Hitting the Right Note

by Rhonda Bowen

  JJ bit her lip. “Oh. Is that all?”

  “Well, Judith, that’s a lot,” he said, his already deep voice dropping an octave. “It might require a long drive out of town, or a dinner or two.”

  JJ smiled. “Is that so? Is this some new kind of medical service, Doctor?”

  He laughed. “More like experimental. As in, it’s never been used before now.”

  “Sounds interesting,” JJ mused.

  “Think it’s something you might try out?” Simon asked.

  Before JJ could answer, a newspaper fell right on top of her plate, jostling her coffee cup. She looked up to see Sabrina standing over her, wearing oversized sunglasses and a scowl.

  “Uh, let me call you back.” JJ ended the call with Simon without waiting for his response.

  “Something wrong?” she asked, looking up at her unwelcome guest.

  “I don’t know,” Sabrina snapped. “Who were you just talking to?”

  JJ’s brow crinkled. “My sister-in-law’s doctor?”

  “Smiling like that?” Sabrina folded her arms. “Sure you were.”

  “Okay, Sabrina,” JJ said, trying to stave off the annoyance that came from having newspaper in your eggs. “You want to tell me what’s going on, or am I going to have to guess?”

  “Maybe you should,” Sabrina said. “I am sure your guesses would be better than mine. For one, could you guess why there’s a picture of you hugged up on Deacon in the Enquirer?”

  Before JJ could respond, Sabrina reached down and flipped open the tabloid to the second page, where there was indeed a picture of her and Deacon together.

  JJ groaned. “Sabrina, this is not what it looks like. This was from last night after Deacon left G Lounge drunk. I was just helping him into the vehicle that took him back to the hotel.”

  “And took you too, right?” Sabrina asked accusingly.

  “Yes, but—”

  “And did you help him to his room too?” Sabrina asked. “And help him out of his clothes and into bed?”

  JJ’s eyes widened. “You can’t think . . .”

  From the look on Sabrina’s face and the way her pale skin was turning red, that was exactly what she was thinking.

  “Sabrina, nothing happened with me and Deacon,” JJ said. “I never even went into his hotel room. I helped him to the door and that was it!”

  “You expect me to believe that, with a picture like this?” she said, waving the newspaper in JJ’s face. “Nothing is going on with you and Deacon? So why all of a sudden is he giving you solos onstage and hanging out with you one-on-one?”

  So that’s what this was about. JJ was starting to get the full picture. She pushed back her chair and stood up so she was face-to-face with Sabrina. At this level she could see something beyond the anger in the woman’s eyes: fear.

  “Nothing’s going on with me and Deacon,” JJ said calmly. “Sure, he sang the song from my audition onstage last night, but I had nothing to do with making that happen. And everything else? Like I said, it was just an odd night. If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself.”

  JJ could almost see Sabrina deliberate as she wavered between believing and not believing. Finally she slammed the paper on the table and stepped right into JJ’s space.

  “I’m watching you, JJ Isaacs.”

  Then before JJ could respond, she stormed away from the table and through the doors that led back to the hotel. JJ felt the eyes of those in the pool and on the patio watching her, but she ignored them, sinking back into the chair she had just vacated. She looked down at the crumpled paper in front of her. There it was, the photo of her and Deacon in the Enquirer. And seeing the photo of Deacon with his arm draped across her shoulder, her hand on his chest, she could understand how people might make assumptions. When had they even been photographed anyway? At that time of the morning, who would have known they were there? Had the waiter at the almost closed restaurant tipped someone off? Or had it been a random passerby with a camera phone?

  She was about to crumple the paper and toss it when another shot caught her eye. She grabbed the paper and held it closer to make sure she was seeing right. She felt heat rush to her face when she did. On the next page was the picture of a well-known hip-hop artist in a strip club receiving a lap dance from a very scantily clad woman. Next to it was a smaller photo of said celebrity’s wife. But that was not the image that had her seeing red. It was who was sitting beside the hip-hop artist, receiving a lap dance of his own. Rayshawn, her manager slash boyfriend, who was very much on his way to becoming her ex-boyfriend. JJ crushed the paper and tossed it into the garbage by the door as she headed inside to her room. This was exactly why she didn’t read tabloids.

