Too Many Rock Stars (Access All Areas #1) (10 page)

I had this in the bag. That meathead wouldn't know what hit him. Sure, he might be popular with the small crowd that hung out at the club but I had connections and a broad fan base.

And, the secret weapon in my arsenal, a bank balance that would support the kind of campaign I intended launching.

You don't flash that kind of money around rockers. Not only does it ruin any cred you have but it means you get freeloaders hanging around wanting loans and free drinks.

I didn't have time in my life for freeloaders. I didn't have time for failure either. If I had to flash the cash to get the deed done, I'd be working my cards overtime.

Then, the prize would be mine. The prize that was Violet. One night with me would seal the deal. When she saw the kind of luxury that money could provide, she'd be hooked for sure.

In the meantime, I'd play it cool. None of those losers at the club could tell the difference between a designer t-shirt and one off the rack at a discount store. That difference was in the way it made you look, the way the fabric hugged your finely-toned abs. The same with music. Talent only got you so far then you needed the best gear and the best people around you.

I wasn't sure about this guy, Dazza, who Razer had volunteered. If I'd left my last band on good terms, I'd have flown my old drummer out but I think he'd rather knife me than play with me again. Creative differences.

The new bassist had a load of potential and I'd booked out a rehearsal studio. Booked it solid 24/7. We needed to be tighter than a virgin's arsehole.

We’d been rehearsing a bit before but now it had to be ramped up. I got to the first session and handed out the new rehearsal schedule.

"Ah... are you sure about this?" Dazza said. "We have to sleep some time and I've got rehearsal with Razer too. And I have to eat."

"We'll get catering."

"Do I have to pay for that?"

I rolled my eyes. "No."

"Cool. That's so much better than a meat pie."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but then no one looks for brains in a drummer.

"Just let me know when you won't be available and we'll work around it."

Dazza nodded.

"Do you think we'll be ready for our first gig?" the bass player asked.

I'd thought about that. "I'll do some of my solo stuff so you'll only need learn half the set. Better that we do that well than a half-arsed full set. But we need to be ready, you know. We need to know the stuff we're playing inside and out. If that means putting in more hours, we put in more hours."

After rehearsal, I dropped by the club. This whole competition was my in with Violet and I meant to make the most of it. I'd co-ordinate promos with her and work out press stuff. We'd be alone in her office and the chemistry between us would work its magic. I'd figured out the key to Violet. She was crazy dedicated to her job, with a burning need to prove herself. That made things about a hundred times easier for me, since I was the same. We had the same goals and the same fire in our bellies. Just by doing the things I needed to do for myself, I'd win her over.

I headed to the back of the club to her office.

"Oi, you're not allowed back there."

The busboy, I couldn't remember his name but the one with the stringy hair, blocked my way. I could take him easily but I weighed up risks. I didn't want to get on anyone's bad side, not this early in the game.

"Even if you get passed me, you won't get in," he said. "She's put a big lock on her door. Says she's sick of every bored rocker dropping in on her."

"She'll want to see me," I said.

"I'll check. I'll send her a text. You can wait at the bar."

I sneered at him, just to check that I still had it. He flinched, which gave me some satisfaction, then headed to the bar.

"Tell her I'm here to discuss the marketing plan for my shows."

He got out his phone.

"I can't serve you. We aren't open yet."

"Why was the door unlocked?"

He looked from me to the door then back to me. How did he think I'd gotten in? Then he ran over and locked the door. Good, I didn't want anyone else dropping in. I leaned on the bar and waited for him to make the call.

Violet would leave me cooling my heels at the bar for a while. I knew it. Typical girl trick. But I'd planned for that.

"I'm heading upstairs," I called out to the busboy. "Tell her I'll be up there."

Even though I'd played the stage, I wanted to know exactly what I was working with. I paced around, getting an idea of the dimensions and making notes. There wasn't much I could do about the décor but I'd do what I could. I didn't want people leaving thinking they'd seen a good band, I wanted them thinking they'd seen a great show. The kind of thing they'd tell all their friends about, rave about even.

I wondered how pyrotechnics would go.

After making some more notes, I noticed Violet had slipped into the room. She was sitting on a stool at the bar, watching me.

