Birth of Adam (Artificial Intelligence Book 2)

by Liza O'Connor

  His hand curled around hers and pulled it to his lips. “Thank you, my dear, I would appreciate that greatly.”

  When they arrived home, Sondra had already moved Jules’ luggage to the second-floor guest room.

  Amanda followed him upstairs because she had never actually checked out the other bedroom. She was pleased to see it was about half the size of her room, which meant it was huge.

  “Fabulous,” Jules declared, then kissed her on the lips again. “Now go away and let me sleep.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Having nothing to do, Amanda snuck into Anon’s rehearsal and hid in the back so she could hear how he was coming along. She could tell he resented all the criticism and lectures, but he was better than he had been yesterday, which meant he was exceptionally good.

  He had so much talent, yet his ego seemed to prevent him from hearing his errors. She hoped that never happened to her.

  She spotted Mark sitting in the hallway listening to Anon. She eased out of the room and sat down beside him.

  “Wow, he sounds even better here,” she whispered.

  “Don’t compliment the bastard, and never trust him,” Mark advised. “He’s the one who got you kicked out of the audition. He called Jules and told him you were crap.”

  “I know, Jules told me,” she said. “But fortunately, Jules likes to decide these matters without input from others, and he says I can audition tomorrow.”

  Mark smiled and almost hugged her before he remembered he couldn’t do that anymore. He stood up and moved away as if trying to escape the misery that followed him. He stopped at the door. “I’m happy for you, Amanda. Knock their socks off tomorrow!”

  “I’ll do it for you,” she promised.

  He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace of pain, and then he left.

  The need to cry overwhelmed her as well, and she returned home. Martin was practicing his cello. She sat on a leather couch behind the boy and silently cried as she listened to his beautiful composition. The music was cathartic, and by the time Martin had finished his practice, she had found her equilibrium.

  After putting up his cello, he picked up a game board and turned to her. “Would you like to play?”

  She nodded, and he joined her on the couch, where they played a French card game called Mille Bornes.

  As the time for dinner neared, she went up to the guest room and peeked in so she could decide whether Jules would like to be awakened for dinner or left sleeping. She saw him pacing before the windows, arguing with someone on the phone.

  “I don’t tell you how to run your record company. Don’t dare tell me who I can and cannot represent! Amanda Carrington is a magnificent singer, and it is you, not I, who is letting your personal life become entangled in your business. Your blind love for your daughter is just about to destroy our relationship, Ben.” Amanda was about to back out when Jules turned and saw her. He motioned for her to come in as he listened to the voice on the phone scream his response.

  “Fine, you do that,” he said. “Mark Hammer could have made you a goddamn fortune, but you go ahead and let your daughter make your business decisions. She was going to run your company into the ground when you gave her the reins in a few years anyway—might as well cripple your business now, while you’re still at the helm.”

  Whatever Ben Hamilton was saying made Jules livid.

  “Do whatever you have to do,” he declared. “I’ve been in this business longer than you, and while you have money, I have credibility and respectability. Let’s just see which one of us is still standing five years from now!” With that warning, he hung up his phone.

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her to a settee. “How rich is your friend?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted.

  “Hamilton is determined to crush you. He refuses to sign Mark’s recording contract unless I stop representing you. He’s informed the college he will discontinue funding the grants unless you are called home immediately.”

  “Put me on the phone,” Adam instructed.

  Amanda pulled out the phone and asked it to call Adam. She then held the phone so they could both see her fabulous friend and protector.

  Jules explained the current problem.

  “I can easily find a third party to cover the grants. I don’t wish to fund them myself and cause rumors that Amanda has bought her way into the music industry,” Adam said.

  “That is an excellent solution,” Jules agreed.

  “As for Mark’s recording contract—”

  “I can handle that, with Amanda’s assistance,” Jules replied.

  “How can I help?” Amanda asked.

