by P J Gordon
“Shall we head up to your office, or will I be in the way? I know it’s not time for our meeting yet, but I’m at loose ends right now. Maybe you could show me around?” Richard’s request was tentative, allowing her latitude to refuse him if she wished. As if she wasn’t thrilled to have his company. It’s business, she reminded herself sternly.
“Is Josh around? Won’t he wonder where you’ve gone?” Manda asked as they walked quickly toward the building entrance. Richard kept his face carefully turned away from the approaching crowd.
“No. He’s not really a morning person. He’s probably still trying to wake up. I told him to meet me upstairs for the meeting. I can go entertain myself if you have things to do though.” Richard held the door open for Manda. She glanced back over her shoulder and then hurried through.
“Come on, quick. They’re gaining!” she whispered, and led the way to the elevators. “You won’t be in the way at all. I don’t have anything scheduled until our meeting. You can hide out in the office.”
The two of them ducked into an elevator just before the doors closed. A young man in a business suit was its only other occupant. He glanced at Richard and Manda and then did a quick double take before staring straight ahead without a word. They rode in silence until the man got off on the thirtieth floor.
Manda was the first to break the silence. “I don’t think he could decide if it was really you or not.”
“A couple of more floors and he would have worked up the nerve to ask,” Richard told her. “Trust me.”
“I suppose that gets pretty old, doesn’t it?” she asked sympathetically.
“It’s usually not bad one-on-one. It’s the crowds that get out of hand. People lose their inhibitions when they’re in a group, and they start doing things they wouldn’t do if they were alone. And,” he looked at Manda apologetically, “the women and girls are the worst.”
“You know, a disfiguring accident might help with that,” Manda offered with a grin, then frowned as if reconsidering. “But, on second thought, probably not.”
Richard rolled his eyes and chuckled. “You’re just a font of helpful advice, aren’t you?”
“I try.” The elevator opened onto the fortieth floor and Manda stepped out, smiling. “We’ll go drop my stuff off in my office and then I’ll give you the grand tour.” She led him through the glass doors and past the empty reception desk, taking him in the opposite direction from the conference room they’d used during their previous meeting. At the far end of the corridor she stopped at the door to the workspace she and David shared and punched the pass code into a keypad by the door.
“Welcome to the inner sanctum,” she declared as she opened the door and gestured Richard in with a flourish. The space inside was a dramatic departure from the spare, sleek décor that characterized the rest of the office. The locked door was like the gateway into another world. Manda and David each had their own offices at one end of the large rectangular room, sectioned off by frosted glass panels and pale wood doors. The common area was furnished with an oval table and six leather office chairs, a large leather sofa, and a glass-topped coffee table. A large flat-panel television dominated the wall opposite the sofa. Posters and random images plastered the remaining wall space and a number of beanbag chairs were piled in one corner. Strands of white twinkle lights were strung back and forth below the ceiling tiles and a stuffed parrot hung on a perch in one corner. The back walls of David and Manda’s offices featured expansive windows that faced south. Pikes Peak was just visible in the distance. The adjacent wall, which stretched from Manda’s office into the common area, was another wall of windows that faced east, and the morning sun streamed in cheerily. The windows were cluttered at one end with scribblings and drawings done in dry erase marker—some pertaining to work, others random and amusing. A small refrigerator was tucked into one corner next to a line of shelves packed with books and magazines. The overall effect was casual and fun.
Richard stood with his arms crossed, absorbing the riot of color and clutter around him.
“This is definitely more in keeping with the barefooted girl who was assaulting her coworker with soft drinks last week,” he concluded in amusement.
“That’s why Curt keeps us locked away in the corner. I think he’s afraid we might infect the whole office! Don’t tell him I let you in here. He’d be afraid it would scare you off.”
Richard laughed and Manda couldn’t help but smile. His laughter was so warm and rich it did funny things to her breathing.
