Mythe: A Fairy Tale (6 page)

“Thanks, but I can’t make it,” he declined reluctantly. “Tomorrow is my girlfriend’s birthday and I’m taking her out. I’m really sorry to miss the concert though.”

Richard looked startled, but Josh grinned. “Have you come up with anything good yet?” he asked David. Then he noticed Richard’s confusion and snorted in amusement. “You thought that David and Manda were a couple, didn’t you? Keep up, Richie! I asked David about that last week. Maybe that was when you two were off getting the pizza though. He told me all about his girlfriend, Stacey, and said he couldn’t think of anything special to do for her birthday. I didn’t realize it was tomorrow, though.”

“I still haven’t come up with anything,” David said with a grimace. “It might just end up being a nice dinner and some flowers.”

Richard cast a sheepish look in Manda’s direction and shrugged. “Sorry. I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I seem to do that often recently.”

Manda smiled. “Don’t feel bad. We get that a lot. His last girlfriend wouldn’t even speak to me.”

“Yeah, that one didn’t last long,” David grumbled. “What was I supposed to do, quit my job? She was completely psycho.”

Manda bit her lip to suppress a laugh. That particular young woman had been extremely threatened by David’s friendship with Manda, and no amount of convincing had been able to persuade her that it was completely platonic. David had grown tired of her paranoid jealousy in short order. Manda liked Stacey though. She was confident enough in her relationship with David to take Manda in stride, and the two women were on friendly terms. Stacey, like David, was gregarious and adventure seeking, making her a good match for him.

“Well, thank you for your understanding. Both of you can bring whoever you’d like, of course,” Richard offered. “We have an entire suite.” Addressing David, he continued. “I’ll tell you what, since you haven’t come up with anything else yet, bring Stacey to the concert. We’ll send a car to pick you up early and, in honor of the occasion, we’ll have dinner catered in for all of you in the suite. Then you can come backstage after the show. Would she like that?”

Manda collapsed back in her chair in a fit of giggles. “You should’ve just gotten the autograph and called it good!” she teased David, using her best “I-told-you-so” voice. He gave her a dirty look but thanked Richard with his next breath.

“She’d love that! Thanks!”

“It’s our pleasure, really. It’s the least we can do. We’ll have a car pick you up at, say, 6:30 then?” David quickly agreed, thanking Richard again.

“Write down your addresses and phone numbers,” Richard instructed David and Manda, “and we’ll take care of everything.” David jotted his information down on a pad of paper and handed it to Manda.

“Thank you, but you really don’t have to do that,” Manda objected self-consciously. “I can drive.”

“We don’t have to,” Josh agreed, “but we want to.” He smiled his dazzling smile at Manda and she couldn’t help but smile back.

“Just say thank you, Manda,” David said, taking the paper back and adding Manda’s address and phone number below his own and then handing it to Josh. “We’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Good!” Josh enthused with a satisfied smirk. “Tomorrow night then.”

Richard stood up and shook David’s hand. “I look forward to meeting your Stacey.” Then he turned to Manda. “And I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night, too. The great thing about the suites is that you can enjoy the concert without having to deal with all the humans.” He winked at Manda, causing Joshua to look at him sharply. Manda laughed but, still wary of Josh’s possible interest in her, hoped that the younger man’s disapproving look had nothing of jealousy in it.

David, oblivious to any uncomfortable undercurrents, groaned in dismay. “Oh, please don’t encourage her antisocial behavior!”

“We don’t stand a chance,” Josh commiserated. “Richard would be a hermit if he had his way.”

Richard and Manda rolled their eyes and sighed in unison, then laughed together. David eyed them both and groaned again. “They’re a matched set. Oh, we are in so much trouble!”

“I think you two have heaped enough abuse on Manda and me for one day,” Richard interjected dryly. “Come on, Josh. Let’s get out of their way. We’ll go work on that new song.”

