“Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized horses?” asked Jett.
“That has nothing to do with tutoring,” I hissed at Jett.
Jett’s eyebrows darted in. “It’s math, flower.”
“You don’t have to answer that,” I said to Joseph.
Joseph shrugged sheepishly. “Um, a horse-sized duck, I guess.”
Jett shook his head sadly. “Wrong answer, mate. Wrong answer.”
I could see things were headed south. “Billy, if you don’t have any questions, I think we can wrap this up.” I started to stand.
“Wait,” Turner chimed in, stroking his red-blond beard in a way I interpreted as evil. “I’ve got a question now. When a hot dog expands—”
“Shut your mouth, Englishman,” I snapped at the drummer.
“I don’t care for your tone,” said Turner.
“I don’t care for your questions.” I gestured to Joseph. “I’ll see you out.”
Joseph stood, a quizzical expression on his face. “It was nice to meet you Mr. Wanks.” Joseph held out his hand for Billy to shake.
Billy crossed his arms and continued his pout. What a colossal ass. An awkward moment ensued. Joseph’s hand lingered in the air. Billy’s jaw clenched. Joseph dropped his arm.
“The exit is this way,” I said. Joseph followed. As I began to walk, I filtered through what could have set Billy off. His breakfast had been perfect this morning, catered by his personal chef. His sheets had been ironed and sprayed with lavender. I’d done everything possible to set him off on a good note.
“Don’t worry,” I said once we were in the hallway, out of earshot. “They’re not always like that.”
“Really?” Joseph said, surprised.
My shoulders slumped. “No, they’re always like that. Sometimes they’re worse. But you won’t have to interact with them. While on tour we get our own bus. We share it with Addy and other staff.”
“Oh.” Another note of surprise coasted through Joseph’s voice.
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Please ask. I think you’re a great fit for this position, so if you have any hesitations I’d like to address them.”
“It doesn’t really have anything to do with the position. You mentioned riding on a separate bus with us. I assumed you and Mr. Wanks were together.”
A bark of laughter escaped me. “We’re not together. I’m the nanny.” Joseph gave me an apprising look. We arrived at the door and I stuck out a hand. Joseph reciprocated, grasping my palm with a firmness I found surprising. “Thanks for coming out today. Have a safe trip home, and let me know if you have any follow up questions. We’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks, Ms. Clemmens,” Joseph said.
“Call me Daisy, please. If we’re going to be working together we can do away with formalities.”
The smile Joseph gave me was a bit heart stopping. “I’d like it if you called me Joseph.”
“All right then.” We lingered at the doorway, the Texas heat crept into the house. The air conditioning kicked on, blowing cold air through the vent near me. I shivered. Billy liked to keep the temp at sixty-five degrees, the perfect temperature for his vocal chords. “Drive safe, Joseph,” I finally said.
“You, too.” Joseph’s cheeks reddened as he realized his blunder, but I laughed it off. “I guess I’ll just be going now then.” He withdrew his keys from his pocket and walked off. Halfway to his car he stopped. “Daisy,” he said over his shoulder. “Either way, I hope I get to see more of you.”
I gave him a little finger wave and felt instantly stupid. Closing the door with a soft click, I turned on my heel and marched back to the demon members of Wanks and Janks. I hated them all. Except for maybe Chord. I kind of felt bad for him. His muffled retching could still be heard. I wondered if I should call a doctor. I’d give it twenty-four hours.
When I reached the living room, Billy turned up his lip and spoke. “Well that was a fucking waste of time. Scratch him off the list.” So he’d finally found his voice, and I didn’t like the sound of it. Not one bit.
“Are you kidding me?” I crossed my arms over my ample chest.
“Fraid not. The man is obviously a derelict, a vagabond. He’s practically a hobo. No way he’s going to pass along his transient tendencies to my little bird.” Billy picked up his phone and started to play Candy Crush again. I was definitely deleting that app tonight. “Plus he looks like his parents were cousins. He had small hands. Carny hands.”