  “The man you met today, Sean Darmont, recently purchased a European production studio and wants to improve the quality of its portfolio. I believe he will be very interested in recording you if I can get him to come to your audition tomorrow.”

  “But how will that help Mark?”

  “I will suggest he consider a lighter piece for cross-over.”

  Amanda smiled. “Our duet?”

  Jules nodded. “Which means the two of you will have to work together. Can you do that without jumping back into bed?”

  “Of course, but are you going to make him stay with Beth?”

  “No. In that area, he can make his own choice. However, he might still choose to remain with her,” Jules warned her.

  “Why?”

  “Because when Ben realizes Sean is making a fortune on that song, he’ll want to get Mark back, but more than likely with a few conditions such as marrying Beth and dropping me.”

  “Those are horrible conditions.”

  “Contractually, he can’t drop me for another year, so he’ll probably just end up marrying Beth.”

  “Promise me you won’t force him into this. Seriously, I don’t think you understand how horrible she is.”

  “I won’t force him. Hamilton’s behavior today was inexcusable, and I will steer all my talent elsewhere unless they absolutely need his studio.”

  “Does Mark absolutely need him?”

  “Hamilton has the best instrumental studio in the world. The quality he puts out is astoundingly better than his competitors’ product. However, with vocals Sean can do just as well, and he actually loves music. Hamilton, on the other hand, is an acoustic engineer who bears no great love for music other than the sine waves it creates.”

  Jules had evidently forgotten Adam was on the phone. Upon noticing his handsome face on the phone’s screen, he cursed. “Adam, this conversation is strictly confidential?

  “Of course,” Adam replied. “I assume the reason you don’t want Mark and Amanda back together is that you plan to use Amanda’s charm as well?”

  Jules frowned. “I’m not exactly happy with the phrasing of your question, but it’s easier to market single men and women than couples.”

  “Amanda isn’t a young kid who has to be handled. I don’t want her blindsided or coerced. If you need her to seduce someone, tell her why, then accept whatever she decides to do.”

  “I don’t pimp out my talent,” Jules declared in outrage.

  “Nor did Adam mean that,” Amanda assured him. “He just wants you to be completely honest with me about what you need me to do. I do require clear instructions. As you discovered today when I didn’t invite you to stay here, I can fail to act as expected unless you state explicitly what you want.”

  Jules glared. “Are you expecting me to tell you to sleep with Sean?”

  “If you absolutely need me to sleep with him, then you need to let me know. Otherwise, I will probably keep him at arm’s length, because I’m not over Mark yet.”

  Jules walked over to the window. “I don’t know how we need to handle it just yet. And I find this conversation more disturbing than the one I had with Ben.”

  “I’m sorry,” she replied, and put her phone back in her pocket. “Dinner is ready if you wish to eat,” she added, and hurried from the room.

  “He’ll recover,�
�� Adam assured her. “He’s been pimping out talent all his life. He’s just upset because this is the first time anyone has asked him to be honest about it. Normally he sends his talent in with vague instructions such as ‘just keep him happy’ when he knows damn well what that will require.”

  “Will I be expected to make Sean Darmont ‘happy’?” she whispered.

  “That’s what he thinks is necessary, but based on my analysis of the man, I believe you can keep him at bay if you wish. He seemed pleased when you refused to answer him at the museum. He’s rather tired of getting everything he wants. A challenge will intrigue him.”

  “And what happens when he grows tired of losing the challenge?”

  “Oh, by then he’ll be madly in love with you and it won’t matter what you decide. He’ll help you either way,” Adam assured her.

  “You overestimate my lovability factor,” she whispered, then joined Andrew and his family for dinner.

  “Is Mr. Bavard not joining us?” Sondra asked.

  “I think he is,” she replied, then smiled as he entered the room.

  He seemed shocked by Andrew and Sondra’s presence, but regrouped and sat down beside Amanda.