“My office is over here. Let me drop my things and I’ll show you around the rest of the office.” Manda walked to her office in the corner and Richard trailed behind, examining the eclectic contents of the room. She sat down on the edge of her chair and opened a bottom drawer to put her purse away. Richard leaned against the doorframe and inspected her office as well. Potted plants cluttered the space, thriving in the southern light. A small teapot and matching cup sat on the corner of her desk, which was cluttered but neat. On the wall above hung her college diplomas and a few awards, placed there at Jen’s insistence.
Richard focused on the framed certificates. “You graduated with honors and you have your masters. Very impressive.” He sounded slightly surprised. She was used to that.
She blushed uncomfortably and looked away. “Um, yes.”
Richard went on, changing the subject slightly—for which Manda was grateful. “I tried to convince Josh to go to college, but he’s not ready yet. He says he’ll have plenty of time later. I suppose he’s right. He may as well enjoy his singing career for now. It can’t last forever, after all. I promised our mother that I’d push him though. An education is important.”
“You lost your parents, didn’t you?” Manda asked quietly.
“Yes,” Richard replied evenly. “They died in a car wreck when Josh was sixteen. He was just becoming well known then. That’s sort of how I got dragged into the whole thing. He needed me, and since I was writing all of his songs anyway, it just sort of evolved into the two of us.”
“So, you weren’t looking for the fame and fortune?”
“No. That’s really not my thing. I enjoy the music, the writing. Josh is the one who really lives to perform. And what about you, Amanda Jensen? What do you live for?”
“Right now, my greatest ambition is to show you where the coffee machine is,” she answered lightly, sidestepping his question self-consciously. “Since you’re apparently a coffee drinker, that’ll be our first stop.” Manda proceeded to lead Richard through the Aronson office, pointing out the lunchroom, bathrooms, conference rooms, and other amenities. Their conversation was friendly and light, but no more personal questions were asked. When they returned to the “Special Creative Services” area, as the plaque by the door named Manda and David’s work space, David was there, perched on the edge of the sofa playing a video game on the flat screen.
“Nice to see you hard at work,” Manda teased as they entered.
“Hey, I’ve got to beat your high score,” David retorted, not taking his eyes from the game.
“You wish!”
By the time Lena called to tell them that Josh had arrived, Richard, David, and Manda were all three battling it out on the large television screen and laughing exuberantly. Manda abandoned the game to go retrieve Josh, and returned with him just in time to see Richard defeat David soundly.
“If I’d known I was missing all the fun, I’d have gotten here sooner,” Josh lamented.
“You snooze, you lose,” Richard taunted, leaning back on the sofa and folding his hands behind his head.
“Well, since we’re all here now, I suppose we should get to work. We don’t want to take up too much of your time,” David suggested, stowing the video game equipment in the cabinet under the television.
“I reserved the north conference room, but since we’re all comfortable, shall we just do it here?” Manda suggested.
“I vote for here,” Josh asserted, dropping down onto the so
fa beside Richard.
“You won’t get him up now,” Richard said wryly, not looking inclined to move himself, “so we’ll just have to do it here.”
“Then it’s unanimous,” David agreed.
“Good!” Manda said, kicking off her shoes and retrieving the logo designs from the table. She pulled one of the leather chairs over as well, and then spread the printed pages out on the coffee table. “Here’s what we’ve come up with so far.”
She and David proceeded to point out the strengths of each design, and Richard and Joshua listened carefully, asking questions and offering opinions. Very quickly they narrowed it down to two choices—Manda’s favorite was one of the two. For some reason it seemed to make Josh a little uncomfortable at first, but Richard chuckled with delight and immediately singled it out as his favorite as well, after which Josh visibly relaxed.
“We’ll fine tune these further, using your ideas, and we should have the new designs ready by Tuesday afternoon,” Manda advised when they’d finished discussing the two logos.
