“I did ask you to breakfast” Cassie smiled as she took a sip of her coffee.
Karin smiled, “only because you beat me to it and I didn’t have your number.”
“And that’s another thing, when did you sneak your card into my purse?”
Karin laughed “sleight of hand, it comes in very handy in my line of work you know?”
Cassie laughed with her “yeah I bet, voila and here is our next act” she gestured as though a circus performer.
“You never know what a client is going to need for me to pull out of my hat.”
Cassie had to concede that was a valid point. “I suppose you get a lot of demanding clients?”
“Not really, I just get a lot of high profile ones and I make sure their signings are successful or whatever venue we are doing from their speeches to public appearances. I just handle whatever is necessary. It requires me to juggle a lot of balls in the air sometimes and I enjoy it.”
“So you don’t just do PR, you’re also a manager?”
“Sometimes but I work with a lot of managers too. I’m kind of a bridge person.”
“Amazing, you have to know a lot of people then, who to call, who to contact.”
Karin nodded as she took a sip of her shake. Then she took the long spoon that had come with beverage and scooped off the cherry on top and popped it into her mouth.
Cassie loved that the impeccably dressed woman before her was eating a strawberry shake just like a little girl. Surprised, but enchanted.
“That’s not why you asked me to breakfast was it?” Karin asked to be sure that her instincts weren’t failing her, that the attraction she was feeling, was mutual. She’d be very disappointed if Cassie Summer’s wanted her to represent her and that was all.
“Maybe I should hire you to handle my career” Cassie teased. The glimmer of humor though was extinguished immediately though at the look in Karin’s face as she answered.
“No, I don’t handle stars, musical or film” she said with a strange note in her voice that Cassie took note of.
“Why not?” Cassie asked a little alarmed and not sure she shouldn’t be insulted.
Karin looked down at her shake as she answered with a little shrug “I prefer literary stars. They seem to understand intellectually that I’m there for them, that I can make or break their careers if they let me. They don’t require the same kind of technique that someone of your stature would. I enjoy what I do.”
“I didn’t think you didn’t. It’s obvious you do a good job. Everyone has heard of your famous clients. I had even heard of you before I met you.”
“You had?” Karin seemed pleased and flattered at the praise.
“Of course. I read and many people told me I should have hired you when I came out with my own book last year. I didn’t know any better.”
“Nonsense, Travis Collins and Zach Gould did a terrific job.” She smiled before adding with a conspiratorial whisper “I’d have done better of course.” They both laughed at her modesty. “Seriously though, why did you want to meet with me? Not just for my basketball abilities?”
“Well, there is that. I will be making a song on that guitar someday. I’m gonna keep it with me on my tour bus. But no, that’s not why.” Cassie seemed a little shy for a moment before she looked up hopefully into Karin’s jade green eyes and said “I found myself attracted to you on a personal level and after the great time we had last night...I hoped...or rather I...thought” she started stumbling over her words as she looked down at her hand.
Karin leaned across the small table and touched the back of Cassie’s hand briefly to stop her “I think I understand and I think I feel the same way” she waited for Cassie to look up again “let’s become friends and see where it goes okay?”
Cassie breathed a sigh of relief quietly. She wasn’t used to making the first move but she had been instantly attracted and last night had been the most fun she had in a very long time. Karin had been relaxed and entertaining. Cassie had also found the impeccably dressed cold looking woman just as attractive and found herself admiring everything she had read about the woman. “Yes, that would be great.”
They talked for about a half an hour before Karin looked at her watch and said “I’ve got to make sure everything is set up for Nina. I didn’t even introduce myself to the manager when I got here, I will have to go do my job” she said reluctantly.
“Okay, will I see you later then at the studio?” Cassie confirmed.
“Sometime after six, I’ll be there” as she put the paper that Cassie had written on in her pocket.
They both rose from the table and put their trays on the top of the trash can. Turning they gave each other a hug and Karin gave her a little peck on the cheek and then laughed and wiped the lipstick off with her thumb enjoying the intimacy of the moment. “I’ve enjoyed seeing you again, tonight then?”
Cassie smiled and nodded bemused as Karin walked away with only one look back over her shoulder. She still felt the casual caress of Karin’s thumb against her cheek, it was odd, and she hadn’t felt like this before.
Karin entered the private studios near the Capital Record’s building that was a landmark in this part of Los Angeles. She had been surprised that Cassie wasn’t recording in a Capital Record’s studio but instead this ‘off’ studio but then she didn’t know a whole lot about the music industry. She shied away from musical and film stars, she felt inadequate when she had a few minor clients when she had first started out. A tragedy with one of them had finished it for her years ago and now she handled the careers of literary geniuses as well as people who needed her set of unique skills from congressmen to other political wanna-be’s. She kept their secrets, she made their lives easier, and she was discrete. For this she was paid very well. She was good at what she did, she enjoyed it, and she wouldn’t trade it for this. The office was very nice but she had seen nicer and it made her wonder yet again why someone of Cassie Summers’s stature wasn’t in a bigger recording studio’s offices.
