You seem to work your best when you are away. We did London last album, where were you thinking this time?"

"Wait. I don't know if I'm ready for the next album yet."

"That’s why we need to meet with the execs. Get some ideas and logistics figured out," she said while looking at her phone the entire time.

"That’s not how this all works, I’m not a performing monkey. I have a process."

The look on her face was comparable to the day he sent her away from the inn. She wasn't used to him asserting himself, but it was time he started. He needed to be back in the driver's seat of his career again.

"I’ll be ready for sound check, and I’ll do the interviews, but that's it for today," he said firmly.

"What am I supposed to tell the label?" she asked indignantly.

"You can tell them you didn't clear it with me and I’m not available."

"But you are available. I keep your schedule," she said.

"No, I am not available. I’m going to spend the morning with Lexi before we go to the venue."

"We go to the venue? Who’s we?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well, the team, me, and Lexi."

"She is going to sound check with you?" she asked, mouth gaping.

A rage started simmering somewhere deep inside of him. Letting other people take the lead on his career had been easier when he was in a bad place, but things had gotten out of hand.

"Yes. She is. And she will be at the interviews with me. She’ll have a special area to see the show and she’ll spend pre and post show with me. She will be taken care of and shown an excellent time. Am I clear?” he paused and glared at her. “In fact, why don't you just steer clear of her all together." Taking back that control felt good. He would, of course, take that kind of control for Lexi. He wanted her around, and he didn't want to see her get hurt.

Jacinda's mouth fell open and she scoffed at him.

"We're finished. We’ll be ready for the car at eleven-thirty. Just tell Heinrich to let us know when it’s available. Email me the schedule and who I’m interviewing with. I can take it from there. You can see yourself out.” He got up and headed back down the hallway. He had a cute girl in his bed to check on.

The simmering rage in him was new, and while it wasn't his favorite emotion, he at least felt something. He hadn't felt much of anything in a while. He had thought it was a good sign that he was over the heartache. He didn't realize the lack of emotion had left a haze.

His last album an introspective into heartbreak and finding your community in a world that doesn't understand you. It resonated with so many people, but he hadn't written since then. He didn't want to meet with the label today, but even if he did, he would have nothing to say. But as the fog was lifting, he realized that's how they preferred it. They preferred him docile and broken, and he wasn't that anymore. In fact, sitting at the piano last night before had Lexi come was the first time he had felt his creativity coming back. After this tour he needed some time off.

Quietly, he opened his bedroom door. It was still dark because of the blinds, but they needed to get a jump on the day. But then he saw her, still curled up under the covers. A new, deep contentment filled him all the way down to his fucking toes. He slowly climbed in bed with her. He pulled the remote out of his bedside drawer and pushed the button. The blinds slowly slid up revealing the rainy city skyline. Maybe he should have Heinrich bring them breakfast in bed. He was in no hurry to leave her.

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