“Vanni?” she said as she held him tight. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head. He couldn’t speak. All he could do was thank God it was only a nightmare and she was still healthy and alive in his arms.
He swore he’d give his last breath to make sure he’d never have to live one moment without her.
He could not bring himself to go back to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was his beloved Andy in a pool of blood. She dozed long before he did, and he treasured the weight of her body against his own. He stroked her hair as he stared out of the window opposite the bed. He didn’t know how he would keep her safe, but he’d have to find a way.
The first step was constructing a safe room in their new home. The sale had finally closed that past weekend and was theirs to move into, but there were certain modifications they wanted to have made before they moved in. Most of it had to do with security, and it was his idea to include a “panic room” just in case anything were to happen to her when he couldn’t be there – like if he was touring. She indulged the suggestion, mostly because she wasn’t quite ready to worry about moving in. There was so much to do with the show that decorating a house seemed like a superfluous waste of energy. And with the security cameras at the beach house, Andy had begun to feel safe again. She knew that the gated community would only feel more so. But it was important to Vanni so she said nothing about the plans. They put off delivery for most of their furniture until mid-May and focused all their energy on the show.
Each judge had advanced certain contestants to the live round, which would be judged by all three judges. In this quarterfinal round, these performances and the judges’ critiques were taped for broadcast during the first couple of weeks of the series. These days often ran long, with all three judges in and out of makeup and wardrobe.
Some of the contestants were no-brainers. These were the ones that all three judges had pushed through, so they only had to sing one song with accompaniment to get the green light to head to the live shows. Jolene Anderson was one of these early favorites, whose country twang and perfect blond beauty made her a diva in the making. All the judges were goners from her amiable, “Hi, I’m Jo, from Texas. Sorry my hair’s a bit deflated. It’s hot back stage!”
Then there was Milo Singer, who was openly gay and absolutely fabulous. He was only 17 with a shock of red hair, but he had no insecurities as he opened his mouth and belted out a flawless rendition of a Broadway classic.
Each contestant was fiercer than the last, and on the end of that first day Vanni was thrilled to see Jordi Hemphill take the stage. She didn’t try to hide her size-20 figure under layers of boring black. She wore a deep purple halter with flashy sequins, with black leggings with lace down either side. Her face was framed by chunky purple glasses with square lenses, and she wore her hair up in a faux-hawk that had a deep violet-streaked braid down one side. This was a girl unafraid to be seen. She gave the judges a big smile. “My name is Jordi Hemphill. I’m from a small town in Iowa you’ve probably never heard of. And I’m here because I’m fierce.”
It was a bold declaration that left no room for argument. Vanni gave her a big smile and a wink as she paused before the music was cued to start.
Instead of using accompaniment, she motioned to the band to stay silent. She looked down at the floor and gathered the character she wished to portray, in a challenging song from a 1980s musical, in which a young girl sang of painfully unrequited love. The loneliness in her tone filled the auditorium like a thick cloud. Bit by bit the band joined in as she motioned to each musician, sweeping the entire production into a powerful crescendo. Just as dramatically she brought all the music to a stop with a raised hand. When her voice cracked with emotion as she brought it to a close, Vanni actually had tears in his eyes.
He began to clap and then stood on his feet. This girl was a star.
Allison also stood for her performance, and Ryder, considered her thoughtfully before he, too, rose to his feet.
After she departed the stage, the cameras caught the judges comparing notes about this unusual contestant.
“Now that is a star,” Vanni said. “We were all putty in her hands and she knew it. That girl’s fearless and she brings true meaning to the name of the show.”
Allison pursed her lips as she weighed the pros and cons. “She’s great,” she agreed. “And I know we’re trying to get away from the image-based pop culture that would normally eat her up and spit her out. But what is she? Eighteen? She’s a baby still. It’s easy to have confidence on that first step of the ladder of success. But this isn’t some small town in Iowa. The whole world will be watching. What’s going to happen to that confidence if the audience doesn’t like her? Or worse… if they’re cruel to her?”
“You think she’s not used to people being cruel?” Vanni said. “Look at her. She goes out of her way to draw attention to herself. And you know how high school can be. No audience is going to be worse than some clique of teenage girls who are jealous because she’s got more potential for greatness in her little finger than some do in their entire bodies. You should know that.”
“Yes, I do know that,” she replied. “I’m also a mama, and I can tell you that y’all don’t know what it does to a woman’s self-esteem to be torn into day after day because she doesn’t ‘fit in.’ It’s just not the same for men.”
Ryder nodded. “She’s got an amazing voice. But how do we market someone like this and keep her sane in the process?”
“Isn’t that the challenge?” Vanni asked them. “We’re here to find a star that defies definition and I’m telling you – we found one. I think there is an audience for someone that secure in herself and in her talent to say to hell with what the world thinks, she’s going to follow her dreams anyway.”
Shannon smiled as she watched the conversation from her spot in the front row in between Graham and an emotional Maggie, who was still sniffling from Jordi’s powerful performance. Shan handed her a tissue, knowing everyone who watched would be just as profoundly affected. That was exactly the kind of contestant she wanted to champion with Fierce. The people she touched would come to her defense as passionately as Vanni had. She was very impressed that someone like Vanni, who had a reputation for treating women like tissue paper, could see her value and fight for her right to perform on the show.
