by TM Watkins
Begrudgingly Evan rose from the bed, ignoring the look of pure distaste from Sam as he walked to the bathroom completely naked. With Evan in the shower and the groupie on her way to the lobby and doing her walk of shame, Sam moved onto the final band member.
Once he had dealt with Jaxon, he'd have to go back to Curtis to check if he needed anything. It was like the forgot how to function once they got an assistant.
“Mister Ryan,” Sam called out as he thumped on the door.
He waited, feeling the scrutiny of Dominic burn against him. Jaxon was the hardest to deal with. He was like a clown, always up to no good and making jokes at every single little thing. But underneath the comical nature was a good person, get him alone, and he became an amazing person. Warm and thoughtful, he had a caring nature that Sam thought wasn't possible for someone so out there.
Sam heard a woman giggle and he rolled his eyes.
“Mister Ryan, please open the door.”
The door swung open, and Jaxon stood there in all his glory except for one minor addition. Covering the essentials was a pointed party hat, bright red with curling ribbon hanging out of the point.
“What do you think Sam? Will they like it?”
“Sure, but you know that it's been done before, right? Chili Peppers wore socks on stage, so this is rather old and stale.”
“Bah.” Jaxon waved his hand dismissively. “Socks are so last year, this is party central. See? Party hat for party central.”
Sam nodded and hoped that he didn't turn around. He'd already seen one bare ass this morning, he didn't need to see another.
“Yes, I do see it, Mister Ryan.”
“D'ya wanna wear it? Would totally be freaky.”
“I think I'll pass thanks.”
He heard a giggle from behind the door, whispered words which made Jaxon smile.
“Yeah, pay you five grand to wear it.”
“No thank you. I'd rather ensure that you get ready for our departure.”
Jaxon shook his head, his face sneering. It was then that Sam knew he was in for a rough time with Jaxon. If he didn't willingly start to move within the first few minutes, then it would take him at least an hour.
“Ten grand.”
“I'll tell you what Mister Ryan. I will wear the hat if you get ready now.”
Jaxon's eyes widened with delight, he pulled the naked woman from behind the door and pushed it open.
“Sorry sweet cheeks, time for you to mosey on home.”
“Aw.” She pouted.
“Tic toc,” Sam said as Jaxon turned away. “He's been known to push his conquests out the door completely naked and then throws their clothes out the window.”
She gasped and scurried for her things which made Sam smile. Jaxon hadn't ever done something like that but if it made them move faster than the lie was worth it.
As he searched the bag and the cell, Sam felt the snap of thin elastic under his chin.
“You look a treat, pokey.”
“Thank you, Mister Ryan. Do you think that you might like to put some pants on?” Sam asked as he kept his attention on the cell phone.
“I like the free and easy, let the goods hang free. What do you think pokey?”
Sam sighed for what would have to be the thousandth time this morning. He hated the nickname Jaxon had given him. Pokey because he poked him when trying to wake him one morning. Jaxon then went and told everyone that Sam didn't poke him with his finger but something a little further south and that he was feeling violated by the pervert assistant. To Sam's relief no one believed Jaxon and knew it was him just being an idiot, but the name stuck.
“I think the paparazzi will have a field day at the view. Shall I warn them to get the long range out Mister Ryan?”
“Ooh, low blow pokey. Well done. For that, you can keep the hat on until we board the jet.”
Sam laughed slightly at the thought. He handed the cell and the bag to the woman as she was pushed out the door. Then he turned back to Jaxon who thankfully was wearing a pair of shorts.
“I am afraid that I cannot do that Mister Ryan, it does not match what I am wearing, and you know that I couldn't wear anything that does not co-ordinate.”
“Since when do you care about co-coordinating?”
“Since I do not want to wear a party hat anywhere past this room. Are you getting ready or shall I ask Dominic to come in and help you?”
Jaxon grinned broadly at Sam. “All good pokey, you are free to go, and you can keep that hat.”
He turned Sam around and pushed him to the door.
“Think of it as a souvenir from the I love Jaxon club. You never know what bit of fun you might find in that hat.”
As the door slammed shut in his face, Sam paled, wondering if there were lice in the hat.
Chapter 2
Jerry watched as Sam ushered the band members into the lounge area near the reception desk, their bags being dealt with by the over-eager hotel staff.
“Well?”
Sam turned from his view of the band members who were behaving themselves for once. He looked at Jerry, his once shiny black hair was now becoming pitted with sporadic spots of gray. It was a sign that he dealt with rock stars way too much and Sam knew that this was his future.
“Okay, so Curtis we've got the broken lamp and broken bottles. I'd say that it was only one bottle that has been emptied onto the carpet, but it was probably full. I've returned the furniture to its placement and tidied up as best I could. Mini bar is empty.”
His gaze turned from the woman behind the counter who was noting everything down to Jerry, the rising panic eating at both of them. Each of them had their own demons, there were some that had more than others.
“His mother called and told him that James has found a girlfriend, a lawyer too.”
“Damn that woman.” Jerry hissed.
