CLASS ACT (A BRITISH ROCKSTAR BAD BOY ROMANCE)

by Julia Gardener

  “It’s unlikely that the check got lost in the mail,” Charlotte said. “I imagine these types of transfers are done electronically.”

  My teacher was right. “Megan, is the money missing?”

  “It never got here to begin with,” she revealed. “It’s not even embezzlement. I had every cent looked over when I checked the paper trail. It looks like the funds we formally requested from your estate never arrived.”

  “Jared handles large transfers from my end,” I replied, stroking my chin. With my dyslexia, the man practically handled all of my finances. “I’ll ring him up later. That bastard always does these things at the last minute when we’re on tour.”

  “Don’t be so hard on him,” Megan said. “He’s doing this as a favor to us. Just call him up and get him to send the money. He’s busy trying to save your career.”

  “Mystery solved,” Charlotte added, picking up her plate. “If you excuse me, there’s a slice of peach pie calling my name. Where do I pay?”

  “It’s on the house, Charlotte,” I smiled. “Bring me a slice of chocolate pie while you’re at it. I’m feeling indulgent today.”

  My tutor smiled. “Isn’t that every day?”

  Megan spoke when Charlotte was out of earshot. “She’s cute. I think you’d make good couple with her.”

  I glared at her. “And here I thought you’d warn me not to seduce my tutor.”

  She glanced at Charlotte. “I think you could do well to have a committed relationship with a mature woman.”

  “Oh, the monotony of monogamy,” I grumbled. “You might as well ask me to take the vows of priesthood.”

  “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” she giggled. “Heath, I haven’t seen you this happy in years. It almost sounds like you enjoy studying. Thinking of getting a regular job like the rest of us mortals?”

  I shrugged. “I’m always like this when I’m touring.”

  “It’s different this time,” she replied. “This tutor must be earning her salary. Or her student is really putting in work to impress her!”

  “Are you sure you don’t want tickets?” I offered, changing the subject. “I can get you VIP seats for the entire damn tour.”

  Megan smiled. “I told you and Howard a million times. I may have stayed for the loud music and your hip trusting antics but I stayed for your friendship. And Howard… he was…”

  “He was a good man,” I finished for her. “The likes of which won’t be seen for a long time.”

  “And he was a good friend,” she replied with a half-smile on her face. “As hard as it was for me, I know losing your best friend and bandmate wasn’t easy.”

  I took a deep breath before speaking. “Megan, have you thought about what I said before? About moving on?”

  “Heath, we’ve talked about this before-”

  “You’re young, intelligent, beautiful, and thousand other things,” I continued. I didn’t say this to many women but Megan fit the bill. “Every red-blooded male I know would do anything just to be in your presence.”

  She gave a cynical laugh which was unusual for her. “Please, there isn’t much of a demand for half-deaf workaholic women.”

  “You’re still young,” I countered. “You have a future ahead of you. One with children and a nice cottage house in Scotland. It’s what you always wanted.”

  “I had my romance with Howard,” she said, taking in a deep breath. “I’ve moved on to something else. This foundation keeps me going.”

  I looked down on the floor. “It’s my fault.”

  “Huh?”

  “You should be with Howard,” I whispered. “You should be the one talking and joking with him. I pushed him to keep on touring when he should have settled down with you. We could have caught his leukemia early and-”

  “Heath, you have to stop blaming yourself for his death,” Megan stated, gripping my hand across the table. “Howard loved to tour just as much you did. He always promised one last tour to me before he’d signed up for the next one. Neither of us could stop him from pursuing his love of music. You’ve been nothing but good to me, Heath. Don’t think of yourself this way.”

  “No point in moping around,” I replied, holding onto her hand. I forced a brave smile on my face. “It’ll be bad for the kids if they see me like this. Besides, my faithful fans would despair if their idol wasn’t in good spirits.”

  “Oh, that ego of yours could fill up length of the universe,” Megan laughed. “In all honesty, the kids here look up to you. You saved them.”

  “No, we saved them.”

  “Am I interrupting something?”

  I turned to see Charlotte carrying a tray with two slices of pie.

  I withdrew my hand from Megan. “Not at all. Let’s pack the pies to go. We should be heading back to the hotel soon.”

