Rock Me: Sexy (New Adult Rockstar Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Erotic Romance)

Rock Me: Sexy

by Arabella Quinn

Rock
Me: Sexy

Copyright ©
2013 by Arabella Quinn

All Rights
Are Reserved. No part of this book can be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the
author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and
reviews.

This book is
a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of
the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be
construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events,
locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

I glanced at my watch, cursing under my
breath as the unwieldy load of three-ring binders threatened to topple out of
my arms. It was already past two in the afternoon and my empty stomach was
starting to noisily complain. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to run out for
a sandwich if I wanted to finalize the edits on the latest interviews for the Tunguska
meteoroid documentary that I was working on. I was running up against numerous
deadlines and time seemed to be slipping away faster than I could keep up with.

I kept a stash of protein bars in my desk
drawer that would have to suffice as lunch for yet another day. Later, I
promised myself, I would
definitely
take a break and find decent food
for dinner. It was going to be another late night at the office.

I had already begun composing e-mails in
my head that urgently needed to be sent out as I made a beeline for my office,
ignoring Sally’s frantic attempt to flag me down. She would have to deal with
her own crises; I was too damn busy to hold her hand at the moment.

When I rushed into my office and saw Beth
sitting across from my desk, patiently waiting for me, my heart sunk a little.
“Beth, why aren’t you working on the potassium research?”

She swallowed nervously and began
wringing her hands together. “I am. It’s just- I just don’t know what I’m
looking for. I don’t understand all this chemistry stuff.”

My hands tightened on the binders. I felt
like bopping her on the head with one of them, but I refrained. “We’ve been
over this before and I don’t have time to walk you through it again. You have
all the contact information for all the experts on this. Pick up the phone and
start talking to them.”

Beth’s voice took on the whiny tone that
I hated so much. “But, those guys are so smart. I won’t understand a word they
say. I don’t even know what questions to ask. Can’t I just work on another
project? How about I help you with one of your projects?”

I deposited the binders on a small table in
the corner of my office and fixed Beth with a stern stare. “I spent an hour
reviewing the potassium angle with you yesterday. You need to start doing some
research and getting some leads on this right now. I can’t believe you haven’t
called anyone yet.”

Beth’s head drooped as she studied the
pattern on the ugly green industrial carpet in my office.

I continued in a softer tone. “Listen. I’ve
talked to many of those same experts myself for other projects. They’re just
regular people. They know you’re not a scientist. They’ll break things down for
you. And if you don’t understand something, just ask them to clarify. That’s
why we use these guys. They know exactly how to explain things so that our
viewing audience understands.”

Beth took a peek at me. “I guess you’re
right.”

“Yep, I am.” I moved behind my desk and
sat down. “In fact, think of yourself as representative of our audience. If you
don’t understand something, then how can our viewers understand? So it’s really
the expert’s job to articulate something in a way that
you
fully understand.
Now go get cracking on that research.” I shooed her off with my hand.

Thankfully, Beth rose. “True. It’s really
their
job.”

I nodded my agreement as she left my
office.
Was I that awful when I first started out? I supposed I was.
I
pushed Beth from my mind and began scanning the new set of e-mails that had
poured into my inbox while simultaneously digging through my drawer searching
for lunch.

I had just taken the first bite of my
protein bar when my phone buzzed. I fully intended to ignore it, until I saw
the name displayed. Hugo Black.

My boss, Hugo, didn’t play by the same rulebook
as everyone else. But then, he didn’t have to; he was a titan in our industry
and well respected by everyone. He cursed like a drunken sailor, constantly
made inappropriate remarks, stared at my cleavage all too often, and expected
me to fetch his coffee every morning. And yet, he was the best boss I’d ever
had. Well, technically he was the only boss I’d ever had, but I‘d been exposed
to many personalities over the years, some with names even bigger than his, yet
few behaved as outrageously.

Actually, Hugo was much more than a boss;
he was my mentor. He had taken me under his wing and had taught me everything
about the business. Despite his constant sexual advances and the fact that he
was exceedingly handsome, I loved him only like a surrogate father. I was far
too smart to lose my heart to the powerful mogul whose sexual liaisons with
much younger women were all too notorious.

The phone buzzed again breaking my
reverie.
What did Hugo want now?
I debated whether I should answer it,
but of course, in the end, I never could ignore Hugo.

I snatched up the receiver. “Hello, Hugo.”

I was the only one that called him Hugo; everyone
else called him Mr. Black. I secretly enjoyed it. It gave me some status. Some
power. Not with Hugo, of course, but with my colleagues.

“Come out to lunch with me.” He sounded
upbeat.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s two o’clock.
Isn’t that a little late to ask someone out to lunch?”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “Did
you eat already?”

“No.” I replied while chewing on the
protein bar that tasted like cardboard.

“Well, then- that’s settled. The usual, okay?”

“Hugo, I’m up to my neck with Tunguska.
There’s no way I can get away for lunch today.”

“This is more important than meteors.
Besides, you need to eat. I insist.”

His smooth warm voice could be very
persuasive and I desperately needed a break. Still, I knew that I would pay the
price if I let up now. Deadlines were looming on this project. “I just can’t
right now.”

“Kaitlyn, I admire your work ethic, but
I’m going to have to pull the ‘boss card’ on you. We can go out and enjoy a
nice lunch together or we can meet up here in my office.”

