Page 51 of Indescribable Love
Nikki’s gaze narrowed. “You get him,” she said quietly. “Like…you seriously get him. You’ve finally seen behind the smiles and easygoing personality and know what’s important to him. His brothers are everything to him. And believe me, Noah and Jax are great guys and there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for him. He hates to be a burden to either of them, and in all the years I’ve known and worked with Simon, he’s never had to reach out to them for anything. But in this situation, I think it’s the perfect solution. So…thank you. It means a lot to me to see that someone has his best interests at heart when I’m not around.”
Juliette swore she felt herself blush. “Well…you’re here now and I certainly don’t want to step on anyone’s toes…”
“You’re not. You’re being someone that I know and respect, and I appreciate that. Sometimes there’s a lot of turnover in our team because personalities clash or people just don’t get Simon. When you first arrived in Asheville, I wasn’t sure it would work because you were both so damn opposite. It makes me so happy to see how far you’ve both come. You bring out a side of him I’ve never seen before and as much as I love his happy and upbeat attitude, it’s been nice to see a little more dimension to him.”
“I’m not sure it’s a good thing that I made him mad…”
“That’s not what I meant,” Nikki said with a laugh. “Sorry if you took it like that. I just meant that you’ve made him think and look at the world in maybe a different way. And as for making him mad, that’s all on Max Yearsley and this damn film. I’d like to punch that guy in the throat and tell him to take his stupid documentary and shove it up his ass.”
“Wouldn’t we all,” she murmured.
“Sadly, the reality is that we have to play nice and give the crew a chance to do this right. Simon’s committed to it, so we can run interference, but we have to at least let them get started.” She sighed. “I get that he doesn’t want to focus on his childhood because he grew up so poor and his dad was a deadbeat, but…” Another sigh. “Most people wouldn’t hold that against him.”
Juliette had to seriously bite her tongue because she would love to talk to someone about the whole situation, but there was no way she was going to betray Simon’s confidence.
“He has his reasons, I’m sure,” she said instead. “And everyone—meaning Max—should respect them. This whole thing is just getting way out of hand.”
She was about to say more when her phone dinged with an incoming text.
Simon: Where are you?
Smiling down at the screen and then realizing how goofy she must look, Juliette instantly went for a neutral expression.
Juliette: Talking with Nikki. We have adjoining rooms.
Simon: You shouldn’t have a room at all. I want you with me.
Juliette: That would not look very professional, Mr. Bennett.
The winky face emoji she added made her feel like a giddy teenager.
Simon: We’ll talk about that later.
Simon: In bed.
Simon: Naked.
The snort of laughter was out before she could stop it, and when Nikki looked at her curiously, she had to think fast.
“I think the walls of the luxury suite are already closing in on him. He’s wondering when we’re coming back.”
Fortunately, Nikki laughed. “Tell him I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. I’m going to video chat with Celia and Alex before all the craziness starts. I told them I’d call as soon as we got to the hotel, so…”
It was the perfect excuse to leave.
“Then don’t let me keep you. I’ll go down to his suite and make sure he’s ready for when everyone else gets here.” She turned toward her room and stopped. “Um…is everyone on this floor? Like…security, the band, and the film crew?”
Another laugh was Nikki’s immediate response. “Hell no! The band is actually staying at a hotel closer to Lumen Field.”
“Is that normal for them to stay at separate places?”
“Um…sometimes? Depends on the city. And this particular group of guys are all hired guns, meaning Simon doesn’t actually have a set band. Every tour there’s a different rotation of musicians.”
She nodded. “Makes sense. And the film crew and security?”
“Security’s up here for…well…you know…security’s sake. And the film crew’s definitely not on this floor. I made sure of that. Hell, I didn’t want them at the same hotel, but they need to have access to Simon for whatever they’re working on. Luckily, this is a passkey floor, so they can’t just come up whenever they want to.”
Her eyes went wide. “I’m surprised they went for it.”