“If you’re certain this person is reliable...”
“You may quiz me tomorrow afternoon, and if you aren’t satisfied with my answers, then you may obtain your own material and beat me senseless with it.”
Arriving at the restaurant, Jules and Mark each placed a hand on the small of her back. “Back off, Romeo,” Jules growled, and Mark withdrew his hand.
Throughout dinner, Jules listed in excruciating detail what it meant to be handled by him. When he’d finished his monologue, she had no idea how to reply. There had been a million things she objected to, but Adam kept telling her to be quiet. Evidently Jules wasn’t expecting a reply, because he then turned to Mark and discussed how he expected Mark’s life to go over the summer. It was just as unreasonable and invasive.
“You may be seen in public with beautiful women, but you will not be seen drinking anything other than wine, and never more than two glasses. You will provide a urine sample every week. You will always wear a condom when engaging in sex, and absolutely no oral sex.”
Mark glanced at Amanda seated between them, and suddenly Jules was warning the same applied to her. “AIDS is rampant among the arts, and I will not lose talent because of ignorance. AIDS is transmittable through oral sex. If I ever hear you have engaged in such reckless behavior, I will drop you in a second! Do you understand?”
She nodded, as Mark’s hand slip into hers beneath the table and squeeze it in gratitude for not mentioning his clear disobedience of that order the last time he’d been with her.
“I would prefer you not engage in sexual activity at all, but if you must, then be selective and insist upon a condom.”
“I’ll abstain,” she offered.
“Good. That’s the crux of what my contract says. I’ll bring it by tomorrow morning for you to sign.”
Adam laughed. “He’s a sly fellow. He’s certain you won’t be able to get a lawyer to read it on a Saturday, and you leave on Sunday. Tell him fine.”
“All right.” Noticing Mark’s frown, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “My lawyer works on Saturdays.”
Mark smiled and squeezed her hand in approval.
Jules didn’t appear pleased with their sidebar, but refrained from demanding to know what they were discussing.
Evidently tiring of threats and micromanaging their behavior, Jules turned to what had pleased him about the night’s performances and what had terrified him.
“When I realized that damn cello was to remain—”
Mark laughed. “I’d already decided to perform a re-tuning before I began. I couldn’t believe it when you leaped up and called Joe over. You had him so mortified I feared he wouldn’t be able to play.”
“The fool is tone deaf. He played through an entire piece out of key!” Jules’s hand waved about in agitation. “Even Amanda refused to stand and applaud at the end, and she stood for almost everyone, including those young amateurs.”
“They were very good, and please don’t insult them when we’re around Andrew. His son was one of those very talented musicians.”
“Who’s Andrew?’ Jules asked.
“My driver.”
“One of those children belongs to your driver?”
“Yes,” she replied proudly.
“Those are ghetto children. Your driver is so poorly paid that his children are being raised in the ghetto?” Jules challenged.
“I engaged him for the evening,” Adam explained
“He was hired by my friend to drive me about for the night.”
“He seemed very protective for a hired cab,” Jules challenged.
“Yes. He promised my friend, who bought him a ticket to the recital so he could hear his son play, that he would keep me safe and protected.”
Mark observed the man standing against a wall watching them. “Well, he takes his promises seriously.”
“You rented a Bentley and a driver to take you two blocks from your dorm to the music center?” Jules asked.
“I would have walked, but my friend, Adam, decided I needed transportation.”
That caused a multitude of furrows to etch themselves upon Jules’ brow. “Adam who?”
Adam laughed in her ear. “Need a last name. Think carefully, because I’ll be stuck with it from now on.”
“Webb,” she replied.
“I like it,” Adam assured her.
“I don’t recognize the name.”
“No, you wouldn’t. He’s a bit of a recluse.”
“Oh, take me out and introduce me,” Adam insisted.
“But I can get him on the phone if you’d like,” she offered, and pulled out her phone. The phone appeared to be off, so she said, “Phone on. Call Adam Webb.”
Instantly, Adam appeared. “Amanda, dear, what a pleasant surprise. I hear you and a very fine violinist performed a duet at the end.”
“Yes, I was kidnapped and made to sing,” she teased. “I would like to introduce you to the young man who shared his encore with me.”
Mark leaned in and frowned at the sight of Adam’s gorgeous face. “Hello, sir.”
“It was kind of you to share your stage with Amanda.”
“It was my honor. I’ve never played better than I did with her.”
“And this is Jules Bavard.” She turned the phone to Jules.
“Good to meet you,” Jules cautiously replied.
“Well, I’m pleased with the company you’re keeping, Amanda. Mr. Bavard is the best in the business. Sir, I believe if you paired Mark and Amanda together, you could create mass appeal for classical music.”
“Well, let us see after the summer in Europe. I’ve seen promising talent break under the demands.”
“I’m quite certain Amanda won’t break, and my money is on Mark as well,” Adam insisted, then declared he had business to attend to and disappeared.
“That’s my friend,” Amanda explained.
“Where did you meet him?”
“Through my husband.”