  Chapter 24

  Five days and twenty hours.

  JJ stuffed clothes into her suitcase at lightning speed, mentally counting the days until she would be away from all the Deacon Hill craziness and back in Toronto with people who didn’t think their nose was an intake spot for chemicals and their bodies a rental spot for visitors. She needed a break. From the hotels, from the stages, from the rehearsals, even from singing. Just some time when she could wake up in her own bed, eat dinner at her kitchen counter, and just be normal. Just be JJ, little sister to Sydney and Lissandra, big sister to Zelia, Dean, and Josephine, daughter to Jackie, sister-in-law to Sheree, and aunt to what would soon be the most beautiful boy or girl in the world. She couldn’t wait.

  And then there was Simon.

  Simon, whom she found herself thinking about at the most unexpected times. Like in the morning when she woke up, before she got out of bed. Or on the tour bus late at night, when everyone else was asleep and all she could do was stare out the window at the white lines on the highway. Simon, who wanted to see her when she got home. Simon, who had saved her life once. Maybe twice. Simon, whom she felt like she had known for a lifetime but was still very much a mystery. Simon, who she knew was praying for her, even if he had never said it.

  JJ shook her head and chided herself for slowing her pace as she thought about the man who had come back into her life. Why hadn’t she met him a year ago, instead of in the middle of all the whirlwind changes in her life? And by the time she was back in Toronto again, more permanently, he would be back on a plane, on his way somewhere out of her life. Timing. Their timing had always sucked.

  JJ sat on the suitcase to zip it shut, just as her hotel phone rang.

  “JJ, this is Miles. We’re on our way to pick you up in thirty minutes. Meet us at entrance D.”

  “Thirty minutes!” JJ said, suddenly feeling frantic. “I thought the tour bus wasn’t due to leave for another hour and a half!”

  “You’re not going with the tour bus,” Miles said. “Thirty minutes.”

  He hung up before she could ask any more questions, and though JJ wanted to deconstruct his statement further, there was a lot she would need to do to be ready in half an hour.

  She managed to take care of it all and was taking the stairs down to the main floor when her cell phone rang. From the caller ID she knew it was Miles. He was probably already waiting for her, so instead of answering, JJ shoved the phone into the purse resting on top of her luggage and wheeled her suitcase through the wide corridors of the hotel’s main floor. When she got to the secluded exit, Miles was standing at the door chatting on his cell phone and looking impatient.

  “We’re late.”

  JJ barely managed to grab her purse before he lifted her suitcase and carried it out the door. He placed it in the trunk of his signature black, heavily tinted SUV before opening the back passenger door for her. JJ’s mouth fell open.

  “Deacon!”

  “JJ, let’s go,” Miles said. “We don’t have all day.”

  The car door had barely closed behind her before she turned to Deacon. He was wearing a dark dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark glasses that hid his eyes completely.

  “What are you doing here?” JJ asked.

  A smile curved his lips, but it se
emed tired. “Getting ready to head to Atlanta, of course,” he said. “What else?”

  “You’re right,” JJ said. “The better question is, what am I doing here?”

  “Enjoying my courtesy,” Deacon said sincerely. “After what you did for me last night, there was no way I was going to let you sit on a bus for twelve hours. You’re flying first class with me to Atlanta.”

  JJ’s mouth fell open.

  Deacon chuckled. “It’s okay. I’ll give you a few moments to take it in.”

  JJ wanted to protest, wanted to tell him it was unnecessary. But she had come to understand certain things about Deacon, one of them being that if he set his mind to something he was going to do it. Besides, she was already in the car on the way to the airport, and the truth was, she hadn’t been looking forward to that twelve-hour bus ride either.

