by Clara Bayard
“I have no idea. She always seemed a little distant, but I didn’t expect her to do that.”
“Me either. I haven’t seen her since we got to the hotel, have you?”
“No. Which is a good thing. I don’t want to get fired all over again for going crazy on Ryan’s niece.”
“Ha. I’d like to see that. I don’t know where she gets off anyway. She barely does any work.”
“Don’t remind me. I’ve got to find someone else to work on the blog. She hasn’t posted anything in days.”
“No need, I guess. Every move is getting tons of coverage from the gossip sites.”
I groaned. “Even worse. How are you so chill about that?”
She shrugged. “I don’t read them. Sometimes my best friend Kelly forwards me stuff she thinks is funny, but otherwise I ignore it. Oh, except for one time. A blog identified me as Joe’s cousin and speculated that I was mooching off of him, complete with fake photos of cars and shit he supposedly bought me. Where the hell did they get that idea?”
“Made it up.”
“Clearly. It’s just wrong.”
“I assume that’s not the kind of journalism you’ll be studying.”
“Hell no.”
We shared a laugh, and I realized I was starting to feel better. Liss had a calming influence. She seemed so self-assured and secure. In her relationship and herself. And from what the guys had told me, she went from being a waitress to girlfriend of Joe Hawk in no time flat. If she could manage, so could I. I hoped. Not that our situations were the same. Joe was on his way to becoming a super-star, but he was pretty well-adjusted and completely devoted to her.
“Wow, I guess I really did need to talk. Thank you.”
She smiled. “No problem. Listen, I don’t know what the solution is, really. Dex has some real issues to deal with, things you can’t make disappear. But he’s great. And worth the trouble, I think. When Joe and I were going through some stuff, Dex was a good friend to both of us. And I see how happy he is around you.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Good. So just go with the flow, you know? See how things shake out. If the past few weeks have shown us anything, it should be that anything can happen. Life changes so fast. Take what good you can.”
I shook my head. “I hear what you’re saying. But that is so not me. I like to plan things, organize. Know what my options are and the possible repercussions.”
“That, my friend, is what makes you good at your job. But love doesn’t work that way. Never has, never will.”
“I never said anything about love.”
She leaned forward and patted my shoulder. “You didn’t have to.”
I sighed deeply. “That obvious?”
“To me? Yeah. You wouldn’t be this freaked out if your feelings weren’t so strong.”
“But it’s so fast. Too fast.”
“Does telling yourself that change how you feel?”
“Nope.”
“Well, there’s your answer, then.”
“Fair enough.” I frowned, looking down at my watch. “Hey, it’s about that time. We should pay and get out of here.”
“Oh shit.”
“Sorry, relationship guru. Time for you to get tatted up.”
“You won’t tell anyone if I faint, right?”
“Our secret. No one but me will know what a big baby you are.”
Liss scrunched her nose at me and then smiled. “Okay, okay. Let’s get this over with before I lose my nerve.”
We paid the check and walked across the street to the tattoo place. A guy with amazingly intricate sleeve-work was sitting behind the counter and welcomed us. Liss went off for her appointment after casting one last look of fear over her shoulder. I smiled reassuringly and waved, making my way over to the seating area.
While I waited for her, I checked my email and voicemail. Ryan had forwarded a ton of things that I just skimmed, figuring I could dig in later on my computer. But one message caught my eye. Sales figures from the label, which came in often, but there was something else in the email chain. A mention of someone called Julia Connor. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I considered looking her up, but got distracted by the rest of the message. Based on what I saw, the new album, Not Keeping Score, was already about to go platinum and based on projections might even double. That was huge. The label had taken a real risk on the guys after the first one. It had sold well, but nothing amazing. The new contract had really been won based on the attention the guys were receiving, and the extremely obvious fact that Joe was born to be a super star.
It was great, and my first thought was to tell Dex. But I hesitated, and then was annoyed with myself for it. I needed to follow Liss’s advice. Instead of worrying about any of the million possible bad things that might happen, I should enjoy us.
So I called his room at the hotel. It was clear from his voice that he’d just woken up.
“Did you get some rest?”
“Yes. Slept like the dead.”
“Hangover?”
“Seven out of ten.”
“Poor baby.”
“Becca, that was not at all sympathetic. You sound positively gleeful.”
I laughed, letting the sexy sound of his sleepy voice soothe away my last doubts. “I am, but not about that.”
“What, then?”
“I’ve got some top secret info.”
He chuckled. “Good. Tell me.”
“I was just reading my emails and the album is doing incredibly well. Like platinum well.”
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
“That’s great news. I’d hate to have to get a real job.”
“No chance of that now. I’m really happy for you.”
“Us, love. Be happy for us. You’re part of the family now, whether you like it or not.”
“I do like it.”
“Good. Are you having a fun with Liss? Give her a kiss for me.”
“Yeah. She’s busy right now. What kind of kiss?”
“Ideally something sloppy, with tongue. But come back to the hotel first so I can watch.”
