The Rock Star and the Girl From the Coffee Shop 2: Under Pressure

by Terry Towers

  As she entered the deli, her stomach growled for what seemed like the tenth time since she’d awoken when the sweet smells of deli meats tempted her nose. After making a quick selection of a ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette, she spent ten minutes trying to communicate what she wanted on the sandwich while wishing she’d taken French classes in school.

  Changing her mind about taking the food back to the room, she found herself sitting at a table near the window, watching the city awaken and people scurrying down the sidewalks on their way to work, or whatever the day had in store for them. It was relaxing to be unknown – invisible. Feeling good and full, Hanna finished the sandwich and had begun to stand when she spotted Tyson exiting the hotel.

  She glanced down at her watch. 6:30am. What’s he doing up so early?

  Crumbling her napkin in her hand, she watched him make his way to a newsstand on the same side of the street as the hotel and examine the papers. After a moment of examining them, he grabbed a stack and paid the vendor.

  Hanna’s brow creased.

  What the hell?

  Instead of taking the papers back to the hotel, Tyson walked over to the nearest garbage bin and tossed them in.

  Huh?

  Standing, she tossed the napkin and paper plate in the garbage and exited the deli.

  Instead of approaching Tyson, she hung back, keeping on the opposite side of the street and many paces behind him, attempting to remain out of sight.

  Tyson proceeded to continue the procedure of buying papers and tossing them out at three more newsstands and corner stands. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what he was doing. She became more curious with each paper thrown out on what the headline must say for him to go through this morning task, no doubt on Bo’s orders.

  When Tyson decided to cross the street and repeat the process of buying and tossing out papers on her side of the street, she decided to find out.

  “Yeah. All of them.” Tyson passed twenty euros to the vendor, grabbed the papers and spun around to come face to face with Hanna.

  “Morning, Tyson.” Hanna plastered a smile on her face, despite her mixture of

  curiosity and simmering rage.

  “Hanna.” He tucked the papers under his arm, blocking her view of the headline.

  “What are you doing up so early?” A look of guilt crossed his face when he spotted her eyes on the papers.

  “Funny, I was about to ask you the same question.” She pointed to the newspapers.

  “What’s with all the papers?”

  “I ummmm.”

  Not waiting for him to come up with an excuse and lie to her, she grabbed one from the stack under his arm and flipped it open. No big surprise to her, she expected the story.

  It was written in French, but she got the gist of it. Two women, similar looking. One a supermodel and the other average. Blah, blah, blah. It wasn’t so much the article that bothered her so much as the picture of him and Nadine.

  He’d explained the situation behind the photo and Hanna had no doubt what he’d said was the truth, but from the angle the picture was taken it really looked as though they were in an intimate relationship.

  “It doesn’t matter, Hanna.”

  “Of all the times for them to take a picture…” she shook her head in exasperation.

  “We’re in Paris. This is just bullshit reporting.”

  Hanna lifted her eyes from the offending photo to meet Tyson’s gaze. “It is bullshit reporting. But it doesn’t keep people from believing it.”

  “You’re her? Her? You her?”

  What? Her frown deepened as she peered around Tyson to see the face associated with the female voice. It was a young woman, perhaps 19. The cashier of the newsstand gave her a wide smile and held up a French version of People magazine. Encouraged by Hanna’s attention she scurried over to her and Tyson, magazine in hand, and thrust it under Hanna’s nose.

  Hanna was familiar with the article the woman had been reading. It was an interview with Bo on his relationship with Hanna and the strains on a relationship when in the public eye. It was an excellent article. It was a genuine interview and not a hatchet job meant to “shock and awe.” Hanna respected the magazine for that.

  The girl looked down at the paper in Hanna’s hand and pointed to Nadine. “I don’t believe.” She shook her head, frowning. “You’re much more beautiful.”

  Hanna found her agitation beginning to slowly fade.

  “I love Bo. He wouldn’t. No,” the girl said, shaking her head a little harder. “Bo wouldn’t cheat. I know.”