  Charlotte’s eyes were steely and her face was unreadable. “Yes, let’s go. It was nice meeting you, Megan.”

  My friend gave my tutor a small nod. “Likewise. See you around, Heath.”

  It was time to get back to work.

  I was distracted.

  I couldn’t map out my lesson plan. I took ages to grade Heath’s quizzes. Our private tutoring sessions had an air of tension about them.

  I never thought a rock concert of all things would help me focus.

  Double Damage’s second show allowed me to appreciate the finer details of Heath’s performance. Before, I had been overwhelmed by the novelty of the experience. Now, I could focus on enjoying myself.

  There was a raw, animalistic quality to Heath’s performance. In the high definition telescreen, I could see sweat drib down his bare abs. He belted out notes that showed he had the skills to back up the attitude. It was as if he was some demigod leading his followers into the rapture.

  This time I watched from the side of the stage. It was a much different experience than watching from the VIP booth. I could feel the vibrations emanate from their performance. I remembered to wear ear plugs so I didn’t end up using a hearing aid like Megan.

  The woman seemed so close to Heath. It seemed obvious enough. The two went back years when Double Damage was an up and coming Indie rock band. She had been with Heath through his journey. She had been the lover of his best friend.

  I was only some hired tutor he had met a few weeks ago.

  The next song was entitled “Forever.” It was about how an experience stayed with you for the rest of your life. He sang about how his first kiss tasted of cinnamon rolls and coffee. I didn’t know if it was true or not but the sheer emotion of his voice made me believe it.

  In three years or less, we would part ways. Would I end up as a funny story Heath would tell at parties for cheap laughs? Or would I have made an impact on his life?

  I turned and left the show. No one noticed my absence. They were all mesmerized by Heath Lawrence.

  I showed up early for the after party. I didn’t know why they had one after each performance but they could certainly afford it. It was yet another sold out venue with merchandising brisk sales.

  Nonetheless, there was an important business element to these parties. Deals were made over glasses of champagne and shrimp cocktail. Many of the people in the VIP booth were businessmen or politicians that Sterling Records had attempted to woo over. I knew Heath hated this aspect of the tour but the label had twisted his arm.

  I expected to be alone since the party wouldn’t start for another hour.

  Instead, I found another vagrant wandering the empty hall. “Jared? What are you doing here?”

  “Charlotte?” the manager said, surprised at my presence. “I was doing some last minute checks before the guests arrived. What about you?”

  I shook my head. “I just decided to come here early.”

  “Did Heath pull another stunt?” he scowled. “Damn it! I told him that we don’t get paid if-”

  “No, the performance is still going on,” I replied. “It should be over soon, though.”

  “I see,
” he said, walking up to me. “Charlotte, how are Heath’s studies going?”

  “It’s still too early to make a definite statement,” I admitted. It would take another six months before I could truly gauge his progress. “The monthly progress report I’m supposed to give you will arrive in a couple of weeks.”

  “Give me a sneak peek,” he requested which seemed to sound more like a demand. “Do you think he’ll pass the first GCSE exam?”

  “It’s hard to say,” I sighed. “Heath has dyslexia. It’s like herding cats. I can get them to their destination but it’s easy for them to wander.”

  The manager paused for a moment. “He has dyslexia?”

  “It’s nothing certain but all the signs are there,” I answered. “I’m trying to work with him to overcome it.”

  There was another uncomfortable pause. “Have you told anyone else about it?”

  “No, of course not,” I answered. “Other than the fact that I’m not a licensed doctor, it’s a private matter between me and Heath. Well, I guess you know it as well now.”

  “Keep it just between the three of us,” Jared said. “The tour is doing well and we haven’t had any major scandals. We don’t need this… dyslexia thing getting picked up by the media.”

  I nodded. “Okay, anything else?”

  Jared looked around as if afraid to be overheard. “Send me everything you have on him. I want his daily coursework.”

  “I will-”

  “And don’t tell Heath that you’re doing this. As far as he knows, you just send me a monthly summary. He’s already accused us of micromanaging him. Let’s not give him any more ammunition.”

  It was a strange request. “That seems unusual.”

  “You work for me, not him. He’ll just get distracted from the tour if he keeps getting information he doesn’t need. His job is to perform and sell out shows. This tutoring thing is a means to an end. Not the ends themselves.”