It was true that she was an insufferable woman and that between her and Curtis's father, they made his life hell. In their opinion, Curtis was a waste of space. Their other son James was worthy of their time because he'd graduated his law degree and landed a junior position within a few days.
Curtis had two sisters as well, one a doctor already and the other still in high school. It was expected that Jane would become a doctor as well, such were her grades.
“She's the reason for the ulcer, I'm sure of it.”
Sam nodded and continued.
“Fraser, broken television, a bit of glass.”
“That's it?” Jerry asked rather shocked.
“I guess it was a good night last night.”
Fraser... Sam didn't know what to say about that lost soul. Loving parents, older brother, all was perfect until two years ago. He didn't want to relive the memories of watching Jerry answer that phone call, it had taken all of his strength not to sob like a baby when Jerry pulled him aside to warn him.
Warn him because Jerry was about to break Fraser's world. They were in New York when Jerry got the call that Tyler, Fraser's brother had murdered their parents.
Sam had known them for a grand total of two years before that call, in that time the friendship had grown, and they had become a significant part of his life. It hurt him to think of those days, for their son it was hell.
Sam nodded with a heavy heart. “I may have missed something, I would have expected there to be more, given the location.”
“Maybe leave that one open to inspection.”
The woman nodded at Jerry's suggestion and waited for Sam to continue.
“With Austin, I found a service trolley in the bathroom, the cutlery and crockery around the bath. I'd say they had a bath while they ate dinner.”
Sam noted the woman twitched a wry smile as she made her notes.
“He's scratched something into one of the walls.”
“As in?”
Jerry watched as a soft pink flush crossed Sam's cheeks, his eyes darting to the woman and back again.
“It's not polite in front of a lady.” Sam c
leared his throat. “But I do believe he wrote it on paper as well and is planning on turning it into a song.”
“Is that right?” Jerry hummed, his eyes narrowing at the view of the band.
They were starting to become restless. It was time to hurry this along.
“Alright then, whatever he's written is copyrighted.”
The woman behind the counter rolled her eyes, the grin broadening.
“Evan stacked the furniture onto the balcony, I do believe it rained last night. I left it out there so as not to damage the carpet.”
“Why did he do that?”
Sam held out the thin piece of plastic that was covered with bright colored dots and was haphazardly folded.
“Naked twister sir.”
The woman behind the counter giggled and then cleared her throat, pretending that the outburst never happened. Jerry huffed and flicked his hand with disdain, keeping things moving was imperative.
“Finally, we come to Jaxon. I don't know how it happened, I swear I did not know.”
“Yes, yes. I understand, after all, this is Jaxon we are talking about.”
Sam's eyes darted to the woman behind the counter, she was leaning a little more forward like she was ready to start salivating at what the bad boy had done. He cleared his throat and returned his attention to Jerry.
“Well uh, there is a lot of road construction signs and the hats. They were rather dirty and have sullied the carpet. Ladies clothes but nothing that belonged to the lady that was with him. I do not know if he had more guests and they left without their clothes or if he borrowed them from somewhere.”
“I think that the hotel staff would have noticed naked women Sam.”
Sam cleared his throat with a slight shake of his head.
“Undergarments sir.”
Jerry raised his eyebrows with slight shock. It wasn't unusual for them to have such items, that is if there had been a concert. Bras and underpants were always thrown up onto the stage. But last night was a high society function or at least it was supposed to be.
“And pamphlets sir.”
“Couldn't you just throw them in the trash?” Jerry frowned rather dismayed.
“Not with the time schedule to keep. I don't know where he found so many, but there are great stacks of them. I believe he was intending on throwing them from the balcony, my waking him ahead of the pre-determined time stopped that.”
Sam could see the confusion on Jerry's face. It happened a lot with this band.
“I told them to be awake by eight, and I woke them at seven.”
“Good.” Jerry snapped with a gruff tone. “I don't need to be hit with a littering fine.”
As well as the rest of this nonsense he thought mildly as he turned to the woman.
“You've got my email?”
“Yes, sir.”
With a nod from the woman, they were off, ready to get the band into the limousine and on their way to the airport.
Jerry and Sam turned and saw that the lounge area where the band had been sitting was empty. Dread sank deep into Sam's stomach, he'd fallen for their masterful scheme.
He should have known they were behaving all too well, he should have had one of the security staff stay with them.
Instead, they were out at the limousine, checking it over and making sure everything was okay.
“Shit.” Jerry hissed and turned back to the woman. “Can you check to see if they left the building or if they are hiding somewhere?”
She nodded and picked up the phone, dialing the security room.
“I'll check the street, maybe they're in the limousine.”
Sam doubted his words, and he knew that Jerry didn't believe they would be there. That's why he was having them check the security cameras.
He walked a quickened pace through the lobby and into the crisp morning air, his eyes darting up and down the street.
“Sam?” Dominic said with concern as he wandered over.
“Did you see them walk out?”
“No, and I've been watching the door too.”