“Hello, I’m here to see Cassie Summers” she told the young woman behind the desk.
“That’s nice” the girl chomped on her bubble gum as she eyed the cold looking brunette who had just walked in.
Karin studied her for a moment. She had met thousands of unimportant little girls who had bowed and scraped when they realized the power she wielded. While she was always a ‘behind the scenes’ manager, her client’s expected and demanded a certain level of excellence and she worked hard to achieve that, always. Few ever knew the crap that she put up with to make sure that their lives were relatively stress free but this type of insolence was just the tip of the iceberg. “I believe she is expecting me?” she said politely.
“Is she?” the girl blew a small bubble for effect as she looked down at an appointment book in front of her.
Karin waited quietly. It never paid to blow up at the hired help. As small as their positions were, if you treated them with respect, they usually cooperated. She knew she might out wait the girl if she remained cool. She was tired. Nina had a fairly good turn out today but all day long Karin had her mind on Cassie and had wondered if this was the beginning of a relationship or just a friendship. She wanted more than just a friendship but wouldn’t let herself raise her own hopes.
“There ain’t ... er ... isn’t anything here” she said as she chomped her gum. The wad of gum was pretty large from what Karin could see.
Hiding her disgust over the unprofessionalism of this little girl Karin smiled pleasantly using one of her ‘client’ pretend smiles “could you call back and let Ms. Summers know that Karin Myers is here as she requested?”
The girl looked at her like she had lost her mind. She was going to have to do what? Work? She looked at her trying to stare her down but Karin was an old hand at this and looked back at her sweetly, almost bored. “I’ll ask, have a seat” she indicated the waiting room.
Karin walked over and sat down, positioning herself so she could watch th
e bubble blowing bimbo. She waited, and she waited. She had gotten there by 6:30. It was now 7:15. She got up and returned to the desk “what did they say?”
The girl looked up in surprise from the magazine she was reading. Karin could tell it was a copy of People. She had used it several times herself to promote various authors. She enjoyed reading it herself. “What?” she asked as she chomped on her gum and turned a page non-challantly.
“What did they say about me seeing Cassie Summers?” Karin tried to tamp down her impatience. She had never been a patient person but her job required her to be.
“Who are you?” the girl asked as though Karin had just walked in.
Karin stared at her incredulously. Rudeness was one thing but this was stupidity. The girl had looked up several times in the 45 minutes she had kept Karin waiting. She had seen her sitting there. This had to be some joke. “My name is Karin Myers; I’m here to see Cassie Summers. She invited me here to watch her record” she explained it slowly and methodically. She was annoyed that she had to explain this to this, this, this imbecile.
“Is she expecting you?” the girl asked as she popped a bubble.
Karin felt her temper rising. Wow, how unprofessional! She whipped out her cell and hitting the call return she dialed the number that had come up on her phone that morning. She got a voicemail and left her name and number, that was all, no message. She should have done this when she arrived nearly an hour ago! Then her anger got the better of her. She wanted to strangle this little twerp that was so idiotic at her job. Maybe it wasn’t her fault though; someone had obviously hired the bimbo. That person should be fired too. Karin took a deep breath and smiling sweetly at the bubble popping teeny bopper asked “could I leave a message for Ms. Summers?” she grinned in her head at the formality of the name.
The girl seemed to understand that as she handed Karin a pad. Karin waited and was handed a pen as well. She wrote: ‘I was here; this imbecilic child at the desk didn’t or wouldn’t tell you I was here. I waited nearly an hour. Please call me when you can, Karin.’ She folded the note over and wrote on the outside: Cassie Summers. She hoped the child wouldn’t read it but then maybe she couldn’t read. Karin handed her back the items and giving her a saccharine sweet smile wished her a good evening as she walked out the door, she heard another bubble pop as she left.
On the way up to her hotel room she called the number she had in her phone once more. “Cassie, this is Karin. I don’t know if you got the note I left you at the studio but I couldn’t get in, I tried. She wouldn’t or couldn’t phone you. Anyway, I’m going to bed.” She was definitely annoyed but really couldn’t do anything about it. She got up to her room and opened her laptop to do some work. She waited until after 10 before going to bed and no return phone call. She felt a little hurt but didn’t want to get her hopes up about this one. She had been hurt before and while she knew they were both attracted maybe Cassie had rethought this and decided not to pursue it.
She had a week to get ready for two clients and these would be in San Francisco. So the next day she borrowed one of the firm cars and drove herself from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It gave her time to think and some down time. She was one of the highest paid promoters for their firm. They had offered her a vice-presidency position several times but she had turned them down, she didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk. She preferred promoting their clients hands on. She wanted to be out in the field, meeting the mover’s and the shaker’s, handling their clients. Her touch was appreciated and it was why her clients were among the highest revenue generating products they promoted. She knew what she was doing. The normally eight hour drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco took her two days but only because she chose to drive on the Pacific Coast Highway and took her time. She loved looking out at the ocean, stopping on a whim; it gave her ideas which she used her tape recorder for. Her phone rang several times and once as she went through the tunnel north of Santa Barbara but the tunnel lost the call before her Bluetooth could pick up on it. She stayed in the little town of San Simeon near Hearst Castle at a Motel 6. She hadn’t wanted to tackle Big Sur in the dark with its winding roads and she only hoped the fog would be burned off as she drove over it in the morning. She watched the sunset over the ocean as she thought about the last couple of days and the awful feeling in her gut over Cassie Summers. She hummed Queen’s tune ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ as she shrugged it off. She had thought there was something there, maybe it was a misunderstanding.
