Manage Me (Toven's Circus #1) (11 page)

“It doesn’t matter now.” I say brushing it off. “I just heard Tiger practicing in there. Wanna go listen with me?” I’ve decided that I like Ryker. His goofy humor is just a cover for a broken guy inside. In the short time I have spent with him I know he is a good guy that’s had a rough life. In a way I feel like I can relate to him in many ways.

“Yeah, Jaden just booted me out of the bus, so I was just heading in to take a listen.” I take a moment to look behind him but can’t see anyone through the blackened windows. I wanted to ask Ryker what the deal was but wasn’t sure it my business. He opened the door for me and we walked inside, I’m finding it impossible to think of anything else to say.

“That was Emily Snow right?” I ask…fail!

“Yup.”

“What’s the deal between her and Jaden?” I ask, hating myself but trying my damnedest to sound casual and uninterested.

“Why?” Damn him, why can’t he just answer me.

“She said she got some time off to spend with him on the tour.” That sounded good right?

“Ugh, let’s hope not, she’s fucking crazy.” He groans.

“Whaaat, you’re not a fan of thee Emily Snow? Pift, here I thought I had you pegged.” I say dripping with sarcasm.

“Funny.” He deadpans. “And fuck no, she’s a damn psycho. She spent a weekend on the bus with us a couple months ago. She would be fine one second then freak the fuck out and start throwing things. It’s a good thing Jaden is quick because she took a swing at him. 10 seconds later, she was ripping his clothes off, trying to fuck him on the kitchen table. It was awkward to say the least.”

“Wow, Ryker, I had no idea you were such a gossip.” I joke, but my brain starts to spin. How am I supposed to deal with a crazy chick on my tour and not have my dad hear about it? Shit!

“Ha ha ha, Dick.” he says without malice. As we walk out of the long hallway to the backstage area, we make our way to the side of the stage so we can watch Tiger, as they run though their set.

“We have to get Jaden to tell her she can’t come. Don’t all bands have a ‘No chicks on the bus rule’?” I ask.

“We will talk about it as a band before the show. None of us make decisions that will affect the band without all of us talking it out first. Odds are Jaden will kick her to the curb before that though, he doesn’t do drama and rarely taps an ass more than once. Except maybe you.” He wiggles his eyebrow.

I breathe in deep, attempting to control my stress. I need this tour to go smooth and from the sound of things, if Miss. Snow Bitch is on it, that it isn’t going happen. Is she his girlfriend, I know what Ryker just said and Jaden did seem surprised but they must be something. What chick just follows a dude out on the road without believing they are something more? Ryker takes advantage of my distraction and tosses his arm over my shoulder, leaning in to my ear so I can hear him over the music. 

“If Emily gets on this tour, shits going to get crazy. But don’t worry Nelly Bean, your Dad won’t find out anything. The band likes you and has your back.” I allow him to leave his arm on my shoulder, seeking the comfort that he is offering as we walk up to a short set of stairs, taking us into the wings of the stage.

Tiger was just signed with DS Records and this was their first big tour. The lead singer is sexy. His long black hair frames his face, his eyes are shut as he croons about his broken heart. He is tall and lanky and as he hugs the mic, his shirt slips up giving a peak of the deep V cut into his lower stomach. My eyes drift back to his face, and I am caught in his piercing grey gaze.

Embarrassment rushes to my cheeks and he shoots me a big smile. I send him a grin back before I glance around at the rest of the band. I haven’t heard them before but they sound really good. The drummer flies around on the biggest kit I’ve ever seen, the bass player seems to be embracing the shadows despite no one being in the audience yet. The guitar player, whose closest to me, surprises me by being female, her fingers effortlessly flying across the strings of her Gibson.

We listen to the rest of Tiger’s set and clap when they finish. The lead singer beelines towards us flashing that panty dropping smile of his my way. What the fuck is it about lead singers?

“Hi Beautiful, I’m Jake.” He grins and flips his bangs out of his eyes. Which causes me to laugh. I don’t mean to laugh at his attempt at being sexy but his excitement is palpable and it’s kind of adorable. I reach out to shake his hand. Grabbing my hand he pulls me out from under Ryker’s arm. Apparently laughing in his face or being hung on by another guy hasn’t detoured him.

“What’s your name, Gorgeous?” He says softly, his lips kissing my hand.

“Nell Craven.”

“Oh shit,” he drops my hand and steps back causing Ryker to snort with laughter. “Sorry Nell, I didn’t know the boss’s daughter was so hot. Shit,” He flounders. “I didn’t know you were Nell, Nell Craven the boss’ daughter.”

“It’s okay, Jake,” I chuckle. “How is everything going with you guys so far? Any issues that need to be addressed?” I am not their tour manager but its’ my job to make sure all the equipment is working correctly since they do share mics and amps.

“Nope, it’s all working great. Best set up we have ever had.” He turns to the other members of the band, who have now gathered behind him. “Hey guys this is Nell, she is the tour manager for Toven’s, and Crane’s daughter.” I see surprise cross their faces but we all say hello and shake hands.