“Shall we plan on meeting again on Wednesday then?” Richard asked. He seemed very pleased with what Manda and David had come up with.
“We won’t be in the office on Wednesday,” David informed him before Manda could speak. “Manda has a standing social engagement on Wednesdays. Tuesday afternoon or Thursday would work though.”
“Let’s go for Tuesday afternoon then,” Josh suggested. “The sooner the better, right?”
“Good. I’ll let Jen know so she can join us. Does one-thirty work for everyone?” Manda asked, looking to the three men for confirmation. When they all nodded their approval she wrote a reminder in her notebook.
“I guess we’re done here then,” David said, leaning back on the sofa beside Josh.
“That was quick. Now what are we supposed to do for the rest of the morning?” Josh sighed. “I thought this would take longer.” He sounded disappointed.
“Now we let these two get back to work without bothering them,” Richard replied. Manda sighed to herself. She wished they didn’t have to leave so soon, but she didn’t have any excuses for them to stay. They were busy men and no doubt had things to do. She knew they had a concert the following night but didn’t know what preparation that might involve.
“Do you have a lot to do to get ready for your concert?” she asked, mostly as an excuse to keep them there a little longer.
“Not really, but that reminds me,” Richard answered. “I wanted to invite the two of you. It’s at eight tomorrow night.” Manda smiled enthusiastically but David grimaced and shook his head.
“Thanks, but I can’t make it,” he declined reluctantly. “Tomorrow is my girlfriend’s birthday and I’m taking her out. I’m really sorry to miss the concert though.”
Richard looked startled, but Josh grinned. “Have you come up with anything good yet?” he asked David. Then he noticed Richard’s confusion and snorted in amusement. “You thought that David and Manda were a couple, didn’t you? Keep up, Richie! I asked David about that last week. Maybe that was when you two were off getting the pizza though. He told me all about his girlfriend, Stacey, and said he couldn’t think of anything special to do for her birthday. I didn’t realize it was tomorrow, though.”
“I still haven’t come up with anything,” David said with a grimace. “It might just end up being a nice dinner and some flowers.”
Richard cast a sheepish look in Manda’s direction and shrugged. “Sorry. I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I seem to do that often recently.”
Manda smiled. “Don’t feel bad. We get that a lot. His last girlfriend wouldn’t even speak to me.”
“Yeah, that one didn’t last long,” David grumbled. “What was I supposed to do, quit my job? She was completely psycho.”
Manda bit her lip to suppress a laugh. That particular young woman had been extremely threatened by David’s friendship with Manda, and no amount of convincing had been able to persuade her that it was completely platonic. David had grown tired of her paranoid jealousy in short order. Manda liked Stacey though. She was confident enough in her relationship with David to take Manda in stride, and the two women were on friendly terms. Stacey, like David, was gregarious and adventure seeking, making her a good match for him.
“Well, thank you for your understanding. Both of you can bring whoever you’d like, of course,” Richard offered. “We have an entire suite.” Addressing David, he continued. “I’ll tell you what, since you haven’t come up with anything else yet, bring Stacey to the concert. We’ll send a car to pick you up early and, in honor of the occasion, we’ll have dinner catered in for all of you in the suite. Then you can come backstage after the show. Would she like that?”
Manda collapsed back in her chair in a fit of giggles. “You should’ve just gotten the autograph and called it good!” she teased David, using her best “I-told-you-so” voice. He gave her a dirty look but thanked Richard with his next breath.
“She’d love that! Thanks!”
“It’s our pleasure, really. It’s the least we can do. We’ll have a car pick you up at, say, 6:30 then?” David quickly agreed, thanking Richard again.
“Write down your addresses and phone numbers,” Richard instructed David and Manda, “and we’ll take care of everything.” David jotted his information down on a pad of paper and handed it to Manda.
“Thank you, but you really don’t have to do that,” Manda objected self-consciously. “I can drive.”
