Read The Complete Groupie Trilogy Online
Authors: Ginger Voight
The Complete Groupie Trilogy (15 page)
He wasn’t saying anything I didn’t already know. But I couldn’t really betray my loyalty to Jasper, especially when he had given me my break into the field I wanted. “I can take care of myself,” I said. “But thank you for your concern.”
“Okay,” he said. “But if you ever need a job…”
I laughed. “I have enough as it is. But thanks. Speaking of which…” I checked my watch. I had a full schedule and I had to cut the breakfast short, though I found I really didn’t want to. Graham was comforting company.
He rose slightly from his chair as I stood. “Thanks for sharing breakfast with me, Andy,” he said, this time reaching in to give me a peck on the cheek. “See you tonight.”
I nodded and rushed toward the door, just in time to see Vanni and Lourdes walk in. Didn’t anyone eat at Las Vegas buffets anymore?
I paused only briefly to say hello, and I couldn’t miss that Vanni had already noticed Graham at table behind me. He didn’t say anything but his mouth thinned in a line.
Was he pissed? Was he jealous?
Or was he just pouting that I might have casually slept with someone other than him?
“I’ll see you later,” I offered as I rushed out the door to begin my crazy day.
While I was out and in between errands I decided to stop into a clothing boutique all on my own. Iris had given me one dress for a special occasion, but suddenly I felt woefully unprepared for the rest of the weekend. The only other special dress was one I had already worn, which normally wasn’t a problem for me but I supposed Iris’s fa
shion neurosis was wearing off.
When I left an hour later I juggled three bags between two arms, figuring I had already checked a bag so I might as well fill it.
I was able to change into something more appropriate to be seen in public with the band as I ushered them over to the television station for the early afternoon news. By 6:00 p.m. I had completed three costume changes and was on my way back to the box office for the next concert, this time wearing an outfit of my own design.
I followed the example set by the other people who had gone to the concert the night before, with studded jeans, and a black top that had six silver link chains that held it together in front.
With my new bra that plunged deep and held the girls up high, I had cleavage that turned a few heads as I stalked through the casino in strappy, high-heeled sandals. I topped the ensemble off with big silver loop earrings and a black cadet hat – the only contributions to the night from Iris.
Graham was out of his V.I.P. seat in the balcony the minute I stepped in. “Wow,” he remarked as I took my seat beside him. “You could stop traffic in that,” he grinned as he gave me a friendly peck on the chee
k.
Before we had a chance to settle into our seats Lourdes arrived in a leopard print dress that clung to her like a second skin. I tried my level best not to feel ridiculous, which was a lot easier when I realized Graham barely noticed her even though she clearly recognized him. She gave him a smile, which he returned politely before turning back to me.
Twenty minutes later the lights went down for the first act, and that was when I spotted Jasper enter our area and take his spot next to Lourdes. He didn’t notice Graham or me where we sat in the second row, but he greeted Lourdes with an affectionate kiss on the cheek before they both turned to face the stage.
For as annoyed as he looked the night before, he seemed positively cheerful tonight, even though Athena was still noticeably absent. Her show started that weekend at another hotel, and odds are she was there rehearsing and putting th
e final touches on her project.
This was clearly Jasper’s baby, because of all the time, energy and expense he had sunken into DIB. But oddly, he didn’t stay for their act. The minute the guys launched into “Make it Happen,” he made a very discreet exit.
Graham sent me a look, and I simply shrugged. I had no idea where he went. Possibly he went backstage or to oversee the technical aspects of the show. I soon ceased to care as Vanni took center stage. No matter how many times I had seen him perform, he still took my breath away. I forgot everyone else in the balcony and just lost myself in the experience.
I nearly came out of my skin when Graham touched my hand during, “Baby, Say My Name.” That was the song we danced to, and he used the opportunity to make contact with me, t
o express his ongoing interest.
I quickly shot a glance over to Lourdes, so she couldn’t see me getting cozy with Jasper’s competitor, and that was wh
en I realized she was gone too.
Where would she go? I thought the point was to put on the show she was the devoted girlfriend?
I walked with Graham down to the after-party, somewhat cautious that Jasper and Lourdes would already be there and he would find my choice of companion inappropriate. However they were nowhere to be found, even though the guys from the band were already set up at the bar.
Unlike the rest of the trip, Vanni actually looked in good spirits. He laughed and drank, and had an immediate smile for me when I walked up.
Until he saw who was behind me.
I made somewhat awkward introductions; I was sure that Jasper would walk in any minute and assume the worst. The anxiety had me wound up so tightly I thought my skin might split in two, so much so I literally jumped when the music came on.
Vanni grabbed my hand and led me out onto the dance floor. I didn’t even have a chance to accept or decline.
Being thrust up against his body to the music really didn’t help me much.
“So what’s up?” he asked as his eyes bore into mine.
I shrugged. “You should know. You’ve been here the entire time.”
“We’ve been busy,” he said, in his own special code referring to Lourdes.
“And you’ve been a surly bear,” I commented. “What’s wrong?”
He sighed. “It’s complicated. But hopefully it will be over soon.” His eyes traveled over my face. “God, I’ve missed you.”
I looked away. I didn’t know how to respond, or even if I should. Instead I glanced over at Graham, who watched Vanni and me thoughtfully from the bar. I started to pull away, “We should probably stop…”
He responded by pulling me tighter. “Not tonight,” he said.
“Why tonight?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” he said cryptically. “Don’t give up on me yet, Andy.”