Maybe I am a glutton for punishment but I am dying to get back to the bus now. I want to know what is going on, despite being slightly terrified what I will find. Maybe they are only talking, maybe they are fucking like rabbits, maybe he told her to fuck off and he is now sitting on the bus eating a hamburger. I have no idea what, but I do know that I need to know what is happening before my head explodes with the “what ifs’”.

“Well, you guys sound really great and it was nice meeting all of you, but I am starving and have work to do. See you guys tonight. Good Luck.” I walk down the stage stairs, heading back out through the hallway. As I reach the doors, I brace myself for what I might be walking out to.

Chapter 16

Nell

As my eyes adjust to the blinding sunshine, I can see Jaden’s bike is no longer parked next to the bus. I release the breath I was holding and walk over to it. Jogging up the steps, I stop dead at the top upon seeing the white blonde head siting at the kitchenette table.

My first thought is maybe she didn’t hear me, but her head swivels around, I nearly expect it to keep going Exorcist style. A big fake smile is plastered on her face.

“Hi, you must be Nell. Jaden mentioned you are their new tour manager.” she says as she stands up and bounces towards me.

“Uh, yeah, Emily Snow, right? It’s nice to meet you.” I equal her fake pleasantries, before asking. “Is Jaden still around?”

Emily’s eyes turn cold despite her big smile, “He left to go to pick up his family for tonight’s show.”

“Oh, why didn’t you go? I heard you two were dating.” I poke, causing the smile to fall and she glares at me, I kind of want to laugh but keep it in, barely.

”I will meet them later at the show. Jaden wanted to let me have some time to get ready since I just flew in from New York.”

“Well, that was sweet of him. You are so lucky, I never would have guessed he was so considerate.” I say looking down at her and not in a condescending way either, she is minutely small, I feel like I am talking to a child.

“Jaden is the best and loves me so much.” She smiles almost sweetly, minus the crazy in her eyes.

“Wow, I didn’t know that you two were so serious.” I am slammed back. They have only spent a weekend together but she is saying that he loves her? Then why would he fuck me less than a couple hours ago?

“We both fell so quickly for each other. He is just so amazing and attentive. I am such a lucky girl.” I can sense something isn’t right, especially from what Ryker said earlier. Too many unicorns and fairies are happening in this story for it to be true.

“That is wonderful. Are you going to stay on the tour with us for a little while?” I silently plead she’ll say no.

“Sadly no, I am just going to be here for the evening, as I have studio time scheduled now that my tour is over.” She says sadly, tears shimmering in her big eyes.  “Once my album and Toven’s tour are both finished, we are planning to take a few weeks together on a beach somewhere.” She is bouncing with excitement again, a big goofy grin on her face.

I start to feel really guilty about what happened between Jaden and me. Emily didn’t seem so bad, a little emotionally bio-polar but seems to genuinely think she and Jaden have a relationship together.

“That sounds like it would be really wonderful. A warm beach sounds amazing. Maybe I will have to find a hot man and a beach to visit once the tour is over, too.” I say with a laugh but Emily doesn’t join in. Her face has lost its happy glow and her eyes have turned cold again.

“You think Jaden is hot?” she asks, her eyes focusing in on me like icy lasers of hate.

Shit, I think, answer the crazy person very carefully.

“I would say that half of the world think’s that Jaden James is hot.” I laugh and to my relief so does Emily. I am Gavin Crane’s daughter, I know how to think on my feet. Emily’s laugh cuts off and she steps towards me into my personal bubble. The top of her head stops at my shoulder but as she looks up at me with a glare, I cannot help but feel threatened.

“Listen to me and listen good, Jaden told me he fucked you. We shared a nice laugh about how inadequate you were,” I feel like this little cunt kicked me in the stomach. He told her and said I was inadequate? “We do not keep secrets from each other. He is a man with needs and I understand he needs to get off but no one can compete with me. I know who you are and I have no doubt that your Daddy will toss you out on your ass, if I even suspect you to look at Jaden too long. Are we clear?” She doesn’t wait for me to answer, but stalks off the bus, leaving me flattened in her wake. 

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Emily is gone but I still stand there frozen. Not by her threat, because I know all that already, but because Jaden told her. I thought we had an amazing time. He said it was incredible. Ugh, I knew better then to sleep with him. It kills me to think that they were laughing at me. Laughing at my inexperience but of course they would. He has had thousands of woman and knows what is good. I know I became very vocal, but he seemed to like it at the time. Apparently fucking on his motorcycle in the woods wasn’t good in his book for infamous sexual exploitations. Maybe he needed more people involved or some Fifty Shades shit to really get him going.

Shaking my head to clear it from spiraling, I go back to my bunk nook and grab my violin case. It’s been several days since I’d been able to play and I need the relief, the escape it would bring. With music, I can close my eyes and just be.