Karin didn’t even look at the price tag, she bought it on the spot and they promised to dye some satin shoes she tried on to match. They would deliver them to her hotel the following day. She whipped out her credit card and felt pleased that she had accomplished her mission. As she took a taxi back to the hotel she found she was tired. She hoped the bruises and bumps that had shown up from moving that week would be faded enough by Sunday that that awesome dress would be shown to its best and she wouldn’t be embarrassed by those marks.
“Hey” Cassie said as she walked in their suite. She was looking over some music trying to find something for their next set of concerts. Karin had a very busy schedule planned for her if she won the Grammy. Odds were she might win at least one. She was set to be on several talk shows and radio shows if she did and she wanted to perform not only the songs that had won it for her but a new one, maybe one no one had ever heard.
“Hi, I found a dress” Karin breathed a sigh of relief as she plopped down in a chair and threw a leg over the arm. A totally unsophisticated look for her and one not normally seen.
Cassie grinned at the sight of a sprawling Karin. “You did? What does it look like?”
Karin smirked “a dress, didn’t you hear me?”
“Ha ha, very funny, describe it.” She smiled at Karin’s jest.
“It has ruffles and bows” Karin teased.
“Okay okay, when can I see it?” She realized Karin hadn’t come in the suite with a bag over her arm.
“They are dying shoes to match it and will deliver it tomorrow” Karin answered.
“That’s cutting it a little close don’t you think?”
Karin shrugged. The whole thing had come down to the wire. “Are you nervous?” she asked knowingly.
Cassie smiled but it had a tight look “I don’t know, I’ve performed for thousands. Tens of thousands. But never millions of people” she referred to the expected TV audience. “Even performing at the Country Music Awards wasn’t as harrowing as this. This is the Grammy’s!” she said excitedly.
“You’ve won other awards, plenty of them as a matter of fact” Karin reminded her.
“Yes, but this is the Grammy’s!”
Karin smiled “all you need to do is win one you know, just one and all the terms of the contract are fulfilled” she reminded her a little more seriously.
“I know, but jeez, what if I don’t win?” she said sadly knowing Karin’s butt was on the line too.
“Then the appendix goes into effect and we have another year of this” Karin said sadly.
Cassie rolled her eyes as she got up from the couch and came to sit on Karin’s chair with her. She leaned into her and said sadly in return “I don’t know if I can keep up this pace for another year. I loved what you did for me but even you have to admit it was a little much. I want to create more; I want to develop those people we have found. That was a brilliant idea you had and the work those people have done deserves exposure.”
“Just relax babe, you might be worrying yourself for nothing” Karin tried to soothe her but knew a lot was riding on Sunday night. More than Cassie knew since Elliott had an eye on that contract renewal. He would be hot to sign her again and for a longer term this time especially if they could promote her as a Grammy winning singer instead of Grammy nominated.
Sunday dawned bright and sunny but then in California that frequently happened. They lay in bed reading the funny papers that Karin had ordered along with their breakfast. They wanted to take it easy until they had to head to the theater that afternoon. Cassie had ordered a masseuse at 2 and they could shower and be ready for the limo by 4. The cameras would be rolling for the red carpet and they wanted to arrive right on time for the awards show to begin at 5. As it would be live across the country the later times in the other time zones kept them from having it later in California, besides the arrival of the stars looked better with the sun still out. Before the camera’s rolled a lot of awards would be handed out in the lesser categories. One of those just might be Cassie’s saving but they wouldn’t know until they got there or even later.
Karin thought a lot that day about the last two years that they had been together. She had tried hard to stay out of Cassie’s life on a business level but had been forced in by the impossible contract that Cassie had dictated to Elliott. Now it was a make or break for all the work that they had done together, Cassie creatively and Karin doing the footwork to expand her career to astronomical levels. Tonight would be the culmination of all that hard work. Karin was well aware she hadn’t done it alone but she had orchestrated it and she was thrilled at Cassie’s success. Only those in the business realized how an agent, a manager, a promoter could make or break a singer, an entity, a store, or a company. To have the entire firm behind someone like Cassie had almost been a guarantee of her success but it took a key player such as Karin to put it all together. She hoped she hadn’t failed.
Cassie dressed carefully in her satin and suede combination. The dress had been made especially for her by some designer out of New York that Karin’s assistant had sent her to. She loved and hated it at the same time feeling it was so ‘Hollywood’. It made her look like a star and she wondered if she should have had someone do her hair up instead of leaving it in its normal curly waves. Looking in the mirror though she thought she looked nice and she carried the two other dresses she would change into for the night in a garment bag with their matching shoes. She had to change once for the number that she and her band would do together to promote their album and then change again for the number that was her solo later in the program. She couldn’t be seen in the same outfit twice. The satin and suede combination was for her arrival on the red carpet. She wished she could hold Karin’s hand as she traversed it but Karin refused to exhibit PDA’s and didn’t want the press to get wind of the nature of their relationship, not yet, not now. They still kept on the hunt for her elusive fiancée that she refused to identify, it was getting a little rabid with them asking all the time but Karin refused to go public and Cassie understood, or thought she did.
