Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Sitting on the sofa later that night, Bree did her best to listen to Trent tell her about his day. She really was interested in how it had gone. He’d spent the day interviewing candidates for his receptionist job. Since he’d been kind enough to go with her to auditions for her band, the least she could do was listen to him now. But try as she might to pay attention to what Trent was saying, her mind kept wandering.

Zach was considering quitting the band. How could he do that? It was so hard to imagine anyone quitting because he had a crush on her, especially someone like Zach. He was unbelievably good looking and could date any woman he wanted--well, any woman but her, anyway, because she was taken--but any single woman would be happy to go out with someone like Zach. So why was he hung up on her?

“Bree? Are you okay? Something seems to be bothering you,” Trent said, leaning forward to rest his hand on her leg.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” She forced a smile. “So… are you going to go with Joni then?” she asked, hoping that’s who he’d still been leaning toward.

“It’s Jodi,” he corrected, tipping his head to the side to study her. “Bree, why are you so distracted? Did something happen at practice? I’m sorry, I didn’t really ask you.”

“That’s not true. You asked me how my day was.”

“And you said fine, but that doesn't really tell me anything, and I didn’t really wait for you to tell me more. Did something happen?”

He was so observant, it was hard to pull anything over on him. She shrugged. “One of my bandmates told me something today that was unsettling, and I’m just trying to process it.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask too many questions about the details, even though she knew him well enough to expect that he would.

“Oh, no. Is everything okay?” he asked.

“It’s fine for now.” She shrugged, trying to stay nonchalant. “Anyway, did you end up choosing someone for the secretarial position?”

“No, not yet. I have a few more interviews tomorrow. But let’s talk about your band. What’s going on?”

Bree hadn’t mentioned Zach’s confession from the other night, so she could hardly bring it up now. She also didn’t want to outright lie to Trent, though. “It’s nothing. One of them is thinking this might not be the right band, though.”

“Really? But you guys have been playing so well together. Who is it?”

She didn’t want to say. But she couldn’t not say either because he would think that was weird, too. “It’s Zach,” she blurted.

Trent raised an eyebrow. Bree tried to study his face to read his reaction but didn’t get anywhere. “Why does he think he might not want to be in the band anymore?”

“He really didn’t say.” That was a lie, and she hated herself for it. But if she told Trent that Zach had told her a few days ago that he had a crush on her, wouldn’t he be mad that she hadn’t told him before?

“What does the rest of the band think?”

“He only told me. He doesn’t want everyone to know yet.”

“He gets along with everyone, doesn’t he?” Trent asked.

“Sure. I think so. For the most part anyway.”

“Do you think he has an offer from another band? Maybe he doesn’t want to play country music anymore.”

Bree ran a hand through her hair. She didn’t like all of this speculation, but she also couldn’t come clean to Trent all at once without making him upset. “I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe.”

“Well, you might be able to get Kell if he does decide to quit.”

“That’s true. We might. But… I’d rather he didn’t quit. Zach is really good at what he does.”

“And the girls love him.”

There was an undertone to the statement Bree thought might be getting at something else. “Why do you say that?”

“Are you kidding? The audience was going crazy over him the other night.”

“They were?”

“Sure. Every girl in the auditorium was going nuts about the ‘hot guitar player.’”

It shouldn’t have surprised Bree to hear him say that, but she didn’t like it. Even if it sounded dumb to think of Zach as “her” guitar player, “Well, that’s not why I want him in the band anyway.”

“Still… it doesn’t hurt.”

Now, she was starting to get irritated. “Are you saying you think my band needs some sort of gimmick to get people to like us?”

“No, Bree. Not at all. Your band is great. I was just saying, every little bit helps. You’re the one who didn’t want Kell.”

“Because he’s not as good a guitar player as Zach, not because of what he looks like. It has nothing to do with what either one of them looks like.”

“Okay--geez, Bree. You’re a little defensive, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not!”

“Fine--let’s not talk about it anymore, then, okay. I’m sorry I upset you.”

“You didn’t upset me,” Bree said, but she knew her voice wasn’t convincing.

Trent took a deep breath and asked, “What do you want for dinner?”

Realizing he was trying to change the subject, Bree replied, “How about chicken?”

***

The next day, Trent sat in his new office, trying to get a handle on the situation with Bree. Between interviews, he found himself going back over the conversation he’d had with her the night before. While they hadn’t argued anymore about it, he hadn’t liked the way she’d reacted to his questions about Zach. She’d seemed super defensive.

He knew nothing was going on between them. He trusted Bree. The fact that Monica had cheated on him did make him leery, but he also knew now that there had been a ton of signs that Monica was cheating that he’d ignored. She’d be out when she said she was staying home. She’d snuck off at parties. She’d drank way too much…. Bree wasn’t like that at all.

So why was she so quick to defend Zach at every turn? It wasn’t as if Trent was even saying anything bad about him. He’d said the guy was good looking and brought in the chicks….

Trent was tempted to try to talk to Bree about it again, but he didn't want to make her mad. He’d just see how it played out. Part of him wanted Zach to quit the band just so he wouldn’t have to think about the guy anymore. He seemed nice enough and was certainly talented, but he wouldn’t have to worry about Bree developing feelings for the musician--or vice versa--if he wasn’t around.

“I have a file I’d like for you to look at.” Celia’s voice caught him off guard. He hadn’t even heard her come into the office. In fairness, the door was ajar so she hadn’t knocked. Still, he wasn’t paying attention to his work, clearly, if she was able to come in without him noticing.

Trent took the file. “Thanks, Celia,” he said, remembering that this was a big account she was going after.

“Everything okay?” Celia asked, standing next to his desk.

“Yeah, fine.”

“Are you sure about that? You look a little distracted.”

“Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.” He glanced down the spreadsheet, looking at the numbers. “Everything looks good. I say, go for it.” Closing the folder, he handed it back to her.

“Thanks.” She took the folder but rested her hand on his shoulder. “Maybe you should take the rest of the day off, Trent. You’re working so hard.”

“Oh, no, it’s not this,” he said, trying not to let his eyes swivel to her hand. It was an innocent enough touch, but he wasn’t sure what to think of it. She pulled her hand away even without him staring it down.

“What is it? Everything okay with Bree?”

“Yeah,” he said quickly. “She’s just having an issue with one of her bandmates.” He shouldn’t be talking to Celia about this, but she was easy to talk to, and it just came out.

“Are they not getting along?”

“It’s not that. He wants to quit, and she doesn’t want him to.”

“Why does he want to quit?” she asked.

Shaking his head, Trent said, “She didn’t say. She said she didn’t know, but… I think she does.”

“That’s… odd,” Celia said, folding her arms. “Why wouldn’t she tell you?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s all a little strange.”

Her head rocked back and forth. “Well, maybe it just has to do with the band, and she doesn’t want to discuss it with someone who’s not actually in the band.”

“Yeah maybe. It’s just… she usually talks to me about everything.”

Celia gave him a sympathetic smile. “Well, I hope it turns out okay. You’ve put a lot into opening this business. It would be a shame if you and Bree aren’t getting along and you decide to pack up.”

He thought perhaps she was joking, but it wasn’t funny. “Don’t worry, Celia. I’m not going anywhere.”

She nodded and headed toward the door, but her comment got him thinking about his earlier worries. Had they moved too fast? Should he have waited to move Bree in with him? As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Trent wasn’t sure.