Chapter 35

Paul leans over to kiss them away. “You’re too much alike,” he whispers against Adam’s lips.

“Hey!” Adam cries, but Paul kisses him again, silencing him.

“Just listen to me,” Paul tells him. Adam nods to show he’s listening. Paul brushes his thumb along Adam’s chin, smoothing down the stubborn patch of hair that clings there like moss. “I want you to get this deal.”

“I do, too,” Adam whispers.

“Then don’t get into it with him, you hear me?” Paul frowns, a stern twist of his mouth, when Adam nods again. “You stay out of his way, you don’t say shit to him, you let him be right. All the time, you let him be right. Swallow your damn pride and your ego and let him do things his way, just until you sign. Then—”

“He steps out?” Adam asks, hopeful.

“Exactly. One week, that’s it.” Paul hopes they can make it that long.

* * * *

The first thing Lewis asks when Paul comes into the studio the next morning is, “What’d he do, spend the night at your place?”