Violent Daylight

by Caroline Angus Baker

  “Not even me?”

  Claudio turned and looked deep into her eyes. “Wow.”

  “What?”

  “I would take you, pregnant or not. Maybe Veena and Michael are as strong as you and me.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  “Good for Veena, not so good for me.”

  “It will be fine. I promise.”

  Claudio closed the nursery brochure. “How would you feel about being our assistant again, just for the Moscow and London shows?”

  “The question is, how does everyone feel about me working with them?”

  “They seem receptive. We need help and there isn’t any point in hiring anyone else for two shows. It will be the four of us, plus you, Lea, Holly and Rebecca.”

  “Like the good old days.”

  “Please consider it.”

  Little things help to make amends. “Sure, okay. Count me back in with Virtuosi.”

  CHAPTER 22

  LONDON

  It felt like going back in time. Canna and Claudio sat at the fountain outside Taylor Studios with all the coffees for Virtuosi. Dane’s cappuccino, Henri’s long black and Erik’s skim no-whip white chocolate mochaccino. Lattes for Lea, Holly and Rebecca, plus, of course, peppermint teas for Claudio and herself.

  “This is weird,” Claudio remarked.

  “You read my mind.”

  “We have three days until we leave for Moscow and the show is a mess.”

  “I’m here to help.”

  “I’m sure Lea will apologise for her outburst a few weeks ago.”

  Canna sighed. “She doesn’t need to apologise. It’s okay. People get mad, and they start yelling. I don’t mind. To be honest, I’m worried about Rebecca. Dane may be okay with me working here, but I’m not sure how Rebecca will react. I’m not good at forming relationships with women, especially in stressful situations. Dane and Rebecca aren’t in a good place, and my presence won’t help.”

  Claudio frowned. “I didn’t know that.”

  Canna shrugged. “Dane mentioned it. It’s sensitive.”

  “So why did he talk to you about it?”

  “Because I have a gay brother and he has a gay sister.”

  “Ah,” Claudio said. “Is it about his sister’s wedding?”

  “Rebecca didn’t attend because she doesn’t approve.”

  “Awkward.”

  “You bet. But on the plus side, you and I will look totally normal.”

  “There is a first time for everything.”

  They headed inside, knowing they were the last to arrive. In the rehearsal studio stood the whole team, and Canna watched all the eyes on them.

  “Hey, you remembered our drink orders!” Erik said as she and Claudio strolled over to the group.

  “It’s not easy to forget,” Canna said as she handed out the drinks. “Your overly feminine beverage choice was hard to get when we were on the road.”

  “I found it easy to get for him when we did album promos in the States,” Rebecca said without a hello.

  “You know those Americans, they love to mess with coffee and make up all kinds of flavours. In Italy, we know how real coffee should taste. Black, short, and strong.”

  “Says the lady who sips peppermint tea in the mornings,” Henri said and kissed her cheek as he took his black coffee. “I hear you agreed to come and help us out in Moscow. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

  Canna smiled. The man’s sweetness never ended. “Well, I’m going to the party anyway as a guest, and Yuri is a business partner of mine, so if I can help you all out without adding any costs to the trip, I’m happy to assist.”

  “We will pay you,” Lea said. “Although…”

  “What?” Henri asked his wife.

  “I shouldn’t say,” Lea replied.

  “No, it’s okay,” Canna said. “You were going to point out that I never got paid for working for Virtuosi throughout the entire European tour, right? I have no intention of ever charging Taylor Studios for my time. You took me on as a favour to your boss, and I appreciated that. Virtuosi could have hired someone with more experience, and you didn’t. I don’t expect money.”

  “You did a great job,” Holly said.

  “Logistics is logistics, regardless of the occupation that surrounds it. Moving people and items from place to place on schedule doesn’t change between music or boats. Hotels, cars, planes, coffees… anything can be arranged. The experts like Lea and Holly deal with the music.”

  “True,” Holly smiled.