“His face is familiar, but the name isn’t.”
“You might be thinking of an actor,” Mark observed. “He resembles the former James Bond...Pierce something.” Mark smiled at Amanda. “You didn’t hire a famous actor to pretend to be your friend, did you?”
Amanda sighed. “Given my inability to make friends at school, I can see why you might think that.”
“Why do you have trouble making friends?” Jules demanded.
“I don’t know.”
Jules looked at Mark.
“She’s aloof, very beautiful even without makeup, has a body to die for, incredibly talented and she doesn’t actually try to make friends. When she speaks, she tells you nothing about herself, so it’s hard to get in her head. And on occasion, she talks down to you like you’re five years old.”
“I think that’s enough reasons,” Amanda snapped.
Jules glared at her. “This is a serious problem. If you get a reputation for being difficult to work with, no one will want you.”
“And if your fellow musicians hate you, they can sabotage your performances,” Mark added. “For example, did you notice how the audience liked you much better tonight?”
“That was your doing,” Amanda insisted.
“Actually, it was because you had a better mic. They’ve been giving you an old, dead mic that only picks up about half your voice.”
“Yes!” Jules said in exasperation. “I’ve been perplexed about why she sounded substantially better tonight. That’s exactly why. Her tones were considerably deeper!”
Amanda sighed. “You know—I would have been happier believing it was just you.”
“But it proves my point,” Jules scolded. “You need to get along with others. We should start with you rooming with the other girls.”
“I strongly recommend against it,” Mark said. “The probability of Amanda making friends with those particular girls is very slim. They intensely dislike her.”
“Do I even know them?”
“
You have a history class with one of them, Amy.”
“Oh, her. Yeah, there won’t be a friendship there.”
“Casey and Carol were at the party you called in. Their parents took away their cars and they came damn close to losing their grants.”
“They would have preferred I let them die?” Amanda shook her head in disgust. “Well, I’m not making friends with idiots who are pissed off because I saved their lives from their own stupid actions. And what about the other girl?”
“That would be Beth, my ex-fiancée,” Mark replied.
“Why does she hate me?”
Mark grimaced. “She blames you for our breakup.”
Jules had been quiet until now. “I thought you said nothing was going on between the two of you.”
“There isn’t, but not for the lack of trying on my part, and Beth noticed I was trying. Worse, she could see this wasn’t just one of my screw-arounds, so she broke the engagement and told me to kiss off.”
“And you didn’t think I should know about that?” Jules demanded.
“I called you the day Beth broke up with me,” Mark reminded him.
“Yes, I know that. What I meant was, didn’t you think I would want to know Amanda was the reason Beth broke up with you?”
“It’s not Amanda’s fault. It’s not like she gave me the least bit of encouragement. Far from it.”
“It doesn’t really matter.” Jules glared at Amanda. “You need to make friends with Beth. And you and Mark cannot be roommates!”
Mark cringed. “You might want to lower your voice a bit.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me Beth received a grant and, more to the point, how did she receive a grant?”
“She’s a last minute replacement for Ellen Sims.”
“What happened to Ellen?” Jules asked, suddenly very worried.
“She kind of lost it this week and tried to kill herself,” Mark replied in a voice so low that Jules had to lean forward to hear.
“And that’s why I don’t count on talent until it has seasoned,” Jules declared with anger. “What a damn waste!”
He glared at Amanda. “You will room with Beth and become her friend.”
“Well, she broke up with Mark, which means she has some sense, so I’ll give it a try,” Amanda replied.
Mark shook his head and sighed.
Chapter Eleven
When Jules arrived at Amanda’s dorm the next day, he discovered the driver from the night before carrying boxes into the dorm. He asked the security guard which room was Amanda’s, and the man handed him several boxes as he stated her room number.
Upon a loud kick on the door, Amanda rushed to the door and opened it to a deliveryman. She removed the top box and laughed when she saw it was a very angry Jules Bavard. “Have you taken up moonlighting for UPS?”
“No, but evidently your driver from last night has. What the blazes is going on here?”
“Well, Adam believed my wardrobe was unacceptable for European tastes, so he ordered me more clothes than the plane can carry. My instructions are to remove them from their boxes and place them in the trunks, and he’ll see they’re delivered to my rooms in France. Thank God Claire has already gone home for the summer, or there would be no room to remove the boxes and sort the clothes.”
Andrew entered with another load of boxes. “That’s all in the truck, but there must be more, because none of these appear big enough to be trunks.”
“I hope there aren’t more,” she replied and searched the boxes. “Open that box and see if there’s a trunk inside needing to be built.”
Andrew shook his head but did as she asked.
Removing the final boxes from Jules’ hands, she smiled. “Do you have a contract for me?”
“Sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
“Well, I seriously hope you didn’t have me change my age and memorize all that stuff about Doskoff for nothing!”
Jules handed her the contract and told her where to sign. She unstapled the contract and fed it through her printer/fax machine. She returned to opening boxes and placing clothes on Claire’s bed and putting packing materials in one corner and empty boxes in the other.
