Claiming Addison (27 page)

I am powering up my laptop when my phone chimes with an email, then it chimes again, and again and it is literally blowing up on the coffee table near Kyle. “A bit popular this morning, aren’t we?”

I shrug and power up my computer. I can access that same email from here.

When my email finally loads it is going crazy with email after email. A lot of them are the various google alerts I have set up. Couple that with the fact that there are several from Trinity that appear to be forwards.

“What the fuck happened last night?” I growl at no one in particular. “Get me Mills, now,” I all but shout at Kyle.

“What’s going on?”

“I have no goddamn clue but I can only guess that someone has done or said something because whatever it was is blowing up like nobody’s business.”

“Shit,” Kyle says and quickly heads for the door. I hear it open. “Rusty, get in here.”

I can’t hear any replies, but I’ll be dammed if he doesn’t get his ass in here now.

I hear them come back, they’re chatting about something, though I can’t make it out and my iMessage pops up.

Trinity: Call me, immediately.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I turn around to face the two guys. “Rusty, what the fuck happened last night?”

He has a completely dumbstruck expression on his face. “Nothing out of the ordinary, why?”

“Really? Because I have a demand from my boss to call her and my email is exploding with something that’s hitting the news outlets.”

“If something happened, it happened behind closed doors. Nothing, and I mean nothing, happened at the club or in transit from the club to here. If something had happened, we’d have been in here immediately.”

Just then the front door opens and Mills walks in. He rounds the corner to find Kyle, Rusty and myself. “We have a situation.”

“I’ll say, but before I get into my email, care to enlighten me?”

“Video,” he says and all he has to say.

“Who?”

“Dex.”

“Get his fucking ass in here right now!” I shout. “I don’t care if his dick is stuck, or he’s butt fucking naked. Get him in here…”

“What’s going on?” Talon says from behind me and Mills and Rusty cover their eyes and turn around. Kyle on the other hand is staring.

I don’t turn around. “Get dressed, and get out here. Mills, get me Mouse and Peacock too. This is not going to be pretty. You have five fucking minutes.” I am so goddamn pissed off. We had this fucking conversation not four damn days ago.

I walk to the coffee table and grab my phone, pull up Trinity’s number and hit send. “Jesus, what the hell happened last night?” she greets me.

“I am working it out right now, my phone just started blowing up not three minutes ago. I haven’t even opened a single of the hundred plus littering my inbox. I’m certain I have a pretty good idea and I will take care of it here on my end and then get to work with it on the public side,” I tell Trinity.

“This, darlin’, is where you will make the big bucks. Oh, and by the way...”

“What?” I try not to snap.

“Not all those alerts are regarding your drummer boy. It seems we have a star in the making.” I can tell she’s smiling just by the sound of her voice. Leave it to Trinity to get to the point and move past it quickly. I snort a laugh. “Don’t be so quick to judge. From my understanding, Cami wants her hands on you pretty bad.”

“We can talk about that later,” I tell her.

She laughs. “You bet your ass we will. Listen, I’m out of the office for the day, on business. I am supposed to take off for New York around six. Call my cell if you need me.”

“Will do. Thanks, Trinity.”

“Anytime.” The call is disconnected and I sit down at my computer. I go for one of the Google alerts. ‘Who’s the mystery woman on stage with hot 69 Bottles lead singer Talon Carver and when will we see her again?’ That headline is followed immediately by a still image of Talon and I face to face on stage. I want to cry.

The next email says, ’69 Bottles drummer Dex Harrison gives into the rocker mentality. Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.’ The headline is followed up with several images of Dex with women draped all over him. With countless bottles of alcohol on the table, and a mirror with several white lines.

The door to the suite opens. “You could have at least let me get some clothes on,” Dex protests with whichever bodyguard had the pleasure of waking his ass up. When he rounds the corner he is naked as the day he was born. “Well hello, sweetheart, call for a little action did ya? Your boys not enough, you need more?” He provocatively swizzles his hips causing his semi to bounce wildly. I charge toward him, ready to smack him stupid when Kyle’s hands come around my waist. Fine! I growl in my head.