I waved and walked over to her.

"So, marketing plan, that sounds pretty fancy..."

"You don't leave things to chance with something like this." I let my gaze linger on her, meeting her eyes and not pulling away.

"What sort of thing are you talking about?"

"Ads in the street press, some interviews. I want to get a new single out and stuff lined up with radio stations, create some buzz online. That kind of thing. And, of course, the normal posters and promos. Do you know a good designer? We need to get onto that straight away."

She thought for a moment, then grabbed my pen and wrote down some details. A couple of names.

"I have no idea of phone numbers or anything. This guy comes into the club a bit and a lot of bands work with him. The other guy has done some work for the club. I'll get his details off Chuck."

I grinned and thanked her.

I got out my laptop and opened a spreadsheet. I had timelines planned out for each activity, building up to the competition night.

She grinned when she saw that.

"You are really taking this seriously," she said, looking up at me. Her eyes made me start for a moment. She could ruin a man with those eyes. "Shit, no one, and I mean no one, who plays here goes to this kind of effort. God, not even Chuck would think of planning out things like this. I might be a total dork but I love a well planned out plan."

This crazy woman cared nothing for chocolates and flowers but went all gooey-eyed over a spreadsheet. I had to respect her for that.

"It is serious. I'm playing for the highest odds." My sweeping glance was intended to leave her with no room for doubt about what I meant. “If that means tweeting a hundred times a day and an aggressive social media plan, I’ll do it.”

"If you are happy to put in all that work, we'll do what we can to support you. It's to the club's advantage too. God, Alex, if the music thing never works out for you, you should consider opening your own club. You have this shit in the bag."

I grinned. There was so much I could say but I kept my mouth shut.

She grinned back.

"So, how much modification can I do to the stage?" I asked.

She scrunched up her face in thought. "That's really up to Chuck. So long as you get things back to their original condition, he shouldn't mind. Probably won't even notice. Why? What do you have planned?"

That got her curious.

"I'm not sure of the final plans yet but I want this to be memorable. Of course, the lead up gigs will be great too but you can't give the whole game away, just enough to get people talking."

She nodded.

"Come downstairs for a drink before you go," she said. "It’s the least we can do after all this."

I followed her downstairs. That guard was slowly coming down. It'd not take long now and she'd be in my arms.

The upstairs bar still looked shit but, with the right lighting it might work. I'd organised a photo shoot with Valerie. She was an art student who came into the bar sometimes and was happy to do it in return for a few drinks and her name on the guest list for the bands. We'd use the shots for club promo and the guys could use them for their own promos too. Plus, she could put them in her portfolio. All around win.

Val turned up early to arrange the lighting and set up for the shoot.

"Sorry, the place never looks great in the day," I said.

Luckily we didn't get any sunlight in the place or the flaws would be even more noticeable. The cracked walls, the threadbare carpet, the shitty paintwork on the bar.

"No problems, I was thinking of going for a seedy bar look anyway." She laughed. "You know, dirty and gritty."

She’d definitely get that.

I'd told Drew to let the guys in when they arrived. I checked my watch, still a bit of time. I left her to it while she set up the room for the shoot.

Not long after that, Alex turned up.

"Thanks for setting this up," he said. "Sounds like a fun afternoon."

"No problems," I told him. "Thanks for turning up at such short notice."

He grinned at me. "I'm sure the guys are glad for an afternoon off rehearsal. I've been working them into the ground. Still, a bit of hard work never killed anyone."

I could imagine just how hard Alex worked his band. He seemed like the kind of guy who never let up for a moment. A total perfectionist. And, while that might be as annoying as hell for his bandmates, I loved working with someone who didn't slack off and leave all the details to me. When it came to performing, I could trust Alex completely. There'd be no going on stage 10 minutes late, no forgetting to tell people he was playing, then bitching because no one turned up. No drunken vomiting in the backstage room. Those were all things that made me giddy with delight.

"I've got some changes of clothes," he said, indicating the bag at his side. "I wasn't sure what kind of look we are going for today."

"Seedy and gritty, apparently."

He raised his eyebrow. "Sounds fun."

"You can head up if you like. We're just waiting on Razer."