Jules walked to her closet and studied her sweaters and jeans. “Is this your old wardrobe?”
“Yep.”
“What do they call this? Vintage Wal-Mart?”
He turned his attention to the pile of new clothes.
“If you have any complaints about my new stuff, talk to Adam. He is now responsible for seeing me fashionably dressed.”
“These are acceptable. However, once you’ve signed the contract, I will decide what you will and will not wear.”
“Are you buying my clothes for me?”
“No, but you will purchase what I say.”
Amanda laughed. “Don’t count on that remaining in the contract, because I think Adam likes his new job.”
“It’s Saturday. You’re never going to get a lawyer to review it in time. Besides, I do not negotiate. My contract is final.”
Amanda walked over to her laptop and printed off the revised version of the contract. She handed it to Jules. “Adam is a fast reader,” she explained. “Here are his revisions. Hopefully your lawyer works on weekends.”
Jules glanced through the pages and the myriad changes. “Give me Adam Webb’s phone number.”
Jules’ phone rang. When it appeared that he planned to ignore it, Amanda told him it was probably Adam calling him. He answered the phone, then left the room.
Amanda was helping Andrew unfold the compactable trunks when Jules stormed back into the room.
“Your ‘friend’ is just about to ruin your promising career before it begins!”
Amanda continued working on the trunk. “I’m very sorry to hear that.”
“Stop playing with the damn box and attend to your future!”
Amanda sighed and looked at him. “Can you truly not accept the changes he made to the contract?”
“No, I cannot!”
She rose and approached him, taking his hand in hers and leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. “Well, I am honored you wanted me.”
“That’s it? You’re going to throw your career away just like that?”
“There’s only one person in this entire world I am certain puts my welfare before anything else, and that’s Adam. He knows how much I want a career, but he also knows what I need to be happy. The only person I will ever give control of my life to is Adam. However, he is most reasonable to work with and very helpful. For example, he’s already changed my age, and I even have a new passport and driver’s license. Will you not at least try working with him?”
“Get him back on the phone,” Jules said.
Jules’ phone rang, and he stormed into the hall to continue negotiations.
Andrew smiled at her. “First trunk is ready for packing.”
She started to dump the clothes into their new home and was immediately scolded by her phone.
“Shouldn’t you be negotiating with Jules right now?”
“Another part of the program is doing that. I’ve got the more difficult job of teaching you how to pack.”
His British tones resonated so beautifully, she almost melted.
Under his precise instructions, Amanda carefully rolled her new clothes and packed them so that every space of the trunk was utilized. She was exhausted when she finished packing the second trunk. Lying down on the bed, she sighed with relief. “Nap time.”
She woke to an earthquake—an annoyed earthquake.
“Print off a copy of this contract and let’s sign it,” Jules ordered.
She smiled, and he yelled at her. “You will never allow anyone to see this contract, and if you do, I will drop you in a heartbeat.”
Adam spoke through her ear bud. “He can’t do that, but allow him to bluster a bit.”
“Yes sir,” she replied, then kissed Jules on the cheek. “I’m still happy you’re going to represent me. Eve
n though you are very grumpy, I like you, and I believe you care about making great musicians, not just famous ones.”
She printed off two copies of the contract, signed both, and handed them to him.
He signed the contracts as well, and she asked Andrew to witness.
Andrew not only witnessed but notarized them as well.
“Why would you be a notary?” Jules demanded.
“I guess so I could witness the contract,” Andrew replied. “I’ll go get a cart for these trunks, Miss Amanda, and take them on over to the airport so we don’t have to worry about them tomorrow.”
Jules waited until Andrew had left. “That is not a hired limo driver!”
“You may be right. Adam may have retained him full time after he did such a nice job last night. He probably doesn’t live in the ghetto anymore either. Will that cause a problem with his son’s scholarship?”
“Probably,” Jules said. “Which is why, no matter how well-intentioned your friend is, he can still make mistakes for which you—or in this case Andrew’s son—will have to pay.”
Adam assured her Andrew’s son Martin had a new scholarship, which would pay for his family to accompany him to France to train at the same school she’d be attending.
“You’re an amazing person!” she said aloud, then realized Jules thought she was talking to him. “I’m glad you’re going to help guide my career.”
“Before you arrive in France, I want you to read the original contract I gave you, because to all appearances I need you to follow that one.”
“I’ll read it,” she assured him, and walked him to the door.
***
Amanda had just collapsed from exhaustion, face down on her bed, when Adam informed her she had more company.
“Send them away!”
“I would if I could, but Andrew has gone in search of a cart, and I don’t think you want me to ask security to throw this unwanted guest out. It would probably make the evening news.”
Amanda rolled onto her back just as the door opened and Chad entered, closing the door and locking it behind him. He removed his baseball cap and smiled. “Surprise!”
Her heart lightened at the sight of him. “It certainly is! Come and have a seat anywhere you can find it.”
Birth of Adam (Artificial Intelligence Book 2) Page 8