Love Evolution (2 page)

CHAPTER 2

Marcus Anthony was trying very hard to keep his cool.
‘
Ok, ok. Remember. This is the new and improved me,
’
he reminded himself, gritting his teeth. He
’
d done a lot of soul searching during his thirty days of inpatient drug rehab. His therapist had warned him he needed to learn how to deal with his obsessive compulsive tendencies. Plus, his inability to control his temper had cost him his lead guitarist. He kept repeating the mantra,
‘
I am in control of me.
’
It didn't really work.
He hated this kind of crap.

Luckily, Stephen ran interference for him, or he would have added a lot more fuel to the rumors that he was difficult to work with. Black Cat Records
’
CEO Mary Timmons was trying to pressure him into filling the lead guitarist position with a woman. Going toe to toe on the issue with that militant feminist had him near the boiling point.

‘
Come on,
’
he thought. For one thing, had there really been a serious female guitar player since Nancy Wilson of Heart? Besides that, a girl just wouldn
’
t bring the right dynamic to his group. Brutal Strength was a
real
band for
effing
sake. Yeah, he might be a bit of a chauvinist pig because to him female guitarists just weren
’
t as good as their male counterparts. In his experience,
they usually flaunted their
looks to compensate for an overall lack of talent. He wanted nothing to do with women.
Any of them.
Especially since Veronica.

Throughout the whole excruciating day, Marcus had reluctantly endured listening to chicks audition. If Brutal Strength had still been with Time Warner, he would have had to do this their way, but after Keith left, the group had broken off from the big conglomerate that had represented them over the past ten years. He had been tired of the pressure they put on him and had finally built up enough professional clout to call his own shots, for the most part. That
’
s why these auditions chafed him. With Black Cat, a much smaller independent label, he had final veto power over decisions directly
effecting
the group. It had been one of the terms he had insisted upon when he signed with them. Marcus just hoped they didn
’
t force him to play that card right from the start.

*****

Stephen called Trevor early the next morning.
“
Hey man, you guys get in ok last night?
”

“
Yeah, thanks. I always love visiting Vancouver. How are you?
”

“
Not so great. Listen, I wanted to give you a heads up before you guys get over here this morning. Marcus had a full day of it yesterday. Mary, being who she is, sent him only women to
audition. By the end of the day, he was livid, calling them all
‘
no talent eye candy.
’
He refuses to even consider a female replacement. Anyway, I
’
m hoping he will be in a better mood today. I am sure he will be thrilled to have a male guitarist try out. See you guys in a couple of hours.
”
 

After Stephen hung up, Trevor stared at the phone, dropping down onto the bed. He took off his glasses and started rubbing his forehead with both hands. Crap, crap, crap. He couldn
’
t believe this. In his mind he went back over the cell phone call with Stephen, remembering the spotty connection. No telling what Stephen had or hadn
’
t heard. It didn
’
t matter now anyway.
Poor Avery.
He
’
d brought the kid all the way out here to Vancouver, and now she wouldn
’
t even have a chance to try out.

Trevor sat in his hotel room in a daze. What was he going to do? On a good day the job pool for a woman guitarist was limited. Equal opportunity did not apply in the music business. He didn
’
t have anything else lined up for Avery and knew Justin
’
s death had left her in a financial bind. 

After years in the industry, Trevor had learned to rely on his instincts. He knew deep down this was a good match. Stephen had a history of being a General Manager who ran a tight ship and frowned on drug use in his groups. That was one of probably a myriad of reasons Marcus
had
switched to him when the group left Time Warner. It also didn
’
t hurt that they were cousins. Not only that, Brutal Strength
’
s bassist happened to be Marcus
’
older brother. It was a real family affair, a perfect environment in which Avery could thrive.

He closed his eyes and gave it some more thought. Giving up wasn
’
t an option. So Stephen thought Avery
was a
male, did he?
All right.
Why correct him? A crazy idea popped into his head. What if they disguised Avery as a guy? Hey, it worked in movies like
Mulan
and
Yentl
. 
Sort of.

