Strings (19 page)

*****

This is Melissa,’ Luke said proudly as he introduced her to Sonny Lee, who had turned up at their launch party unexpectedly. Excitement was flowing through Luke as he attempted to maintain a ‘cool’ rock star image.

             
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ Sonny said, taking her hand gently.

             
It was Melissa’s turn to act as though it was nothing at all, like she was used to mixing with rock stars every day.

             
Sonny kissed her hand like a true gentleman. His hair hung loosely from under yet another weird hat – it was just part of who he was – genuinely quirky. They exchanged the usual small talk, interrupted briefly by Sonny’s wife, Saskia, who came over to say hello. She was working the room and mingling with several different groups, playing the dutiful wife like a true pro.

             
Ray called Luke over for another interview, this time with a local paper who had been lucky enough to get one of their reporters inside the event. They had five minutes to use as best they could. Melissa was left alone with one of the biggest stars ever to grace the music world.

             
‘Thank you,’ Melissa said feeling the need to break the ice again, ‘for all the great things you said at Amplified.’ The nerves took over and she began to ramble on before managing to shut her mouth, feeling rather stupid.

             
Sonny politely let her finish. ‘No need to thank me. It was the truth.’

             
‘Yes I do. You don’t know how hard he’d worked.’

             
Sonny looked at her for a second, amused. ‘Really, Melissa, don’t I?’ His tone was soft but with that raspy cracking sound to it.

             
Her cheeks flushed as it dawned on her just how stupid her comment was. Just because he had his status now, that had not always been the case. ‘Of course you do, sorry.’

             
Sonny noticed Melissa’s hands had started to shake and she clasped them together trying to hide it. She wanted Luke to come back. Messing this up wasn’t what she had planned.

             
‘You two remind me of our early days,’ Sonny said referring to himself and his wife. They’d been together since their early twenties and Sonny could see that their paths were heading in the same direction. The look in Luke’s eyes when he took to the stage – he had felt that too, and still did. It was a feeling that never went away. Melissa held the same stance his wife did back at the beginning. Trying so hard to be a good partner but deep down feeling like it would all end if they said the wrong thing or acted in the wrong way. And terrified they might lose their man to the temptations of another woman.

             
‘Take care of each other, it can be a cruel world.’ He kissed her hand again and winked before moving off to chat to some of the music industry VIPs, one being Jay-Den who had just arrived to reap the glory of such a find.

             
‘I’m Jay-Den ‘I love myself’ Lake, pleased to meet you’ Beth growled in Melissa’s ear just seconds after Sonny had moved on. They both laughed. It was fitting because it was really quite sickening how he behaved around certain people. Luke had said a few times he thought his PA Megan did most of the work. Yet, she wasn’t here. Luke had asked if she could attend – after all she had been working all hours getting things organised for them. She deserved it, he thought. And Toby had taken a shine to Miss May, as they liked to call her. But Jay-Den just said she was busy and wasn’t available.

             
‘Yeah, busy busting her arse for you. And you couldn’t even let her come to one party. Asshole,’ Beth said in Melissa’s ear again. Beth had been eager to play Cupid with Megan and Toby. Melissa threw an arm around her shoulders and dragged her to the bar - she needed distracting. Beth’s dislike of Jay-Den was increasing daily – she didn’t trust him, but she didn’t know why. It was just a sense she had. It irritated her that nobody else seemed to feel the same, but she didn’t say anything around the boys, for now anyway.

             
The party continued into the night with over two hundred specially selected people. A few lucky fans had won a place at the event via an online prize draw and a radio competition. The album went down a storm, causing a flurry of excitement among label executives and investors. Melissa and Beth liked seeing the band spending time with their fans, but couldn’t decide who was more excited – them or the fans. It shocked both girls when several came over acting just as starstruck towards
them
.

             
‘Oh god, Melissa, I love you.’

             
‘Beth, you’re my idol. I wish I could be as brave and outspoken as you.’

             
‘You’re both so pretty. Wow, I cannot believe I’ve met you.’

             
That was surreal enough, but being asked to sign autographs was just mind-blowing.

             
‘We’re totally famous,’ Beth giggled afterwards, as they headed home. The ‘famous four’ travelled in one car, while Tom and Toby had disappeared with several pretty hangers-on in tow, mumbling about finding another party. They were not done for the evening yet. However, Luke had noticed Toby had been obviously disappointed that a certain redhead hadn’t been there.

             
‘Dirt bags,’ Beth sniggered as they drove past them, staggering down the road with a girl on each arm. ‘It was a great night, I’m very proud of you,’ she said turning her attention back to Dale. She kissed him passionately, not caring about their audience.

             
Melissa was sitting on Luke’s knee. They were holding a long and unimportant conversation to divert attention away from the little show opposite them. But it was a bit uncomfortable all the same.

             
‘Come here, you amazing, talented, adorable, sexy man,’ Melissa purred as they headed to bed after what had seemed like a very long ride home.

             
‘You like it?,’ Luke whispered against her lips, wanting one last assurance that the album was good enough.

             
‘I love it, but not as much as I love you,’ she giggled, before kissing him.

*****

Tickets for their tour went on sale early the next morning, and there was no doubt in Melissa’s mind that there wouldn’t be a single one left by the end of the week, if not sooner.