  Glancing up at Tyson, Hanna couldn’t help but smile. At least one fan was on her side. Maybe the perception wasn’t as bad as she’d thought. Maybe the negativity of the press hadn’t gotten to the fans like she’d feared.

  “No, he wouldn’t,” Hanna confirmed.

  But the press is doing their best to make it appear that way, she mused.

  She passed the paper back to Tyson. “Go throw those out.”

  “My pleasure.” Leaving the two women alone, Tyson left to dispose of the offending papers in a trash can several feet away. Hanna was surprised to feel a weight being lifted from her shoulders just seeing the papers being placed where they belonged.

  “Can you sign?”

  Turning her attention back to the young woman, she noticed the clerk had produced a pen and was pointing toward one of the pictures of her and Bo that was accompanying the article. It was a good picture of the two of them in Central Park sitting on a park bench, holding hands. It warmed her heart seeing it.

  “Of course.” Taking the pen from the young woman, she quickly scribbled her name next to the picture in the blue ink. It was the first autograph that she’d ever been asked to sign. It made her feel like she was important after all – like for once in her life she was being accepted. It felt good.

  You’re not the dorky teenager you were in high school, Hanna. She scolded herself silently. For the first time in a long time she was actually starting to believe it.

  “Thank you so much!” the girl squealed when Hanna passed her back the pen and

  magazine.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “You ready to get back?” Tyson asked, taking his place at her side.

  Hanna looked around them. The morning was beautiful and not a soul was paying

  attention to either one of them; it was as though they didn’t exist. The day couldn’t be more perfect; even the shitty article couldn’t get her down today.

  “No. Not yet. Let’s go for a walk.”

  Tyson frowned, looking down at his watch.

  Laughing, Hanna swatted at his shoulder. “Don’t worry.” She pulled her phone from her jeans pocket and waved it before his eyes. “He’ll call if he wakes up before we get back. And I’ll get kudos for taking you with me. It’s a win-win.”

  Tyson threw his hands up in the air in defeat, although there was amusement in his dark eyes. “Lead the way then, girlie.”

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

  “You know what?”

  “What?” Bo looked down at her as they walked down the steps of their final museum of the day. It had been an exhausting, yet incredible day. They’d visited the catacombs, gone inside the Palace of Versailles, visited a half dozen museums and were now finishing their day with a nice little walk.

  “I’m so glad you insisted I didn’t bring my purse.” She looked over her shoulder at Tyson, who was trailing behind them and carrying a number of shopping bags in his hands, and grinned. “Tyson’s arms are already full without adding my purse to it.” She gave Tyson a wink and he groaned, rolling his eyes at her.

  “In all seriousness, though. Are you sure I can’t carry some of those?” Reaching the sidewalk, Hanna stopped and turned to Tyson, attempting to grab some of the bags from him.

  “No Ma’am. I’m fine.”

  “You sure?” She was feeling guilty. Sure it was his job – sort of. But she was feeling incredibly lazy watching him carry her gift
shop purchases.

  “He’s sure,” Bo said, taking her hand and giving it a tug. “Besides, you’re going to need your hands free for our next stop.”

  “Huh? I thought we were going back to the hotel. Get a little swim in before supper.”

  “We’ll do that, too. But after a few quick stops.”

  They walked a few blocks and as they rounded the corner, she was confronted with a string of boutiques lining both sides of the street. “Oh, you bugger. No.”

  “Come on. Pick one. Or several. Time for you to replace that replica bag you bought on the streets of New York for the real thing. Maybe replace that watch as well.”

  Hanna rolled her eyes at him. “I have no idea what you have against my Louis

  Vuitton handbag.”

  “The fact it’s cheap imitation leather to start. You let me pamper you with some new clothes, now its time to replace those accessories as well.”

  Hanna huffed. She looked down at her clothing, wishing she'd worn some of her new clothing, instead of the hand-me-down attire she was sporting now. A plain white t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Hardly high-class attire. “I’m not exactly dressed to shop in the luxury district. I’m dressed like a hobo right now.”