Karin came out of the bathroom to dress, her hair was finally done and she spritzed perfume into it and onto her wrists and between her breasts. She sat at a make-up table to apply her own. Satisfied with how that looked she unzipped the garment bag she had kept hidden from Cassie; she hadn’t wanted her to see it before she had it on. Cassie had pouted but had let her have her way on this one.
“Would you hurry up” Cassie called from the sitting room. She could see Karin was walking around the bedroom in her push up bra and French bikini bottoms. While she looked incredible, Cassie was impatient to see her in the elusive dress, her nervousness of what was to happen tonight kept her on edge.
Karin went out of her line of vision as she pulled on stockings and snapped them in place with the garters holding them up on her thighs. She pulled the dress out and stepped carefully into it. Pulling it up her body she gently zipped it. Using contortions she was able to zip it all the way up by herself. She carefully slipped into the matching shoes and looked at herself in a full length mirror. She was pleased with the effect. She walked into the sitting room to see the effect on her fiancée.
Cassie glanced up to see if she was ready and then did a double take. She caught her breath at the sight of her beautiful fiancée. She stood up to get a better look and Karin saw her dress for the first time.
“You look beautiful” they said simultaneously and then chuckled at each other.
“Wow that’s some dress” Cassie said as she realized immediately it matched Karin’s jade green eyes. In fact with her careful make up it made them almost glow. When she smiled it took Cassie’s breath away to realize that this woman standing before her was her’s. They were a couple and she was so proud of the way she looked. Proud of what she had done for her. Win or lose tonight, they were going to stay together which was what the matching rings on their fingers symbolized. Not a ceremony that was barely recognized anywhere in the country.<
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“That one ain’t too bad either” Karin twanged as she looked at the creation that her assistant had engineered.
They grinned and there was a knock at the door. Karin walked over to answer it to see that a surprise guest had arrived. “You’re just in time” she grinned as she gestured that they should enter.
“Daddy?” Cassie asked and held herself back from crying in surprise. It would ruin her make up.
“Hey baby girl, Karin said I couldn’t miss this one” he smiled as he went to carefully hug her, he didn’t know this woman dressed up so nice. He had seen her on the television all dressed up like this but never in person.
Cassie looked over her daddy’s shoulder at her fiancée and smiled her gratitude. She took such good care of her, how could she not love her. She pulled back to look at her daddy in his tux with tails of all things! She chuckled when she realized he was wearing cowboy boots, shined up and ready to go. You could take the cowboy off of the ranch but you couldn’t take the ranch outta the cowboy.
Gus escorted the two women down to the waiting limousine. Several of the members of the band were waiting with their wives in the stretch limousine. Karin handed out I.D. cards that could be discretely put aside or hung around necks. This was especially important for the wives or boyfriends or fathers or fiancées that weren’t as recognizable as the stars of tonight’s gala. The guys in the band began to tease each other about their tuxes and Karin and Cassie both were in for their fair share. It was a pleasant ride from the hotel to the theater. It was a mad house from then on as screaming fans chanted “Cassie” from the stands that lined both sides of the red carpet. The band and their dates went on ahead since it was Cassie Summers that they all wanted to see, to interview, to be seen with. Flashbulbs went off constantly, blinding her and her entourage. Karin and her staff worked discretely to keep some at bay, to direct Cassie and her dad who was her official ‘date’ to reporters and cameras that had been promised interviews. Karin had turned her own engagement ring around so the stones weren’t visible and it only looked like she was wearing a narrow band. Since it was on her left hand no one would accidentally feel it as she shook hands with some of the movers and shakers. Although not famous like Cassie to the public, she was famous behind the scenes and people wanted to know her, be known by her, or just talk with her. Reporters asked Cassie time and again about the engagement ring on her finger, she refused to talk about it, they asked Gus but he laughed and shook his head. This mystery was driving the press crazy, the paparazzi had been stalking her for a long time, and the speculation had fueled a feeding frenzy in the papers. ‘Was Cassie Summers off the market?’
Cassie finally got inside the theater where she was met by director’s assistants who told her what to expect, like she hadn’t been prompted for the three days of rehearsals, and she declined a drink before heading down to sit in their assigned seats. Her Daddy kept by her side to help her but he was feeling a little overwhelmed; this was all too much for a simple cowboy from Kansas.
“Easy there Gus, we’re here for you” Karin whispered as she took his other arm so he could escort them both down the aisle to their seats.
He appreciated her finesse having watched her endlessly handle the crazy house on the red carpet. He realized for perhaps the first time how much she really did for his little girl as he saw her subtly guiding her. Cassie bragged about everything else that Karin had done for her over the past years and he knew he respected her after their visit to the ranch. She was a powerful woman and he knew his little girl was succeeding because of her talents but also because of the talents of this beautiful woman. She was gorgeous tonight and almost outshined Cassie but then she backed away and let Cassie shine when it was necessary. It was Cassie’s moment and while Karin had done a lot to get her there, it was her job, and now her pleasure to let her have that moment. He watched and learned a lot about this woman whom his little girl loved, she really was a power to be reckoned with. She did it with style and grace, never once raising her voice, but instead firmly getting what they needed and wanted. She knew all the right people and steered Cassie unobtrusively.