“I’m surprised you could get it up after last night.”

Dex looks around the room at the entourage gathering. The door swings open again and in come Mouse and Peacock, both fully clothed with Beck and Rusty hot on their heels. “Where’s Leroy?” I ask.

Beck looks at me. “He’s playing bodyguard outside Dex’s room. There are more than a couple passed out in there.”

“Are they all alive and breathing?”

Beck gives me a smile. “Yes, and we’ve managed to find their phones. We’re extracting what we can from the unlocked ones, and we will do what we can to get anything off of the locked ones.”

“Good. Thanks. Now someone, anyone, get him a fucking towel or a blanket. I don’t need to see his shit.”

“What the fuck is your problem?” Dex asks me.

I step a few steps closer to him. “You’re my fucking problem, in fact, right now you’re about to become everyone’s problem.” I pick up my iPad off of the coffee table and open my email. I pull up the same article that I saw and open the picture and shove it in his face. “Care to explain this?”

“I was just having a good time. Besides, the coke wasn’t for me, they were doing it.”

“You need to get a better fucking poker face, Dex, because you suck at it. Oh and next time, wipe your fucking nose.” His hand goes to his nose and he wipes, his hand comes away with white powder still attached to it. “Now, care to try that again?”

Dex slumps onto the couch and Beck throws a blanket over him. I nod my thanks and Beck steps back. “Not four days ago I sat on that bus and explained the rules. Did I not?” Dex and the rest of the guys nod. “What was my biggest rule?”

“No cameras,” Mouse says.

“No god damn cameras or phones.” I look to the three bodyguards. “Care to explain to me how you’re just now extracting cell phones from these chicks?”

Mills steps forward. “Confiscating cell phones is not our job, Addison. As much as we should make it ours, it’s not. The guys are responsible for keeping their heads and they’ve done a damn good job of it so far.”

“Until now,” I say as Talon comes storming into the room, looking around he sees Dex plopped on the couch. Mills, Beck and Rusty stand with their legs spread and hands clasped in front. Mouse and Peacock are sitting stoic in chairs opposite Dex and Kyle is leaning against the wall.

“What the hell happened?” Talon asks. I hand him my iPad with the picture. He looks at it, looks at Dex then back to the picture. He calmly hands the iPad back to me and walks right up to Dex and punches him in the jaw. “You fucking idiot, what the hell were you thinking?”

“Fuck, Tal, that shit hurts. I wasn’t thinking, obviously.”

“How long you been back on coke?” Talon asks him.

“I haven’t, that was the first time last night. I got really drunk, then came back to the hotel and got drunker with a couple chicks. Nothing more than normal. One of them pulled out a bag and, fuck!” Dex says as he lets his head fall back on the couch.

“Do you need to go to treatment?” Talon asks him seriously.

“No,” Dex moans. “It was a weak moment. I was drunk, horny, too drunk to get it up, so... Fuck, they pulled out the coke. I did a couple lines and then the next thing I remember is waking up to Mills pulling my ass from the bed.”

“You’re restricted,” Talon says to him then looks at Mills. “Twenty-four seven while we’re here.” Mills nods and Talon turns back to Dex. “This isn’t middle of nowhere PA, brother. You’ve got no choice but to watch your six, you get me?”

“Yeah. Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you owe an apology to.” I watch as Dex looks at Talon, confused. “You owe an apology to her.” Talon jerks his head in my direction. “She’s the one that has to clean up this mess. I’d start kissing her ass if I were you.”

Dex doesn’t apologize to me and I hate to admit it but I agree with Talon. This is my job and this is why I get paid the big bucks and while it is a challenge, it’s not something I can’t handle.

