Chasing Dreams
Page 48

Marcus looked around, his eyes scanning the area around Cooper quickly. “Man, keep it down. You don’t want these people knowing your business, do you?”
“These people are my business,” Cooper retorted. “I’m not sure what the hell you do when I talk, but listening clearly ain’t it.”
“Come on, Coop. You’re gonna have to stop doing this,” Marcus said quietly, and Cooper’s back straightened.
He seriously wasn’t bringing that up, was he?
Fuck.
Not wanting Tessa to get an earful of conversation that he knew she wouldn’t understand, Cooper nodded his head and motioned for Marcus to follow him. They’d take this outside. At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about everyone knowing his business.
Once they were outside, Cooper moved around to the side of the building, avoiding the few people who were wandering in from the parking lot. Being a Thursday, the bar wasn’t as packed as the weekend, but he knew they would keep coming right up until around eleven.
“You really need to go,” Cooper told Marcus when they were out of earshot of anyone else. “I’m not leaving.”
“You sure about that?” Marcus asked, his eyes narrowing on Cooper’s face. The threat was there, he could feel it. Every time they had a disagreement, which was anytime Marcus felt he wasn’t getting his way, they would go toe to toe.
“I’m sure,” Cooper growled, making sure Marcus could hear the fury in his tone. He was done letting Marcus threaten him.
“How about this,” Marcus said haughtily, jerking his suit jacket straight as he stared back at Cooper. “I’m going to give you one last night to enjoy yourself. You do what you have to do, but tomorrow I’ll be right back here. You’ll meet me here with your shit, and we’re heading back to Nashville. I’m done playing games with you, Cooper.”
Although every muscle in his body tensed, his hands curling into fists and his legs beginning to sway beneath him, Cooper managed not to hit the guy. He was so fucking tired of Marcus and the way he was treated. Shit, if it weren’t for Cooper, Marcus Evergreen wouldn’t have shit. And the highhanded approach had never been warranted. It was just the way Marcus was.
Nodding his head, agreeing that Marcus was leaving and nothing more – although Marcus had no way of knowing that – Cooper waited until his manager offered up that smug grin once again.
He didn’t mind that Marcus believed he had won this round. There wasn’t a damn thing Marcus could do to Cooper to hurt him. It was just time for Cooper to accept the fact that he held all the power and this business arrangement was about to come to a very abrupt halt.
Just not tonight.
 
 
Chapter Nineteen

When two o’clock finally rolled around, Tessa was ready to sneak out the back door and let Eric close up himself. Since she had efficiently evaded Cooper for the last few hours, she figured the least she could do was skip out on an argument. There would most definitely be an argument.
He had dismissed her like she didn’t matter.
And he’d hurt her feelings.
Not only that, but once he had come back inside – without Marcus, thank goodness – he hadn’t paid any attention to her at all. His escape was in the form of the stage where he spent most of the night singing, not even interacting with the crowd much like he normally did.
So maybe he was in a bad mood. Still, Tessa felt she deserved more than the easy shrug off that she’d gotten when he felt she was eavesdropping on his conversation. And what could they have talked about that he didn’t want her to hear?
That had bothered her most of the night too. He was still a mystery to her. Getting to know him had been a slow moving train when compared to how quickly their lust had caught fire.
Glancing over at Eric, Tessa contemplated sneaking out as originally planned, but before she could, Cooper walked up.
“I want to talk to you before you leave,” he told her and then he headed back to the stage.
Knowing she wasn’t going to get away that easily, she resigned herself to her closing duties, and half an hour later she was finishing up.
“Need anything more from me?” Eric asked from the other side of the bar.
“No, I’m just about done here too.”
“Awesome. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Hey, would you lock the front door on your way out?” Cooper called from his perch on the stage.
What the hell was he doing? From where she stood it looked like he was tuning his guitar.
“Sure thing,” Eric yelled from the opposite side of the room as he left.
When Eric’s car roared out of the parking lot a few minutes later, Tessa knew she was stuck having to deal with Cooper before she went home. Part of her wanted to know what he and Marcus had talked about, and why he seemed so moody all of a sudden. The other part wanted to rip him a new one for treating her so callously when Marcus had been there.
“Where’re you going?” Cooper asked as she tried to make a hasty retreat to the bathroom.
“The restroom. What? Do you want to hold my hand?” she snipped. She needed a couple of minutes to gain some of her composure, and then she’d be better equipped to deal with whatever he had to say.
She had a feeling he was getting ready to let her down easy.
Thankfully, Cooper didn’t say anything more, and she disappeared down the dark, narrow hallway heading straight for the bathroom. The first measure of business was to splash cold water on her face. She could do this. She could.
“If he’s going back to Nashville then that’s what was meant to be,” she told her reflection.
She spent a few minutes righting her clothes, making sure she looked more at ease than she felt. Frowning at her choice of outfit, Tessa fixed the sagging shoulder of her lightweight sweater. She’d actually dressed up tonight. Well, dressed up for her anyway. Her blue jean skirt and off the shoulder olive green sweater had made her feel pretty when she first put it on. The boots on her feet had made her feel normal.
Yet now, knowing that Cooper was waiting for her, she felt significantly underdressed. It would’ve been easier to face him if she had on her jeans and a t-shirt.
But, there was nothing she could do about that now.
Taking a deep breath, Tessa flung open the door and shrieked when she ran right into Cooper’s chest, face first.