Victoria Lawson: The Ultimate Erotic Short Story Collection 17

“Yes, it’s me. Don’t close the door yet, Tobias.” He was always Tobias-never Toby. Toby was too friendly, too easygoing a name for the brooding man in front of her.

“What do you want?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Josie could faintly smell the beer and whiskey on him, the lingering cigarette smell. He must have been at McNulty’s the night before-it was one of the few bars that allowed patrons to smoke inside anymore.

“Adam sent me,” she said, unconsciously mirroring his stance. She was about to cross her arms over her chest and caught herself, holding her arms at her sides with an effort. Just because he had decided to close himself off, didn’t mean she should do the same. She forced herself to relax as much as possible, to try and maintain a calm and collected demeanor. Tobias sighed and stepped back from the door, uncrossing his arms to open the door just wide enough to let her into the apartment.

Oddly, considering his disheveled appearance, Tobias’ apartment was generally very clean. Josie remembered Peter, Tobias’ best friend, telling her of the other man’s tendency to randomly clean everything in his home when he was troubled or frustrated. She reckoned that he had encountered a fair amount of frustration lately, to judge by the freshly-cleaned hardwood floors.

The apartment smelled of citrus, something woody, and a warm leather smell coming from a sofa sitting in the afternoon sunlight. Tobias turned his back on her and threw himself onto the couch, forgetting himself enough to pick up a pack of cigarettes and light one. Josie knew he didn’t typically smoke in his apartment, and wondered why he decided to do it right now. She sat down in a chair across from him, composing herself for the argument she knew was certain to come about by what she had come to do.

“Adam needs you to make an appearance at the anniversary party for the label,” she said. She told herself it was best to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. The sooner he had put up his objections, the faster she would be able to counter them and then she could be on her way.

“Just why isn’t Adam here telling me that?” Tobias asked, taking a long drag of his cigarette. He flicked an ash into a nearby ashtray, fixing a steady look on her face. Josie shrugged.

“He told me to come. Why he isn’t here is apparently none of my business.” She had asked Adam the same thing when he had given her the task of convincing Tobias to “let bygones be bygones.” Ever since his band had broken up, he had snubbed the label that had made his career, taking care of all his business by way of an attorney. Josie had a sneaking suspicion that Adam had known that Tobias would refuse to even hear him out, where the man would at least have the courtesy to let her in and the curiosity to hear what she had come for.

“Ah, so he strong-armed you into doing the business for him,” Tobias observed, smiling in a sardonic way over his cigarette. Josie shrugged.

“He didn’t give me a lot of options,” she conceded. Adam had held up a simple reward and an even simpler threat: if she did the errand, he would continue helping her work her way through the labyrinth of the music industry, to the possibility of making it as an artist of some standing in the entertainment industry. If she refused, he would simply withdraw his support of the label signing her. For a woman who had gotten involved in the industry because she wanted to produce her own records, it was a powerful incentive.

“Why does Adam need me at the anniversary party?” Tobias asked. Josie wondered at the fact that his questions seemed so far to be reasonable. She had expected him to say no outright.

“Because of the bad press surrounding the band’s breakup. He’s got Nick’s album coming out next month and he wants everyone to look happy and friendly for the press.” It was pointless to tell Tobias that the bad press had been at least partly his own fault; when the band had broken up, when Nick had announced that he was pursuing a solo career, Tobias had vocally expressed his disappointment and resentment to any journalist who asked about the situation. It had been a struggle-some of the other members of the band were working on solo efforts, or had joined other groups. Tobias had a plenitude of material, but he had told the label repeatedly that he would sooner be found in breach of contract than let them have their hands on it.

The trouble was precisely that; the dissolution of the contract had been a messy business. The label hadn’t wanted the band to break up at all, had even pointed out that Nick’s solo career presented no real difficulties with the band continuing. But Tobias had taken exception to Nick’s desire to put out music of his own, and refused to work with the guitarist. He had blamed Josie for encouraging Nick to work on his own material, for her work in getting the label’s attention drawn to his band mate’s music.

“So I’m supposed to show up and play nice so everyone thinks we’re all good and those few fans who are boycotting him for my sake will go out and buy the record.” Tobias took another drag of his cigarette and laughed shortly. Josie sat back, making herself relax in the chair.

“That’s about the size of it, yes.” Tobias put his cigarette out and folded his hands together, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

“What did he threaten you with to make you come here?” Josie thought a moment about whether or not she should tell him. It might speed things up; on the other hand, it would open her up to his mockery. She supposed that her ego could tolerate his shrewd and sharp wit-as long as she kept her end of the bargain.

“Adam told me that if I didn’t at least try to get you to come and maintain appearances, he would withdraw his support from the label signing me,” she said calmly. Tobias raised an eyebrow at that-not in surprise, but in interest, she thought. She hadn’t noticed it before, but his eyebrows were very finely arched, and looked as if he kept them groomed.

“That is certainly a threat to dangle in front of someone so hungry for a contract,” Tobias conceded in a dry tone. He stood. “Do you want a beer?” Josie shrugged.

“Sure.” Tobias padded across the apartment, his bare feet making no noise. Josie watched him, thinking to herself that if things had been different-if she hadn’t encouraged Nick to pursue a solo career, if Tobias hadn’t construed it as a betrayal, if a dozen things had gone more smoothly-that she might have been attracted to him, might have even asked him out.

When she had first met him, she had been struck by Tobias’ masculinity, his off-beat attractiveness. There was something muscular about him, something intimidating and at the same time beautiful, like watching a panther move through high grass after prey. When he fixed that dark gaze on a person, it was difficult to maintain a train of thought.

Tobias came back into the living room with two opened beers, extending one to Josie with an air that was polite, if not exactly pleasant. She accepted it and took a long pull, waiting for him to continue the conversation. He watched her and there was something unsettling about the way his gaze was locked onto her movements. Josie had never been able to read Tobias well-he was always throwing off her assumptions about him. She had heard from one of his ex-girlfriends that his unpredictability, while frustrating in a relationship, had added a pleasant spontaneity to their sex life. She tried to stifle the thought.

“So, in return for showing up to this party, what do I get?” Tobias sat back on the couch, apparently totally relaxed. Josie recognized the way he was sitting as his equivalent of the stillness of an alligator before it strikes. You could be in the water right above an alligator and never know it until it sprang up from below and dragged you down.