Trevor put his glasses back on, got up, and walked down the hall to Avery
’
s hotel room, hoping to convince her to go along with his idea. They didn
’
t have much time. The audition was in less than two hours now.
“
Sit down, Avery,
”
he told her when she let him in.
“
There was a mix up when I spoke to Stephen on the cell last week. He got the impression you were a guy.
”

“
Really?
Ok. What difference does that make?
”

“
Because yesterday Marcus rejected every single woman who auditioned.
Stephen said he was really on the warpath. He refuses to even consider having a female replacement for Keith.
”
 

‘
That
’
s just great,
’
Avery thought as she closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands, her long hair forming a flame colored curtain around her. What was she going to do now? Campanella
’
s deadline was coming up fast.

“
Listen, Avery. This is such a great opportunity for you. It would be a crime to waste it. Chances like this are a once in a lifetime deal, you know?
”

She raised her head.
“
I realize that.  So what? It
’
s not like I can magically change into a guy, Trevor
.
”

He fiddled nervously with the nosepiece on his glasses.
“
But maybe you can. I know this will sound crazy, but what if we go ahead with the tryout
…
with you dressed up like a guy?
”

“
What?
”
She looked at him incredulously.
“
That would never work. Are you nuts?
”

“
Possibly.
Hear
me out, though. Once they realize how talented you are, they won
’
t care if you
’
re a dude or a
dudette
. You
’
ll get the gig, and you can tell them the truth when the time is right.
”
When she didn
’
t stop him immediately, he took that as an encouraging sign and continued,
“
It could work Avery. It works in the movies.
”

She rolled her eyes.
“
This isn
’
t a movie, Trevor.
”

“
Yeah, I know kid. But just say you
’
ll try and then we
’
ll
see, ok? What do we have to lose?
”

Avery sat down on the edge of the bed and put her hand over her mouth as thoughts ran through her head. What would be the worst that could happen? They would laugh and say,
“
Nice try, but no.
”
At least they would know how desperate she was for the chance. It was unlikely she
’
d be blacklisted over it, and anyway, she had little alternative. She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighed heavily, and glanced up.
“
Ok, Trevor. I don
’
t think it will work, but at this point I
’
m willing to give anything a try.
”

“
Ok.
”
He was afraid to say more. He didn
’
t want her to change her mind. She still looked uncertain. Avery let him push her toward the bathroom. He instructed her to wash off all her makeup and pull back her hair. When she came out, he held out his Yankee
’
s ball cap and a plaid shirt for her to wear.
“
Try these on.
”

Avery stuffed her hair up into the cap and buttoned up the shirt over the one she had on.
“
How do I look?
”
 

Trevor crossed his arms and studied her. Although the shirt was long enough to hide the curves of her hips, it did nothing to disguise her breasts. Sheepishly, he motioned to her chest.
“
Uh, we
’
ve got a slight problem up top.
”
Twin spots of color appeared on Avery
’
s cheeks. After a moment of consideration, he remembered how they
’
d done it in the movies.
“
I
’
m going to the drug store across the street,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ll be right back.
”

Trevor ran across the street to the Rexall. He soon returned with a wide ace bandage. Without making eye contact with Avery, he handed it to her.
“
Wrap this tightly around your chest. To flatten out, you know
…”
  

Avery turned completely crimson but went in the bathroom and did as he instructed. When she came back out again, Trevor went very still. He swallowed several times to clear his throat. 

Wondering why Trevor looked so spooked, Avery moved to the dresser mirror to see for herself. When she saw her reflection, she couldn
’
t believe it and blinked back tears. The resemblance was unsettling.

“
Oh Avery, you look just like Justin
…”
Trevor trailed off.

CHAPTER 3

At Black Cat Records, Trevor waved to the receptionist and led Avery down the carpeted hallway to the appropriate recording room where she unpacked her Ibanez electric guitar and started to warm up. Stepping back out into the hall, he studied the framed gold records on the wall before taking a deep steadying breath. Hell, what they were doing was probably only slightly illegal, and after all wasn
’
t everything fair in love and
rock
‘
n roll?

Stephen came down the corridor and spotted Trevor.
“
Hey man, how
’
s it going?
”

“
Good. Good,
”
Trevor responded, turning to face the tall, blond band manager.
“
Where
’
s Marcus?
”

“
He
’
s getting a Coke.
”
Stephen paused, glancing back over his shoulder.
“
I
gotta
tell you, he
’
s still in a lousy mood.
”

“
Oh well,
”
Trevor shook his head,
“
we were prepared for that, thanks to you. Appreciate your call this morning.
”

“
No problem.
”
Hearing the music coming out of the recording room, he pointed, asking,
“
Is that Avery in there?
”
 

“
Yeah.
”
Trevor paused, mentally editing to the right gender
. "He
wanted to warm up a little bit.
”
 

“
Great.
”
Stephen entered the control booth, reaching back to hold the door open for Trevor.
“
We can listen to them in here.
”
He gave a cursory glance in Avery
’
s direction as they sat down.

