But apparently, he was wrong.
I really need to speak with you. I’ve gone through some regressions with my supervisor and I have more answers for you.
She was playing hardball now, throwing out hooks she was certain he and Kylie would not just want to nibble on, they’d want to bite hard and feast upon. To know more of their story, the shared history and love and how it had played out over the ages was something they yearned to discover. And Claire Stoddard, of all people knew that.
For the first time, Jesse responded to her text with one of his own.
Enough, Dr. Stoddard. This needs to stop. Your behavior has become highly unprofessional. I am asking you to cease and desist contacting me directly. If there is any reason you need to get a message to me, please do so by contacting my manager, Jon Fritz at Fritz Music Management.
His decision not to tell Kylie about the ongoing texts was to protect her from this unpleasantness and let her enjoy her special time planning their wedding. He wondered if they’d ever done that before. Jesse and Kylie had concluded that she was, in fact, the other redhead in his life, Julia, and as they had learned through Jesse’s Gaius regression, their plans to marry never came to fruition. That was a dream that had been robbed from them over and over and over again.
Although Kylie had given Hayley and her mother responsibility for much of the wedding planning, she became more and more involved in the process, as if with each day, she finally had the confidence to allow herself to dream a dream that wouldn’t be stolen from her, with the man who would forever be hers.
“Having writer’s block?” She snuggled into him on the couch. His ancient deck of cards was spread on the coffee table before him in a vanishing cross solitaire formation.
Looking up, he quickly kissed her lips. “Yeah, I’m stuck on some lyrics. I need to clear my mind so that they’ll come.”
“Well, I’ve got something I want to run by you.”
Putting the remaining cards in his hand down on the coffee table, he turned to her. “Shoot.”
“I was working out with Zac today, who by the way is going to kill me. He’s on a mission to get me into a smaller sized wedding dress. But that’s another story. So, we were talking about venues and I told him that I was down to two: Gotham Hall and Capitale, and that there was a similarity between the two properties. Like the grand architecture, they were both built as bank headquarters, the ornate Corinthian columns, the main rotundas, and that I clearly had a type of building that I liked. Well, he pointed out to me the similarities those two spaces have with L9. Which is probably what attracted me to those two spaces and he was telling me that they’ve done events there where they clear out equipment and an event company comes in and takes over.” Kylie stopped to take a breath.
“Okay.” Jesse just looked at her smiling. She finally was truly acting like a bride. The fear, which he knew she never actually acknowledged, was no longer clouding her ability to move forward and live in the now.
“Well, is that something you’d be interested in?”
“It’s a great space. You and I really got to know each other there, so there’s tremendous sentimental value. It’s part of our shared history. The Jesse and Kylie history,” he clarified. “I think it’s worth a conversation and I’d like to see pictures of other events done there so that we can get a feel for it and decide if it’s right for us.”
Smiling at him, she leaned in for a kiss, “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Toots. So, let’s contact whoever we need to at L9 and check it out.”
••••••
The paparazzi was waiting for them when they arrived at L9.
“Jesse, Kylie…have you set a date?”
Kylie was always amazed at how responsive and open he was with the press. While others snubbed them, Jesse made them his friends and fans by giving them what they wanted and they loved him for it.
“We’re working on it. Well, actually Kylie’s working on it.”
The crowd laughed.
“Do you have a place picked out?”
“You know you guys are going to have the answer to that before I do. I’m going to find out from you.”
Again, laughter from the crowd which had already grown in the few minutes since they’d gotten there.
“Any plans to go on tour?”
“Will it be solo or with Winslow?”
“Next tour will be solo and then after that you can expect to see Winslow back in the studio again.” The crowd reacted positively to that news.
“We’ve got to head in,” Jesse waved goodbye to the reporters.
“One more question. Any little Winslows planned?”
This time it was Kylie who turned around to answer the question, with a huge smile and a dip of her head, in true pageant-girl style, she wowed the crowd. “C’mon, you guys. You know how I’ve struggled with my weight. Let’s get me looking gorgeous in a wedding dress first before we start talking babies.” And she did that little shoulder thing, pageant girls do.
“We love you, Kylie,” more than one reporter screamed.
“We love you, too,” she yelled over her shoulder at the crowd as she and Jesse entered L9’s massive wooden doors for their meeting with Elan Gerstler, founder of the award-winning Claret Creative Event Agency.
“Wow, that was quite a crowd,” Jesse commented.
“Wait until you see the size of it by the time we leave. They have apps that alert them. And this time, it’s the two of us together.”
“I want your arms,” Kylie announced to Yoli Perez, L9’s President, as she led them up to the second-floor executive offices.
“We’ll get Zac to start working you on free weights,” Yoli laughed, looking down at her very toned arms.
“You can wear anything sleeveless and look great.”
Yoli leveled a glance at Kylie, “If I looked like you, my arms would be the last thing people would be noticing.”
Entering a large office suite, a dark-haired man rose from a distressed driftwood conference table and came around to great them.
“Hello, I’m Elan Gerstler,” his voice was warm and slightly accented. “It’s a pleasure meeting you both.”