“See ya, guys,” Josh said as he stood and followed Richard to the door. Then, too soon for Manda’s liking, they were gone. She exhaled and dropped onto the sofa, propping her bare feet up on the coffee table, crinkling one of the rejected designs in the process.

“Well, that went well,” David observed, propping his feet up beside Manda’s. “It’s going to be a lot of fun working with those guys.”

“Yeah, they’re really nice,” Manda agreed with a sigh. David eyed her speculatively, but wisely said nothing. “Well, let’s get to work I suppose.”

They each took one of the logo designs and set to work modifying and perfecting. Manda worked on her favorite again, jealously refusing to relinquish control of it. She felt connected to it and had been relieved when Richard singled it out as his favorite. At five o’clock they called it quits.

“So, are you going to tell Stacey about the concert, or are you going to surprise her?” Manda asked David as they waited for the elevator.

“I think I’ll surprise her. Especially about meeting the guys afterward. Oh! I almost forgot. I left her birthday present on my desk.” The elevator arrived just then. “I have to run back and get it. Don’t wait for me. I’ll see you tomorrow night!” David waved as he dashed back through the glass doors. Manda stepped onto the empty elevator, already looking forward to seeing Richard again.

Chapter 4

T
he roof of the high-rise across the street offered a perfect view of the girl as she left the building and waited for her train. She might be a problem. She was very pretty, in a girl-next-door sort of way. She looked quite young, however. Maybe too young. It was too soon to tell.

Lizzy, the stage manager, had seemed likely. She was more mature and they shared a common interest in music. But even though they had been thrown into close proximity for quite a long time, she had not turned out to be his type at all. Those months of vigilance had resulted in nothing…which was all for the best.

The girl boarded the northbound train and disappeared from sight. A quick jump from the rooftop railing and a short dive followed by a gliding descent on black wings to a street light brought the girl back into view through the train window. She was scribbling in a small leather book and paying no attention to the people around her. So unaware.

What were her intentions? Had she been waiting for him in the courtyard that morning, or had it just been an accidental meeting? She’d certainly seemed pleased to see him. That wasn’t unusual, of course. He had thousands of admirers. It could become a problem, however, if they were going to be working together a great deal.

The train pulled away from the station and picked up speed as it traveled out of the city, but keeping up with it was no problem. It was important to see where the girl lived in order to prepare for any eventuality. Being away from the hotel wasn’t ideal but couldn’t be avoided in this instance. There was probably just enough time before they left for their evening outing to follow her to her house and get back.

Only one young boy noticed the black bird that shadowed the train all the way from downtown to the suburbs. Everyone else was, as usual, conveniently oblivious.

Chapter 5

A
t 6:20 the next night, Manda and Katie were dressed and waiting excitedly for the car to pick them up. Katie had stayed over at Manda’s the night before and then the two had spent the day shopping for new outfits for the evening. With Katie’s input, Manda had picked out an expensive pair of slim black jeans, a black silk shirt layered over a deep blue tank and black boots. Katie wore a similar pair of slim jeans, but in faded blue, with a fitted tee shirt and brown leather jacket. Manda had vetoed the precarious high heels her niece had wanted, and instead bought her a pair of leather boots that matched the jacket. Katie had received special dispensation from her mother to wear more makeup than was usually allowed. “Just for this one night? It’s a special occasion!” she had wheedled. As a result, Manda, who always looked young for her age, and Katie, who with the extra makeup appeared considerably older than her 13 years, looked more like sisters than aunt and niece.

When Manda had picked Katie up the night before and given her the news about the concert, Katie had, not surprisingly, been ecstatic. Manda refrained from mentioning the backstage visit though. She knew David wanted to surprise Stacey, and suspected that Katie might let it slip in her excitement.

“Do I look okay?” the younger girl asked, peeking out the window yet again as they waited for the car to arrive.

“You look very pretty, and very grown-up—at least sixteen or...,” Manda didn’t get to finish her sentence.

“I think the car’s here,” Katie exclaimed, practically dancing with excitement.

