At her question, another rambunctious group entered the room. I recognized the drummer from Layla’s band, his arms around the women on either side of him. “Sorry,” I said, drawing my attention back to her. “Yeah, you can go ahead and start. We have,” I checked the time, “ten or so minutes. Maybe start with the drinks… Whatever your boss thinks.”
She nodded affirmatively and walked away from me, disappearing into the kitchen. Once she was gone, I searched the room for Elias again, having lost him in the ever-growing crowd.
Just as I spotted him, on the far side of the room talking with Oliver and two of the interns from work, I heard loud clapping. A round of applause grew, and I looked back at the door, where I saw Layla standing, two of her bodyguards taking their places by the door while another kept a few paces behind her.
She stood there, one arm tucked in front of her stomach, the other folded behind her back as she feigned humility, shaking her head politely at the growing applause. When it began to die off, she offered a slight bow and a pageant-wave before making a beeline toward a group of people, her manager in tow.
I needed to find Elias. I had to get rid of him, and quickly, before he had a chance to do anything awful. As I zigzagged through the crowd, my phone began to ring, and I hoped, despite the chaos, that it would be Addy.
As I pulled it out of my pocket, trying to keep my eyes trained on Elias, I glanced down just once to see it was Rodney who was calling. “Hello?”
“Would you like some champagne?” a waiter asked, holding out a tray for me. I waved him off as politely as I could.
“Dan isn’t here, and no one else here knows you. What do you want me to do?” Rodney asked.
I groaned, running a hand over my face. “Okay, did you tell them it’s for Layla? You have a business card on you, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but they wouldn’t budge. The guy said they can’t make those decisions, and they tried to call Dan, but he didn’t answer. I guess he’s out of town.”
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath. Elias left the group he’d been talking to, circulating through the crowd as if he knew everyone there. He stopped a waiter and took a glass of champagne from the silver tray. “Okay. I’ll…I’ll figure something else out. Just come on back.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.”
I ended the call, trying to relocate Elias or Layla’s manager, Justin, whoever I could find first. My stomach dropped when I found them at the same time, Elias standing in the small circle that Layla had joined, talking to her animatedly.
I moved in closer, my heart pounding. I was going to lose my job. It was all I had left, and Elias was going to take it from me.
“Hey!” I said, forcing a smile as I joined the group. “What are we talking about?”
“Oh, nothing, roomie,” Elias said, downing the glass of champagne in his hand and reaching for another as a waiter walked past. “I was just telling Layla what a big fan I am.”
“I’m sure Layla has plenty of mingling to do, Elias. Could I talk to you for a minute?”
“I’m fine here,” he said plainly, looking back down at Layla, who smiled uncomfortably. “So, which was your favorite city to play in?”
“Hey,” Justin said, “are we all good to go?” He put both his thumbs up.
I shook my head. “I’m still trying to find something. My connection is out of town.”
Layla looked concerned from behind her speckled golden eyeshadow. She didn’t answer Elias’ question, her attention focused solely on us. “What’s wrong?” She looked at Justin, whose face was instantly soothing.
“Nothing. We’re tracking down some equipment for your performance tonight. I don’t want you to worry about it. We’ve got you taken care of.” He wiggled a finger at me, pulling me away from the group, though I desperately didn’t want to leave Elias there.
“Listen,” he said, once we were out of earshot. “She can’t do acapella, because it’ll show off the breaks in her voice, but if you can just get a guitar here, I’m sure Will or Tony will be fine to play. So, don’t worry about the player, just find the guitar.”
“That’s just it,” I said, keeping an eye on Elias, on high alert every time he leaned down to whisper something to Layla, which was growing to be more frequent. “I’m looking for a guitar, but I don’t have one. Do you think any of the guys has one with them?”
He tensed his lip. “I can check. Stewart told me you were handling everything, Wes. If I’d known I needed to bring instruments, I would’ve.”
It felt unfair, being that I’d just been told I needed to find them as well, and it did seem like he’d had much more warning than me, but I didn’t argue. “It’s fine. I’ll get it figured out. Don’t worry.”
“You sure?” he asked, his brows raised.
Elias’ obnoxious laugh echoed through the room over the soft music Dalton had begun playing.
“Wes?” Justin asked again.
“Yeah, yes,” I confirmed.
“Okay, cool.” With that, he walked away, and I pulled out my phone again. This time, Addy was calling. I ignored the call, immediately regretting it, and dialed Rodney.
“Hey, I’m just pulling in.”
“I need you to go back,” I said.
I could hear the frustration in his voice. “Why?”
“I just need you to buy a guitar. Do you have the company card?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Okay, cool. Tell them you need a used one with new strings and you need them to tune it for you before you leave.”
“Okay,” he said with a heavy sigh.
“Thanks, Rodney.”
I ended the call just as Addy’s name appeared
