"Wait, Arthur..." She called as the assistant left the room. "Do I really have to do this?"
Something about the girl's tone made Arthur better his mood.
"Yes." He answered directly, but he smiled a little. "It's going to be great, you'll see ... You may even like it."
Lissa doubted she liked the experience, but it was clear that there was no point in arguing.
"Okay…" she agreed. "But I can pack myself up and…"
“It’s hurt me!” Lorys put his hand to his chest, theatrically. “I here, excited because I will have the opportunity to really make up someone and you are trying to get rid of me.”
"You make up Gabriel practically every day..." She rolled her eyes, but she smiles at the falsely phony expression on the makeup artist's face.
“Oh come on, that little face doesn’t need makeup..." Lorys sighed, making Lissa laugh.
“And my face needs?” She put her hands on her waist, pretending to be offended.
The make-up artist came over and examined the young woman's face closely, making her laugh even more.
"Darling, you may not even need it, but believe me, my magic little fingers will make you shine.”
"All right..." Melissa allowed herself to be contaminated by the makeup artist. "But please, don’t make me look like a clown."
“Great!” Arthur stepped up beside Lissa and turned her toward the bed. "Now that you two understand each other, it's better to choose what you're going to use right away. A look to the interviews, another one for photos and the show.”
"Now this job is getting interesting.” Lorys opened the garment cover of a gleaming dress that made Melissa want to vomit. "I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to work for a Rockstar... I should be producing a Pop diva.”
"You were thinking that you could end up in Gabriel's bed..." Arthur dismissed the bright dress. "That doesn’t suit on her.”
“Poor me!” Lorys opened a few more covers. “I like the bad guys... Gabe is too nice for me.” The makeup artist turned to Lissa and blinked. "But you, doll, you are capable of turning him into an evil boy, right? Maybe I'll steal it from you.”
“I wanna die!” Melissa tossed a short red dress over her make-up artist and went back to throwing herself on the bed.
"Here..." Arthur interrupted Lissa's drama. “This will work to show...”
"No." The girl tried to veto when she saw the white overcoat imitating a dress. “It's white. I hate white.”
"It's New Year." The assistant said simply.
“And?” She asked, picking up a black lacy dress.
"And it's Gabriel's tradition to wear white in New Year's Eve."
Melissa snorted irritably.
"I'm not Gabriel.”
"White for the photos and the show..." Arthur decreed and turned his attention to the cell phone that began to play. "You can choose anything else for the interviews." Turning to Lorys, he continued "You have one hour to get her ready. After the interview, you’ll have another hour to get her ready for the photos.”
"Let's get started..." Lorys pulled Melissa up to a chair before placing his makeup bag on a nearby coffee table. "We can break that whole white one with the black dress underneath, the collar will appear and, of course, black socks..." The makeup artist continued to chatter as she began to prepare the girl's face. “You’ll going to look beautiful! Drop dead gorgeous!”
Gorgeous was not quite what Melissa would use to describe herself normally, but she had to admit that Lorys knew what she was doing. When she looked in the mirror, she was barely recognizable.
The makeup artist had decided to keep the makeup-laden eyes she used to use for the interviews, saying she would save the best for the pictures, but he had managed to put some subtlety into Lissa's eyes that she didn’t know how to possess, just as she had disguised the pallor always present on the female face and chosen a slightly reddish lipstick that seemed to raise the girl's lips.
She was pretty, she decided as she smirked at herself, but she was still hiding behind a heavy makeup, just the way she liked it and felt comfortable.
“I will do more cleaner to the pictures...” Lorys focused on black wires of Lissa hair, spending some product that the girl didn’t know to make it bulkier."And maybe use your hair stuck... Let's see when the time comes. Have you chosen what you want to use now?”
Lissa left her seat and stared back at the bed, where the dresses were still.
"That one, I think..." She pointed to a flannel dress, plaid, black and red. It was pretty and had long sleeves, which was an important item for the girl.
"Uncluttered and stylish..." The makeup artist approved.
Melissa tightened the dress on her body and accepted the thick tights Lorys held out to her, as well as picked up her usual pair of boots, before moving into the bathroom to change.
When she returned to the room, Lorys clapped his hands excitedly.
"Just another little thing..." He spoke around Melissa's thin waist with a broad band of leather. “I think I will include personal stylist to my already wonderful resume...” With a flick of his fingers, the makeup artist asked the girl turned. "That's it, doll, you're definitely gorgeous. Now let's take that diva's face out there and shine.”
As she followed the makeup artist out of the room, Melissa concluded that she liked that boy. He was fun and he had the incredible ability to talk without stopping, without requiring her to participate in the conversation.
"Before you got in there..." Lorys stopped her as they reached the press room that had been handed over by the hotel to Gabriel's interviews. "Give me a smile..." He pointed the camera at the girl's face and photographed her. “That'll brighten up my portfolio.” He blinked. “Remember: You look beautiful and you are here to shine, sunshine. And if any journalist asks a stupid question, fuck him.”
Melissa laughed.
"I think Arthur dies, if I do."
