by Robyn Nyx
Christ, she didn’t want any of this complication and confusion. And she’d handled Louie’s concern all wrong. What was she thinking right now? Their first real date was tomorrow and Louie had walked in on her being kissed by another woman. But Louie had been so heavy-handed, acting like Heather needed rescuing from the evil country queen. It was sweet that Louie was quick to protect her, but it also felt like an overreaction. Or maybe Heather was just too used to being sexually harassed that her tolerance level was far higher than Louie’s. Far higher than perhaps it should be.
Someone knocked on the door, and as it opened, Heather was relieved to see a friendly face in Mandie. The expression she bore however told Heather her relief would be short-lived.
“Hey, Heather.” She closed the door behind her before she spoke again. “I don’t know what’s going on, but Donny sounds like he’s about to have a heart attack. He wants you up in his office right now.”
Heather swallowed against the feel of her heart in her throat. She’d thought Savana was bluffing. She’d been certain that Savana wouldn’t walk into Donny’s office and expect him to be okay with his golden goose telling him she’d been kissing his female executive and that she wanted the romantic competition fired. Unless she’d been spinning tales of another kind.
“Is Savana up there with him?” Heather knew the answer. There was no other reason to be summoned to the boss’s office when he knew she was in the recording studio with his superstar.
Mandie nodded. “And she looked none too happy. You had a difference of artistic opinion?”
“Far from it.” The exact opposite was true. Had Heather’s support against the producer been the reason Savana had kissed her? She thought back to when Savana had come to Rocky Top for their first meeting. She knew of Heather’s work, and that was one of the reasons she said she’d wanted to come to this label. But the way Savana had spoken to Louie seemed to speak of Savana feeling a deeper connection to Heather beyond the music. Had she been unknowingly responsible for cultivating that? Had she been sending out the wrong signals?
“Heather? He wants you now.”
“Sorry.” Heather motioned to the door. “After you.”
***
Heather had seen Donny angry plenty of times before. His professionalism didn’t extend to keeping his emotions in check. His professionalism didn’t extend period. But there were veins popping out in places Heather didn’t think there should be, and his face and neck were the color of a Hawaiian sunset. He was pacing his office floor fast enough to wear out the thread.
Savana was a study in opposites. She looked relaxed, settled back in a piebald cowhide leather couch with a coffee cup in hand. Her legs were crossed in a demure rather than defensive way. She looked…controlled, though Heather couldn’t imagine how she remained so calm in the face of Donny’s apoplectic actions. Then the penny dropped. If Louie was right and Savana’s kiss meant anything, Savana had been acting throughout her whole career. She was an expert at burying her feelings. She couldn’t afford to have emotions erupting volcano-like all over the place.
“What have you got to say to all of this, King?”
His use of her surname instead of his usual demeaning “girl” should’ve felt like progress, but instead it felt like a slap in the face. It already sounded like Donny had decided all of this was her fault. And what was “all of this?” She had no idea what Savana had told Donny.
She decided to play it safe. The last thing she wanted to do was blow her own career. “What’s bothering you, Donny?” She’d learned in a college psych lesson that using someone’s name made them feel important and listened to.
“What’s bothering me?” He stopped pacing and tucked his fingers inside the belt of his trousers. “It’s bothering me that someone you brought into the label has managed to upset Savana. It’s bothering me that I’ll have to pay that man-dyke thousands of dollars when this album goes multi-platinum. It’s bothering me that I went against my better judgment to let a homo work in my business and I’ve been proven right.”
Heather glanced at Savana questioningly. The fact that Donny was throwing around homophobic language meant that Savana couldn’t have told him the whole story. What exactly was she laying at Louie’s feet? Heather felt trapped.
“None of this is Heather’s fault, Donny,” said Savana before she took a sip of her coffee. “It’s Louie Francis you should be calling in here, not Heather.”
“Where is the runty little dyke?” Donny paced back to his desk and sat in his chair.
Heather’s nostrils flared at Donny’s description. Calling him on it would divert his ire to her. She heard the voice in the back of her mind call her a coward, but she ignored it. She had to choose her battles carefully.
“I sent Louie home so everyone could calm down,” said Heather. Though she was thankful for Savana’s interjection that this wasn’t her fault, it still hadn’t given her much in the way of explanation. Treading water wasn’t her forte, especially with a boss as temperamental as Donny.
“I’m blackballing her. Him. It. Who does she think she is speaking to Savana like that?”
Heather clenched her teeth at his repeated and ignorant discrimination. “It was a misunderstanding. Louie was just trying to protect me.”
“Protect you from what?” asked Donny.
Heather hesitated. Savana stood and stepped in front of her to block her from Donny’s questioning glare. As she rose, she half turned to Heather and shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Savana returned her attention to Donny. “That’s not really relevant. As you say, it’s not for someone like Louie to speak to me so disrespectfully regardless of the circumstances.”
