A Face in the Crowd

by Christina Kirby

  “Okay, Mom,” Lexie sighed. “Let’s go inside and you can tell me what happened.”

  “He cheated on me is what happened,” she shrieked. “With the beverage cart girl!”

  Lexie’s heart went out to her mom, it did, but she wasn’t sure she had the energy to deal with her. This wasn’t the first time her mom had shown up at her door in tears, and unless Donna was taken over by some sort alien, she doubted it would be the last.

  They moved inside where mother proceeded to throw her jacket over the back of the couch and fall into the cushions with the dramatics of the most talented actress.

  “You’ll let me stay here for a while, won’t you?” her mother’s famous pout working for her as she waited for Lexie’s reply.

  She wanted to say no, wanted to scream at Donna to get out, but she was her mother and she needed her. She couldn’t toss her out on the streets.

  She blew out a breath. “Sure, Mom. Stay as long as you need to.”

  “Oh, thank you, baby. I won’t be a bother, I swear.” The tears vanished as fast as they’d appeared as Donna made her way to the kitchen. “Who were you with last night?”

  Lexie turned to the cabinet and pulled down two coffee mugs in an attempt to avoid her mom’s questioning eyes.

  “Oh, don’t bother denying it. I know the look of a woman who’s been with a man. Yesterday’s clothes, no makeup, extra glow in your skin.”

  The last thing she wanted was to tell her about Oliver. She’d have their wedding planned or worse yet, she’d throw herself at him herself in a desperate attempt to snag her another stepfather. One with real money.

  Lexie shuddered at the thought. “It was just a guy I’ve been seeing. No one special.”

  “Well, that’s good, sweet girl, because believe me when I say none of them can be trusted.” Donna accepted the offered coffee. “There isn’t a man on the planet who doesn’t want someone new after they’ve gotten what they wanted from the woman in front of them. There’s always someone else out there who is younger, prettier, more daring in the bedroom.”

  The coffee threatened to burn her mouth, but Lexie took a sip of the bitter liquid in spite of the threat. She needed something to calm the churning starting in her stomach. Oliver had gotten what he wanted, hadn’t he? She was such a fool. She slammed her mug down and cursed when the hot coffee sloshed over her hand. Donna hadn’t been there five minutes and she was already adding to her pounding headache.

  “Honey, are you okay? You look tired.” Donna set her mug on the counter and reached out a hand to run a finger over the skin beside her eyes. “Maybe we should have a spa day or go visit that doctor guy from TV. You have a couple of crow’s feet right over here. Don’t want to let that guy in your life see you looking drawn.”

  She swatted her mom’s hand away. “Yeah, okay. I’m going to go grab a shower.”

  “I’ll be here when you get out.”

  Don’t remind me.

  When Oliver woke, he blinked against the late morning sun as his mind replayed the previous evening’s events. It had not been a dream. Lexie had been there. A satisfied smile tugged at his lips. He rolled over to pull her into his arms and maybe wake her by making love to her again, but the bed was empty. The sheets were cold.

  He sat up with a start and tugged on his jeans as he headed to the kitchen in search of her. He found Andy instead, perched at the bar with a mug of coffee and a newspaper.

  “What are you doing here so early?”

  Andy smiled, dug into his jacket pocket, and set a small velvet box on the counter. “I brought your mom’s birthday gift.”

  “Thanks. Did you happen to see Lexie this morning?” He kicked the base of the wall with his bare toe, annoyed he’d forgotten to ask her if she had to work. He’d been looking forward to waking up beside her.

  “Yeah, but only for a minute,” he turned and met Oliver’s eyes with a pleased smile. “She was in quite the hurry.”

  Oliver studied his manager’s face for an extra beat. There was something underneath his smile, some sort of malicious satisfaction. He’d seen the look before when Andy had gotten his way after going a few rounds with whoever was standing in his way. Be it another manager, a club owner, a lawyer. He loved the kill.

  “What did you say to her?” Oliver took a step toward Andy as a weight settled in the pit of his stomach.

  “Nothing. I merely mentioned we had to catch a flight out to L.A. later today.” Andy waved a dismissive hand in the air, “She didn’t seem . . . concerned.”

  Oliver slammed his hand against the doorway. “Damnit.”

  He rushed back upstairs to grab a shirt and some shoes. This was not good. Trust didn’t come easily to Lexie and right as she’d begun to open up to him . . . And, there was something about the way Andy was acting. Something off which made it seem like he wasn’t telling him the whole story. Oliver could feel it. His phone pinged as his calendar reminded him it was time to head to the hospital.