The next song was his song, playing in the same order as the night before. “
Tonight’s our night, shut the door. It’s something I’ve been waiting for. Fill my arms, taste my kiss, let heaven fall from your lips. Say my name, and say it once more. Baby, say my name, I’ve got what you’ve been waiting for.”
My eyes locked on his lips and I couldn’t help but remember lying on the bed under him, hearing him command the same thing he demanded in song. Fire raced through my veins when he leaned toward me and said breathlessly against my ear, “I wrote that in December.”
It was then I decided that he must be trying to kill me. Why else would he tell me this? Why would he do this to me after a couple of months of innocent interaction? Why would he test my crumbling resolve, when he already knew he couldn’t give me what I needed? “I gotta go,” I muttered as I wrenched away from his arms and stalked out the door.
Aside from Vanni, who stood helplessly where I left him, only Graham seemed to notice or care that I was leaving. But if either of them thought about chasing me, they must have reconsidered. I was halfway out to the strip before I stopped running.
And it was there that the mystery was suddenly, and accidentally, solved.
A limo pulled up to the doors, and the door was opened to Lourdes. As she stepped out she adjusted her dress back down around her knees and smoothed her mussed hair. Jasper followed, wiping away the dark red lipstick from his face
with an expensive handkerchief.
I blended with the crowd going back into the hotel so that the clandestine lovers wouldn’t see me. It suddenly clicked, everything that Vanni had tried to say but couldn’t, and Jacob had alluded
to but stopped short of saying.
They weren’t using Lourdes to sell Vanni’s music. They were using Vanni’s music to conceal Lourdes.
And that was why Jasper was so angry the night before, watching Lourdes cuddle with Vanni right in front of him… like she was punishing him.
And Athena was willing to take up roots in Vegas rather than continue reigning in New York as a pop diva. This threw a wrench in the machinery and left Jasper at the mercy of his women, who were probably ready to make him choose.
“
Don’t give up on me yet, Andy
,” Vanni had said. Tonight! Would he be free tonight? Free to do the things he couldn’t do before?
I beat Jasper and Lourdes to the club but by minutes only. Vanni was out on the dance floor with someone else, a raven-haired beauty who had no problems grinding against him to his own suggestive music. I searched the darkened room for Graham, but I didn’t see him anywhere. I felt bad for running out like I did, but it wasn’t like I owed him any explanations. And I wouldn’t know what to say to him if I did.
Lourdes came in the club first, and she prowled right over to her man on the dance floor, staking her claim. The brunette pouted as Vanni twirled into Lourdes’s arms, who went easily from her backseat tryst with Jasper to grinding herself possessively against Vanni.
He didn’t look especially happy about it, but he didn’t fight it either. He glanced my way and his eyes widened when he realized I was watching. There was nothing he could do to communicate what was going on under the façade, and nothing I could do to let him know it was no longer necessary to hide it.
Jasper came in a few minutes later, looking unruffled and lipstick-free. He saw me standing by the bar and indicated for me to join him at a private table.
My heart nearly beat a hole in my chest as I approached him, feeling a bit like I’d been busted, though technically I wasn’t the one screwing around on my wife.
“Andy, sit,” he instructed and scooted his chair to the side so I could join him. I did, though I still shook in my shoes waiting for the bomb to drop. “You’ve done excellent work for the band and branding their image. I just really couldn’t be happier with the results you’ve had to your campaign. I think it is going to be especially important as we move forward and the album is released to keep all negative press to the absolute minimum.”
“Of course,” I agreed. “But what negative press could there be? The band is getting excellent reviews.”
He waved his hand. “That’s the music. I’m talking about the public perception of the group as a whole, and Vanni in particular.”
I said nothing as I waited.
“It hasn’t escaped my notice that you are fond of Vanni,” he announced as he gave me a very direct, meaningful look. “I just want you to remember that there are two different sides to stardom. The one that goes towards it and the one that goes away.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that no matter what you hear, or want to believe, his relationship with Lourdes is as intact as ever. And must remain so to get… maximum benefit out of my services.”
My mouth dropped open. Was he leveraging Vanni’s career against this fabricated relationship?
He couldn’t do that, could he?
He leaned forward. “They’re going to be making a very important announcement during the show tomorrow night. Be prepared to cover it exactly as it is presented.”
He patted my hand and without another look out onto the dance floor where Lourdes gyrated against Vanni, he left the club.
Vanni watched me with sad eyes as I made my own departure, but this time it wasn’t running away from him.
It was running to someone who could help me save him from whatever it was Jasper had blackmailed him to do.
I knocked on room #1225 sometime around midnight, and it took a moment for someone to rouse and lumber to the door. “Who is it?” Graham asked through the door.
“Andy,” I said.
There was a momentary pause, and then the locks unlatched and the door swung open to where Graham gathered his robe around his loose pajama bottoms and bare chest.
“I’m sorry to come here like this, but I need to talk to you.”
He stepped back and let me inside. “Would you like a drink?” he asked as he shut the door behind me
and followed me into the suite.
I shook my head and turned to face him. “You said that Jasper knew how to make people and break people. Does he use his company to bully young musicians to fulfill things outside their contracts?”
Graham sighed and slumped into one of the chairs. “I don’t know specifics,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “At least nothing I could prove.”
I sat on the sofa opposite him. “What if someone is under a contract? What could he do to sabotage their career? Legally?”
Graham shrugged. “Things can be made a little more complicated, depending on how many loopholes someone has to work with. It would depend on what they’re promised under the original contract. Did it get looked over by a lawyer?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know anything except I just had a conversation with Jasper that sounded very much like a veiled threat.”