Dominic turned to his counterparts and told them to wait by the limousine in case they happened to return. It was unlikely, but he wanted to cover all possibilities.
“Right, you go that way, and I'll go the other.”
Walking to the end of the street, Sam came across no sign of any of the band members, and he was faced with an intersection. Three possible ways that they could have gone and that didn't include any of the shops that he was faced with.
Feeling defeated he turned back to look down at the street that he had just walked, seeing the limousine door shut. His eyes narrowed, skeptical of the scene. Where did the security guard go?
He walked back, a more hurried pace than ever before. His heart was pounding with fear, not for his job but for a dirty guard.
Jerry and the guard stepped out of the hotel lobby just as Sam arrived back.
“Why did you leave your posting?”
“Jerry called me or at least I thought he did.”
The two men exchanged confused looks and then watched as Sam opened the limousine door. A round of cheers filled the morning air, the band members waiting and getting stuck into the mini bar.
Sam sighed as he closed the door, looking at Jerry.
“They must have swapped your phone at some point and called Joe. Call Dom and tell him to come back.”
Joe nodded and walked away to call Dominic
“Wonder where they were,” Sam muttered as he surveyed the surrounding landscape.
With a mighty huff he nodded his head to the broken plants against the wall of the hotel, Jerry turned and looked at it.
“I guess we can take this as a valuable lesson to be learned, eh Sam?”
“Of course, sir.”
Jerry nodded and wandered back to the hotel to add broken plants to the list of things that would have to be paid for.
Greeted with another round of cheers as he opened the door, Sam climbed into the limousine.
“Well done boys, you scared the life out of me.”
“Does that mean you finally love us pokey?” Jaxon pouted.
“Absolutely not.” Sam sighed as he rummaged through his bag. “You will give Jerry a coronary if you're not careful.”
The statement was met with silence, he'd hit a raw nerve. It was correct to say that these five boys had a soft spot for the man that made them famous. He'd plucked them from obscurity and made them the multimillionaires that they are today, all within a year.
He found them when they were seventeen. They’d turned up at a rehearsal studio that Jerry was at with another band, a mix up meant that the room they were assigned had been double booked. Evan’s mother, Lola, threw one hell of a tantrum over it and demanded that her boys were given the room that she’d had booked for over a year.
Jerry always said that his reason for listening to the boys that day was Lola’s commitment to them. He knew that they had to be good if she’d committed so much money to their future. So, he stayed and listened to all of the songs that they had written and some cover songs that they knew. When their time in the room was done, and they had to leave, Jerry changed their world for the better.
He believed in them, he gave them hope. A better life for one, a richer life for three and for one, life itself.
Sam withheld the shiver as he thought about the possibility that Fraser could have been dead at the hands of his brother, had he not been in New York at the time. Because he still lived with his parents. Rich or not he loved his family and his home, and he didn't want to venture too far too soon.
After all, the poor thing was only eighteen at the time. Days later Jerry saved him again, something that pained all of those around Fraser. Understandably hurt, he wanted time alone which was stupidly granted. After endless missed calls and messages Jerry went to the house and found him in the backyard, the entire contents of the house piled high and drowning in gasoline.
Sam's eyes darted to F
raser who was staring out the window, contemplative as always. It pained him to think of that day, he'd gone with Jerry and saw the aftermath of a family ripped away from someone that underneath the brutish nature was a gentle soul.
The smell of gasoline always reminded Sam of that day, seeing Fraser standing by the wet pile with the matches in his hand. Moments from striking and setting everything alight, including himself. Sam walked away with a black eye, thanks to Fraser lashing out when he took the matches from him. Fraser was not impressed when Sam threw them over the fence and into the neighbor’s pool.
Jerry had to tackle him to stop him from finding another way to set the pile alight. In the end, Sam called Dominic, fearing the lengths that Fraser would go to just to end his life.
The door swung open, Jerry and Dominic got in as Sam shifted along the seat. He turned to see Joe in the front and gave a tap on the window.
Sam sighed inwardly as the limousine pulled into the traffic, day one of tour almost down, three hundred and sixty-five to go.
Chapter 3
Waiting in the VIP section of the airport was deathly dull for all, Sam watched with dismay as they began to fidget and he knew it was only going to lead to trouble. He'd set them up at the bar, each with their Bloody Mary bribes and they all seemed reasonably happy.
Except for Curtis.
Jerry and Sam looked at each other, and an unspoken plan passed between them, keep him occupied. They had to wait for the final preparations to take place before they could board the jet which was another half an hour.
“Take Dominic and Curtis, go for a walk but not too far.”
Curtis seemed to have a drag to his walk, listless for life. Either that or the hangover was still taking its toll. They followed at a distance as Curtis passed the deep leather lounges filled with those that were enjoying their time in this section.
Sam preferred the cocktail lounge, it was quieter, and there were fewer people. To his dismay Curtis had only moved from one bar to the next, sitting on a stool to order another drink.
They held back and maintained a polite distance. If Curtis wanted them around, he would make it obvious.
