Page 92 of Finding a Melody
“I wouldn’t be surprised. He has money and he’s only getting more. And supporters. It’s a bit scary how big he’s become in our town. My dad mentioned once that he’s a smart investor.”
“Taking over the world, one town at a time,” I said bitterly.
“That’s a scary thought. Am I allowed to come in with you?”
I shook my head. “Privacy issues. You’ll have to wait in the car. This is why I didn’t want anyone coming. It’ll be boring out here.”
“Better bored than dead,” Bryan said.
I sighed. He was too right. And I liked the idea of coming out after the meeting to someone waiting. Having that biker waiting for me last time really threw me off and scared the shit out of me.
As soon as I walked inside, the front desk secretary rushed me into a room, offering me everything under the sun to make sure I was comfortable.
Arden Laurens came in five minutes later with a big warm smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“How have you been?” he asked, settling in next to me. He shifted his chair so he was closer to me.
I scooted the other way to put more space between us and Laurens pretended he didn’t notice that blatant move to distance us.
“I’ve been good. Busy, but good.”
He nodded. “Excellent.” He frowned. “I heard some concerning rumors that you were in an accident? Went into a ditch and had to be taken to the hospital?” His gaze kept going to the bandage on my head. Tomorrow, I had a doctor’s appointment to hopefully get them removed then. There were only four stitches, thankfully.
“Oh wow, the rumors really are spreading through the town.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.” He really didn’t look sorry. “Are you okay? We could have canceled today if you needed more time to heal?”
“I’m fine. Nothing too serious happened. So you wanted to change a concept.”
“Oh. Yes. This is mainly why I pushed to meet you. I got the idea while I was traveling.” He slid over the folder he brought in with him. “I want to bring out the little sister a bit more. I’d like to add in some songs with them interacting more...”
The meeting was pretty straightforward as we hammered down the details.
Once we wrapped up, I leaned back in my chair and released a sigh.
“Thank you for coming in on short notice, especially after what happened.” Laurens flashed me a smile that probably should have come off as sincere but fell flat. “I’m out of town again after today, but I wanted to make sure to get this done. Once I’m back, we can reconnect and see where everything is at.”
“Sounds good to me. Just have your secretary set up a meeting once you know when that’ll be.”
We stood and shook hands and then he let me out of the room first, following behind.
“Until next time, Cadence,” he said, turning toward the elevators. I waved and then made a rush to get out of the building, not wanting to hang around.
Bryan started the car as soon as he saw me walking toward him.
“How’d it go?” he asked once I got in.
“Fine. As expected.”
“He didn’t try anything with you, right?”
I shook my head. “Nothing at all. We got down to business, talked it all out, and then it was over. He wasn’t too bad this time.”
“Good. If he does try to do anything with you, let me know. I have people who can help with harassment claims. Good people who can make him into a joke.”
“It won’t come down to that,” I said. Now if only I believed my words, everything would be so much easier.
Bryan didn’t believe me either. “The offer will always stand. Not just against him, but anyone.”