❝You know I love you, right?❞
21-year-old Kendall Morgan moves to Los Angeles where she plans to live out her dream. But there is only one problem: She doesn't even know where to start.
One fateful day, while working in a coffee shop, she meets Holl...
KENDALL WAS seated on the passenger's seat of Phoenix's car, ranting about the incident from the night before. To Kendall's surprise, Phoenix had listened to the story without interjecting her opinion like she normally would.
"When I started to walk away, he broke my mirror. "
Phoenix gasped. "What the fuck? Like, with his fist? Are you serious?"
Kendall took a short sip of her strawberry smoothie. "Yeah. He hasn't stopped texting me since I yelled at him to leave."
"You better not text him back," Phoenix advised firmly. "One day he's hitting mirrors and the next he's hitting you."
Kendall shook her head. "Don't say that. I can tell he feels really bad about what happened."
"The guy's an actor, Kendall. He's basically a professional liar." Phoenix quickly snatched Kendall's smoothie and took a long sip of it, earning herself a punch on the thigh.
"You said you didn't want a smoothie," Kendall recalled as she reclaimed her drink.
"Well now I've changed my mind," Phoenix grinned cheekily.
Kendall rolled her eyes but handed her best friend the remainder of the smoothie. After removing the lid and taking a large swig of the cold beverage, Phoenix spoke again. "But I'm serious, Ken. Guys like Ryan lie and manipulate and brainwash girls into believing that they care."
Kendall nibbled her bottom lip, letting Phoenix's claim sink in. She didn't want to believe that the past month could have been a lie. Everything was just so perfect, and Ryan was just so charming. Why would Ryan pretend to care for Kendall? It didn't seem like something he would do.
He does care about me, Kendall thought to herself. I shouldn't have walked away from him.
Kendall genuinely believed that she could get past this; that Ryan would never do what he did again. But she didn't realize that her willingness to forgive Ryan had a deeper meaning.
No matter how hard she tried not to, Kendall still had an insatiable need to feel loved, and she hated herself for it. It wasn't because she didn't get enough attention as a kid; she got plenty of that from her father. It was because of the affection that she didn't receive from her mother. And maybe it was ungrateful of Kendall, but the unconditional love she got from her father didn't seem to suffice.
For most of her life, Kendall's relationship with her mother was rocky. She always expected perfection from Kendall and nothing less. The pressure would sometimes become unbearable to Kendall, and as a result, she would snap.
Moving to LA was like a chance for Kendall to breathe. So when her father offered to help her move, she immediately jumped at the opportunity. Despite her mother's protests and negativity, Kendall moved. And she hasn't regretted it once.
But now none of that mattered.
It didn't matter that her mom was still furious with her. It didn't matter that Ryan had broken her mirror the night before. All that mattered was now.
And right now, Kendall was with her best friend, sitting in the parking lot of the most popular record label in Hollywood.
Kendall looked out the window at the tall building. She was nervous, and she was tired of constantly feeling that way. She sighed and turned to Phoenix. "All right, I'm going in now. Wish me luck."
Phoenix smiled. "You've got this. Go secure that record deal."
Kendall flashed her friend a closed-lip smile and exited the vehicle.
Little did Kendall know; Phoenix wasn't the only one cheering her on. From across the parking lot, Ryan was seated in a car that Kendall wouldn't recognize. It hurt that Kendall hadn't asked him to drive her, but Ryan knew why she didn't. He also knew that it would take something big to get Kendall to forgive him, and at the moment, he was sitting in that something big.
As Kendall opened the building's large glass door, a wave of cool air rushed over her. The building's interior was pristine and modern. Light poured through every window of the glass architecture. A woman who was seated at the front desk immediately recognized Kendall and approached her. "Ms. Morgan, I presume." The woman extended her hand out for Kendall to shake, so she did. "Mr. Evanston and his assistant have been awaiting your arrival." She began to walk toward an elevator, motioning for Kendall to follow.
The elevator ride took about a minute or so, but it felt like an eternity to Kendall. The small space was thick with awkward silence as the elevator made its way to the top floor. After walking down a long hallway, Kendall followed the woman through a large, dark mahogany door. Behind the door was a massive office, which included a remarkable view. A man, who Kendall assumed was Mr. Evanston, was seated at a large desk, and a woman with a tight bun stood next to him.
"Ms. Morgan." Mr. Evanston grinned, standing up from his deep brown swivel chair. "I'm glad you could make it." Kendall smiled back as Mr. Evanston shook her hand. She noticed how strong his grip was, and how his presence seemed to command attention.
Mr. Evanston gestured for Kendall to sit, so she complied. She absent-mindedly studied his face. He was without a doubt handsome—anyone could see that. His skin was a rich shade of brown and his eyes reminded Kendall of dark chocolate.
"This is my assistant, Nicole."
Nicole smiled confidently, her white teeth almost twinkling against her bright red lips. "We see great promise in you, Ms. Morgan."
Mr. Evanston nodded. "So here's the deal. We want sign you, but that's a big investment. So, we need to know what you can offer to GSR." He leaned forward in his seat. "Do you write lyrics?"
Kendall scrunched her nose slightly. "A little." Although she had a gift for it, Kendall hated writing songs. The process had always been hell for her. Everything that she wrote never felt good enough, but everyone else seemed to like Kendall's lyrics. They claimed that she had a unique way with words, but Kendall just didn't see it.
"All right," Mr. Evanston responded. "We'll pair you up with one of our song writers. They'll help you write and record your first potential single, and if we like it, we'll sign you."
The corners of Kendall's lips twitched, attempting to form a smile. She fought it off and responded. "Is there a deadline I should know about?"
Mr. Evanston looked to his assistant. "Two weeks sounds good to me," she decided for him."
Kendall didn't know if she was capable of writing a GSR worthy song, but she did know that she wanted to get signed more than anything. Her dreams were finally becoming a reality, and she refused to let them go. So, with feigned confidence, Kendall voiced the word that she believed could make or break her possible career.
"Okay."
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