"It’s capable..." Lorys opened the door and let her through. "But it would be fun."
She was still laughing at the makeup artist, so she didn’t notice the gaze of all the people present turning to her.
"Here's our guest of honors..." Arthur announced, pulling her into the middle of the room, leading her to a vacant armchair beside Gabriel, who had his eyes on her.
She waved as some people greeted her, but she said nothing. Suddenly, she seems to have lost her voice.
“You look beautiful”. The singer leaned over and whispered to Lissa.
Melissa stared at him for a moment before looking away from being caught red-handed. He looked beautiful, too. And sexy. All in black.
"I thought New Year would be the day to wear white..." She moaned as Arthur talked to the reporters.
"Later..." Gabriel winked at her.
"Why white?"
Gabriel laughed and left his place to approach Lissa. He bent down so he could talk and only she could hear him.
"What do you know about my family?" He asked amusedly.
"Ahn..." She thought for a moment. "You have an unbearable younger sister.”
The rockstar can’t help laughing loudly, drawing the attention of the people to them. Arthur gave him a meaningful look that he decided to ignore.
"My mother is Brazilian, and although she has lived in the United States for many years, she still has some customs from her home country. Like Christmas dinner at midnight and wear white on New Year's Eve... According to her, it is to bring peace in the year that will start.”
"I suppose any fan who cares you know that, right?"
The singer nodded in agreement.
"I should read that damn dossier..." She sighed.
Gabriel returned to his seat, still laughing.
"Hey..." It was Lissa's turn to lean toward him. “Can you speak Portuguese fluently?” She questioned, interested when she remembered the singer telling her what her dispensable nickname means in Portuguese “They say that it is one of the most difficult languages in the world.”
“Você é linda!” [21] He said in his mother's native tongue, while he reached out to lightly touch the female hand. She had no idea what he had said, but his naturally husky voice had a slight accent that made her melt, just as any of his many admirers would. "E eu estou perdidamente apaixonado por você."[22]
“What does it mean?” She asked curiously, after disguising the sigh she almost let slip.
Gabriel had no intention of answering, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have time, as Arthur approached to say that the interview would begin.
"Please..." The assistant whispered to them. “Disguise.”
When the first journalist sat facing them both, Melissa felt her hands shake, but she took a deep breath and she did as Arthur had asked: she disguised herself. Although she was disguising the nervousness of the situation and not the strange tension that was always in the air when she was close to Gabriel.
She let the singer speak, nodding in agreement and forcing smiles when appropriate. She would only answer something when someone asked her directly, and yet she chose the words very carefully, afraid to say something that made it clear she was a phony. It didn’t happen and after the third interviewer left, she was a little more confident.
They were always asking the same questions: How did you know about the singer's work? What was your favorite song? How had she reacted to knowing the outcome of the contest? And what was the thrill of being with the idol?
She answered the first question with a fair amount of honesty: Her best friend had forced her to watch a video, and since then she had watched all the videos released by Gabriel, listening to all the songs... Obviously, she graced the story, saying she was passionate about his voice at the first moment. The statement made the singer laugh out loud at her side and she glared at him, but kept the fake smile on her face.
From the second question onwards, there was absolutely nothing that came out of the girl's mouth that was true. Her favorite music was the only one she knew the name and had acquired the information to see the setlist of the benefit concert and her fanciful reaction to know the outcome of the contest would have shocked Angela if it had been real, but the passion with which she told the false story was worthy of Oscar. And her excitement at being next to the idol was such that she still imagined she was dreaming, unable to process everything that was happening...
"I can almost believe you really are my number one fan.” Gabriel whispered to her as they took a five-minute break for a drink.
"But I am..." Melissa winked at him.
It was all going so well that Melissa allowed herself to relax and laughed at some jokes made by a more bewildered interviewer until he suggested they play a game.
"A kind of guessing game..." He had explained. “Gabriel gives some tips and you need to decipher the song.”
The girl gave Voss a pleading look.
“I'm in!” The singer said excitedly, making Lissa want to strangle him. How could she guess anything if she didn’t know the songs? "But it will be so easy if I use only my songs. No fun at all.”
"So, let's make it a little harder for her... Any song that comes into your head, as long as it's not yours. Do you agree, Mel?”
The girl managed, with a lot of sacrifice, to suppress a grumpy response. Would everyone even call her that?
"Lissa," Gabriel corrected the journalist, with a sympathetic smile on his face, while accepting a whiteboard and pen. "She prefers to be called as Lissa."
“All right, Lissa. Are you ready?
“Of course!” She pretended excitement and turned to Gabriel. “I will win!”
“First song, Gabriel... Three tips and she'll have to guess.”
The singer positioned himself better in the chair, so that he could look directly at Lissa, scribbled the name of the song, and flashed the whiteboard at the interviewer, taking care that Melissa did not see it.
“Voice and guitar, Christmas, special.”
The girl almost choked, but she managed to avoid embarrassment by clearing her throat. But she couldn’t conceal the blush that gripped her face. Gabriel smiled at her.
“Everything?” She whispered with some insecurity.
