Chapter 13 Everly
Chapter Thirteen
EVERLY
Monday mornings were usually hectic for me.
I didn’t have a regular gig on a Sunday night, which meant I was usually the one who took Sky to school.
I shared the duty with another parent who owned a restaurant and also usually worked till the early hours.
But Mondays both of us took care of things ourselves.
With all the excitement of the weekend, I was glad to have Noah take Skylar to school. It meant I could sleep in a little and then take my time getting ready for my morning appointment.
Excitement raced through me as I went through my morning routine.
My manager had secured a meeting with Five Hearts, and we were going to start preliminary talks for the Flashback Tour.
Later in the week, I would also be talking to the record label about an album, but that was a different beast and I would cross that bridge after I spoke to Skylar and her dad.
That was a big deal for me. I never needed to consult anyone before, but I guessed that if I wanted to co-parent, I would need to speak to Noah about these sorts of things.
I imagined Sky would spend the bulk of her time with him while I was away.
I only hoped he didn’t judge me too harshly for my decision to revive my music career.
Two hours after Sky and Noah had left, I finally dropped Fontaine at the main house, before sliding into the back seat of the RideShare I had ordered.
We decided to leave Fontaine at the main house when we weren’t home.
We didn’t want him getting hurt in the event the stalker broke in and he got in the way.
Taking a RideShare was a touchy subject among my circle of friends.
A while back Lilly had been kidnapped in one.
That was before I met most of them, but apparently the story still haunted all of them.
Thankfully, Noah hadn’t heard about what had happened to Lilly or he might have had something to say when I told him I was catching one to meet my manager.
The drive to San Diego was just under an hour.
The driver travelled along the back roads and avoided most of what was left of the morning traffic.
As I got out, I straightened my black leather skirt.
It wasn’t overly tight at all and paired with the pink shirt, looked a lot less racy than when I was on stage.
I had to wear the white go-go boots though.
It reminded me that I still had an edge.
The elevator up to the seventh floor was an eventful one. I stopped at each floor with people getting on and off at each stop.
When I finally stepped off the elevator, I gave my hair a bit of a pat.
The French plait that had taken me forever to get right and about half a can of hairspray to keep that way, was rock hard but still where it should be.
I hiked my purse further over my shoulder and made my way to Phil’s office at the end of the hall.
Before I had a chance to knock Phil opened and gave me a warm smile. “Everly, you’re here. The band has just arrived. I was about to wait for them at the elevator. Why don’t you step into my office in the meantime. Grab yourself a drink from the mini fridge.”
I was grateful to have Phil in my life. Even after I stepped out of the limelight and only did smaller gigs, he stuck with me.
He knew all the reasons I wanted a life away from the glitz and the glamor and respected it.
It was only in the last few months that he suggested that I get back into the business.
I had a feeling if he knew Noah was on the scene he would insist even more.
The guys were not nearly as loud as they used to be, but they still made a fair amount of noise as Phil ushered them into his office. He directed us to sit around the round table in the corner. The glass top was substantially bigger than a kitchen table but not quite the size of a banquet table.
Phil started everything off. “I’m assuming since you guys asked for her, that you all know Eve Halle. Eve, that’s Jordan Bruce, Tyler Sloan, Geoff Kings and of course, Ricky Gains.”
“Of course.” I nodded. They were not easy to forget.
But I was sure Phil was just being polite by introducing me to Ricardo.
We’d dated for a little just before I found out I was pregnant.
Obviously, it never led anywhere, and I never slept with him.
Still, it was the talk of town for a good few weeks before I broke it off and then disappeared after I fulfilled my appearance obligations.
Ricky offered me a smile. “Eve, Phil mentioned that you might be receptive to the idea of a comeback.”
I couldn’t help myself, I burst out laughing. “I think a comeback is overstating it a little bit. I would like to give my career another shot though.”
“She’s being modest.” Phil had all the optimism of a kitten climbing a tree. “Why don’t you lay out your plan, and she can see where she fits in.”