  “I think we have something to do with it,” Claudio teased.

  “Yes, you gentleman stand on stage and dazzle the ladies, and annoy the husbands who take their wives to the opera. We all have our parts to play.”

  “We leave for Moscow in 70 hours, and we aren’t ready,” Lea said.

  “We’re not sure what Yuri wants,” Henri explained.

  “I can call him if you want. Yuri Dementyev is about one inch away from being Euro trash. He will want this party to be total class, in an effort to look classy himself. He doesn’t gain respect from people around him, but they love his money. He wants you to play at his party because he thinks it will make him look sophisticated and elegant.”

  “We have that effect,” Dane joked.

  Canna laughed. “You should go to Moscow, and do your regular stage performance of all the songs on your first album. Suits on, hair combed, voices on fire…. job done.”

  “Do I need to go to Moscow?” Rebecca asked.

  “The guys need their suits perfect and their hair and makeup done, so yes,” Canna answered.

  Rebecca nodded, but her gaze didn’t leave the wooden floor.

  “You’re an essential part of the trip. Image is everything, perception is reality,” Canna added, and Rebecca smiled just a touch. Dane, however, did not.

  “I guess we just need to rehearse,” Henri suggested. “We need to run through the songs and our positions on stage, and we’re done.”

  “We should do that at the Royal Albert Hall,” Lea said. “That DVD shoot is only a couple of days after we get back from Moscow. I have plenty to do at the Hall. I need to get going.”

  “I need to get the suits and my equipment to the Hall,” Rebecca added.

  “Preparations for the cameras and lighting are underway, so I need to be there,” Holly added.

  “Then let’s go and perform there instead of here,” Claudio suggested. “We can sing anywhere.”

  “Wow, we’re back to boring work preparation already,” Canna joked. “Who can show me the way to the Royal Albert Hall?”

  “I can, my dear,” Claudio said and slipped his arm through hers.

  As the group made their way out of the studio and out though the lobby, Canna noticed a very pregnant Veena waiting for the elevator. “Should Veena be at work?” she asked Claudio. “Pre-eclampsia is a serious condition. She should be in bed.”

  Claudio turned to see Veena and sighed. “No, she shouldn’t be at work. She is due in three weeks. We need to go and talk to her.”

  “Whoa, hang on,” Canna said as Claudio dragged her in Veena’s direction. She saw Veena turn and roll her eyes. “I don’t want to talk to her.” Canna tried to get her arm out from Claudio’s, but he held on tight.

  “You have to face her sooner or later.”

  “Later,” Canna whispered.

  “Veena,” Claudio said he stood right behind her. Veena turned and looked him up and down and threw at a quick glance at Canna. “Why are you here?”

  “I just need to collect something from my old office,” Veena replied. “It’s none of your business.”

  “You need to be at home, resting. Does that Michael guy know you’re at work?”

  “I’m just here to get something,” she hissed back. “Run off with your little music group. And your whore.”

  Canna snorted with laughter. “Wow, Veena, you got fat.”

  Veena stared back at her. “I’m pregnant.”


  “Trust me, I know… but look at your feet! They’re so swollen! Your fingers look like sausages!”

  “Canna,” Claudio started.

  “Claudio, pull your whore’s mouth back into line.”

  “He has no control over my mouth,” Canna replied.

  “I don’t want to know where your mouth has been.”

  “On your husband’s cock,” Canna shot back with a grin.

  Claudio covered his eyes with his hand for a moment and took a deep breath. “Veena, I said I would take all the blame for the divorce. I said I would admit that I was the cheater, and that I ruined everything. You were just as destructive, cheating on me for months.”

  “You stole Canna from Dane when she was pregnant and engaged to him!”

  “Hey, that baby wasn’t real,” Canna said. “Besides, I’m not an object that can be stolen.”

  “Just leave me alone,” Veena said as the elevator opened. “I can do whatever I like.”

  “We should have her killed,” Canna said to Claudio, who sunk his face into his hand again.