  He was quiet throughout dinner, and once he was done he excused himself and left the house. His absence lightened the mood of the table significantly. Amanda wished he would return to America. She liked him better from afar.

  ***

  Amanda went to bed early, before Jules returned to the house. She needed to be well-rested for her audition. She knew Andrew would stay awake and let her cantankerous manager in whenever he came home.

  Andrew woke her at five. “Your instructors have returned and want you dressed and downstairs as quickly as possible.”

  She studied Andrew. “You look tired. What time did Jules come in last night?”

  “Try this morning,” Andrew grumbled.

  “I’m sorry he kept you up. I’ll ask him to be more considerate.”

  Andrew’s right eyebrow rose an inch, as if to say he doubted her success in such an endeavor.

  She dressed with assistance from her phone. Adam selected her clothes and shoes and insisted upon a hat that would frame her face onstage. She wore exactly what he suggested and carried the hat downstairs. When she arrived everyone stopped talking and stared.

  Bastion came forward and kissed her. “I was going to suggest you wear the pretty red dress again, but this is more appropriate.”

  “And will go nicely with the set. It has a hat to frame my face,” she added as she placed the hat on her head.

  Bastion laughed. “I sense your influence, Jules,” he teased his friend. “Well done indeed!”

  Jules smiled, but she could sense he wasn’t happy. She suspected he resented Adam’s involvement in a territory he considered his.

  After a warmup, she sang the song as perfectly as she could, which was evidently quite well, since Bastion only had two complaints.

  Jules yelled at him for even raising such minor issues. “Are you trying to destroy her confidence?”

  “Criticism doesn’t throw Amanda off. It only improves her.”

  Simon and Richart agreed with that assessment, so she gave them all kisses before they sat down to breakfast. Jules suggested she only eat toast. She looked at the delicious pastries and omelets and asked why.

  “So you don’t throw up on stage,” he replied.

  “If I only eat toast, it’s far more likely I will faint on stage.” She filled her plate with delectables. “Relax, Jules. If I could stand before a crowd with Mark and sing a duet we had never practiced together, I can certainly sing to a giant theater with a few people listening.”

  Jules glared at her. “There may only be a few people, but those people will make or break your career!”

  Bastion objected. “Statements like that are more harmful than my criticism.”

  Jules stood up and stormed out of the house, declaring he had other clients to attend.

  Bastion waited until the door closed, then told her to pay him no mind. “He’s having a difficult day. Anon is threatening to replace him when his contract ends this year, Hamilton has declared he won’t record any artist represented by him, and Mark refuses to speak to him.”

  When she lifted a forkful of cheese-filled eggs to her mouth, Bastion frowned.

  “Should I not eat the omelets?”

  “Well, perhaps not the whole plateful. To sing in the French Opera can be quite unsettling. If, when you are on the grand stage, you do feel queasy, stop singing, excuse yourself and walk to the side curtain. You’ll find a bucket by the wall. Once you are in control, drink some water and return to the stage and begin where you left off.”

  Amanda didn’t care for that advice. Starting the aria in the middle and singing with a voice raw from vomiting sounded like a very bad idea. She put down her fork and reached for the toast.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  When Amanda entered the car, she had a choice of sitting by Jules or Anon. She smiled and sat down by Jules.

  “Where’s your hat?” he demanded.

  “Oops!” She opened the car door, intending to retrieve it, but saw Sondra running down the steps, hat in hand. “Thanks,” she said as she took the hat and placed it in her lap.

  Bastion sat down beside her while Richart, Pinchot and Simon squeezed in next to Anon.

  “Where’s Michel?” she asked.

  Bastion shook his head at her, then focused on Jules. “Amanda ate only two slices of toast, and will no doubt be hungry once she has auditioned.”

  “Sick with embarrassment is more like it,” Anon muttered.

  When they arrived, Jules helped her put on her hat while Andrew handed her a water bottle and promised her he had plenty more.

