Nashville by Heart: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

and it excited
him as much as her looks. He was already picturing her as a fresh-faced, small
town girl with a guitar— more denim and pearls than leather and lace , he
thought.
    “Who’s
she?” Audrey wanted to know.
    Will
tore his eyes away. “That’s Gillian Heart.”
    He
gave Audrey the short version of their cancelled meeting as they slid into
their booth.
    “It’s
not like you to see amateurs,” she said, clicking her pink manicured nails on
the Formica tabletop.
    He
studied Audrey. It wasn’t like her to be threatened by a potential client.
    “I
felt bad about cancelling her meeting at the last minute.”
    “There
must be something about her you liked. I can’t imagine you wasting your time
otherwise.” Audrey smiled at the waitress who took their order. “Can I get some
cream, sweetie?”
    The
waitress disappeared.
    “I
was intrigued,” he said, speaking a little louder over the rattle of dishes and
customer chatter.
    “I
bet that’s what you were,” Audrey said. “Intrigued.”
    “Like
when I first heard you sing.” He was ready to change the subject. “Speaking of
which, we have lots to talk about.”
    She
gave him her already famous smile, and it filled him with hope. He took a lot
of satisfaction in the fact that he’d discovered Audrey, and even though she
could be demanding, she was on her way up the charts, and fast. His percentage
from her music earnings could get the agency back on track in a short time, if
he kept her happy and did his job right.
    Still
smiling, Audrey leaned heavily on the table. “Can I finish at least one cup of
coffee before we talk shop? I’m exhausted from the show last night.”
    “And
you were amazing,” he said, and meant it. The event had been sold out, and the
audience had loved her. It was all good for Audrey and for Adams Music. The
business had been struggling ever since he lost his biggest band over a
falling-out about money. It always happened that way. Music artists were happy
to give their agent a percentage of profits when they were starting out, but
when they made it huge, some of them started resenting the agent’s cut. Will’s
policy to that end was to cut those kinds of clients loose, even if it hit his
bottom line hard for a while. The problem was, it was still hitting the bottom
line hard.
    “I
used to work here,” Audrey said, casting her eyes around the room.
    “You
never told me that.”
    She
shrugged. “It was just a job. A good job though. June’s a peach. Your girl’s
lucky to have it.”
    “She’s
not my girl,” he corrected, wishing she were. “And she’s not my client, yet.”
But secretly, Will hoped she’d turn out to be as great as the picture he’d
formed in his mind. Gillian had potential as a client. As far as the rest,
well, it didn’t matter since his clients were off-limits.
    Their
waitress returned with a small white pitcher.
    He
looked at Audrey. She was pouting now, and his patience was worn thin. Still,
he smiled like a professional.
    “What’s
wrong?”
    “Nothing.”
    He
decided to approach the topic with a bit of teasing. “You aren’t jealous of
Gillian Heart, are you?”
    She
looked surprised. “Of course not. Why’d I be jealous of a little waitress?” She
tipped the pitcher of cream into her coffee.
    “Good,
because I thought I might introduce you to her sometime.”
    She
narrowed her eyes. “Was her demo really that good?”
    “The
recording is amateurish, but her voice is amazing.”
    Audrey
set her coffee cup down. “Amazing? Well, can I hear it?”
    “Sure,
but you’re gonna need a CD player.”
    She
looked incredulous. “Old school, huh?”
    “So
it seems.”
    “Well
you’re always saying how you’re old school deep down, right? I want to hear her
for myself then.”
    “I
was hoping you’d say that. And if you like her, maybe you could take her under
your wing.”
    “If
you sign her.”
    “Right.”
    “I’m
awfully busy,” she said. “But I guess I could do