“
What did Marcus think of Avery
’
s demo?
”
Trevor asked him.

“
He hasn
’
t heard it yet. He was swamped yesterday. It blew me away, though, sounded like it might be all original material. Who wrote the lyrics? Avery?
”

Trevor nodded.
“
He
’
s a solid lyricist, something that would be a huge asset to the group.
”
He took off his glasses
and wiped
them on the hem of his shirt before putting them back on.
“
Wait a minute.  Are you telling me Marcus agreed to Avery
’
s audition without even listening to his demo? He must have a lot of trust in you, Stephen.
”

He shrugged.
“
I guess he does, at least as much as he trusts anyone. This business tends to make cynics of us all. We
’
re family, though, cousins on our mother
’
s side. We grew up practically next door to each other. Had each other
’
s backs, you know?
”

“
Yeah, I remembered that
…”
Trevor stopped in midsentence as Marcus came barreling through the door of the recording room like a runaway freight train. 

Startled, Avery looked up at the tall, dark haired, visibly agitated man in front of her.

‘
We are so dead,
’
thought Trevor as he watched Marcus rake a hand through already disheveled hair. It looked like he
’
d been doing that a lot. Trevor held his breath, sure that at any moment the charade would be over.  

Marcus nodded at Avery once in acknowledgment. She slid off her stool and went over to introduce herself, but he stopped her with a cold glance and said abruptly,
“
You ready to do this?
”

“
Sure,
”
she replied, pulling her cap down lower on her head and backing away from him. Anxiety was making her heart race out of control, and her nerves were all jangly. Underneath the bandage and multiple clothing layers, her skin heated up, and a bead of sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades. Frowning, she picked up her guitar, clipped on the shoulder strap, and began worrying the nylon strip between her fingertips.

Marcus made eye contact with Stephen
.
“
Ready
, man?
”

Stephen leaned into the
mic.
“
All set, Marcus.
”
Turning in Avery
’
s direction, he told her,
“
Alright Avery, show us what you got, man. You pick the song.
”

Marcus gave Avery the once over.
‘
Man, this one looks young.
A real baby face.
Feminine looking.
Big green eyes.
Bet he got picked on all the time growing up. Way too pretty for a guy.  Prediction: epic fail.
’

At twenty-nine, Marcus was burned out and cynical. He
’
d only agreed to come back into the studio because they
’
d promised him total control of the process. After years in the business, somewhere along the way, he
’
d lost his passion for making music and gotten duped into thinking fame and fortune was the goal. Marcus had both now, but inside he still felt unfulfilled.  Really, it hadn
’
t been since their first album, before the label got a hold of
them, that
they had put out anything of real merit in his opinion. This time around he was determined to do things his
own way. He would regain his artistic integrity if it killed him, and if it wasn
’
t commercially successful, so be it.

Tentatively, Avery glanced over at Marcus, before asking in a voice barely above a whisper,
“
How about I do a run through of
‘
Anthem?
’”
 

Marcus cocked his head to the side, pleasantly surprised by Avery
’
s choice.
“
That
’
s fine.
”

Up in the booth, Stephen grinned knowingly and thought,
‘
Score one for Avery.
’
Stephen had a feeling about this one.
“
Anthem
”
was a song off Brutal Strength
’
s first album. Incidentally, it was the only album Marcus thought was any good. He leaned forward expectantly. If Avery played live as well as he had on the recording, they might just have their guy.

Avery held her guitar neck out, away from her body, and hesitated. When she and Justin played, she often started with a dramatic windmill motion a la Pete Townshend, but she didn
’
t think Marcus would be impressed. So without any fanfare, she launched directly into the dizzying rock intro for
“
Anthem.
”
It sounded a lot like Van Halen
’
s
“
I
’
m the One,
”
starting out with combinations of similar repeating, swirling riffs, then segueing into a series of high pitched notes that had to be pinched off with lightning speed. Avery effortlessly executed the demanding passages, her fingers flying over the
fretboard
.