“Excuse me?” I sputtered. Jett and Turner laughed like hyenas. I turned sharp eyes to them. “I thought I told you two to be silent.”
“Don’t get mad at them, flower,” Billy said. “You should’ve let the tutor answer their questions. It would’ve exposed him for the fraud he is.”
“He was perfect.” The sound of my voice was part screech, part righteous indignation.
Billy looked up. His mouth opened then closed. “Are you angry with me?”
I dipped my chin. “Yes. He’s a great candidate. Addy will love him and learn so much from him. And you probably just scared him off.”
“So.” He shrugged like it didn’t matter. And I supposed it didn’t to him. Whenever his feathers got ruffled, I was there to smooth them down. “You’ll just tutor little bird. You’ve got a teaching degree.”
I resisted the urge to stomp my foot. Frustrated tears built in my eyes. I’d had enough. I pressed my palms into my eyes in hopes of stopping the waterworks. It was no use. “I can’t tutor her because I’m overwhelmed already. You’ve got me managing your entire career and overseeing your daughter. Unless you want to ease up on your demands …”
Billy scoffed. “Impossible. I need you. You’re vital to my wellbeing and success.” He’d gone back to his Candy Crush game, so he didn’t see the tear slip down my cheek.
Jett did. “Billy, mate.” Jett’s voice said it all. I was about to lose it. Everyone be warned.
Billy glanced up again, gaze locked on my red cheeks, my watery eyes. “You’re crying over him?” He seemed horrified.
I swiped the tears with the back of my hands. “You’re so obtuse. I’m pissed because you’re running me ragged and anytime I try to bring in extra help you chase them off. I’m glad you all had a good laugh.” Jett and Turner had enough sense to hang their heads.
Billy scrubbed a hand down his face. “For fuck’s sake, what do you want me to do?”
“I want you to consider someone else for the first time in your life.”
“Is this because you want more pay or something?” Billy asked.
Jett recognized it as the wrong thing to say. “Billy—”
A frustrated growl escaped my mouth. “I can’t … I can’t deal with you right now. I’m going to lie down.” And cry. “Have Addy find me when she gets back. I promised her we’d go swimming.”
I fled the living room. Over the sound of my fleeing footsteps I heard Jett say, “Let her go mate. Give her a minute.”
I burst into my room, slammed the door and threw myself on the bed, muffling my scream with a pillow.
Addy didn’t come get me when she got home. I didn’t search her out either. I stayed holed up in my room. I lay on my side and drifted off to sleep. The knock came just after dinner. I woke, blinking away the gummy remnants of my tears.
“Flower?” More knocking.
“Go away,” I called out. I’d perfected the sound of those two words during my teenage years, a blend of pouty and offended.
“No. Open the door.”
I sat up and moved from the bed. I hadn’t turned the lock. I crept forward, intent on flicking the lock and barricading myself in until morning. Billy could suck it.
“I hired Joseph.”
My steps stalled.
“I called him myself and extended the offer.”
I took a single step toward the door, now more inclined to open it than lock it.
“You missed dinner. So I
brought you a sandwich.”
My stomach rumbled, another step to the door.
“It’s the kind you like, PB&J, heavy on the peanut butter.”
My hand grasped the knob and I pulled it open.
Billy stood on the other side. The light from the hallway cast his body in silhouette. He looked real fine, tall and wide shouldered in a white tee, holding a plate with a tower of four sandwiches.
“Where’s Addy?” I said mulishly, not ready to let go of my anger yet. Selfish prick.
“Jett is with her in the pool. They’re night swimming.”
I made no reply, just tilted my head.
“Did you hear me? What I said about hiring Joseph?”
I nodded once. He waited. Apparently he expected me to prostrate at his feet, gushing over his greatness and benevolence. I did nothing.
He went off. “Well why aren’t you talking to me then? I hired the peckerwood, and I made you fucking sandwiches.” He thrust the plate of sandwiches under my nose to illustrate his point.
“Thanks for the sandwiches.” I grabbed the plate from him. A scuffle ensued. I tried to close the door in Billy’s perfect face. Billy put his booted foot in the crack and barged in. I held the plate to my chest and stepped back.