They sat in their seats so that the cameras could catch them when the ‘official’ show started. Minor awards had been given out for hours already and only the major awards would be on television for the viewing public. Karin relaxed when she heard Cassie had already won a Grammy in the pre-show. She had received a text to tell her so and thought about telling Cassie. She decided against it for the time being. She wanted Cassie to be genuinely surprised when she won another, if she won another, but Karin was pretty sure she would. It had been an incredible year. She wanted the surprise to appear on the television when they put the camera on her.
The show started and their host Brad Paisley came out. His jokes were funny and the audience appreciative. He introduced an act and stood back as they were all entertained. At the first commercial break they came and got Cassie and her band and filled their spots with sit in’s or people who did exactly that. They couldn’t have empty seats that would appear on camera. Karin sat next to Gus who seemed almost as nervous as his daughter.
“Do you think she’ll win any?” he asked her.
Karin smiled and said “she has so much talent I almost guarantee it!”
He loved her confidence in his daughter. Her undying support had been translated by Cassie time and again. He knew she bolstered Cassie when she needed it. She was very good for his daughter. He felt tears come to his eyes as he realized he likened her to a daughter as well. They weren’t as close as he and Cassie of course but she loved his daughter very much and he appreciated how she took care of her in so many ways. Watching her at work had been a real eye opener, she was efficient and amazing.
It had been many years since Gus had seen Cassie perform in person. Seeing her up on stage with the huge television screens behind her playing the video to the song she and her band were now playing was an incredible emotional moment for him. She was so good and he wished her Mama was alive to see her. It was from that amazing woman that his little girl got her musical talent and he was never as proud as he was at that moment. He didn’t care if she won any awards. She was his little girl and she was giving it her all. He got tears in his eyes he was so proud. He hoped everyone back home was watching because he had some major bragging to do when he got back there. It was at that moment before the end of her song that the camera’s caught his proud emotions for all time. Karin had slipped them the information that Cassie Summers’s escort that evening was her proud Daddy from Kansas. The press and the public ate that stuff up.
It was after their performance that Cassie Summers officially won her first Grammy. The pride on her Daddy’s face was echoed in Karin’s as they stood to clap for the woman they loved. Karin had already known that the contract was fulfilled but it didn’t stop her from wanting to scream to the heaven’s “we did it” but she prevented herself, just barely. As Cassie came on stage to graciously accept the award she smiled down on two of the people she loved the most and named them. She didn’t name Karin beyond being her manager and gave Kreske’s a huge boost by mentioning them as well. She had fulfilled all the terms of their ridiculous contract as they had as well, or rather Karin Myer’s had. She was done. They didn’t own her or Karin anymore, she had won, they had won. There were no losers that night.
Cassie didn’t have time to return to her seat as her solo performance was not too much later. As she sang the unheard ballad ‘Phoenix’ that Gus and Karin had heard on her guitar that night in Kansas they both teared up. Karin realized what a gift this wonderfully talented woman was giving her. They couldn’t declare their love to the world even if Cassie Summers was out and proud yet but Karin knew, Gus knew, the band knew that Cassie loved Karin Myers. It was an awesome feeling as they all watched her sing to the camera’s as though the song were for all the lonely lovers out there to give them hope. Phoenix coming out of the ashes could very well have been another way to say that Cass
ie Summers had come out of the ashes of her career in the last few years. It had so many meanings but as she glanced down to where her lover, her fiancée, her life sat they both knew the real meanings behind it.
Cassie won four Grammy’s that night and Karin couldn’t have been prouder for her if she had won them herself. She watched with Gus backstage as Cassie held them all in her arms and answered the reporter’s questions. She looked lovely in the last gown of the evening that she had worn. It was a red wrap dress with a Grecian look about it. With her blonde brown hair it looked incredible. The reporters tried once again to ask her about her engagement and while fending them off she suddenly stopped and said they would know soon, she promised, and left it at that. They went wild trying to get more out of her but she walked off their little stage and gave her father a hug which was caught by several cameras. Karin had backed off immediately to be out of the way of the lenses as she saw Cassie coming. It was her job to remain in the background, she was used to it, it was her position, she was adept at it, she accepted it, and had never craved the limelight. She was better behind the scenes as she had proven tonight among others.
“Can you believe this night?” Cassie asked as they sat in their hotel room. The parties had gone on for hours but Cassie had firmly insisted they get back to the hotel after the third one. She didn’t want to over tire her Daddy who had been a good sport about squiring them. Besides she had interviews the next day. The first was with The Oprah Winfrey Show and she was excited about it. Later in the day she would do five radio interviews and two television ones including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, she was excited since Jay had promised to bring the band members over to talk as well as Cassie; she felt they deserved the accolades she was garnering too. After all they were talented artists in their own right too.
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