“I need you guys to go get the women up, get cell phones, pass codes, the whole nine yards. If there are more pictures, videos or anything else, I need it all. Also, do we know if the chick who put these out is still here?” I look at Rusty because he was on door duty when I called them in.

“No one’s left his suite since I took over around six this morning. Beck was there first.” Rusty turns to Beck.

Mouse and Peacock look a little ashamed when Beck answers. “Mouse and Peacock’s girls left from their respective suites, but that’s it.”

So something really did happen between Peacock and Jess, because he’d been a good boy until last night. I just might have to talk to him about that, another time.

“Alright. Let’s get to finding out who sold the pictures and the story and get them in here, now.” The bodyguards go to work with their task, quickly leaving the suite and I turn to Mouse and Peacock. “I’m not trying to be a bitch, but do you guys now understand why this was so important on the bus? It is important because one member of the band, or the crew, can ruin the reputation for everyone else. This is something I can and will overcome and with the scheduling and tickets going on sale for the added shows today, we really could have ruined that for everyone.” I take a deep breath. “You all already have a natural preconceived idea of what and who you are. The whole sex, drugs and rock ’n roll thing has been around since rock ’n roll began. Let’s not play into it. Please?”

Mouse, Dex and Peacock all nod their understanding and agreement to what I’ve just said and to see Dex rather dejected is a bit heartwarming. My phone rings.

Sam… FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!! “I fucking knew this would happen.” I send her to voicemail and she immediately calls back. I silence her call and my phone. “Mouse and Peacock, you can go. If you decide to go anywhere today, you do it with two guards, and you speak to no one, do you understand me?”

“Yes,” they both say in unison.

“If it isn’t urgent, please stay in?” I ask them both and they huff. “I’m not you’re mother and you’re not five, but this story is hot right now and if you’re seen, you will be bombarded. Just be forewarned and let the bodyguards do their jobs.”

“Guys, I’m sorry,” Dex says. “I lost my head, it won’t happen again.” The apology is for Mouse and Peacock.

“Seriously? Because this isn’t the first time,” Mouse says to Dex and then turns to me. “From now on, I’ll keep a closer eye on him.”

I frown at him. “It’s not your responsibility, Mouse. It’s Dex’s. Look, I’m not telling you guys you can’t have women and booze or even drugs for that matter. I am simply telling you that your celebrity status makes people crazy, case in point is what’s happening today. It’s not fair to keep you locked up and stop you from having a good time, and I won’t do it. I refuse. But keeping a clear head is important and necessary so that stuff like this doesn’t happen.”

“Understood and maybe it took something like this for us to see that,” Peacock says.

“Sometimes it takes a two by four. The band’s reputation will not be ruined by this, in fact, it just might make you guys that much higher in the hierarchy of celebrities. But gaining a reputation for being a man-whore or a drug addict or an alcoholic can have lasting effects for future relationships. Don’t let one night completely ruin you, but keep it in the back of your mind. Imagine how Dex is feeling right now and decide whether or not it’s worth feeling like this.” I smile. “Now get out of here.” They both laugh and leave.

I turn to Dex who is still looking pretty dejected, severely hung over and ready to pass out. “I am going to fix this any way I can. But, Dex?”

His eyes open and he looks at me. “Yeah, love?” he says with a half smile.

“Do it again and I’ll have your balls for breakfast.”

He smirks. “I lost my head, too much chewing on me at once and I caved. I won’t let it happen again. Thank you for doing what you do best and I’m sorry,” he says sincerely.

I give him half a smile. “Kyle, can you take him to Mouse or Peacock’s room, let him get some sleep, sleep it off. I have work to do and he needs to sober up.” Kyle nods, smiles and goes to help Dex up. After some adjustment Dex gets the blanket wrapped around his naked ass and Kyle escorts him out the door.

When I turn around to my computer I see Talon standing in the doorway to the bedroom we shared last night. He’s leaning into it with his shoulder, arms crossed over his naked chest and his legs crossed at the ankles. “You’re one seriously amazing woman, you know that?”