Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
ESTELLE
Then
With Ray at her side, Estelle’s middle name was possibility.
At first, she’d balked at him taking a twenty-five percent cut, but since her take-home still equaled what she’d made on her own, she’d swallowed those qualms. Because that was just it—she wasn’t completely alone anymore, and that was priceless.
And besides, she’d been unable to pick up anything but temporary waitressing hours throughout November, so she was ready to jump through whatever hoops got her back on stage.
“You ready?” Ray asked, coming through the doorway next to her. He had a water bottle in one hand and a red cowboy hat in the other, which he offered to Estelle. “For the season, you know. Christmas in the country. Knock ’em dead.”
Estelle shook out her hands to release her nerves and took the hat. It had a rhinestone band around the crown that glittered in the stray beams of the spotlights reaching past the stage.
“Thanks,” she said. “Will you be watching?”
“I’ll be at the bar. I’m going to use their phone to make a few calls, but I can multitask.” He winked.
As always. If there was one thing she’d learned about Ray in the short time they’d spent together, it was that he always had another call to make.
His pager went off several times an hour, but maybe that’s what it took to build a business.
He was making a name for himself in property development, and Estelle supposed that meant he needed to be accessible.
She wasn’t complaining though. His success meant connections for her.
Or at least a chance of connections. She’d have to convince him she was worth it first, and tonight was the start of that.
She walked on stage looking out over the smoky interior, the air rich with bourbon and steak rather than the lukewarm beer and soil she’d grown used to, and in her mind, she was finally able to climb that first rung off the floor on the ladder of life.
“Happy holidays, folks,” she said, sitting down. “Let’s see if we can’t put you in a festive state of mind as December rounds the corner, shall we? How about a little Hall & Oates?”
She started strumming as sporadic claps and whoops sounded from the tables.
Her eyes landed on Ray and Darla at the bar as she began the first verse, Ray with a glass raised to her and Darla with a hand casually resting on his shoulder.
She’d visited the house several times in the week since Estelle had moved into the garage suite, but since Ray was working so much and a lot of his current efforts were focused on this musical holiday test run, Estelle could afford to smile at them both.
She already knew it was going to be a great set.
“How was that?” Ray asked her when she joined them an hour later. “Professional technicians, discerning crowd?” He gestured to the bartender to get her a drink, and before she’d had time to voice a request, she had a vodka soda in her hand. With a twist.
“How did you know this is exactly what I wanted?” she asked.
“Oh, he always knows what a woman wants,” Darla cut in. She was hanging on his arm, restricting his movements so he couldn’t stray too far from her reach.
Estelle took the bait but directed her cheeky smirk at Ray. “Does he now?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I make it my business to know.” He sipped his bourbon, watching her as his throat moved on a swallow, clearly not intending to elaborate beyond that.
“I see.” Estelle let the chilled liquor coat her throat. “And to answer your question, it was great. Everything a gig should be.”
“Glad to hear it. You have another one tomorrow.”
Estelle lowered her glass to the bar, a second sip interrupted. “I do?”
Ray freed himself from Darla’s clasp. “See the man over there in the white hat?”
Estelle turned, craning her neck. “Sure.”
“He owns a bar down the street. I invited him tonight, and he liked what he heard.”
She stared at him. “Just like that?”
He nodded. “It’s not a lot of money, but it’s a foot in the door. And I plan on having a few other guys show up for it too. Associates of mine,” he clarified. “Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool.”
“Doesn’t hurt to be a Clark either,” Darla said. “It’s a big name around here, going back generations. Everybody knows the Clarks.”
“Oh, you’re sweet.” Ray bumped his shoulder gently into hers, which brought color to her cheeks. “Not as many generations as you Everetts, though.”
Wouldn’t that be something? Estelle thought. To be known by everyone.
“I actually have a job for you, too, Dar,” Ray continued.
Darla practically clapped her hands. “Of course. Anything.”
“I need you to take my little prodigy here shopping.” He gestured to Estelle’s plain black skirt. “If you want to be a star, the first thing you have to do is act as if you already are one, and beauty alone won’t cut it.”
A compliment? Estelle willed her complexion to flush radiant to upstage Darla’s.
Juvenile perhaps, but you worked with what you had, and Darla’s deftly disguised chagrin was dopamine straight to the brain.
Would she even have tried as hard for Ray’s attention had Darla not been there to make it a sport?
The thought appeared out of nowhere, and Estelle had to admit it was possible.
She’d never been one to give chase in the past.
“Oh.” A multitude of expressions filtered across Darla’s face to settle on something that looked like well-meaning concern. She was good. Estelle had to hand it to her. “I’m not convinced we share a style,” Darla said. “Are you sure I’m the best fit?”
“I’ve seen your closet and it’s the size of a small department store,” Ray said. “You can do it. I believe in you.”
“It’s really not necessary,” Estelle said.
If it was up to her, she’d go to the nearest thrift store and that would be it.
She didn’t have extra funds to spend, but that was something people like Ray and Darla, who probably stuffed their mattresses with bills, wouldn’t understand.
“I prefer to save my earnings.” That was good.
Rich people did understand money in the bank.
Ray dug into his pocket and produced a credit card that he held out between them. “I insist,” he said. “On me.”
Estelle scrambled to think of a protest.
“I won’t take no for an answer,” Ray said, anticipating it. “Plus, it would thrill me to know you ladies are getting to know each other better.”
Darla snatched the card from him while giving Estelle a pointed look. “Watch and learn,” she said. “With this, you can turn yourself into someone else in no time.”