Jordan Bruce, who always struck me as the business mind in the band, spoke up.
“We’re releasing our comeback album later this year and in the middle of next year we want to release our Number Ones Album.
” As Jordan spoke about their plans, I could feel my excitement rising.
They’d tour before the second album was released and I would perform a few of mine including the two singles I performed for the two TV show intros.
They were asking a few more artists from the same era and we would perform the Flashback tour for our fans of that time as well as fans of our later stuff.
Jordan even mentioned how doing the tour would help if I intended to release my own album.
Ricky grabbed my hand. “I do have one favor to ask.”
“Ask away.” I extracted my hand from his, but he didn’t seem to notice as he prepared to pitch whatever it was he had in mind.
The man even took a deep breath. “Remember your single, Lost, on that album?” I nodded, not knowing where he was going with that.
It was one I wrote myself, but it wasn’t much of a hit.
“I want us to perform it as a duet. We still have time to include it on our album and definitely we could perform it on tour.”
I paused and looked at him trying to remember if I had told him my intention when I wrote that song. That song was always meant to be sung as a duet. It was how it was written but I adapted it for my first album.
Of course, I wasn’t going to let my excitement get the better of me. Inside, I squealed but instead I offered Ricky a small smile. “I’m sure we can work that out?”
He raised a brow and the corner of his mouth lifted. “We can set it up with Phil, or you can arrange the studio time yourself if you feel more comfortable.”
That gave me pause. “Of course, Phil will set it up. He always arranges my studio time.” I took a moment to take in each of the men in the room.
Maybe it was because I had a stalker, but I didn’t think I wanted to do anything without Phil around at all times.
“We’ll use one of the studios in this building.
I would feel more comfortable, and Phil knows the staff here so things should be easier. ”
They all nodded and only Jordan narrowed his eyes. “Is there anything we should know? Do you have security concerns? Will you be hiring a bodyguard for the tour?”
Ricky narrowed his eyes and darted his gaze between us. “What’s going on? Why would she need a bodyguard?”
I hadn’t had a chance to discuss what had happened with Phil. Noah wanted to see whatever fan mail I had received going back as far as Phil had kept things. Still, I was not going to discuss any of it with anyone I didn’t need to.
Fortunately, Phil beat me to an answer. “Of course, she’s going to hire a bodyguard, that would be a smart thing to do.
Obviously, you’ll have your own security, but you are their priority.
It makes sense for your guests to ensure their own security.
That doesn’t mean she has any security concerns. ”
I was very grateful to Phil at that moment.
He ensured that I would get my bodyguard without question, and I didn’t need to divulge that I had a stalker.
Phil would know, soon though and obviously I would need to let everyone else know closer to the tour if we did not stop the asshole who delivered a snake to my house.
That would be the best-case scenario. I always got the impression from our girls’ nights, and the little I picked up from Bex and Lilly, that best case scenario was never the outcome, though.
We chatted through a few more logistics and I had to admit that I was not only impressed with their vision for the tour, but I was excited, too.
It was only once they had laid out their plans that Ricky spoke to me directly. Everyone was getting up to leave and he turned to me. “You want to go and catch a coffee when we’re done here?”
Was he asking me out on a date? We had just finished a meeting to discuss business, so it couldn’t be that.
I hedged a little. “I have some things to discuss with Phil when we’re done here.
Maybe we can get together next week sometime to rehearse Lost. Phil won’t be able to get us studio time for at least a few weeks. ”
Ricky seemed disappointed, but nodded in agreement. As soon as I was alone with Phil, I let out a long breath. “I have a stalker and need you to let the security company handling it have access to my fan mail. Electronic and snail.”
Phil’s eyes widened but he took things in his stride. The lack of alarm surprised me at first but then again, the man had probably dealt with one or two clients with stalkers in his life.
“There’s one particular sender they’re going to want to check out. Signs all his letters with just the letter G.”