  “First off, the purse is already falling apart. And secondly, I’m also dressed like a hobo and I couldn’t care less.”

  Laughing, Hanna gave his hand a squeeze. “But you’re Bo Savage, honey. And you

  look incredibly hot dressed like a hobo.” She made a point of eyeing him up and down, which caused a bout of laughter to erupt from him.

  “But fine. Let’s go.” Despite her protest her heart was thumping in her chest. Before Bo came into her life, she’d never owned anything expensive. Luxury items weren’t items girls who worked at coffee shops owned. Boy, how things were changing. They walked past the shops, Chanel, Prada, Christian Dior, until they reached Louis Vuitton.

  “Here. Let’s go here.” The group entered the boutique to be greeted by a security guard and two salespeople waiting for customers to enter.

  “Welcome. How can we help you?”

  A stunning, slender dark-haired woman stepped forward, offering her hand to Hanna first before greeting Bo and Tyson. Her English was impeccable. Unlike the women in the New York shops who gushed over Bo, the saleslady there seemed to know her target audience was Hanna – it was an interesting change. And rather surprising.

  “Handbags and whatever else Hanna wants,” Bo offered when Hanna didn’t respond

  straight away.

  She smiled and motioned for the trio to follow her toward the bags. Each bag was displayed on the wall as if it were a work of art, while wallets were displayed in a glass case as if they were the finest of jewellery.

  “She’s going to need a new wallet as well.”

  Hanna didn’t attempt to protest. Truth was she was enjoying it. Maybe Bo was right, sometimes you just had to forget about money and tomorrow and simply enjoy the shit out of the life they had.

  “All right then.” Opening the glass case she began to remove the wallets from inside.

  “Is there a particular style you’re looking for?” As she placed several options on the counter Hanna couldn’t help but be amused to see she was wearing white gloves to handle the finely made wallets.

  Style? Hanna couldn’t help but laugh to herself. Usually her style when it came to wallets was what she could afford at Walmart in the colour she liked.

  “I ummm. I don’t know…” She looked up at Bo, who was smiling down at her. He

  shrugged.

  Realizing Bo wasn’t going to be much help, she touched one of the leather wallets, with hesitation – a brown and beige monogram one. She looked up at the saleswoman, who was waiting patiently for her to make a decision

  “Can I?”

  “Of course. We have that particular one in six colours, in addition to the traditional monogram.”

  The shopping experience got more pleasurable with each purchase in the store. She’d never been treated like such royalty, and it felt good. She felt like the star, as Bo and Tyson looked on. It was an intoxicating feeling. If the salespeople in the store recognized Bo they didn’t let on. Either they had no idea who he was or the more likely scenario was that they were used to seeing celebrities and were topnotch at remaining professional when dealing with them.

  By the time the trio left the store close to two hours later, Tyson had several more bags with a value of close to $30,000 added to his collection. The day had turned to night and it was yet another beautiful evening, the sky clear and stars shining brightly in the evening sky.

  Slipping her arm around Bo’s waist, Hanna cuddled tight to his side, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked. “Thank you, Bo.”

  He hugged her close and placed a kiss at her temple. “No. Thank you.”

  “What could you possibly be thanking me for?”

  “For not worrying about the money being spent or feeling like you owe me something in return.”

  She shrugged. “I just feel like I’m taking advantage sometimes. Not working and living off of you. For the shopping in New York and now this...”

  Bo laughed. “Hanna, you don’t. You never have. I know this sounds cliché, but it makes me happy when you’re happy. I want you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”

  She stopped in mid-stride, making him stop with her. Pressing herself up against him, she ghosted her lips across his. “I have everything I’ve ever wanted already. I love you, Bo Savage.”

  “Love you right back, Hanna Ambrose.”

  Chapter 12

  “You’re sure you won’t have a problem sharing the booth with Nadine?” Bo raised a skeptical brow at Hanna as they rode in the back of a chauffeured black Lincoln Town Car on their way to the recording studio. Today was the first day of recording for the band’s new album “Burn.”