“I’m fucking sorry, okay,” he boomed, throwing hands up into the air.
As far as apologies went, it wasn’t much of one. But it was the first time he’d ever apologized to me for anything. I decided to take it, but not without a little more. “What are you sorry for exactly?” I sniffed.
“Seriously?” He looked much affronted.
I sucked in my cheeks.
His nostrils flared and paced. “I’m sorry you got upset at me.”
“And?”
“I’m sorry Jett and Turner ruined the interview.” This was said with much shoutiness and aggravation. “Happy now?” Billy spread his hands.
I sat on the edge of the bed, plate in my lap. I nibbled on the corner of one of the sandwiches. “Not really.”
“What the hell? That isn’t how this works, Daisy.”
Oh, my real name. Something had really crawled up Billy’s crack. I arched a single brow. “And how is this supposed to work?”
“I apologized and you’re supposed to forgive me.”
“The thing is,” I said between bites. “I don’t think you know what you’re apologizing for.”
“I just said.”
“You apologized for Jett and Turner’s behavior, what about yours?”
A hand went to his chest. “Mine?”
“Yes, yours.” I’d finished the first sandwich and went for number two. “You were a jerk during the interview and then you got mad at me for getting upset.” I wished I had some milk. I wondered if Billy would fetch me a glass if I asked. Probably best not to push things. Billy looked as if he was on the edge of some great precipice.
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t like it when you get upset at me.”
“It’s nothing new. I’m always upset at you.”
“Not like this. This was different.” He shuffled over and sat on the edge of the bed next to me. Whoa, Billy Wanks on my bed. Treacherous dirty thoughts filled my head. His palm cupped my knee. Our Thanksgiving kiss came back to me with an intensity that stole my breath. “Don’t be angry at me anymore, flower. I don’t like it. Dinner wasn’t the same without you.”
It was all Billy was capable of giving. And honestly, at that moment, I didn’t much care anymore. My anger eased. God, I was such a pushover. “Did you really call Joseph and make the offer?”
At the mention of the tutor’s name, Billy’s look darkened. “The little prick negotiated with me, but I kept my cool. Even though I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself.”
“Thanks for the sandwiches,” I said into the dark room.
Billy huffed out a breath. “Two of them were supposed to be for me.”
“Oops.” I’d inhaled two and half. “Thanks for hiring Joseph too.”
“No problem. Does this mean you accept my apology?”
“I guess.”
“Good.” He squeezed my knee and heat pooled in my belly. “I’m still waiting on that best boss mug you know.”
I flopped backward and gazed up at the ceiling, sandwich plate on my wobbly stomach. “Don’t hold your breath.”
Summer ended. A new tour started. We’d arrived in L.A. the day before, and after one night spent at Billy’s uber-modern house, we were loading up on tour buses again. The season was changing, but you wouldn’t know it. The weather was clear and hot, the air wavy and the tar on the pavement sticky.
“Another few minutes and we’ll be on the bus in the air conditioning,” I told Addy, holding her sweaty palm.
All around us was a hive of activity. Five tour buses rumbled, filling the heated air with exhaust. Roadies, stage managers and others loaded the compartments underneath. The band hadn’t arrived yet. Addy and I had gone ahead. I wanted to get her settled a little earlier, and I’d promised her ice cream before we left. The girl would do anything for a treat. Sometimes I felt raising kids was like training dogs. I kept that to myself. Trent and another security guard grabbed our luggage from the limo’s trunk and dragged it to the front bus.
“Trent,” I said, pulling Addy with me to catch up to the bald security guard. “That’s the wrong bus.” The buses always parked in order. Wanks and Janks were first, then Addy and mine, then the opening band and finally, the roadies and security.
“No mistake, love,” Trent said dragging the bags up the stairs and onto the bus. “You and the kid are with Wanks and Janks this tour.”
“Yesss.” Addy fist pumped. “I call a top bunk.”