After a few minutes of pleasantries, Elan asked, “Do you pretty much know what you want or are you open to creating a new concept?”
“We’re open,” Kylie and Jesse said simultaneously, and then looked at one another and laughed.
“Okay, let’s start by taking a look at other events we’ve done in both this space, as well as others, and see if there are elements that resonate with you, things you are drawn to and we can build upon that so the night really expresses who the two of you are and what your journey is all about.”
Pressing her thigh against Jesse’s, Kylie smiled. “If we told people about our journey they would Baker Act us.”
Elan’s look told them he was not familiar with the American term and Kylie laughed as she explained, “It means to commit someone involuntarily to a mental health facility.”
He laughed, “By the time weddings take place, brides and grooms are usually voluntarily committing themselves to escape their relatives.”
Elan began with a digital slide show projected onto the wall. “I’m going to first show you a few different themes we’ve created for this space.”
The first group of pictures were bathed in blue light, bare branched white trees and twinkling white lights captured the beauty of winter.
“I love that,” Kylie squeezed Jesse’s hand.
“I like that a lot, too,” he agreed.
The next set, transformed L9 into an Alaskan wilderness with an everchanging sky of Northern Lights.
“This looks like where I was up shooting. We have to go up there together.”
The cool colors disappeared with the next set of images, replaced by bright oranges, yellows, pinks, and greens as Elan transported everyone to the streets of a Caribbean island. Although they were just taking in the visuals, it wasn
’t hard to imagine steel drums calling out a beat that would have shoulders and hips swaying all night long.
The next few events he shared were more formal and not theme driven, but all very elegant.
“I had no idea this space was converted for events.” Jesse sat back in his chair.
“We don’t do it often,” Yoli advised. “Typically, it’s for a charity that Schooner and his wife, Mia, are very passionate about, or an event for a club member they have a relationship with.”
“Here it is,” Elan had been searching files on his laptop. “It was misfiled.”
As they looked back up at the wall, Kylie heard Jesse’s intake of breath. The scene was ancient Rome. Not Rome as ruins, but a depiction of Rome in its glory. With a three hundred and sixty-degree view of the Seven Hills.
“How do you…” Jesse began.
“Holograms,” explained Elan.
He scrolled through a few photos so that they could see it from different vantage points, the details exquisite in each, from the rough-hewn cobblestones lining the street to the aqueducts.
Leaning in to Jess, “Are you okay?” She whispered.
Squeezing her hand under the table, he nodded. “Yeah.”
“How did you recreate this time period in all its splendor versus the way we see it now in ruins?”
“To originally build this was about three years’ worth of research before we even began the graphics.”
“It’s amazing and very realistic,” Jesse remarked. More than you know.
Turning to Jesse, Kylie smiled. “We’re not waiting that long. Imagine dealing with my mother for three years over this.”
Everyone laughed.
“My mother is a pageant mom, Elan. And everything you have heard about pageant mom’s is true. You have been officially warned.”
“Have any of these themes resonated with you? Felt right?” Elan asked.
“All of them, to some extent.” Kylie looked to Jesse for his input.
“Toots, I am good with whatever you love.”
“Does the Rome set belong to someone?”
“Yes. To us. All of this is the proprietary property of Claret. If you’re interested in Rome, we can take what we have as a base and add elements, if there is something you are really looking for,” he explained.
“Would that add a lot of wait time for production?” As much as Kylie wanted her wedding to Jesse, she also wanted it behind her.
“No, not necessarily. With as much in place as we have, we can create additional elements in about a month.”
“We have a lot to think about.” Kylie gave a big sigh and smiled at Jesse, who was being a great sport through this. “Can we go out into the club and take a look at how the logistics would work. From the bridal and groom suites to how things would work if we did the ceremony and reception here.”
“Sure,” Yoli stood. “First let me show you the rest of the executive office space up here, because that would be for the bride and bridesmaids, and you’ll see why when we get outside. Jesse, the private gym that you and Kylie use would be reserved for the groom and groomsmen.”
Following Yoli, the executive office space was much more expensive and posh than she’d expected. There were multiple areas with bathrooms and couches and mirrors. A must for a bridal party.
“You both know the owner of L9, Zac’s dad, Schooner Moore. His entire business operation, including a foundation he runs, is housed out of this facility and he did an amazing job renovating the office space that existed here. Out-of-town business associates can actually stay on premises.”
Moving out onto the mezzanine overlooking the rotunda, Kylie marveled at the view. “I usually don’t get to see the club from this vantage point.”
“I’ll never get tired of it,” Yoli admitted, as they spent a moment looking over the club’s main floor. “Okay, so you would come out of the bride’s suite through this door here, which puts you at the top of the marble stairs. And that will make quite an entrance as you descend the staircase and have Jesse come up a landing from the main floor to meet you.”
Turning to smile at Jesse and say, “Fiona is going to have an orgasm. She is going to love this.” Kylie never got to express those words, because something caught her eye. Was it the glint of silver in the club’s intricate lighting or the cold blue of Claire Stoddard’s eyes? She would never know for sure, no matter how many times she replayed that moment in her head. She would remember thinking, “When did she become a member here?”
