I moved around her, heading in the direction she’d indicated. Before rounding the corner, I glanced at Emily, confirming she was onstage, surrounded by the other performers hopping around and that the door I’d shut and locked was still closed.

As I approached the lounge, I heard two male voices, speaking in hushed tones and halted. Worried I was interrupting something, I began to back away when I heard Charlie’s name spoken by a man with an exceedingly deep voice. The security dude I’d seen standing behind him earlier? “What do you want?” he asked.

My muscles froze, ears perking up as their voices grew quieter like they’d turned away from where I stood. “I’ll need to stock up—might not have good connects in some of these places I’m traveling over the next couple months. All the usuals—dust, bars…some molly, you know.” Charlie’s voice.

“Got it. I’ll pick ’em up tonight.”

Holy shit. I’d lived in the heart of Los Angeles. I was well acquainted with the terms used to reference drugs. I guess Charlie wasn’t the golden boy he appeared to be.

Damn, Emily really knew how to pick ’em.

I heard rustling sounds and then footsteps and backed up slowly. Charlie walked out of the room, head down, putting some bills back in his wallet as he turned in the other direction. I blew out a slow breath. He hadn’t seen me.

I started to turn away when the brute of a bodyguard exited the room, our eyes meeting. “Do you know if the bathroom’s this way?” I asked.

He paused, his eyes narrowing for a brief second before he raised his arm and pointed behind where I stood. “That way.”

“Right. Thanks.” I turned and walked away.

I stopped in the lounge on my way back from the restroom, grabbed a pack of water, and delivered it to the table laden with snacks and drinks. Caycee came up next to me, disconnecting one of the waters from the plastic and grinning. “Thanks.”

I smiled back. “No problem.”

Charlie was standing near the stage now, watching Emily rehearse, and I took a sip of water as I thought about what I’d heard between him and his security guy. “Hey, Caycee, that guy over there, Charlie? What does he do?”

Caycee laughed, almost choking on the sip of water she’d just taken. “You’re kidding right? You don’t know Charlie Cannon? He’s, like, one of the biggest movie stars right now.”

Huh. With the amount of product I’d just heard him “order,” he must be a known partier. “What’s he like?”