I frowned down at her then proceeded onto the bus. “What? Why?” I asked Trent.
The man shrugged a beefy shoulder. “Dunno, love. You’re going to have to ask the big man.”
Speaking of the devil, Billy and the rest of the band had arrived and were boarding. I pivoted on my heel.
“Billy.” Addy called, breaking my hold on her hand and stomping over to her father. “I want a top bunk.”
Billy smiled down at his daughter, all white teeth and sun, streaming from one of the large windows, in his blond hair. “Then you shall have one.”
The frown I’d been sporting intensified. “Billy, please explain to Trent there’s been a mistake. He’s under the impression Addy and I are riding with the band.”
Billy removed his sunglasses and stuffed them in the front pocket of his white tee. “There’s no mistake, flower. You and Addy will be with us this time around.”
“I’m going to go choose my bunk.” Addy dashed off.
Trent shouldered his way through, passing me and the band. As he neared he whispered, “Good luck,” to me.
“I don’t understand,” I said, at a loss.
Turner, Chord and Jett made themselves comfortable on the bus—sitting in various positions on the black velvet couch.
“What’s there to understand?” Billy asked. “We’ve had some budget cuts. Tough times are coming, flower.” He patted my shoulder. “But don’t worry, we’ll survive.”
Although I knew the number of buses idling in the parking lot, I mentally counted again. “There are four buses. We’ve always had four buses.”
Billy gave me a blank look. “Of course there are four buses. The tutor, assistants and cook have to sleep somewhere.”
I gritted my teeth. “Why aren’t Addy and I sleeping there then?”
“I told you, budget cuts.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes all the sense in the world to me,” said Billy. He started to look through the cabinets. “Where’s all my gum?”
“Bottom right cabinet,” I answered. “How so?”
“How so what?” Billy found the carton of cinnamon gum and tore into it with his teeth.
“How does it make all the sense in the world?”
He turned and gave me a dumb l
ook. “A bus that carries four people uses less gas, flower.”
“That’s science,” Jett chimed in.
I palmed my forehead, rubbing it. Outside I spied Phil, the production manager. He held a clipboard and shouted orders at people. “I’ll be right back.” I walked off the bus and approached Phil.
“Hey Daisy,” he said, smiling at me. “Don’t tell me Billy doesn’t like the bus. It’s the same as last time. We even upgraded the sound and gaming systems.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t about the bus.”
“No?” Hot wind ruffled Phil’s thin hair.
“Well it’s kind of about the bus. Billy said the budget has changed and we’re supposed to ride on his bus from now on.”
Phil stuck his tongue in his cheek, moved it around. “Is that what Billy said?”
“Yes.”
“Then I guess it’s true.”
“You and I both know it’s not true,” I snapped. For god’s sake, the man traveled with a chef, a housecleaner, three assistants and more. “Why won’t anyone stand up to him?” I asked the sky.
“Dunno about the others, but I got a wife at home and a kid heading for private college this year. I need my job, and Billy is an ornery fucker who fires people for fun. So if Billy says the sky is purple and he just shit a gold bar, it’s true.”
“You’re a spineless jellyfish,” I hissed.
“That hurts, Daisy.” The way he said, I could tell it didn’t hurt, not even a little bit.
I stomped back onto the bus.
“You all right, flower?” Billy asked, coming to stand in front of me. He put a hand to my forehead. I batted it away. “Easy, I’m just seeing if you have heat exhaustion or something.”
“I’d like to speak to you.” I sent pointed looks to Turner, Chord and Jett. “Alone.” Without waiting for his permission, I grabbed his thick wrist and pulled him to the back of the bus. Billy complied, allowing me to lead. We passed Addy bouncing, as much as possible given the low ceiling, around in a top bunk. Stepping into the master bedroom, I closed the door. A king-sized bed dominated the space. Billy slept back here most of the time, and it smelled of him, like cedar and sandalwood and aged whiskey. If these walls could talk … My stomach twisted thinking of Billy with groupies in the massive bed.
Hard Lessons: (A Wild Minds Prequel Novel) Page 7