“Then answer me as to why you need to hire somebody to break his heart?” I lean across the table, my elbow almost bumping the drink in front of me.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that his new self-titled album lacks the, let’s say emotion that his debut album had. He wrote Back to Yesterday after his first love broke his heart. The fact that those songs were so raw, it reached his fans in a special way, highlighting every bit of his feelings through that heartbreak. Those feelings were the steppingstones for what made him the music icon he is today.”
She takes a moment to fire off another message on her constantly pinging phone before she goes on.
“While this new album has been sitting at number one for a few weeks now, it isn’t reaching the fans the way we need it to—to have lasting stardom for him. And much to the dismay of Nash’s inner circle, he refuses to let any girl get close enough for him to even possibly fall in love, let alone feel anything. At this point he’s got nothing to inspire his music.” Monica leans back in the brass chair, her arms folding over her chest gracefully.
I stir the ice cubes in my drink with the fancy straw, mulling her words over. “What makes you think I’ll be able to get close to him, then?”
Monica laughs. “Oh, hon, I’m not positive you’ll be able to.” She reaches across the table to put her hand on mine. Her brown eyes look me dead in the eye as she continues to speak. “It’ll be hard, and it’ll take time, but we just need someone to inch their way in close enough to make any of this a possibility. My bet is you’re just the girl for the job. With those sweet hazel eyes and kiss-me lips, it’d be hard for any guy to say no to you, even if that guy is Nash Pierce.”
She must be certifiably insane to think a girl from small-town Ohio is going to break Nash Pierce’s heart—better known as the music god of my generation. But I humor her because she does paint a pretty picture.
“So, you hire me as a dancer for his new tour, expect me to get close enough to him to make him fall in love with me, and if somehow it is possible for me to make that happen, I’m just supposed to break his heart? All so he can write and perform better songs?”
Monica gives one fervent nod of her head. “Exactly. Heartbreak sells, sweetie. And Nash needs someone to break his heart again so he can connect with his music. It’ll need to be one hell of a broken—”
“If he falls in love with me.”
A baby cries in the background; it’s shrieking loud and interrupting the hip atmosphere of the restaurant.
Monica’s eyes flick to the area where the cries are coming from before bringing her brown-eyed gaze back to me. “For starters, I don’t like being interrupted.” She taps her nails against the screen of her phone and stares me down like she’s planning my demise.
I bite the inside of my lip before mumbling out an apology.
“Like I was saying…” Monica sits up straighter, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. “The team isn’t putting this whole thing together with absolute certainty that he will fall for you. We don’t know if you have what it takes to slither your way into Nash’s heart, but you were my first choice, so the offer is on the table. We might even choose a few of you to try to be more efficient with all this.”
She shrugs, as if it is totally normal that Nash Pierce’s team is going behind his back to hire girls to come in to break his heart. It makes me feel kind of sad for him.
“Just so we’re clear, this is not to be discussed with anyone, whether you accept or not. Understood?”
I swallow nervously. “I understand.”
Monica pulls a large stack of papers from her purse. “Here’s the NDA. You can’t discuss this with anyone but me or your agent, whether you accept the terms or not.”
My eyes rake over the words on the paper. I have no idea what any of this legal jargon even means. Before I can get my thoughts together, Monica sets a pen in front of me.
Picking it up, I look over the document in front of me. The pen feels heavy in my hand as I sign on all the lines she points to. Deep down I know I should probably have this looked over by a lawyer or something, but I’m still trying to process what she’s offering to think about anything beyond it. I do know I have no problem keeping this a secret from everyone in my life but Riley. I’m happy we faked her being my agent so she could be my loophole in this whole thing. There’s no way I could make this decision without discussing it with her first.
“So, what will it be, Ohio?” Monica leans across the table, her body language making it apparent she’s two seconds away from leaving.
My head spins with all the details she’s given me. I want to make dancing a career like I want to marry Chris Pratt—very badly. There’s nothing I want more than to be successful in this industry. But am I willing to chase my dreams at the cost of somebody else’s heart?
“What’s in it for me?” I finally ask.
Monica hums, a smile upon her face. “Name your price, darling.”