  “I’ll be sure to bring that up at our next custody meeting,” Veena said as the doors shut.

  “That could have been worse,” Claudio said. “I could have caught on fire.”

  “From the looks she strikes at people, I’m surprised we aren’t just mounds of ash on the floor right now.”

  “Did you have to antagonise her, Blinky?”

  “The woman makes my blood boil! She is disregarding the safety of her baby.”

  “We can’t tell Veena what to do.”

  “Hopefully she will burst soon, so you don’t have to care about her welfare anymore.”

  They turned and headed out the double doors into the chilly London air. “I will have to care about Veena for the rest of my life whether I like it or not.”

  “Perhaps she will suffer something fun, like blood poisoning,” Canna said with a twinge of delight.

  “Then what? You and me raise the baby?” Claudio pulled the car keys from his pocket and looked her right in the eye.

  Canna scoffed. “Hell no.”

  “Stop wishing death and misery on Veena. Like her or despise her, Veena is the baby’s mother. He needs a mother.”

  “I had a mother and a father and it didn’t do me the slightest bit of good.”

  “Let’s try and make sure the baby doesn’t turn out as fucked up as you are,” Claudio shot back as he got into the Mercedes.

  ~~~

  Canna decided to do what she did best; watch. She sat in the soft and comfortable seats of the tenth row at the Royal Albert Hall. The gorgeous round theatre was all lit up, filled with rays of blue and white as the technical team practiced the lighting show for Sunday’s performance. Lea and Rebecca were backstage somewhere, and Canna knew they would yell out if they needed help. Claudio, Dane, Henri and Erik stood on stage, and chatted about what they wanted to sing next while the orchestra waited.

  Lea appeared from around the side of the stage and made eye contact with Canna. She felt relief when Lea smiled on her approach. “Hiding, are you?”

  “Just getting ready to hear Virtuosi sing again,” Canna said as Lea sat next to her.

  “It’s the best part about the job.”

  “What’s the worst part?”

  “Fighting off all the girls that love my husband,” Lea giggled. “Geez, I put Virtuosi on a few morning television shows and all of a sudden, they get this huge female following.”

  “Great for business.”

  “They come to ogle my husband.”

  “But they spend their money, or their husbands’ money. Virtuosi need to earn a living.”

  “We have you to thank for that, Canna. If we hadn’t gotten this one million from Yuri for this party, I couldn’t keep Virtuosi afloat for the next six months. Sure, the guys each got a royalty cheque for the first year sales, but it leaves the project broke. Now, without Taylor Studios on board…”

  “You will get royalties from the DVD sales, and there will be a spike in CD sales when the DVD is released. Virtuosi will be fine.”

  “Still, your idea to play at the party will bankroll the next album.”

  “Thank Yuri, not me.”

  “Your offer, to invest in a world tour…”

  “The offer is still there.”

  “Is it? I was such a bitch to you.”

  Canna laughed and looked at her colleague. “Lea, no one is more of a bitch than I am. Please, never mention that again. If you need an investor for a large scale tour, I can make a deposit into the Virtuosi account.”

  “We’ll pay you back, of course, and you’ll get your name in lights as our producer.”

  “If you’re the director. What a team we could be.”

  “You must really love Claudio.”

  “Why?”

  “Why? Because a tour might potentially cost tens of millions.”

  “I would pay for it because I believe in all of you. I’m not doing it to keep my lover in business. I’m sure Claudio could find work elsewhere.”

  “That’s true, they all could find work elsewhere.”

  “But yes, I do really love Claudio.”

  “I couldn’t work with an ex.”

  “You mean Dane?” Canna shrugged. “It’s a little weird, I won’t lie. I need to be careful with what I say with Rebecca around me. But Dane and I have made peace, so we can manage.”

  “Time heals everything.”

  “Everything except the truth. I expect to be held to account for my sins.”

  “You’ve given Virtuosi a new life. The guys needed it, so did I.”