Shannon – and even Graham – knew he would win thousands of new fans the minute it aired, maybe even some who had dismissed him as an unrepentant playboy in the past.
It was exactly what they had hoped would happen when they picked him as a judge.
“I say yes,” Vanni voted. “Let’s get her to the live shows.”
Again Allison pursed her lips. She didn’t know if she could do that to that poor girl who was so young. But if she could win over someone like Vanni, surely there would be those willing to call in week after week to vote her through. “Okay. I have my reservations,” she clarified. “But you’re right. There’s something magical about her.”
They turned to Ryder. He wasn’t as easily convinced. “Put me down for a maybe.” Both Allison and Vanni said nothing as they gave him the same hard stare. “A strong maybe,” he clarified.
Vanni gave them a triumphant smile as he rose from his chair. He sent a salute to Graham and to Shannon who sat in the audience before he took the stage steps two at a time to head off to wardrobe.
“Women are going to love him,” Shannon said to Graham.
“Women already do love him,” he replied dryly.
“They’re going to love him more,” she said. “You just saw the ticket to our second season in that exchange.”
As much as Graham didn’t want to admit it, he knew she was right. “Looks like he’s finally growing up,” he said.
She gave Graham a big smile as she patted him on the arm. “Being a dad will do that to you,” she said before she gathered her notes and headed toward her office. She knew exactly which scenes she wanted to edit together f
or their debut, and there was a lot of work to do.
They had a show to put on. Thanks to Giovanni Carnevale and Jordi Hemphill, Shannon had a good feeling that it was going to be a huge hit.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Burbank, California
May 2, 2011
Shannon McKenna sat in a wardrobe chair as she chatted with the style consultant for Fierce, her dear friend – and fairy godfather – Jorge Navarro. He was slender but chiseled, with silky dark hair that fell slightly over his dark eyes. He wore eyeliner better than any woman, and though some might mistake him for effeminate, he managed to make lace and silk and Goth makeup masculine. He wore tattoos and piercings, with a beautiful face that looked sculpted out of stone. He was more beautiful than most women, and more attractive than many men, with an unapologetic androgyny that was so sensual it put most people off their game in the first moment he walked into a room.
His truest gift was sharing this magical gift with all those he styled. Stars loved him and he was the life of any Hollywood party. He had turned Shannon from a frumpy, forgettable production assistant to a Reality TV superstar who managed to make all her dreams come true.
When it came to picking a stylist for all her Fierce babies, she trusted no one more. She knew that he’d shine them all up like a brand new penny. One contestant, in particular, was why Shannon had hunted him down that particular morning.
“What are your plans for Jordi?” she asked as she sat in Jorge’s magic chair.
“One word,” he said with smile. “Defiant.”
“Need more words, please.”
He laughed. “That girl’s a tiger. She’s got a fearlessness I don’t usually see in 18-year-olds. Adolescence is an esteem killer, as I’m sure you remember. But she doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks about her. I can do so much with that.”
Shannon chuckled. “I can’t wait to see your magical transformation.”
He shook his head. “She doesn’t need a transformation. She needs guidance. She’s trying to fit into this mold that already exists. She needs to know she can break that mold. She can be sexy on her own terms.”
Shannon nodded. She liked the sound of that. And if anyone could do it, it’d be Jorge.
“Excuse me, Shannon?”
Both Jorge and Shannon turned to see who stood at the door of the wardrobe room. It was Maggie. “Have you seen Graham?”
Jorge stopped what he was doing and walked toward Maggie as if he’d seen the Mona Lisa for the first time. Maggie didn’t know what to make of this unusual man circling her, his hand to his chin, as he inspected her openly and boldly. He took it all in: the alabaster skin, the fiery red hair, the endlessly blue eyes – even the dusting of faint freckles across the bridge of her nose. “Turn around,” he instructed.
“What?” she asked.
Shannon laughed. “I suggest you do what he says.”
Maggie twirled awkwardly in her mom-jeans and her button down shirt. It was as nondescript as any anonymous lackey would hope to be, but Jorge seemed to see something more – like finding that first glint of a diamond in the heart of an unimpressive block of coal. He grabbed her hand and dragged her into the room, sitting her right down on his chair before he disappeared off into the racks and racks of clothing.
“What’s…?” Maggie tried to ask Shannon, but she just held up a hand.
Jorge re-emerged with a black dress with a rhinestone cuff at the neck. “Here,” he said. “Try this on.”
“But… I’m not part of the show…” Maggie tried to explain.
“So?” Jorge wanted to know.
She sent another helpless glance to Shannon, who wore a bemused smile. “You don’t question the master,” she said.
Maggie looked down at the dress. She’d never worn anything like it and felt rather silly trying it on. But for some reason she trusted the odd man who was standing to her side, arms crossed, expecting her to comply with his weird demand.
What else was she going to do with her afternoon?