I headed back to my office and got to work, only pausing half an hour later to realise I hadn't heard Razer arrive. No worries about that, he probably got Drew to let him in and was upstairs getting into the shoot. Still, I figured I should go to check on him.

When I got upstairs, I barely recognised the place. Val had put up those light reflecting things you use when you take photos all over the place. She'd rearranged things on the stage too. Alex posed, a red light flooding his body and highlighting the sleek curves of his muscles. He was dressed in a tight t-shirt and his signature leather pants. It looked like he had a bit of makeup on too. Not caked on but a bit of eyeliner that made his eyes look really sexy.

I wasn't there to check out Alex, even if the heat did flood through my body. He was an incredibly good-looking man.

Once the clicks of Val's camera stopped, I asked about Razer.

"He hasn't turned up," she said. "I wondered if something had happened. I thought you'd come up because you'd heard something."

"No, I assumed Drew had let him in." My stomach sank. Where the hell was he?

"I can get all the shots of Alex we need but I had some plans for a 'face off' type shoot as well, with the two of them. If he gets here before Alex has to go, I can tee that up, then do his separately."

I nodded and got out my phone to call him. His phone rang through to message bank though. I silently cursed him, then not so silently.

"I'm not surprised," said Alex. "He's not the type to appreciate an opportunity like this. He might have the goods on stage but that guy doesn't have the business smarts to succeed in this industry."

I opened my mouth, my protest working on auto-pilot, then stopped. What could I say to that? Alex was right. Razer didn't have a business mind. I knew that. Why the hell was I even thinking of defending him?

"How long can you stick around?" I asked Alex.

"I've got a meeting with the designer you suggested at 4.00. That means I've got to be out of here by 3.30 at the latest."

I nodded. It was 2.30. That gave us time if Razer turned up soon. Very soon.

I tried calling him again. Still no answer.

Shit, what could I do? Hopefully he was on his way and just had a flat battery or something.

Maybe something had happened. I shuddered to think about things like car accidents – or worse, if he was on that bike again. Surely, if he could, he'd call to say he was running late. I sent him a text telling him to get his arse to the club ASAP.

I flicked through my contacts and called Dazza.

"Have you heard from Razer? He's supposed to be at the club."

Dazza took a moment to answer. He probably had his mouth full of food.

"Nope, I don't know anything about it. Is it something I can help with?"

Dazza in a photo shoot? I didn't think so. He’d have to change out of his food-stained clothes for starters.

"If you hear from him, tell him to call me. It's urgent."

"Yep, boss."

Dazza hung up. I hoped he had the capacity to pass on that message. I tried Bill instead, hoping he wasn't at his day job and was able to answer the phone.

"Yeah, he mentioned the photo shoot at rehearsal last night. I'm surprised he's not there."

That made the panic rise in me. Where the hell was he? It'd be premature to start ringing hospitals. I paced around the room. The clock was ticking and I really wanted those pair shots. They were the ones we'd use for the club promos.

I wasn't sure if I had his home number. Anyway, he lived alone. If he wasn't answering his mobile, he'd not answer his landline either.

Alex changed for another shot. As he peeled his t-shirt off, I couldn't help but watch. I'm only human. He had a stomach that any woman would want to lick. You just had to wonder what it would taste like.

Val nudged me.

"He's hot property, that one. And the camera loves him. He could be a model."

"Don't steal my rockers," I told her.

Alex put on a longer coat. Val set up a wind machine so that the coat blew out behind him. The effect was amazing. They'd put some different makeup on him and he looked almost unearthly. Like the kind of vampire you wouldn't mind biting you. I watched the photo shoot for a while, constantly checking my phone for a message from Razer.

A bang made me turn.

Razer stood in the doorway. At least he wasn't dead or injured.

He sat down beside me. No apology. No explanation.

"What happened to you? You're late."

He shrugged. "An emergency turned up with the band."

"An emergency?" I rolled my eyes. "An emergency your bandmates knew nothing about when I called them?"

He flinched a little from my icy tone. As well he should. I gave him the once over. The ruffled hair, the crumpled clothes, the creased face. He'd just woken up.

"Sorry, Violet, I didn't realise this was so important to you."

I stood up and shot him a death stare.

"It's not important to
me
. It's important to
you
."