Destroyed (Lost in Oblivion, #3)(47)

Margo glanced down at Lila’s feet and was dumbfounded to see Chucks.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t wear a power suit every day.” Lila pushed by her and inside.

Margo gripped the door and stared after her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in flats, let alone shorts.”

“Yeah well, I’m here in a non-professional manner.”

Margo closed the door and followed her into the vestibule. “Okay. I was just having coffee, would you like some?”

“Is it a day ending in Y?”

“Touché. Come in.” She led her down to the kitchen. She unhooked a poppy red mug from her company cups and filled it with the last of her French-pressed coffee. “Black, right?”

“Damn right.”

Margo set a mug in front of her. “Well if you’re not here for business, what can I do for you?”

Lila cupped slim, ringless fingers around the mug and tapped her forefinger on the handle. “Can I be blunt?”

“I’m not sure you have any other mode.”

Lila lifted her mug and smiled over the rim. “I like you.” She took a sip and her wide blue eyes went heavy-lidded. “And I’ll pay you five thousand dollars a week just to make me this coffee every day.”

“My one vice.” Margo nodded to the back. “Why don’t we go out on the patio so I can finish mine?”

“Lead the way.”

Margo held the door for her and caught Lila looking around at her house. “It was my grandmother’s.”

Lila’s golden brow rose. “Was I telegraphing?”

“Well, I’m sure you know what a studio musician makes. Add in the Philharmonic, and it still wouldn’t cover this place in Boston.”

“No. It wouldn’t. Especially when you were dismissed from the Boston Philharmonic,” Lila said as she sailed through the door.

Margo’s fingers tightened on the doorknob. “And here I thought we weren’t going to discuss business.”

“I didn’t say that.” Lila sat on the rattan couch and crossed her elegant legs.

Margo perched on the matching chair at the end of the oval table. “Okay. Since you obviously have a plan for this visit, care to share?”

“May I?” She nodded as Lila pulled Margo’s laptop toward her. She typed for a moment then spun the screen to face Margo.

Callahan’s filled the small video player box. Margo’s heart skipped a beat and her lower belly pulsed as the camera focused in on her and Simon making a small circle around each other.

Intense and prowling, they were the center of attention for the videographer. She glanced down at the name of the video—Since when is a violin player this hot?

The audio was questionable with the level of background noise and shouts, but the video was certainly the important part.

“Yes, Simon came in and played.”

“Did you call him?”

“God, no.”

“So this wasn’t planned?”

“No.” Margo crossed her arms. “What are you angling for, fifteen percent or something?”

Lila put her mug down and gave a delighted laugh. “Oh, that’s perfect.”

“What’s with the interrogation, then?”

“It was a roundabout way of asking you if this was planned or just happened.” She picked up her mug again and leaned back on the couch and looked around. “I like this set-up.” She wiggled her fingers. “All New England chic.”

“I’m glad you like my postage stamp backyard.”

“Brrr. It just got chilly.” Lila’s wide cornflower eyes sparkled with humor. “Look at the other videos.”

Margo sighed. “So, a few people took videos. That’s what people do when famous people are around.”

“Indeed they do. But there are over forty videos from that one show and look at the views. Hell, even the crappy videos have tons of them.”

“And that means what, exactly?”

Lila sighed. “It means whatever chemistry you and Simon have on stage translates to salivating fans.” She tipped the mug back and frowned when she got to the bottom. “More?”

She started to stand and Lila waved her back.

“I’ll get it. You keep looking.”

Margo scrolled down and saw the views and the comments. Some were obvious troublemaker types, but on the whole, there were a lot of people excited to see Simon play on stage with her. Some that were shocked that a violin player could be so cool, others that couldn’t get enough of Simon dirty dancing with her.

In the comments, there were other links to their release party videos. She leaned forward at the sheer number of posts on the sidebar of the site.

Hundreds.

Thousands of views and shares.

Their rendition of “The Becoming” seemed to be the most watched video. And that was from the second night in Los Angeles. Back to back, they were one with each other on the stage and when he circled her to come at her from behind, her body reacted.

Stiffened nipples and a throb so deep inside that she shut the laptop.

“Pretty amazing, huh?”

Margo lifted her mug and took a healthy swallow, saying nothing.

Lila came down the three stairs and settled on the couch again. She’d changed out the standard red mug for a huge black one from her cupboard. “You can’t deny that was awesome stuff.”