Marcus let out a breath he didn
’
t realize he
’
d been holding.
‘
This guy has skills,
’
he thought. Not many people he knew could play like that- their ex-guitarist being one of them. It didn
’
t slip his notice that Avery added in some improvised guitar slides.
Very ballsy, very creative.
 

Avery totally lost herself in the music. She and Justin often covered
“
Anthem
”
as an encore to their act. At the spot where the lyrics came in, she automatically stepped up, putting her lips to the microphone to sing. Marcus surprised her when he preemptively took the lead on vocals. She paused to listen for a moment, letting the smooth sound of his voice wash over her. His vocal range was very accessible and appealing, like Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters. Avery followed his lead, modulating her voice an octave higher to blend perfectly with his, her bluesy breathy voice recalling Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac. Together their melded voices filled the sound room.   

Marcus
’
previous scowl disappeared, and his face lightened. His entire demeanor radiated the pleasure he felt performing with someone with whom he was in total sync. Sharing his joy, Avery
’
s body shifted back and forth in time with the rhythm.

Marcus stared at him long after they both had faded out on vocals and he had played the final note on his guitar. He smiled. This was what he was looking for, the reason he had wanted a
male guitarist all along. Where had they found this guy and why hadn
’
t they brought him in yesterday? It would have saved them all a lot of grief.

Singing with Marcus had been incredible for Avery. She had felt an instant musical connection with him that was difficult to explain.
However sweet the moment, overwhelming longing for Justin turned it bitter.
The constant pain of her loss was like a physical wound making her chest feel all stretched out and taut inside. Helpless to stop them, tears brimmed in her eyes. 

Noticing the tears, Marcus thought,
‘
What the hell is up with that?
’
making a mental note to ask Stephen about it later. The last thing they needed, given his own recent history, was to bring someone else into the group who was emotionally unstable.

Up in the booth, Stephen and Trevor swiveled their chairs around to face each other and tapped their knuckles together in celebration.
“
Where have you been hiding this guy, Trevor? I can
’
t believe I
’
ve never heard of him,
”
Stephen said, shaking his head.
“
He
’
s a real talent.
”
 

Trevor muttered softly,
“
I knew it.
”
Nothing personal against Keith.
He was a great guitarist, but he didn
’
t play with half of the passion Avery did and had nowhere near her vocal capabilities.
‘
Not that I
’
m biased,
’
Trevor thought.

Sliding off his stool, Marcus moved next to Avery.
“
Hey.
”
He cleared his throat as Avery swiped at her eyes and glanced up.
“
That kicked ass, kid.
”
She smiled timidly, and he smiled gently back.
“
Hold on just a sec. Let me get my Gibson. I want you to show me that thing you did with the intro. I really liked it, a lot.
”

While the two of them huddled together going over chords, Stephen told Trevor,
“
Your guy
’
s off to a good start. I don
’
t have to tell you, Marcus is usually a hard nut to crack. We have a couple more auditions we are obligated to do, but my money
’
s on Avery. Marcus has the final say, though. I
’
ll get back to you soon and let you know what he decides.
”

“
Sounds great,
”
Trevor replied, then leaned over to speak into the mic,
“
Hey, Avery.
”
At the sound of his voice, Marcus and Avery jumped apart, having completely forgotten that they had an audience.
“
Let
’
s get going.
”
 

Avery turned toward Trevor, blushing, embarrassed that she and Marcus had been standing so close together.
‘
Do guys blush?
’
Oh man, this was way too confusing. She should never have gone along with this crazy idea.

Just then, Marcus put his warm hand on her shoulder. She had noticed how long and masculine his fingers were, and wondered if the pads were rough and calloused from years of playing like hers were. His hands were not the only thing she found attractive about the lead singer of Brutal Strength. He was tall, over six feet, with a narrow build. His unpretentious black t-shirt stretched tightly over a sculpted chest. Dark
brown hair fell untamed
to broad shoulders, on him, a good look. A strong nose, a chiseled jaw, and sky blue eyes emphasized by thick, long dark eyelashes just added to the overall appeal. The pictures she had seen in magazines didn
’
t do him justice. Marcus Anthony filled the room with his presence.