  “Why are you so desperate to work? You could retire off the money you made from the first album. Okay, maybe not retire, but you could take a break from work.”

  “I don’t want to take a break.”

  “Because?”

  Lea sighed. “Because I’ll never have a baby.”

  “I didn’t know you were so desperate. You said that Virtuosi was your baby.”

  “But I saw Veena pregnant, and it struck me like lightning. I want to be a mother, too.”

  “So why can’t you be a mother?”

  “Because of my old withered eggs.”

  “You’re 37, Lea. That’s not old.”

  “My chances of getting pregnant on any given month are only ten percent, so my doctor says.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yep. I can carry a baby, and Henri passed all the fertility tests. My eggs are not in good condition, and by the time I’m 40, my odds of pregnancy are tiny.”

  “Veena is 40, and she’s pregnant.”

  “Veena is a freak of nature.”

  “Veena is a freak, period.”

  “The doctor suggested egg donation, and Henri and I are thinking about it. I’m not sure I could handle an egg from a stranger.”

  Canna’s eyes widened. A way to make amends. “I could loan you an egg.”

  “Loan?” Lea giggled. “Would you want it back?”

  “Okay, I could give you an egg. I have one ovary left after my car

  accident. It works, but my uterus is all fucked up now. I can’t carry a baby.”

  “Oh wow, Canna.”

  “It’s okay. I’m not mother material. When I thought I was pregnant earlier in the year, I panicked. There wasn’t going to be a happy outcome.”

  “I’m sorry, Canna.”

  “Don’t be. I don’t want to have a child. I will never have a baby.”

  “Does Claudio know that?”

  “Yes, there is no confusion on that score. He knows I won’t have a child. The devil baby in Veena right now is a weird blessing for him.”

  “It’s generous of you to offer, but…”

  “You don’t want a baby who looks like me and Henri? You’re right; anything mixed with Henri would be a nightmare.”

  Lea burst out laughing.

  “I’m kidding, Henri is one sexy guy. You might not want a baby that was an egg from a dr
ug addict. You can say it.”

  “No, Canna, it’s not that.”

  “I would have them pulled out and checked first, I promise. Take the whole damn ovary! Imagine how many eggs could be in there.”

  “And give you early menopause?”

  “Yuck. Good point.”

  “Thanks, Canna. Henri is keen on egg donation, but I want my baby. Is that selfish?”

  “Not at all, it’s natural.”

  “I would rather be left without children than have to borrow. That’s my pride talking.”

  “If you change your mind…” Canna paused and pointed at her stomach. “Here are fresh eggs, free to a good home. In the meantime, let’s watch these ladies rehearse.”

  “Thanks.” Lea took Canna’s hand. “I’m so glad to have you back!”

  “I’m so glad to be welcome.”

  CHAPTER 23

  MOSCOW

  The flight from London for the Virtuosi Eight had been quiet, but when they arrived, they found a small army of female fans waiting to greet them. Canna, Lea, Holly and Rebecca hung back with the luggage, and let the four performers deal with the onslaught of kisses and photograph requests.

  “Who knew Russia loved Virtuosi?” Rebecca remarked.

  “I did,” Lea said. “Album sales put Russia as our strongest country in terms of making money. The three shows at the Bolshoi in March were the biggest audiences, other than Claudio’s hometown shows in Madrid.”

  “How did they know we were coming?” Holly asked. “This is a private show, it’s not on the website or Facebook page.”

  “I never figured out how these girls track celebrities, but they do it,” Lea commented as they inched their way out of the airport to find two limousines waiting.

  “Welcome to Elegantnost, it’s lovely to have you,” Yuri said in his strong Russian accent the moment Canna stepped from the limo.

  Canna looked around herself with wide eyes. Elegantnost seemed to be anything by elegant. The three-storey white palace, with domes that formed the green roof seemed imposing and grand. They were only ten kilometres away from the Moscow Ring Road that circled the famed Russian city, but it felt as if they were many miles from civilisation.