Everyone called me Katie, except for
Hugo. I sighed. “Lunch it is. I’ll meet you by the elevators in five.”

***

New York City could be brutally cold in January,
so we hailed a cab instead of walking the short distance to the quaint Italian
restaurant. While the hostess led us to our table, I was already calculating
how I could shuffle my schedule around and make up for lost time. There was no way
around it; I would have to give up something extremely precious to me:
sleep
.

When Hugo ordered a bottle of wine, I
knew he was settling in for a long luncheon.

I shot him a look of disapproval, but he
merely shrugged. “Relax, Kaitlyn.”

How could I relax when Hugo was screwing
up my schedule so badly? If those edits didn’t get finalized today, it would
push the entire project beyond the deadline. It would be disastrous.

Hugo chuckled. “As much as I enjoy seeing
the venom flashing in your eyes, I think I’ll put you out of your self-induced
misery, so we can discuss other things. You can stop worrying so much about Tunguska.
You are now officially off that project.”

Oh, God.
“What!?” My voice actually squeaked with
stunned dismay.

Hugo was smiling lazily at the look of
horror on my face. He was actually loving this. Bastard. “In fact, you are not
only off the project, but you are fired. You no longer work for me.”

My mouth hung open in shock. Was this some
kind of sick joke? I felt my insides twist.
This job was my life
. “Hugo,
this is not funny.”

Hugo shrugged nonchalantly. “Don’t panic.
I’m not leaving you high and dry. Let me explain. But maybe we should wait for
the wine. You look a little pale- ”

I fingered the shiny fork at my place
setting, imagining piercing his eye with it. “You better explain right this
instant, or I’ll….”

He laughed. “Promises, promises. I’ve
been waiting for years for you to fulfill your threats. How long has it been
that you’ve worked for me, anyway? Five years?”

I answered automatically. “Six. Not
counting the three years I interned for you.”

Hugo sat back and nodded. “Nine years,
Kaitlyn - and you’re still caught beneath my shadow. You’ll never make a name
for yourself working for me.”

I felt a twinge of panic. He was right.
It was something that had flitted through my mind before, but I had always
quickly banished it. But now, I could no longer ignore it, because,
apparently,
Hugo was firing me for my own good.

“I’m starting to get lots of recognition
in the industry for my work.” I squirmed in my seat, because I knew it was only
half-true.

Our conversation was interrupted as our
wine was presented and served. When the sommelier left, Hugo sat back and took
a sip. “Vague recognition means nothing. You realize, Kaitlyn, that most people
assume I’ve kept you on board for sex.”

I winced and grabbed at my wine glass.
This was getting awkward.

Hugo smiled sympathetically at me. “Now,
the colleagues that we have worked closely with certainly know better. It’s
quite apparent how talented you are. But those outside our immediate circle…
I’m afraid my reputation is hurting your career.”

I had always turned a deaf ear to all the
rumors. But even if it were affecting my career, I didn’t want to leave Hugo.
He was exasperating. He worked me like a dog. We argued at every turn. We
fought passionately. He made me defend my every decision. He criticized my best
work until even I saw better options available.

But I would do anything for him. He had
made me who I was today. He was powerful. Brilliant. I idolized him.

I had to stop this. “Hugo, I’m exactly
where I want to be in my career. Where I
need
to be. I don’t want to
leave.”

Hugo steepled his fingers together on the
table. “I should have done this years ago, but I was too selfish.”

Panic started to claw at my insides. He
was actually serious about this! “I’ll start to put out some feelers in the
industry. But I want to see Tunguska all the way through and I need – ”

Hugo put up his hand to stop me. “I’m
sorry, but it’s already done. I’ve hired someone to replace you on Tunguska.
Don’t worry, you’ll get full credits. Now it’s time for you to do something
different – to make a splash in the business. Make a name for
yourself
.”

I took a huge gulp of wine. My world was collapsing
right beneath my feet. I had lost my anchor. My job.
Hugo
. “This can’t
be happening.”

“Things have gotten too easy for you.
Everything has become safe and predictable. With the security of this job, you’ve
been too timid to step out into the world and spread your wings. Now it’s time for
you to reach for those stars. That’s why I’m kicking you out of the nest.”

I looked at him like he was insane as I
drained my wine glass.
He was insane.
Kicking me out of the nest?

Hugo refilled my glass. “Easy on the
wine. You have a meeting with your new boss in less than an hour.”

Against his advice, I took another sip. I
needed it. “What are you talking about?”

Hugo tapped his fingers on the table.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t give you more time to prepare, but I just got the
final word today. I never mentioned the project before, because I knew you
would balk at this opportunity.”

“What project?” My head was spinning.
“Hugo, spit it out. What have you cooked up?”

He had that look in his eye that he got
when he was excited about something. “A friend of mine, Jeff Thornton, is the
President of the cable channel The Vibe –”

I gasped. “But that’s an entertainment
channel!”

Hugo smiled. “You say that as if it’s an
insult. You’re getting too snobbish, Kaitlyn. The Vibe is a very successful
channel and it makes a lot of money. More money than our little channel.”

“But our stuff is important…” I hated the
way I sounded.

Hugo waved aside my objections. “The Vibe
is starting a new project.
A new series
. They’ve already contracted for
six episodes. And Thornton is hiring you as the Executive Producer / Director
based solely on my recommendation.”