“Ok... I don’t understand the tips, but she did... I think you're making things easier for her.”
"She'll miss the next one..." The singer commented, writing again on the whiteboard.
Lissa really missed, in the next and all the others, not because she didn’t know, just because her mind was far away, thinking of Gabriel playing and singing to her and how crazy he was to choose to use the music that the girl secretly already considered as being theirs to start the game.
“I give up!” She said after the third mistake. “I suck at that.”
The two men agreed, laughing, and after a few more questions and jokes the interview was finished.
"That was fun..." Melissa commented, stretching her aching legs for having sit with legs crossed for a long time. "But I confess that I'm crazy to end.”
"Just one more..." Arthur commented with some sympathy. "You're doing very well."
“Of course, nanny.” She replied, purposely using the nickname he detested. “I am incredible.”
"Very modest!" the assistant replied. “One more and you have to change clothes for the photos. They will follow the backstage of the show, so it's good to remember to behave.”
"Oh my gosh, how annoying you are, Arthur!” Melissa rolled her eyes. "And it's your fault..." She pointed at Gabriel. “You take up all the time of the poor guy. I say and repeat: this is lack of sex.”
Gabriel laughed heartily when his friend walked away irritably.
"You're going to make Arth go crazy."
"Is he always like this? Boring? Seriously, maybe he's in need of a girlfriend or a vacation.”
"A vacation wouldn’t hurt, but we're all stuck together until the tour is over. So, take it easy with him. He’s just nervousness because he wants everything to be perfect.”
The last interviewer entered the place, interrupting the exchange of the young couple.
Gabriel got up to greet him, as he had with everyone, so Lissa followed the script, doing the same. She nodded politely, but the man held out his hand to her, so she accepted it a bit uncomfortably and stayed even longer as he extended the handshake longer than necessary.
“We can start.” Gabriel tapped the journalist's shoulder lightly and gently pulled Melissa back into place.
The girl cast a quizzical glance at the interviewer, but she didn’t say anything. She hated unnecessary touches, especially male ones.
"Gabriel, you’re a luck man..." He said with a blink of an eye. "Your fan couldn’t be better."
The singer straightened his posture and faced the interviewer, without liking the tone used.
"She's fantastic." He said, even with no question had been asked.
“She is beautiful!” The journalist glanced at the girl, making her even more uncomfortable.
“Yes, she is beautiful.” Gabriel agreed, seriously. “And intelligent. A great travel companion”
"Sounds like you two are having a good time together."
Voss sought his personal assistant with his eyes. He didn’t like the interviewer's malicious tone, much less the unobtrusive stares the man was casting at Melissa's legs. Arthur approached, but said nothing.
“Do you have any questions?” Lissa questioned free of good humor.
“Of course, I do, sweetheart.” Lissa looked away. "Girls must be crazy to know what you're wearing."
“What am I wearing?” She repeated in disbelief, but she managed to bite her tongue before she snapped one of her sharp replies. What a sexist question!
"I think you're interested to know who the stylist is..." Gabriel tried to steal his attention. “It is?”
“Honestly?? I have no idea...” Melissa answered, trying to sound playful.
"Well..." The interviewer went on. “I think it makes no difference who the designer is. What really matters
is that you look wonderful inside that dress. It makes me feel, really, excited.”
Even Melissa, who had no experience with flirtations, could understand the double meaning of what she had just heard. And she did not like it at all.
Gabriel shifted in his chair. Clearly bothered.
"It must be difficult to have such a temptation constantly on the side..." The journalist looked at Voss. "How do you resist? Or do you not resist?”
For the first time, Melissa watched the singer without know what to say. It was evident from Gabriel's gaze that he was trying to think of something to get them out of that embarrassing situation, but apparently, he could not think of anything.
"So..." Melissa's voice cut the silence. "We're very excited for tonight's show. It will be awesome to be able to watch everything up close...”
"Yes..." The singer agreed. "I can’t wait for tonight."
"What are you going to do to animate the backstage? Does she share the dressing room with you? Is there any pre-show ritual you guys share?”
Gabriel Voss used to be proud of his patience, but he was very close to doing something he had never done in his career: ending an interview, not without first firing a rough answer.
“This is just the second show...” He replied after taking a deep breath. “We're still making adjustments. But I usually meet with the band, pass the setlist, chill with the guys and of course do a prayer before we went on stage. Melissa participates in the whole process, of course. It is part of the prize of the contest.”
"And you can celebrate the success of the show at the end of the night, just you two" It didn’t have to be too smart to understand what the interviewer was trying to insinuate. Lissa lowered her head in embarrassment. "One year on tour is a long time, and I think it can be lonely at times. Was the contest a way to amaze the solitude of your hotel room?”
Arthur stepped forward and nodded when Gabriel clenched his fists and leaned forward.
“The contest was the way I found to thank my fans for all the care and support I receive” He answered. “And although a year is a considerable time, we have some breaks during the tour that allow me to spend time with my family and rest. During a tour, I'm focused on the shows, just the shows.”
Broken Angel (English Edition) Page 19