Manda looked out the window as a sleek silver Mercedes pulled up to the curb in front of her house. She picked up her small black handbag and quickly checked her reflection in the compact mirror inside.

“You look awesome, Aunt Manda,” Katie assured her, bouncing impatiently by the front door. “Let’s go.”

Manda smiled indulgently, snapped the mirror closed, and slipped it back into her purse. The doorbell rang just as Katie flung open the door.

“I’m here to pick up Ms. Jensen and her guests,” the driver announced politely.

“I’m Amanda Jensen,” Manda informed him, “and it will just be the two of us.” They followed the driver to the car and slid into the spacious backseat as he held the door for them.

“It’ll be about a twenty minute ride to the arena. I have your tickets here.” He handed Manda a white envelope. “Please help yourself to anything in the bar and enjoy the ride.”

“This is cool,” Katie whispered after he shut the door. Manda winked at her and made a show of cuddling into the plush leather upholstery.

Katie’s explored the compartments around them until she found the soft drinks. “Can I?”

“Sure,” Manda answered. “Help yourself. And if there’s a bottled water in there, give me one, too.”

Katie handed Manda a bottle of spring water and took a can of cola for herself. She settled into the seat and stretched her booted feet out in front of her.

”If my friends could see me now,” she sighed.

Manda reached into her purse and pulled out a small camera. She snapped several quick shots of Katie before stashing it away again.

“You can at least show them the pictures,” she suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Katie agreed. She chattered on excitedly about which
Rain
songs were her favorites, and speculated about which they would sing and how her friends would react when she told them about it. Manda nodded at the appropriate times but was really only half listening, instead mentally replaying her encounter with Richard the morning before.

Very quickly they arrived at the arena, where numerous vendors created a carnival atmosphere. Eager fans milled around outside the venue’s rows of glass doors, waiting impatiently to get in, though it was still very early. The driver pulled to the curb a few yards from the VIP entrance and walked around to open the door for Manda and Katie. Eyes turned to watch as the two emerged from the limousine, accompanied by a few wolf-whistles.

“Enjoy the concert,” the driver told them. “I’ll be here to take you home afterward. Just call me at this number when you’re ready.” He handed Manda a business card.

“Thank you,” Manda said appreciatively, tucking the card into her purse. She led Katie toward the glass doors, past the waiting crowds and through the VIP entrance. Manda leaned toward Katie and whispered conspiratorially. “I love this part! Straight to the front of the line!”

“Me, too,” Katie whispered back excitedly.

Manda handed their tickets to the gate attendant, who waved them under a scanner and then glanced at them cursorily, already beginning to wave Manda and Katie through with a polite smile. She stopped when she read the suite name, though. “Oh. You’re in the Aspen suite. If you’ll wait here for a moment, someone will escort you.” She motioned to a uniformed man several yards away. The man approached and the attendant gave him quiet instructions that Manda couldn’t hear. The man nodded and stepped away. He spoke quickly into the radio he wore and then nodded at the attendant and to Manda and Katie, and resumed his original position.

Katie looked at Manda quizzically, but Manda just shrugged and shook her head. She’d attended events in the suites a few times before, as thank you gifts from Mr. Aronson or clients, but she’d never been asked to wait like this. She hoped there wasn’t a problem.

Within moments a suited man appeared and took the tickets from the attendant. He smiled warmly at Manda and Katie. “Good evening. I apologize for the wait. My name is Jonathan and I’m the suite concierge this evening. It’s my pleasure to escort you up, if you’ll follow me.” He led them to an elevator that was tucked into an inconspicuous corner near the entrance. “You must be Ms. Jensen?” he said, half questioningly. Manda nodded and he smiled and nodded back. “Mr. Ellis and his guest have already arrived.” He took them up in the elevator and out onto the suite-lined concourse that encircled the arena. “The two Mr. Raines have asked that we get you anything you’d like, so please feel free to let me know if you have any requests.”