Page 2 of The Music in Me

“Might actually do me good,” I said with a slight shrug. “I mean, I’m getting desperate. At this point, I’d try anything. Does the place have Wi-Fi?”

“Yep. Freezer full of meat out in the garage. Basic dry good groceries to last a whole nuclear winter. Even has a spare bedroom where you could set up all your gear.” Leon looked thoughtful as he spoke as if he were thinking of something other than what he was saying.

“Okay. So it’s basically perfect. What’s the catch?” I was always good at spotting bullshit a mile away. Something about the way Leon stared stiffly at the floor made my intuition go off.

For many moments, my manager said nothing. Then he leaned forward and pressed his forearms into his knees. “Well, the catch is that... if you go, you gotta take me with you.”

“Take you with me? What, are you going to be my live-in nanny?” I laughed through a small scoff.

“I’d rather be your daddy.”

I felt my face flush. I wasn’t a baby. “What?”

“I’m going to whip you into shape.” The words hung strangely in the air between us as I tried to puzzle out exactly what he meant. Of course he was speaking metaphorically, but the way he said it...

I chewed thoughtfully on my bottom lip for a moment. “So it’ll be like boot camp?”

Leon got to his feet and came to stand just a couple of inches away from me. He was a few inches taller than me, and his body was thick and powerful. He rested his hands against the waistband of his pants.

“I’m going to whip you into shape,” he repeated, his voice low and a little dangerous sounding in the back of his throat.

I blinked. Something stirred deep within me. What was that? Attraction? No, no, no. That wasn’t possible.

“Sir, yes sir,” I murmured back.

“I mean what I say. You will be my little girl, and I’ll take care of you. You will call me Daddy and do everything I tell you to while we’re there, when I tell you to do it. We will have some special... work sessions in which you must abide by my rules completely. Do you understand?”

I studied Leon’s face carefully. He was usually demanding, but this was a new side of him I had never really noticed before. He was demanding in a different way. His threats seemed more dangerous somehow. Dangerous in a good way.

“Alright, then.” I agreed, but I was unsure what I was really agreeing to. Heat was building up deep inside my core. My mouth was suddenly very dry, and I felt that something new and unique was taking root in our relationship. Whatever it was, I wanted more.

“We leave at nine tomorrow morning. It’s a long drive. I’ll pick you up here. Be ready.” With a gruff nod and a silent wave, Leon slowly backed up and exited the studio, leaving me staring at him open-mouthed. I didn’t know much about Leon’s personal life, only because he didn’t have much of one due to how dedicated he was to his job, but I couldn’t help but wonder if something sexual had not just passed between us. Perhaps I was just projecting. It was hard to say when my mind had been so preoccupied with the upcoming album.

I found sleep difficult to come by that night as worries about the upcoming delivery date for my nonexistent album loomed closer and closer. I was excited about my little getaway with Leon, if not a little wary about it. After hitting snooze at least three times the following morning, I wearily got to my feet and shoved my legs into some discarded pants before stuffing a few handfuls of clothes into a duffel bag. I had an apartment uptown but mostly found living in the studio easier, especially while writing and recording.

It was two minutes past nine when the shrill ringing of my cell phone reverberated through the studio. It was Leon.

“Yeah?” I mumbled sleepily into the phone.

“Did I not say to be ready at exactly nine?” His voice was low and deep in the back of his throat.

Crap. I overslept. “Oh, chill out. I’ll be out soon.”

“Do not tell me what to do, young lady. Get down to this car right now.”

Young lady? I hesitated, my mouth opening and shutting several times before I could form words.

“Y...yes, sir.”

What the hell was that? Why did I say that? I heard him hang up on the other end of the line and slid the phone into my pocket. What was Leon doing? It was almost like he was acting like... a father toward me or something. Was this what he meant by ‘a Daddy who will whip me into shape’? I chewed on my bottom lip as I quickly threw on my coat and slung my duffel bag over my shoulder. I picked up my guitar case on my way toward the door and jogged outside.

Leon’s Ford Ranger sat idle on the curb outside of my building. Tossing the guitar into the bed of the truck and the duffel bag in the back seat, I climbed into the passenger’s side and nodded a silent hello to my manager.

He nodded back a silent greeting and put the car into drive.

“Got you a coffee. I don’t know how you drink that shit so sugared up. You need to grow up, don’t you think?”

“How sweet of you.” I rolled my eyes but took the warm styrofoam cup and held it between my hands.