             
The headline was a welcome wake-up for them all:

             
‘The Black Eagles: ‘Fledgling’ tour has already sold out. The English band from Portsmouth have only been around for what seems like five minutes, but they are building a strong and devoted fan base. It took just twenty-nine minutes to sell out, leaving thousands of fans disappointed.’

             
‘Thanks for everything, Miss May,’ Luke whispered in Megan’s ear as he passed her desk. They were at the record label offices, finalising a few things with some of the executives before heading off on the road. Jay-Den's PA smiled sweetly at him.

             
‘Any time Luke, it’s what I’m here for. Have a great time. And be good.’ Megan blushed as he gave her one of his most charming smiles.

             
‘Who, me?’ he asked in mock outrage. ‘Always.’ He winked at her before disappearing out the door, while Dale and Tom both kissed her on the cheek as they left, making her blush even more. She was used to dealing with big names but despite being incredibly shy outside of her job, at work she was one of the best. It was one of the reasons Jay-Den kept her on, plus she did pretty much everything for him while he took all the glory. It was frustrating, but she enjoyed the job, even if her boss was an arrogant moron sometimes. Since this band had signed though, she looked forward to coming to work each day. Not so much today though. She carried on with her work despite her mood, and tried to bury herself in it to forget about things. She hadn’t had a very nice evening the night before. It was something she hoped nobody ever found out about, and she was still very deeply hurt and embarrassed about it.

             
‘Oh no, please don’t stare at me,’ she thought to herself. Toby Maxwell, their drummer, was always staring at her, but she wasn't going to fall for it. She’d promised herself never to succumb to the charms of a rock star ever again. So she stared at her screen, pretending he wasn't there and hoping he would leave quickly. ‘Damn,’ she thought as he sat down on the other side of her desk, messing with her pens in the pot by her phone. She couldn't ignore him. He was a client after all and she couldn’t be rude, but he made her feel odd.

             
‘Do you need some help? Did I miss something?’ She asked, still keeping her professional voice on. Her green eyes looked at him briefly before looking back at her screen. ‘Why does he make me feel so on edge?’ She wondered again.

             
‘No, I just thought I’d come and say hi,’ he said as he checked her out a little more. ‘What is it about you?’
he was thinking at the same time. Her clothing was very ‘geek chic’ in an intelligent yet sexy way. She was the complete opposite of him, certainly not the type of girl he would normally go for, but for some reason he was fascinated by her. Infatuated, Luke called it. They had never really had a proper conversation, because Luke usually spoke to her when she called about band matters. He was the main man, so most things went via him first. It hadn’t taken long before the guys had noticed the way Toby looked at her though. Tom had spotted it the second time they had visited the office. He could tell when Toby liked someone – it was in his eyes and his behaviour around that person. It was brought up in conversation later that day over a few beers.

             
‘Just ask her out you muppet, it’s bloody obvious you’re into her,’ Tom had blurted out.

             
Toby tried to deny it at first but after his fourth beer and a prolonged interrogation and plenty of jokes from his bandmates, he gave in.

‘Fine. I like her, OK. H
appy now? I suppose you’re gonna take the piss for the rest of my life.’ His defences went up, and he was ready to stick up for her as well as himself. It wasn’t really Megan they were ribbing him about, it was just their way of getting him to admit it.

             
‘No, you go for it mate. We think she’d be good for you. But don’t scare her too much…’ Luke smirked and patted him on the shoulder while Dale and Toby got the next round in.

             
As she looked up from her screen again, Megan could feel her hands shaking as she nodded and smiled.

‘Hi
,’ she said, her voice quivering as she reached for her phone that had started ringing at a very convenient moment. Or at least it would have been, if she hadn’t knocked her coffee over. ‘Oh no,’ she cursed, jumping up.

             
Toby spontaneously laughed out loud, making her flap even more. He then realised that she was panicking, and quickly helped her move her files and keyboard out of the way, before finding something to mop it up with.

             
‘Thanks, but you don't have to do that.’ Jay-Den would go nuts if he thought she was getting clients to clean the office.

             
‘I don't mind,’ he reassured her, still laughing at her meltdown. He knew it was a reaction to his presence, even if it wasn’t quite what he wanted. But it was a great way to break the ice, although maybe not from her point of view, he thought.

             
‘I don't want to hold you up. Are the others waiting for you?’ She hoped he would just leave because she was mortified. But Toby just shrugged – they all knew why he was hanging back.

             
‘There you go, good as new,’ he said once the desk was clean and tidy again.

             
She smiled, warming to him. ‘Thanks.’

             
‘You’re welcome. I guess I’d better let you get on with your work and go prepare for the tour then.’

             
‘Yeah, you better,’ she said, blushing again.

             
‘Bye, Miss May,’ he said as he turned and headed out of the door.

             
Megan watched him leave, and then without knowing why, she ran after him and called his name. Toby turned and looked back at her. The hood of his green sweater was up, shading his face slightly, and his ear piercings glinted from the reflections of the lights, mirrors and pictures that lined the wall. In that second, her heart seemed to skip a beat and she suddenly realised what a lovely, kind face he had if you just looked at him without the misconception that people already seemed to have of him. She didn't know what she was planning on saying, and could do nothing but stand there for what seemed like an hour, feeling her cheeks matching the colour of her hair yet again.

             
Toby waited for her to say something, but all that came out was a stuttered, ‘Good lu-luck. With the tour. Not that you need it – that's not what I mean. Just have a good time,’ she stammered on, knowing she was making herself look like a complete idiot for a second time in five minutes.