Heather’s lips may as well have been frozen together. So many things competed in her brain to get out of her mouth, but none won out. If she stood up for Louie and told Donny the truth, she wasn’t sure he’d do anything about it anyway and he’d most likely fire her. If she kept quiet, Louie’s career was over before it had really started, and that would be Heather’s fault. Rock and a hard place barely came close to describing what she felt caught between.
“So what would you have me do about this, Savana?” asked Donny. He flipped open his cigar box, yanked one out, and began to chew on it. “I want you to be happy here, and I don’t want anything to jeopardize that.”
“The album’s been written. Louie’s usefulness to me has expired. I was just being kind letting her play guitar on a few tracks on her last day here. It’s not like I’d want someone like that in my tour band in public.” She tossed another glance Heather’s way before she continued. “That bit me on the ass. Lesson learned. I want her gone, Donny. I don’t want to run into her in this town ever again.”
Donny grinned and spat out the end of his cigar into a nearby ashtray. “Done.”
Heather stepped around Savana and approached Donny’s desk. “Will you at least take the weekend to think about it, Donny? You’re talking about ending someone’s dreams.” Heather could see his mind was already made up about firing Louie. Hell, he seemed pretty much gleeful that his prejudiced misgivings about “queers” had been supported by what Savana had told him of Louie’s actions. Play to their egos. “You’re a reasonable and fair man, Donny…and I’m sure Louie wasn’t acting maliciously.” She nodded toward Savana. “Louie has written you what’s going to be a career-defining album, and you’re both going to profit from that.” She turned back to Donny. “She has the talent to write some of the best songs Nashville has ever heard, and you could benefit from that.” Donny hadn’t interrupted her so she pressed on. “I don’t know if you were aware, but Louie’s been picked up by Hawthorne. You know they’re the biggest provider of songs for the whole of Music Row. She could make millions for both of you.” Heather hoped she’d said enough to save Louie’s songwriting career without destroying her own.
Donny leaned back in his chair and scratched his neck. “I guess you’re right about that.”
He lit his c
igar and made a poor attempt at blowing smoke rings. Too many moments of silence passed and even Savana didn’t fill them. Heather dared to hope that she’d gotten through to both of them. Pandering to egos and talking about financial gain tended to do that.
“What are you going to do, Donny?” asked Heather, conscious she and Louie were supposed to be going out on their first date tomorrow night. If Louie still wanted to date a coward. Louie would want to know what had happened and Heather didn’t want to lie. It had already been soul-destroying to face Donny and be economical with the truth. Not standing up to be counted, not fighting for what she really believed in felt as weak as it did justified.
“Get…Louie in here eleven a.m. sharp on Monday. Savana, I’d like you to be present, too. That gives you the weekend to think about this situation, just like me.” He tipped his head toward Heather. “She’s got some smarts in the wisdom department maybe we could both benefit from.”
Heather tried not to react to Donny’s final statement. It was about as close to a compliment as she’d ever gotten from him.
Savana nodded and turned toward Heather. “I’ll take the weekend.” She walked to the door before she glanced back at Heather. “But some feelings don’t change.”
Savana’s meaning wasn’t subtle, but Heather still found it hard to believe. Savana did have the hots for her. She needed her sounding board, but there was no way she could get to speak to Emma until tonight, and Louie would be expecting a phone call. Christ, a month ago she’d been celibate for five years and all but uninterested in women. Now she had two vying for her attention. Under normal circumstances that might be something to be happy about, but Heather was far from that emotion. All this proved was that she really shouldn’t mix business with the personal. More than that, this whole situation had rammed home that not being true to herself, while good for her career, was not good for her.
Chapter Thirty-three
Louie adjusted her tie for what felt like the hundredth time in the hour she’d been wearing it. She opened the top button of her shirt to allow herself to breathe more freely and give her neck a little more room. The waitress who’d introduced herself as Chloe and shown Louie to her private dining room caught her eye and smiled. She was cute but the only woman Louie was interested in was late. She checked her watch again. Three minutes past eight. Louie retrieved her phone from the inside of her jacket. No messages.
“Would you like a drink while you’re waiting?” asked Chloe.
Louie looked up and nodded. “A bottle of water would be great.” Louie didn’t miss the note of hope in the girl’s voice that her date wouldn’t show. Or maybe Louie was just transferring her fear onto her.
Chloe nodded and left her post at the open doors to Louie’s dining area. The space was completely separate from other dining pods like it, each hosted by their own waiting staff. At least if Heather didn’t turn up, no one but Chloe would witness her humiliation. Louie shoved the unwelcome thought away. Heather didn’t seem like she’d be the type to do that…but then Mia hadn’t presented as someone who’d just up and leave and take all her savings either. She figured the old saying was right: you never did truly know someone, maybe not even yourself.
