Hard Rocked Read Online Free PDF Page B

best visibility.”
    “The welcome party is a public event? I didn’t see that in the packet.”
    “It’s not public per se. They don’t have to perform or sign autographs. They’ll just enjoy the bar in a VIP section visible to the rest of the customers.”
    “Okay, I see.” What I saw is he wanted to fool the guys into thinking it was a night off, while getting free drinks from the owner for putting them on show. Crafty, and kind of shitty, if you asked me. Which he didn’t. “I’ll take care of that on my way to the venue for tomorrow night. They said we could load-in equipment today and I’m going to check to make sure the crew has everything they need.”
    “Excellent,” Ryan said with a genuine smile on his face. “I do appreciate how efficient you are.”
    “Thanks. I try.”
    “You’d never think the child of such a creative genius would be like that. Was your mother a secretary or something?”
    My blood boiled at the suggestion that I was some kind of mindless drone, but I let it go. “No, she was a teacher.”
    “Hmm. Interesting. How strange it must have been for your father. Oh well, they say opposites attract.”
    I wanted to tell him my parents were anything but opposites. Wanted to snap about the long nights we’d spent as a family singing together, or how she used to sit next to him while he composed a song. But I had so few memories of them together before she died, they were private and I cherished each one. So I just made a noncommittal sound and went back to drinking my coffee.
    The rest of the meal was fairly quiet.
    “Well,” Ryan said after we’d all finished eating. “I’m heading back upstairs. Mia, I recommend you do the same, and get some rest. I’ll expect full coverage of the welcome party tonight.”
    “Of course.” She smiled at me. “You’ll be there, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good. We can chat then.”
    “I look forward to it.”
    She stood up and started head off. Ryan stood too. “You’ll handle charging the breakfast to our rooms, yes?”
    “Sure.”
    “Fine. I will talk to you later.”
    I nodded. Once he was gone I sank back into my chair and smiled. With a few shots of caffeine coursing through my veins and a fully belly, I was ready to face the day and the rest of the tour.
     
     
    That night I barely did make it to the bar. I’d been running around all day and the work of showering, getting changed into something vaguely cute and dealing with my hair was almost my undoing. The same bed I hadn’t wanted to leave called me back, but I managed to fight.
    I tried not to admit that part of the reason I spent so much time on my appearance was Dex. In straight-leg jeans and a filmy dark blouse that showed off what little cleavage I had, and my long hair cascading down my back like liquid gold, I had to admit I looked pretty good. Conservative enough to be staff, but casual enough that I didn’t look out of place there. I’d even slicked on some lip gloss and mascara, a truly rare occurrence.
    And when the bar started to fill up and the party began to rage, I was glad for all of the preparations, personal and professional. The guys didn’t seem to care that the owner had stuck the so-called “VIP section” on a corner of a glass-enclosed balcony that reminded me of a fish tank, or that people passed by to take photos and just gawk at them.
    Of course, it helped that the owner also kept the mobile bar rolled up next to our section fully stocked. I’d seen tons of hard-drinking musicians in the past, but it was still a bit of a shock how much they could suck down in a small amount of time.
    Since there wasn’t much work for me to actually do, I spent most of the time just observing everyone. Joe and Liss retreated almost immediately to a quiet-ish corner after greeting me warmly. Matthew sat drinking beer after beer, basically ignoring the series of lovely young women who came over to try and get his attention. Rick managed to control his surly