“Pervert.”
“Indeed.”
I laughed and stepped outside the tattoo place. The guy at the counter had been glaring at me since I started talking.
“You going to do anything today?”
“Yes,” Dex replied. “Wait for you to come back. I miss you.”
“No you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. Come home. We’ll go out on a date.”
“A what?”
“Date. You know, eat dinner in a restaurant. I’ll be nervous; you’ll mess about with your hair. It’ll be fun.”
It hit me in that second that we never had actually been on a date. Sure, we’d shared a fair number of meals and all day together, but most of that was with everyone else. “I…really?”
“Yes, really. I’ll make a reservation somewhere. If I can. Maybe I’ll ask the concierge.”
“Um…okay. I’ll finish my outing with Liss and meet you at the hotel. Dinner around eight?”
“Got it. See you soon.”
“Bye.” I hung up the phone and just stood there for a while, smiling. Dex had asked me on a date. And he was going to plan it. My fears seemed a little silly, suddenly.
I was still over the moon happy when Liss emerged an hour later. She had a bandage over her ankle, but peeled it back to show me the tattoo. It was a tiny lightning bolt piercing a heart. “Cute,” I told her. “What does it mean?”
She flashed a strange little smile and took my arm, leading me down the street. “Everything. It means everything.”
Chapter Five
Getting ready for my date with Dex, I was ridiculously anxious. Choosing clothes was easy; I only had one really nice dress with me. It hung well on top, the clever folds balancing my shape, and skimming over my wide hips in a way I thought was fairly sexy. But I spent half an hour on my hair, knowing he’d love it
down, but nervous that it looked messy.
By the time he knocked on my door I was ready, but still a little shaky. Any concerns about my appearance evaporated from my brain when I saw him. Dex was wearing a suit. A real one. No tie, but that just added to the look. He was rock and roll James Bond and I just stood there staring for a long time.
“Wow,” I finally said.
He grinned and fussed with his slicked back hair. “And you.” He kissed me lightly on the lips and I could feel the jitters in his body. He really was nervous, too. Somehow that comforted me.
“I’m ready if you are.”
“Great.” He grabbed my hand and led me out to the hallway.
“Gonna tell me where we’re going?”
“Some fancy French place. Apparently you need reservations a month or two out, but the concierge here knows somebody.”
“That sounds exciting.”
He shrugged, pressing the button to call the elevator. “I certainly hope so. As good as you look right now, it’s going to take a really amazing meal to make me happy I didn’t lock your door behind us and stay in all night.”
I blushed and looked down, happy that the elevator arrived quickly.
When we got downstairs there was a cab waiting for us, and in just a few minutes we were in front of the restaurant. It didn’t really look like anything special, just a small sign and a somewhat modern-looking front window. Inside there was a tiny bar and a dozen or so tables, with a staircase leading up to a balcony. The décor was tasteful but opulent – something I’d noticed the French seemed to have perfected. Large gilt mirrors reflected the soft light around the room, bathing everything in a warm glow. The host greeted us and called Dex Monsieur Winters, which made both of us, laugh inappropriately.
We were seated at a table near the back. The host placed a single sheet of paper in front of Dex and then disappeared.
“What the hell is this?”
“What?” I craned my neck to look. “What does that say?”
Dex shrugged. “I think this is supposed to be the menu. But it’s just three options and prices.”
“Huh, weird. I guess they bring us whatever they want?”
“Oh boy. I hope we don’t need to go out for a burger after this.”
I giggled, earning myself a stern look from the woman at the table next to us.
In a few minutes a waiter arrived and explained the process to us. Each item on the so-called menu was a different number of courses; the actual dishes were selected by the chef. Since neither of us had any food allergies, we just went for it. But after doing some quick math in my head, I realized our dinner, with wine, would cost more than a month’s rent.
“Dex, this is too much,” I whispered once we were alone again.”
“Hush. Didn’t you tell me earlier that I’m going to be a rich man?”
“Honey, you clear like a penny from that, if you’re lucky.”
He laughed. “Still. Just enjoy your dinner. Don’t worry about the money.”
“Okay.”
We sipped wine and chatted about the people around us while waiting for the first course to arrive. I was feeling very sophisticated right until the waiter delivered a plate with a few tiny specs of food to each of us. He blathered on for a good five minutes in excellent English about the dish, but it seemed impossible that all of the things he mentioned were included in what amounted to nothing bigger than a two-bite brownie.
Dex and I exchanged a look and then dug in, briefly.
The rest of the meal continued the same way. Sometimes he brought us three plates with miniscule bits of food on them. At some point I lost track of how many things we ate, but my stomach told me they still hadn’t amounted to a whole dinner yet.
The food was delicious, at least. And the wine lovely. But as we kept pecking at little fussy bits of whatever-the-hell, it got harder to keep from laughing. Especially when the chef himself came out to say hello and ask how we were enjoying the food. Dex was great, offering praise that sounded completely genuine. I just sat there smiling, trying not to embarrass myself. I realized this would be his life now, strangers of every stripe fawning over him while I watched, almost invisible.