  I didn’t feel comfortable lying to Heath but Jared was the one who hired me. “Okay, but it’s just a couple weeks of coursework.”

  “That’s good enough,” he stated firmly. I guessed he wanted to know how badly Heath was doing. If the rock star’s days were numbered, then he’d have to find someone else to manage. Jared could get a jumpstart if he learned that Heath was making terrible progress. “Just keep me updated on his progress.”

  I watched as he walked away. Jared seemed more concerned with the business than his client’s emotional well-being. Heath had to deal with him a daily basis. No wonder he was frustrated with his record label and its management staff.

  I killed time by going over Heath’s homework. He was showing steady if slow progress. The major breakthrough had been the use of sheet music.

  Strangely enough, Heath had fewer issues reading words written on sheet music. I wasn’t an expert on the subject but I guessed it had to do with the multiple parallel lines used in sheet music. They may have helped Heath read better and eventually develop an interest in music. I looked at other dyslexia treatments and exercises as well.

  Nevertheless, you had to deal with it on an issue by issue basis. Heath’s problems could be unique and require unique solutions. It was important that I give him patience and space. That was the key to approaching a problem such as this.

  I was so into my work that I didn’t see someone approach me from behind.

  “Doing homework on a party night?”

  “Heath!” I said out loud, turning to face the man himself. “What are you doing here?”

  “The question is what you’re doing here,” he smirked, a glass of alcohol in each hand. His chest was still exposed but he had dried the sweat off his body. “After the party started you were nowhere in sight. I didn’t even see you acting like a wallflower. Did my performance disappoint you?”

  I smiled and put the papers away. “No, just getting an early start on the coursework.”

  He handed me a glass. “Take it, Charlotte. You’ve earned a break.”

  “Thanks,” I said, taking the glass. I took a sip before speaking. “I ran into Jared.”

  He stopped drinking and his eyes narrowed. “What did you talk about?”

  “Just how you were doing,” I answered with a white lie. “I told him it was too early to make a definitive statement.”

  Who was I kidding?

  That was a straight out lie.

  I felt a pit grow in my stomach.

  Heath sighed. “His career is tied to mine. I go down and he joins me on the breadline.”

  “Technically, he’s my as well boss,” I joked which didn’t help his mood. “If it’s any comfort, I told him you were doing well.”

  “It is,” he replied. “I didn’t see you at the encore.”

  I cursed under my breath. Of course he would notice my absence. “I loved your performance. I just didn’t want to end up losing my hearing. I think I’ll stick with the VIP booth.”

  Heath flashed his boyish grin. “Like Megan? I could always give you a private performance. It’s much easier on the ears.”

  I looked away. “Will you be meeting with Megan again?”

  “Megan travels all across the country for me,” he answered. If he knew about my jealousy, then Heath made no overt accusation about it. “Sooner or later, I’m sure I’ll run into her again while I’m on tour. There a number of charities she’ll be involved with on the West coast. She’s a busy woman so she might not actually have time for me!”

  “What’s next on the tour?” I asked. “I know we’re heading down to New Jersey then back up to New York. Then we’ll fly to Texas and work our way up to California.”

  “You’ve got it right,” Heath said, finishing his drink. “I’d love to visit the so-called flyover states but the big venues tend to be on the coasts. The record doesn’t think we’ll make enough money, even if the venues are sold out.”

  “Too bad, I grew up in those flyover states.”

  “It’s a shame, really. Howard and I had a budding American fan base in places like Colorado Springs.”

  “You met Megan on the West Coast, though.”

  “It was a night to remember,” he said with a smile. “I did my best to charm that sexy waitress but Howard won her over with his shy guy routine. The three of us went to the beach and had some local beers. We bought soft shell crab from a food cart. We got sand between our toes and watched the stars rise. Howard looked so happy with Megan. I even let the two have our hotel room for the night!”

  Whether it was the alcohol or my insecurity, I asked a bold question. “You ever wish it was you?”

  “What?”

  “If you ended up with Megan.”

  “Are you jealous?” he said with a laugh. My skin turned flush when I realized what I had just asked. “No, Megan and Howard were a match made in heaven. I always felt like a third wheel. Looking back, those were some of the happiest times of my life.”