  “Thank you,” JJ said finally. “You know this is totally unnecessary though. I would have gone looking for anyone.”

  “You know, I actually believe you,” Deacon said with a smile.

  “How are you feeling today, anyway?” JJ asked, regarding him with concern. “You were pretty banged up last night. Those sunglasses trying to keep out something other than the sun?”

  Deacon turned away and looked out the passenger window. “I’m alright,” he said quietly. “Better than this morning, that’s for sure. I woke up with a hangover so bad I could barely see straight.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get that drunk again.”

  JJ pursed her lips. “I suspect you’ve said that before.”

  He turned to look at her, seemingly surprised at her response. Then his face relaxed into a smile.

  “Yeah, I have,” he said sheepishly. “Guess I forget how bad it can get.”

  “Or things get so bad you want to forget,” JJ offered.

  He gave her that surprised look again. “Are you always like this?” he asked. “Always so shrink-like?”

  JJ laughed. “On my good days. Comes from being the middle child in a crazy family with lots of kids.”

  “Lots of issues?” Deacon asked.

  “Yup,” JJ said. “And I had to learn to see them fast, so I wouldn’t end up taking everything personally.”

  Deacon nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “Speaking of issues,” JJ began, looking down, “I’m not trying to cause any trouble between you and Sabrina. I don’t know that she would agree with this extension of courtesy.”

  “You let me worry about Sabrina and that silly picture in the paper,” Deacon said, turning to look ahead even as his face hardened. “She should know by now that that junk don’t mean anything. But that’s her, always flying off the handle over things that aren’t important.”

  JJ shifted uncomfortably. As much as she was glad for the opportunity to improve her relationship with her boss, she wasn’t trying to become his relationship counselor either. She had enough problems of her own to handle. Plus, Sabrina had warned her off, and in order to have a peaceful life, JJ wanted to heed the warning and stay out of the Deacon-Sabrina drama.

  “What you did last night, that was important,” Deacon said, turning to look at her. “A lot of them pocket-watchers that I roll with act like they have my back, but when it comes down to it, a lot of them leave me hanging. I’m just glad someone like you was there.”

  JJ shrugged. “Like I said, it’s not a big deal. I would have done it for anyone.”

  “If you say so, JJ Isaacs,” Deacon said with a smile. He shook his head. “You really are a newbie to this industry. Can’t wait to see what you will be like five years from now, after the business does its work on you. All I’ll say is, be careful. People are never what they seem, and they’ll take advantage of your kindness.”

  As they rode to the airport, Deacon told JJ what it had been like for him his first few years in the industry, how he had been stuck in the background writing for and producing other artists. It took more than five years before he got his big break.

  “You would never believe some of the songs I’ve written,” Deacon said with a laugh. “Hits with someone else’s name on them. I don’t mind though—it’s part of the business.”

  “Really?” JJ asked. “But how can you see people getting famous off of your songs, see crowds weeping over your lyrics, and not feel some resentment?”

  “Because that’s how it is,” Deacon said with a shrug. “That’s the cycle. I sing lots of songs that I didn’t write. And when they become hits, you think anyone goes back to read the CD jacket cover to see who wrote it?”

  “I do,” JJ said.

  “That’s because you’re a musician, a writer,” Deacon said. “But even the singers who work with me don’t care. Nobody cares. But they should. That’s why, before I made it, I promised I would never sing someone else’s music without giving them their due credit. That’s why you don’t have to worry. You’ll get credit for your song and paid for every time we sing it. And we will be singing it from now on.”

  JJ’s eyes widened. “You’re going to do the song again in Atlanta?”

  “Definitely,” Deacon said with a nod. “And Kate’s even considering working it into the rest of the tour. We’ll talk about that after the break. But for sure, this week we gotta rehearse for your song.”

  JJ couldn’t stop grinning. They were going to sing her song! Again! In Atlanta! Maybe on the rest of the tour! She wanted to jump up and down and start cheering, but there wasn’t enough space in the vehicle, so she just settled for smiling all the way to the airport.