“We don’t have to,” Josh agreed, “but we want to.” He smiled his dazzling smile at Manda and she couldn’t help but smile back.
“Just say thank you, Manda,” David said, taking the paper back and adding Manda’s address and phone number below his own and then handing it to Josh. “We’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Good!” Josh enthused with a satisfied smirk. “Tomorrow night then.”
Richard stood up and shook David’s hand. “I look forward to meeting your Stacey.” Then he turned to Manda. “And I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night, too. The great thing about the suites is that you can enjoy the concert without having to deal with all the humans.” He winked at Manda, causing Joshua to look at him sharply. Manda laughed but, still wary of Josh’s possible interest in her, hoped that the younger man’s disapproving look had nothing of jealousy in it.
David, oblivious to any uncomfortable undercurrents, groaned in dismay. “Oh, please don’t encourage her antisocial behavior!”
“We don’t stand a chance,” Josh commiserated. “Richard would be a hermit if he had his way.”
Richard and Manda rolled their eyes and sighed in unison, then laughed together. David eyed them both and groaned again. “They’re a matched set. Oh, we are in so much trouble!”
“I think you two have heaped enough abuse on Manda and me for one day,” Richard interjected dryly. “Come on, Josh. Let’s get out of their way. We’ll go work on that new song.”
“See ya, guys,” Josh said as he stood and followed Richard to the door. Then, too soon for Manda’s liking, they were gone. She exhaled and dropped onto the sofa, propping her bare feet up on the coffee table, crinkling one of the rejected designs in the process.
“Well, that went well,” David observed, propping his feet up beside Manda’s. “It’s going to be a lot of fun working with those guys.”
“Yeah, they’re really nice,” Manda agreed with a sigh. David eyed her speculatively, but wisely said nothing. “Well, let’s get to work I suppose.”
They each took one of the logo designs and set to work modifying and perfecting. Manda worked on her favorite again, jealously refusing to relinquish control of it. She felt connected to it and had been relieved when Richard singled it out as his favorite. At five o’clock they called it quits.
“So, are you going to tell Stacey about the concert, or are you going to surprise her?” Manda asked David as they waited for the elevator.
“I think I’ll surprise her. Especiall
y about meeting the guys afterward. Oh! I almost forgot. I left her birthday present on my desk.” The elevator arrived just then. “I have to run back and get it. Don’t wait for me. I’ll see you tomorrow night!” David waved as he dashed back through the glass doors. Manda stepped onto the empty elevator, already looking forward to seeing Richard again.
Chapter 4
The roof of the high-rise across the street offered a perfect view of the girl as she left the building and waited for her train. She might be a problem. She was very pretty, in a girl-next-door sort of way. She looked quite young, however. Maybe too young. It was too soon to tell.
Lizzy, the stage manager, had seemed likely. She was more mature and they shared a common interest in music. But even though they had been thrown into close proximity for quite a long time, she had not turned out to be his type at all. Those months of vigilance had resulted in nothing…which was all for the best.
The girl boarded the northbound train and disappeared from sight. A quick jump from the rooftop railing and a short dive followed by a gliding descent on black wings to a street light brought the girl back into view through the train window. She was scribbling in a small leather book and paying no attention to the people around her. So unaware.
What were her intentions? Had she been waiting for him in the courtyard that morning, or had it just been an accidental meeting? She’d certainly seemed pleased to see him. That wasn’t unusual, of course. He had thousands of admirers. It could become a problem, however, if they were going to be working together a great deal.
The train pulled away from the station and picked up speed as it traveled out of the city, but keeping up with it was no problem. It was important to see where the girl lived in order to prepare for any eventuality. Being away from the hotel wasn’t ideal but couldn’t be avoided in this instance. There was probably just enough time before they left for their evening outing to follow her to her house and get back.
Only one young boy noticed the black bird that shadowed the train all the way from downtown to the suburbs. Everyone else was, as usual, conveniently oblivious.