She slipped from the chair and disappeared into a changing room. Jorge hunted around for a pair of heels and Shannon rather enjoyed watching this process happen to someone else for a change. After about ten minutes, Maggie hadn’t come out.
“Everything OK in there?” Shannon called.
“I’m not coming out,” Maggie said.
“I’ll come in and get you,” Jorge threatened, which made Maggie promptly open the door.
Her legs were bare and she was barefoot, but the dress fit her like a glove. The cuff collar fit snug around her neck, and the tiny, sparkling rhinestones ran along the trim all the way down to where it dipped low on her back, right above her tailbone. The shorter hemline made her long legs look even longer, and everything about her popped, from the shock of her red hair to her gleaming pale skin and light blue eyes. Within a moment, Jorge had erased about ten years off of her appearance.
“I look ridiculous,” she said.
“That’s because I’m not done,” he said as he took her hand and pulled her back into the chair. He turned her away from the mirror as he got to work. He pulled out his makeup case and dug around for the perfect palate. He sent a side glance to Shannon. “Bring back memories, Shan?”
She laughed. “Indeed. It’s a lot more fun to see it happen to someone else.”
“He did this to you?” Maggie asked as Jorge bent toward her and started to apply makeup.
“I had the nerve to appear before him in ill-fitting clothes,” Shannon explained. “Top was too big, skirt was too small. And I didn’t have an ounce of makeup on.”
Jorge shuddered. “I still have nightmares,” he said with a teasing scowl.
“What’d he do to you?” Maggie wanted to know exactly what she had gotten herself into.
“Waved his magic wand,” Shannon said. “Turned me from an ugly stepsister into the belle of the ball. He also was responsible for me being cast on a dating TV show.”
At that, Maggie gripped both handles of the makeup chair and tried to rise, but Jorge sat her right back down again. “Don’t worry,” he told her. “We’re not casting for that for another few months.”
“So why are you doing this?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Why does one open curtains on a sunny day?” he pondered. “I like to spotlight pretty things.”
Maggie had to laugh at that. “Good luck,” she said.
Jorge turned to Shan. “No one ever believes me.”
But within ten minutes, when he finally turned Maggie back to the mirror, even she was shocked into stunned disbelief. Unlike he had done with Shan’s mousy locks, Jorge didn’t touch Maggie’s perfectly scarlet tresses. Instead he had flattened every unruly curl until it fell into a sleek curtain around her face, partially covering her face with side-swept bangs. Her eyes stood out with pale pink, shimmery pearl eye shadow. He used a dark gray pencil to line her eyes, and filled out her eyelashes. Her lips had the faintest blush of a pout, and she was surprised how little she looked “made up” after all the time he’d spent.
She looked natural and youthful… and undeniably sexy. “You are a magician,” she said softly.
He laughed. “I just polished the masterpiece,” he said as he handed her a pair of strappy high heels.
By this time she was giddy with the playfulness of it all. She stepped into the heels and let Jorge complete the transformation. “And where am I supposed to go looking like this? I can’t sing so you can’t cast me on the show.”
Jorge grinned. “Well, I’m taken myself so I can’t ask you, but I’m pretty sure you’ll have ten dinner invitations by the time you leave the building.”
Shannon didn’t miss how Maggie’s face fell. “Maybe she only wants one,” Shannon said softly.
Maggie blushed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Before she could head back into the changing room, Shannon twirled her by the arm and steered her from the wardrobe department. “You were looking for Graham, right?”
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Immediately Maggie balked. “I can’t let him see me like this,” she said.
“Why not?”
“Because he’s never seen me like this,” she answered, which made Shannon pick up the pace.
“Then perhaps it’s time he did.”
Graham was on a conference call when the two women popped into the conference room where he’d been hiding. He did a double-take when he saw Maggie, as if he hadn’t recognized her at first. In fact, he thought Shannon was going to introduce him to another contestant, and his first thought was that she was much too pretty to be undiscovered.
“I’ll… uh… call you back, Mike,” he said as he disconnected the call. He turned back to them with his mouth hanging open. “Mags?” he said, although the endearment seemed wildly inappropriate for the goddess who stood before him.
She blushed and Shannon had to pull her further into the room. “I thought you’d want to know what your money is paying for,” Shannon said. “This is what the show stylist can do.”
Graham was speechless. He rose and walked around the table to join them where they stood by the door. “You look amazing, Maggie,” he said with such genuine warmth she could barely look him in the eye.
“Thanks,” she finally said. “I guess I should go wash off all this war paint,” she said, but Shannon didn’t let go of her arm.
“Nonsense,” she said. “Graham, you should totally take her on the town and show her off. It’s the least we can do for her since she indulged Jorge and his fit of creativity.”
“I agree,” Graham said. “What do you say, Mags?”
Maggie looked up in his earnest eyes. Whenever he called her Mags she was putty in his hands. She nodded and then grabbed his empty food tray from his desk. It was why she had been looking for him in the first place, to ensure that he had eaten. He had worked through many lunches since they started production on Fierce, and she was still his nurse, responsible for his care. “I’ll just take care of this first,” she said as she scurried from the room, trying not to trip on the unfamiliar high heels.
The Complete Groupie Trilogy Page 72