The instantaneous fading of the smile on Kylie’s face and the shock and fear in her eyes caused Jesse to immediately turn around to see what had caused her reaction, but all he saw was Claire Stoddard lifting her arm and instinct told him to protect Kylie. Shield Kylie. Save Kylie.
Stepping in front of his wife, Jesse Winslow was thrown back, like a ragdoll, as the bullet entered his chest. Together the two rolled down the marble staircase, a grotesque tangle of blood and limbs. Neither aware of the commotion at the top, as club patrons restrained the gunwoman.
In the distance, Kylie could hear calls for a doctor and 911. Pressing her hand over Jesse’s wound, she tried to stop it. But there was so much blood pumping from his chest. He was losing it fast as it rushed around her fingers like a river tripping over fallen branches.
“Stay with me, Jess. Help is on the way.” The words were barely recognizable amongst her sobs. “This can’t be happening to us. We did the right things this time. We changed so many of our mistakes from the past. I thought we’d changed our destiny, Jesse.”
Putting her ear close to him, she could make out his words in the gurgling. “Me, too, I thought we’d figured it out.”
“Please, don’t leave me, Jesse. I can’t do this again without you.”
“Yeah. You can. This time you’re strong. So strong.”
“You promised,” she choked on her sobs. He was going fast. She could feel it, a transition painfully familiar. That agony in her heart was closing in. Again. The familiarity choking her. “You promised you wouldn’t go.”
“And I never will.” He was struggling for breath.
“Stay with me, Jesse. Please, stay with me,” she begged, her tears falling onto his cheeks.
“I’ll find you, Toots. You know I will.”
“No. No. No. No. No. No. No. I can’t do this again. I can’t.” Her wail would haunt everyone who was witness to the brutal slaying, and although they didn’t know the details of a love that had flourished over thousands of years, they would feel it to their core, understanding they had witnessed a tragedy so great, a loss so profound, that they would forever feel as one with this young woman.
Looking up from her beautiful husband’s face to the top of the stairs, Dr. Claire Stoddard was being handcuffed. She smiled at Kylie, a smile that made Kylie’s blood run cold, for she had seen that very same self-satisfied grin before, looking down at her from a window with a newly repaired sash.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
In a corner office with two glass walls, high above the streets of Manhattan, three women all had huge smiles on their faces as they listened intently to the lawyer on the speakerphone in the middle of the desk, as he shared the good news.
Cutting it close was an understatement.
Tonight was the big party celebrating their deal. Over three hundred industry people would be in attendance and they were down to the wire, sweating it, that the deal, which should have been completed more than six weeks ago, would still be stalled. But in the eleventh hour, with their threat of pulling out, it had finally worked out, just within the last hour. And now the company was theirs.
Hanging up the phone, the three flew out of their chairs, hugging and kissing and jumping around the room, looking more like middle-school teens who had just been asked to their first dance, than professional business women who owned a corporation.
“Oh, my God, we did it. We finally did it.” Kylie was beaming.
Hayley picked up
a picture of Jesse from her friend’s desk and smiled warmly at it. “He would have totally loved this moment.”
“Yes, he would have,” Kylie agreed, trying not to let her eyes mist over. “For many reasons, including the fact that he despised Blaise Collins and the way he treated me, so seeing the three of us as the new owners of Siren would have made him proud.”
“We are going to turn this industry on its ear.” Liz was stoked. “All sizes. All colors. All persuasions. Straight. Gay. Dyke. Trans. All beautiful. And all celebrated. This industry had better be ready for us, because we are the new Siren.” She grabbed Hayley’s hand and kissed her palm.
Sip’s shoulders did a little dance in response to the spontaneity of her lover’s genuine affection.
Between the three of them, they now owned sixty-seven of Siren’s stock. Buh-bye, Blaise.
“Are you going home to change?” Hayley asked.
“No. This is it. This is what I’m wearing. That’s why I had the invite say business attire,” Kylie laughed.
“I love that jacket. I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Liz complimented Kylie’s colorful garment with its watercolor paint splashes.
“I had it made in Italy when I was there. I just love this fabric, plus there are all these cool, useful hidden pockets, so I don’t need to carry a purse. Check this out,” she opened the jacket to show them the inside, “there’s a breast pocket inside on both sides. It will fit my cell, keys, wallet, and sunglasses and with the way the fabric drapes, you can’t even see that I’ve got anything bulky in there, so I’m not carrying a purse tonight.” She laughed, “And that’s better than going commando.”
“I need that jacket. Or maybe I can borrow yours…permanently,” Sip laughed.
“Umm, or not.” Kylie gave her the evil eye.
Liz looked at her watch. “Do you want to ride over with us?”
“No, go on without me. I’ve got a few things to finish up here first before I leave. I’ll meet you over there.”
“Okay. Come on, plus one,” Sip kidded, as she reached for Liz’s hand. “See you over there, Gracie.”
Love on the Edge of Time Page 30