  She smiled in appreciation. Adam had warned her not to accept food or water from anyone other than Andrew. He had reviewed the statistics of singers who vomited on their first performance and concluded someone in the theater was poisoning new singers, probably as an initiation ritual. Since he didn’t know how they poisoned the singers, he had ordered her to avoid food and water, and ordered Andrew to remain close by and keep everyone physically away from her.

  If she hadn’t had such bad experiences previously with resentful musicians, Amanda might have teased Adam for being overly protective. However, all she had to do was imagine a few cast members with Beth’s personality, and she was very glad for Andrew’s protection.

  Jules was upset when he realized Andrew intended to guard her during her audition. She called Adam and let him argue with her cranky agent.

  “Put a positive spin on it by declaring her a valuable asset in need of protection. Or you can make my involvement known. Either way, I am in charge of her security, and Andrew will accompany her. This is non-negotiable.”

  Anon insisted upon singing first, and Bastion agreed it was best. He then whispered in Amanda’s ear. “Otherwise, he will be devastated by your audition and fail at his own. This way he will have two weeks to recover.”

  Jules led them down to Jacque and introduced them. Jacque focused on Amanda. “My beautiful critic!” he said, and kissed both cheeks. “So you’ve come to save Don Carlos’ aria, have you?”

  “I had no choice! It’s too beautiful a piece to cut.”

  “I hope with all my heart you sing as well as you critique.”

  She laughed. “I plan to do better than that.”

  “Would you like to go first?”

  “Anon wishes to go first.”

  “Ah, but it should be the lady’s choice,” Jacque insisted.

  “Well then, I wish Anon to go first.”

  “I will take them both back now,” Jules said.

  “No, leave her with me,” Jacque insisted. “I’ll want to know her opinion.”

  Anon’s mouth opened in outrage. She expected one of his tantrums was about to explode, but Jules tightened his grip on his arm and hurried him away.

  A stagehand came by and offered her a
bottle of water, but Andrew waved him off.

  Safely seated between Bastion and Jacque, with Andrew seated directly behind her, she relaxed and closed her eyes.

  Then Jacque decided to interrogate her. “So, why did you not tell me you could sing this aria?”

  Before she could answer, Bastion spoke up. “Because you would have demanded she sing it then, and she still had a few flaws I wished to correct.”

  She smiled at Bastion for his clever answer.

  Anon entered from stage left and approached the mic. He looked nervous and upset, and Amanda worried he would not perform at his best. Jacque turned and noticed someone sitting at the back. He motioned for the person to come down, but the man shook his head no.

  Amanda turned and saw it was the ‘besotted’ fellow she had met at the party yesterday and waved at him. She then turned her attention back to Anon.

  “Where is the pianist?” Jacque yelled. “Will someone get the pianist?” He then looked at Amanda. “Are you friends with Sean?”

  “I just met him yesterday.”

  “Do you know why he’s sitting back there?”

  “Jules was bragging about my voice and told him he’d have to wait two weeks to hear me. I guess he’s not that patient.”

  Jacque laughed. “No, he is not patient at all!” He turned back to the stage. “Where is the damn pianist?”

  “Simon can play it,” she offered.

  “No, he can’t. It’s against union rules,” Jacque said in exasperation, and stood up. “Is anyone back there?”

  “Actually, Simon can play if Bastion declares this a teaching audition,” Adam offered.

  Amanda whispered the possibility to Bastion and he kissed her hand and suggested the solution to Jacque.

  “Perfect, Bastion. I would love to give your students a chance to acclimate themselves to the French Opera,” Jacque declared in his loudest voice, to ensure those backstage could hear him. “You brought your own pianist, I hope, for I would hate to ask my musician to get off his lazy ass and play.”

  Simon hurried onto the stage. Soon an angry fellow stormed out and demanded that Simon leave his piano, but Jacque intervened. “That’s all right, Pierre. We do not require your assistance. This is only a teaching demonstration. Go back to whatever you felt was more important.”