  She was still smiling when they drove right into the airport and onto the tarmac. The SUV stopped a few feet from a small passenger plane. The doors to the vehicle opened and the wind rushed in, startling JJ with its force. She managed to climb out of the van and follow Miles and Deacon to the steps of the plane. It was only when she got up to the top of the steps behind them and Sabrina stepped in front of the entrance that JJ’s smile faded.

  She could no longer see Deacon and Miles, who had disappeared inside the plane, but she suspected that was part of Sabrina’s plan. With the wind howling around them, she could barely hear, either. But she didn’t miss Sabrina’s words as she leaned close to JJ’s ear.

  “You didn’t think I would let you spend two hours alone with him, did you?” she hissed for JJ’s ears only. “If you think you can sneak in here and use him as your ladder to the top, you better think again.”

  JJ sighed. “I never thought that.”

  She could tell from Sabrina’s eyes that the woman didn’t believe her. But instead of responding, Sabrina turned around and headed deeper into the plane. JJ sighed and followed slowly, suddenly wishing that she had opted for the twelve-hour bus ride instead. Private jets were so overrated.

  Chapter 25

  “In twenty-four hours I’ll be home!”

  Simon’s deep laughter rumbled through the phone line. “Someone’s excited.”

  “You have no idea.” JJ balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder so she could use her hands to stuff clothes into the suitcase open on her bed. She knew it was only a week and in eight days she would be back on the road for the last three stops of the tour in Miami, Chicago and Toronto. But she was choosing not to think about that. She was going to focus on her one week of freedom

  “Now that we’ve done the Atlanta shows, all I can think about is my one week free of hotel beds and restaurant food and sound checks, and Sabrina’s scowl. If we didn’t have that press event tomorrow afternoon, I would be on a plane to Toronto tonight.”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be here soon enough,” Simon said with an unhurried ease that JJ had come to appreciate.

  “How’s Sheree doing?” JJ asked, looking for the left shoe of the pumps she had worn onstage earlier that night.

  “She’s great,” Simon said. “Very occupied with her fan club.”

  JJ let out a laugh. “What?”

  “Your sister-in-law is something else,” Simon said. “She’s got all the nurses
under her spell. I promise you, Judith, every time I go in to see her there are at least two of them in there. Did she tell you she did Janice’s hair in prep for her wedding?”

  “Better,” JJ said with a grin. “She sent me pictures she took with her iPhone.”

  Simon groaned. “Can you believe she did all that from her hospital bed?”

  “You let them have curling irons and hot combs in her room?”

  “As if I could stop them,” Simon said. “They even got the chief nursing officer on their side.”

  JJ laughed. “I think you were out-womaned.”

  “You better believe it.”

  JJ smiled, enjoying her phone time with Simon. She had gotten used to his calls, so much so that on the days she didn’t speak to him, she longed to hear his voice; needed to hear his voice. He had become her calm in the midst of the Deacon Hill chaos and a nice way to forget about her private embarrassment over Rayshawn. It had been almost five days, and she had yet to confront him about the strip-club debacle. He had been conveniently unavailable to take her calls. JJ knew that was intentional. But she refused to think about him anymore. She needed her upcoming vacation too much to let him ruin it.

  “What time does your flight get in?” Simon asked.

  “Around six-ish,” she said, moving to the bathroom to begin packing her cosmetics and toiletries. “I should clear customs by seven.”

  “Then I’ll be there at around six thirty, just in case you get in early.”

  JJ wasn’t sure when it had been decided that he would pick her up at the airport. She had mentioned to him in passing that Sydney and Lissandra were catering an event that night. He had mentioned that he happened to be off that evening. She didn’t quite remember if she had asked or he had offered, but somehow they had ended up with this arrangement.

  “Do you mind if we stop at the hospital?” JJ asked. “I can’t wait to see Sheree and see the new ultrasound pictures of our little bugaboo.” She sighed. “I can’t believe he’ll be born in just a month!”