CLASS ACT (A BRITISH ROCKSTAR BAD BOY ROMANCE) by Julia Gardener Read Free Book Online Page B

shot,” I replied with a shrug. “Besides, you’re the boss.”
     
     
    She reached out to place her soft hand over mine. “I like to think of us as partners working towards a common goal.”
     
     
    “Partners then,” I said, turning my hand over and gripping it. She blushed at the gesture. “You know, I haven’t had a partner since Howard. My new bandmates are just associates.”
     
     
    I wanted to trail my hand down her legs and feel her warm flesh between my fingers. That woman seemed like she was born with a chastity belt on her. It was time that she loosened up.
     
     
    “Have you ever thought about adding another permanent member or two?” Charlotte asked, retrieving her hand from my touch. Fine, I could work with someone who played hard to get. “Double Damage is a very unusual rock band in that you’re the only real member. Even the name refers to you and Howard. What you have now is effectively a solo career.”
     
     
    “I told management to fuck off if they so much as changed the name of the band by a letter,” I stated adamantly. “Howard was more than just some brilliant musician who played alongside me. We did everything together. We wrote music together. We took shifts driving our van across England looking for a new gig. We even shared half a frankfurter from a roadside shop because we were too damn poor to afford anything else. Those types of partnerships don’t grow on trees.”
     
     
    Charlotte put the worksheets back into her bag. “Have you ever given someone a chance in order to develop a long term relationship?”
     
     
    “Do you mean for my professional life?” I smirked. “Or my personal life?”
     
     
    She groaned. “You know what I mean.”
     
     
    “These days, the only person you can trust is yourself,” I replied coldly. “Look no farther than my management. Those backstabbing bastards are having me do primary school work just to play my music.”
     
     
    “Heath you’re the most critically and commercially rock star the world has ever seen in year-”
     
     
    “I’m the most successful serf they’ve ever seen,” I said bitterly. “I’m on a five year contract with a company that takes delight in knowing that I can’t read. Every minute of my life is on some schedule. Honestly, I envy you, Charlotte.”
     
     
    The woman’s eyes widened in shock. “Me?”
     
     
    “You get to travel to different places,” I began. “But it’s all on your terms. You’re the one in charge.”
     
     
    “It hasn’t been a pleasure cruise,” she giggled. “I’ve been to war-torn countries and taught war orphans with bombs going off in the background. As hectic as this tour has been, I feel blessed to be in an air-conditioned bus.”
     
     
    “I guess that doesn’t leave you much room for a boyfriend,” I teased. “Or something more… long term and intimate.”
     
     
    Another fit of giggles took her. “You’re on the mark with that. I just love working with new people too much to settle down in one place. How about you? Have you thought of retiring and settling down?”
     
     
    “I’m performing until I’m in a wheelchair,” I said with a half-smile. “Maybe even then. It’ll probably take death or dementia for me to stop performing.”
     
     
    “How about just starting a family?”
     
     
    “No, Howard was the one who always dreamt of starting a family,” I revealed with a sigh. He had always been the family man of the duo. “The man wanted to find a nice girl and settle down with a plot of land in Scotland. He still planned on making music in his middle years. However, it would be as a writer or producer rather than a performer…”
     
     
    “Ever think of becoming a just a producer?” she suggested. “Between you and Howard, there have been over a dozen songs that have topped the charts. Just about everything you touch has been gold. I’m sure they’re a lot of musicians dying to have you write and compose for