Fade Into You (Shaken Dirty #3)(4)

Excitement roared through her, had her hands shaking and her heart pounding out of control. She’d been a fan of Shaken Dirty from the very beginning, had been the one to bring them to Caleb’s attention when the two of them were still in college so that he could convince their dad to sign them (since she knew there was no way their father would take the recommendation from her). When they’d gone big, she’d celebrated with Caleb. And when they’d gone huge, he’d told her father that she’d been the one to pick them out. The one who’d insisted he listen to them.

And her dad had still given all the praise to Caleb. No surprise there.

Of course, when shit had gone bad and the band had nearly imploded a few months ago, he’d been right there ready to point the finger at her…he was great like that. Caleb had tried to stop the witch hunt, but no one talked Bill Germaine into—or out of—anything once his mind was made up. So she hadn’t protested the castigation or the bust in rank that came with it, because the last thing she’d wanted was their father’s shit to land on Caleb. But it had been a bitter pill to swallow—Shaken Dirty was far from the first band to suffer from in-fighting and drug abuse. And it wasn’t like she’d been allowed to have anything to do with them once they were signed, anyway. That had been everyone else’s job but hers.

And now Shaken Dirty was back, ready to play? Two and a half months didn’t seem long enough for them to really get their shit together. Or more precisely, for their drummer to get his shit together.

Me: Wyatt’s out of rehab?!?!

Caleb: Yeah. Got out this morning

And he was playing tonight? God knew things moved fast in this industry, but this was supersonic.

Me: How is he?

Caleb: I don’t know. That’s kind of what today’s about. Gauging that and checking out the new bassist

Me: They found a new bassist? Who is it?

Caleb: They’re auditioning a new bassist. And it’s Li Marcos, from Firestarter

Me: He’s good

Caleb: Yeah…

Me: But not right for them

Caleb: You haven’t even heard how they sound together

Me: Doesn’t matter. His fingerings aren’t good enough to keep up with Ryder. Or even Jared. He’s going to look like an amateur up there

Caleb: Yeah, well. We’ll see

Caleb: Also, this is the start of a three to six-month gig

Me: For Li?

That was a disaster if ever she’d heard one.

Caleb: No. For you

Caleb: On top of my regular duties, Dad’s put me in charge of babysitting Wyatt for the next few months, making sure he stays out of trouble. My chance to prove I can handle the talent, he says. But since we both know I can’t… I’ll take over whatever duties of yours I can for a while and you take over Shaken Dirty

At her brother’s words, Poppy’s heart went from pounding too hard to nearly exploding. This was what she wanted, what she’d always wanted. A chance to work with the talent. To use the power of the record label to help them get everything they wanted while proving to the label—to her father—that intense cooperation with the artists could be profitable for everyone. But still…

Me: You want me to babysit Wyatt Jennings?!?! Dad will flip

Caleb: Not if he understands it’s the only way. Wyatt knows me and I guarantee he’ll figure out I’m a babysitter from the word go. And trust me, that’ll just mess him up more

Me: So tell him you’re there for something else. He doesn’t have to know you’re babysitting him

Caleb: He’s an addict, not an idiot. He’ll see right through it. But Dad keeps you away from the top-shelf talent. He doesn’t know you

Me: Meaning what? You want me to lie to him about who I am?

Caleb: That’s exactly what I want you to do. It’s the only way this will work. I don’t want him to think we as a label don’t have any faith in him, which is why I’ve set up a whole identity for you as their new social media consultant. You’ll be documenting Shaken Dirty’s journey from broken band to their first ever stadium tour, which kicks off at ACL in October. You’ll be with them at least until November. You can thank me later

Me: Thank you?!?! I can’t be away from the office until November

Caleb: Sure you can. I’ve got it handled

Me: Again, Dad will freak

Caleb: Let me handle Dad. This is the perfect shot for you to do what you’ve always wanted to do and to prove yourself to Dad. You need to take it. It’s a win-win

He was right; she knew he was right. If she walked away from this right now, she’d never get another chance. Not with the way Dad was riding Caleb to take more responsibility. And not with the way he was trying so hard to railroad her from marketing over to the accounting side of the business, as far from the artists as she could get.

But still, her mind was reeling. She had so much to do, so many things she was responsible for. Was she really supposed to just hang out in Austin for months on end? And if she actually agreed to do this, how the hell was she supposed to keep one of rock’s baddest boys on the straight and narrow? Wyatt was known as a lot of things—smart, charismatic, sexy as hell. But a rule follower? Definitely not in any description of him she’d ever read.

Not to mention that she couldn’t even tell him why she was there—the last thing they needed was for him or the other band members to think that the label didn’t trust him. They needed to keep the talent happy, not send them into a towering rage. She didn’t know if she could pull it off—she was a terrible liar. She couldn’t even tell a white lie without freaking out and looking totally guilty. And now she was supposed to lie to Wyatt for months? The guy was talented and brilliant and if his lyrics were anything to go by, really freaking observant. There was no way she could do this. It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t—