  “You mean, am I sure I can handle six hours sitting next to the doppelganger bitch without scratching her eyes out?”

  Bo threw back his head and laughed loudly. “Yeah. That’s more or less what I

  meant.”

  Hanna grinned over at him. “Yeah. I think I can control myself.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “You know I’m not the confrontational type. But if somehow Ex-Lax winds up in her coffee I can’t be held accountable.” As she said it, Hanna couldn’t help but think that wasn’t a half-bad idea. Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner? The idea of that uptight wench rushing to the bathroom every few minutes due to the atomic runs would have been a hoot. A juvenile prank? Sure, but still a hoot.

  “Like you’d even do that. I don’t think you have a vengeful bone in your body,

  babes.”

  Hanna chewed at her lower lip as if in consideration and finally replied with a sigh.

  He was right. As much as she hated the woman, she’d never be able to intentionally hurt her.

  “Maybe not, but all girls have their limits. You’ve seen the movie 'Carrie' haven’t you?”

  “I have.” Bo was visibly fighting to keep from laughing again. “But you’re not

  telekinetic… or insane.”

  “Carrie wasn’t insane to begin with. The evil girls at the school made her that way.”

  Bo clucked his tongue off of the roof of his mouth. “I see.”

  “Yup. One minute she’s a normal girl just trying to make it through high school and next thing you know she’s covered in pig’s blood and just like that…” She hooked her thumb into her mouth and made a loud popping noise. “She pops.”

  Bo rubbed his chin as if in consideration of her argument. “Uh-huh.”

  “It’s the quiet ones you have to really worry about…”

  Hooking a finger under her chin, Bo tilted her face up and lowered his lips to hers.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Hanna sighed softly as his lips brushed hers. Her heart rate immediately quickened, as it always did when he touched her so tend
erly. Their kiss was short and sweet, however, as the car slowed and came to a complete halt at the recording studio.

  “We’re here.” Bo lifted his lips from hers and then proceeded to undo his safety belt.

  She groaned inwardly. She’d spent an amazing week with Bo in Paris, but now it was back to reality.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  “Finally, you two are here. Took ya long enough. We need to talk. Follow me.”

  Jeremy motioned for them to follow him into a conference room where the rest of the band, Trevor, Tipp and Anthony, plus Nadine were already waiting, seated around an eight-person conference table.

  “Whoa! What’s going on?” Bo frowned as he looked upon the serious expressions of the rest of the guys. Damn, I leave for a week and it appears all hell breaks loose.

  “Sit and we’ll tell you.” Jeremy closed the door, locked it and took a seat at the table, motioning to a couple of empty seats across from him.

  “All right.” Becoming more bewildered by the second, he and Hanna quickly took

  seats. “We’re seated. What’s up?”

  “It’s Victor.”

  Bo’s jaw clenched at the very mention of their former manager’s name. “What does that son of a bitch want?”

  “Twenty-five million.”

  Bo’s jaw dropped. He was speechless. That was the last thing he expected to hear.

  “What the fuck for?”

  “His lawyer claims we were in breach of contract for terminating him.”

  Bo’s shock turned to outrage. How dare that alcoholic piece of shit demand anything from them? “What kind of bullshit is that? He attacked Hanna!”

  Nadine leaned forward in her chair and addressed Bo directly, her eyes shifting over to Hanna periodically, hostility evident in them. “His lawyer claims that that is beside the point. The incident has nothing to do with the way he managed the band. And, in addition, he claims that the abuse he was subjected to was excessive. There’s no proof aside from Hanna and Anthony’s word and a cut on her lip that he attacked her, but he was hospitalized for several days as a result of the injuries inflicted on him by Anthony.”

  “What a crock of shit! When did this come about?” Ignoring Nadine, Bo looked from blank face to blank face. A part of him was angered over being left out of the loop on such an important event, but at the same time as his eyes landed on Hanna, he found himself grateful they had. Without a doubt, it would have ruined the trip.