Cassie checked at the desk at 9 but still no Karin. What she didn’t know is the bumble headed bubble gum chewing bimbo had thrown away Karin’s note and another girl was sitting at the desk when Cassie checked to see if Karin had been in. So of course she got a shake of the head on that question. Her phone was in her jacket as there were no cell phones allowed near the booths since recording was too expensive for ‘accidental’ phone calls where someone could leave their phones on. She was a little distracted that night wondering where Karin could have gotten to. She had looked forward to showing off a little for her as they recorded their new song. As a result she wasn’t at her best but fortunately they were able to get down the tracks on the instruments and her voice wasn’t necessary yet. They would catch that part another time. Between all the work with her and her band mates they didn’t get out of the studio until after 2am. When she checked her phone as she left she saw the two phone calls from Karin. She had made sure she captured Karin’s number in her cell that morning. She was a bit disappointed at the coldness of the first message and annoyed by the results of the second. She tried calling her in the morning but it rang twice and then an annoying beeping sound rang in her ear. What she didn’t know is that Karin had just gone into the tunnel north of Santa Barbara. Cassie got busy after that and it was late when she tried again.
“Hello?” Karin looked at the caller i.d. and saw it was Cassie. Her heart started to beat harder but she calmed herself.
“Hi, what happened last night?” Cassie asked.
“I think I left that in a message which pretty much explained it” Karin said dryly. She knew she sounded cold but then she had been a little hurt and as petty as it might be she wouldn’t be treated the way she had been by anyone. Not even one Ms. Cassie Summers.
“Yes, you did, but I’d like to hear it from you myself” Cassie was a little put off by the coldness but having thought about this woman for the past couple of days wasn’t going to let it get to her. She wanted to get to know her, she wanted to know more.
“Basically, I showed up at 6:30 and the bimbo at the desk wouldn’t or couldn’t call back to you. My name wasn’t on her list so I sat there for quite a while before I left. That’s it” she said as though explaining it to one of her staff. No emotion, no additives.
“I’m so sorry that happened. I tried calling today but got cut off. Could we try again?” she asked hopefully.
“It will have to be another time” Karin looked out at the sunset she was watching, God the coast here was beautiful with large boulders lining the beach, she even thought she could make out seals on the available space.
“Okay. How about dinner, would you be interested in going out tonight?” again she was hopeful.
“I’m not in Los Angeles anymore” Karin told her and actually felt bad. She was trying so hard.
“Oh” she hesitated “where are you?”
“Hearst Castle or thereabouts.”
“Where is that?”
“The Central Coast, south of Big Sur, near a little town called San Simeon” Karin informed her.
“A castle though? I’ve never heard of that...”
Karin wasn’t surprised. Her own fascination with news and history wasn’t shared by everyone. She asked “do you remember back in the 70’s hearing about the kidnapping of Patty Hearst?” she knew this might be a relative news item that she might have heard of.
“Yes, didn’t she fall in love with her kidnappers or something? Is it her castle?”
“It was her grandfather’s castle. He built it. He was a publishing tycoon. Now it’s owned by the state and used for tours and what not.”
“You’re staying there?”
Karin chuckled “no, I’m staying near there in a motel on my way to San Francisco.”
“I thought you didn’t need to be there until next week?”
“I have a few days off, I thought I’d go up and poke around, visit our offices there, see what mischief I might get into until I actually have to work.”
“Do you know where you are staying up there?”
“No, not really, why?”
“I’d like to come up and spend some time with you, maybe make up for our lost evening?”
“I thought you were recording a song?” Karin wasn’t going to let her off the hook too easily.
“I am, maybe we will be done soon?” although she knew it probably wouldn’t happen that way. The guys were almost done with all the instrumental part of the song and she needed to sing her part yet as well as the backup singers. That could take a long time.
“Well, let me know and we will see” Karin cautioned.
Cassie wasn’t thrilled with the way this conversation was going. She wondered if perhaps she had misjudged Karin’s interest or if she had already lost what they had started over something petty. If that was the case she didn’t want this woman in her life anyway.
They chatted for a little while as Karin described the countryside she was in and Cassie had to admit it sounded lovely. She noted Karin’s voice took on a different timbre when she described it. It must be her musical training but she loved the sound of it.
Karin stopped in Carmel to look around. She had driven through this area before and while no expert she knew quality stores when she saw them. She lived in New York long enough to know what to look for and found for herself as she bought a couple of new outfits. She enjoyed the beautiful little seaside town as she drove north towards San Francisco.
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