Finally, when our trio of desserts was finished and the holy-shit size checked had been paid, we left, arm in arm. Outside we made it a few yards down the block before collapsing into a fit of hysterical laughter. My stomach was only half full, and all the wine had gone to my head.
Once he calmed down a bit, Dex wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me softly.
“What was that for?”
“An apology.”
“Why?”
“For taking you out to that ridiculous dinner. Next time we’ll go someplace normal. With a real menu.”
“You don’t need to apologize. It was wonderful. Weird, and really not me, but wonderful. Anywhere I go with you is.”
He smiled and kissed me again, this time deeper, probing. His whole body pressed insistently against mine and I let out a soft moan.
“Let’s go home.”
Dex smirked. “Yes. On to my favorite part of this date.” He fisted his hand in my hair and pulled me even closer. I closed my eyes and inhaled, enjoying the scent of his skin, just as ready for what came next as he was.
* * *
The next day I was still floating on a cloud. Dex and I had made love all night, but I didn’t feel tired at all. I left Dex sleeping, grabbed a quick breakfast and then went over to the venue to meet Ryan.
When I got backstage was on the phone, so I ran through some now-automatic tasks, checking that everything would be ready for the show.
I waved at Red, who was wrangling his expanded security team, now that the guys were attracting so much media attention. He was in his customary t-shirt and black cargo pants, massive arms crossed, looking every inch the intimidating bodyguard.
He saw me and gestured for me to join them. I did, feeling ridiculously short among the big, brawny men.
“Becca, I’m glad you’re here. Let me introduce you to my new crew.” He recited a list of names, and I scrawled each one down in my notes, so I could be sure to remember them. Each of the five was more imposing than the last, but they smiled politely.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m sure Red has everything under control, but if you need anything, feel free to ask me.”
Red grinned. “She means it, fellas. Becca keeps this crazy train running, don’t let anyone tell you different.”
I rolled my eyes. “Stop it. We all give one hundred percent.”
“Well, your hundred is worth a lot more than some others.” He arched an eyebrow and I realized he was talking about Mia. It was nice to see some of the team knew what she did to me and Dex, and didn’t like it either.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Red, I headed back to where I’d left Ryan. We had a long list of things to do, and the day was flying by.
I found him just hanging up.
“Good morning, Rebecca,” he said.
“Hi Ryan.”
“Did you enjoy your days off?”
I nodded. “Sure. Um…how about you?”
“I don’t get days off.” He sniffed. “While you and the boys have been enjoying Paris I’ve been working.”
“Right, of course. Sorry,” I muttered. He sure knew how to bring down a good mood. “Shall we get started?”
“Before we begin, there are a few things I need to discuss with you.”
Oh boy, here we go. I braced myself for another lecture.
“First of all, I want to commend you for performing your required tasks adequately. I appreciate that you responded to my messages on your off days. As you know, this business never stops. And as things escalate, we all need to keep on top of things.”
“Right. I mean, thank you.” It wasn’t exactly effusive praise, but I’d take it.
“Yes. Second issue, you should know Mia is leaving the tour.”
My heart leapt a little. “She
is?” I tried to ask evenly.
“Yes. She decided it was best. While she’s an excellent member of the team, her dreams lie elsewhere.”
“I see. What does this mean for the tour blog?”
“I’ll be hiring someone new to be onboard by the time we get to Zurich hopefully, or Milan. In the meantime I’ll need you to work on it. We won’t have the video content, but you can use whatever you like from the official photographs.”
That made sense. We hired a local photographer in each city to get shots backstage at the venue and during the shows. All of their pictures were uploaded to a site we and the label could access for whatever promotional purposes were required. I didn’t say it to Ryan, but the truth was Mia had been mostly using those for her infrequent posts anyway, on the blog and the band’s Facebook page. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last video she took, so no one would notice the difference. I wasn’t particularly excited about adding a new task to my list, but considering I was still on “probation,” there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I’d just hope he got someone new quickly.
“Okay, great,” I said, jotting down some information. “Is there anything else?”
“Yes. With sales of the album increasing and the attention the band is receiving, things are going to get even more hectic. You understand that, right?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll be calling on you more in the upcoming weeks. There are some high-level discussions going on that I can’t disclose at this point. But I will say this. Work harder than you ever have before. Dream Defiled has limitless potential, and we’re all going to do our parts to help them become the biggest band in the world.”
My throat went dry. Not that I didn’t want the guys to be successful. I did. But when I signed on I had no idea what the future might hold. And now that my feelings for Dex were getting deeper, it worried me a bit. The pressures and stresses super stardom created.
I’d seen so many friends of my dad, or groups he worked with go to the next level just to implode. I didn’t want that for the band, and I feared how my lover might react. This group was his family. His everything. I silently hoped they could keep it together. Maintain the closeness that made them great together.