Heather had called last night as promised, but she didn’t give Louie a straight answer about what had happened with Savana. She said it’d be better discussed in person, but talking about work wasn’t where Louie wanted to focus her attention tonight. After nearly a month of flirtation and promise, Louie simply wanted to see where she and Heather might lead. But Savana had stepped in and tried her best to mess things up. Louie had been certain that Heather didn’t welcome Savana’s attention. She’d looked panicked, even frightened, when Louie entered the studio. That wasn’t something that was easily misinterpreted. Unless Louie had seen what she wanted to see and made more of the situation than was actually there.
Either way, she really wanted tonight to be about them spending quality time with each other away from work. Louie was determined not to spend all night talking about work. She’d completed the album as contracted. But Savana had made her intentions toward Heather clear, and she had a lot of power in Nashville. Louie took a deep breath and tried to focus on Heather. The less conversation they shared about Savana, the better. If the night was a success, Louie hoped that any romantic thoughts Heather did have toward Savana would disappear.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. There was an accident on Broadway, and I had to detour around it.”
Louie didn’t care. As soon as she looked up and saw Heather in the doorway dressed in a mid-thigh, ink-blue dress and heels, all concept of time fell away. She looked stunning in a 1950s movie star kind of way that not many women could carry off these days. Demure. Sexy. A hint of naiveté about just how beautiful she was.
Louie stood and pulled Heather’s chair from the table. “You look amazing.”
Heather nibbled at her bottom lip and smiled. “As do you. That’s a beautiful suit,” said Heather as she sat.
Louie grinned, glad that the effort and money that had gone into her outfit hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Chloe had accompanied Heather and placed a bottle of water on the table.
“Would you like a drink, miss?”
Heather seemed to hesitate. “A glass of your house red would be lovely.”
Louie placed one hand over Heather’s, sure that her hesitation came from thoughts of how much this whole meal was costing. Louie’s stomach fluttered a house of butterflies when Heather didn’t pull away. “Would you get us the wine list please, Chloe?”
“I’m sure the house wine is fine,” said Heather.
“No. Fine is nowhere near good enough for you.” Louie nodded to Chloe to reconfirm her wish and she left with a smile.
“I’ve heard a lot about this place, but I never thought I’d ever eat here.” Heather waved her hand at the room. “Especially in a private dining area.”
Louie was glad she stopped short of saying something like “How the hell can you afford a place like this?” “I wanted to make our first proper date super special, so you’d remember it always.”
“Mission accomplished.”
Heather smiled and Louie’s breath hitched. Heather’s smile was like she switched the light on in Louie’s darkened heart. It gave her hope that she could be in Heather’s league. Chloe reentered the room and handed them both a wine list.
“Which red wine would you recommend, Chloe?”
“That often depends on what you’re going to order. But for a wine that goes with pretty much everything, I’d recommend that one.”
Chloe pointed to a name Louie had no chance of pronouncing. She noticed there was no price, either for the bottle or the glass. That’s what her credit card was for. She saw Heather raise her eyebrows and wondered if she had an idea that it was expensive or was knocked sideways by the no-prices policy.
“We’ll take a bottle of that, please.”
Moments later, Chloe returned again, uncorked the bottle at the table, and poured a small amount into Heather’s glass. Heather looked slightly shy as she took a sip and nodded.
Chloe topped up the glass. “Let me know when you’re ready to order,” she said before retreating to just outside the door.
Heather took another taste. “This is the best wine ever.” She looked around the small pod and refocused on Louie. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a place with private dining booths before. I like it.”
“I know privacy is important to you. I want you to know I’m okay with that.” Being closeted was no great shakes, but Louie understood why Heather needed to be careful, especially in the center of town. She’d never been one to hide, though to be fair, the way she looked meant that she couldn’t even if she wanted to. Gabe had helped Louie check out the gay bars in the area, and they’d found some in South Nashville. They weren’t quite at the county line, but they were far enough away from the city that Heather might be able to relax and even be a little more open. Louie wondered how di
fficult this would all be. She’d worked hard to be comfortable with who and what she was. Louie worried that being with Heather might work to undo all that progress. She figured she’d see how she felt when they were actually in the relationship.
Louie flipped the menu and saw again that there were no prices. She glanced up at Heather to see she’d flicked straight through the pages to find salads. Louie took Heather’s hand. “Please don’t do that.” Heather’s lack of response indicated that she knew what Louie was talking about. “I wouldn’t invite you to a place I couldn’t afford.”
Heather leaned in, perhaps hoping not to be overheard by Chloe.
“But there are no prices, Louie.”
Louie brought Heather’s hand to her lips and kissed it gently. She’d been assured that the waiting staff here were beyond reproach in terms of privacy. “It doesn’t matter. Please order what you want to eat, not what you think might be the cheapest.”
Heather looked unsure but she nodded. It took a few minutes before Louie called Chloe back to the table for their order. When Chloe left them alone again, Louie decided to address the dark shadow of Savana so they could get on with their date.
“Do you want to talk about yesterday afternoon?” Honestly, Louie was most apprehensive about whether or not Heather invited the kiss.
“Sure.”
Chloe came in with their appetizers and set them down. Heather waited until she was gone again before she continued.