  “Where are you going?” Andy stood, the crease between his Botoxed eyes struggling to show through. “What about L.A.?”

  “We’ll get there when we get there. I have to go to the hospital and then to see Lexie.” Oliver grabbed his wallet and keys from the counter and headed for the garage. He needed to see her before she shut him out.

  Andy appeared in the doorway as he slid into his rented car. “Oliver, let her go.”

  “No,” he turned the engine over and kicked it into reverse, “and Andy? If I find out you said something to her to screw this up, you’re going to be looking for a new job.”

  “I’m trying to take care of your career.”

  “Bullshit. You’re trying to take care of yours.”

  Andy’s face contorted into a mask of rage, but Oliver was done talking.

  The night before confirmed his feelings and instead of quenching his thirst for her, his desire had turned from a want into a need. He knew there was no one else who would satisfy him, not now that he’d had Lexie. And, it was more than physical, though she did have a body men wrote songs about, she was his soulmate. Unsure if Lexie had to work that morning or not, he headed for the hospital where he was set to sit with his brother during his chemo.

  His phone continued to vibrate in the cup holder as he drove. He should’ve told her about his trip, but he hadn’t been thinking. A common problem he had when he was touching her. The trip to L.A. was supposed to be his chance to tie up a few business things so he could focus on Lexie and their relationship. While paused at a stop light he glanced at his phone, according to the red message light he had twenty-seven new messages.

  No doubt, Andy made up more than half of them. Oliver wasn’t the kind of employer who threw his employees job security in their face, but more and more lately, Andy seemed to be more concerned with himself than with the band. Survival of the Fittest was Oliver’s life, but now Lexie was, too.

  The phone buzzed again as he parked the car and shortly after another voice message appeared. It was his mother. He pressed the elevator button with one hand as he listened to his mother’s voice on the other end of the phone. With each word she became more and more desperate. It was the label causing trouble. What was Andy up to?

  Oliver called his mother back as he walked down the all too familiar hallway. After hearing the details, he realized he had to go out to L.A. to sort things out. It was now or never, and was going to take all of them to make the move away from the label. He wasn’t willing to spend any more of his time or talent being a slave to a company they’d more than paid back.

  His mind continued to whirl as he sat trapped in the outpatient section of the building. His cell phone was still resting in his hand from his latest attempt to call Lexie. She had yet to answer his calls or his texts. He hoped like hell she was working and not regretting their night
together. He cursed under his breath. He should’ve asked.

  “You okay?” Bailey tilted his head to the side and eyed him the way only family can. “You seem distracted and downright tense, if I’m being honest.”

  Oliver blew out a frustrated breath. “I’m sorry, man. It’s just all this stuff with the label and with Lexie. This trip out to L.A. isn’t exactly hitting at a good time.”

  “No kidding, but you won’t have to stay long. I’ll get settled easily enough and screw the lawsuit. That’s what we pay all those asshole lawyers for.” Bailey, the stronger of the two of them, as Oliver had come to believe, sat forward as much as the medical equipment would allow. “I can handle this.”

  “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

  “I know, but I’m telling you not to. I’ll be fine.” Bailey smiled. “You need to come back for her.”

  Oliver looked at his brother, really looked at him. His face was thinner and his head still bald, but that wasn’t what was different. He seemed wiser, older all of a sudden. Where had his kid brother gone?

  Oliver smirked. “When did you get so smart?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve always been the smart one.”

  They laughed and some of the weight on Oliver’s shoulders slipped away.

  After what seemed like hours, the friendly nurse unhooked Bailey from the machine and went over the instructions and side effects which would most likely begin to plague him in the next two days.

  “Are you sure you’re good?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. I’ve been sitting for the past three hours.” Bailey nudged him toward the elevators. “Now shut up and let’s go find Lexie.”

  When they reached the Bone Marrow Unit, they scanned the hall and looked for Lexie among the nurses moving from room to room, but there was no sign of her.

  “Can I help you?” asked a voice from behind him.

  “Do you happen to know if Lexie’s working today?”

  “Sorry, she’s not. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “No, thanks,” he turned and headed for the parking garage unable to shake the sick feeling beginning to take hold. She wasn’t at work. She wasn’t returning his calls. God damn Andy. Oliver was sure he’d said something. “Hey, do you think Andy’s changed in the last couple of years? You know, more agitated, more eager for us to go on the road.”

  Bailey shrugged from the passenger seat. “I don’t know. He’s always been a little high-strung.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  When Oliver turned into Lexie’s apartment complex and spotted her car, he breathed a sigh of relief. If he could just talk to her, he was sure he could undo whatever damage Andy had done.

  “I’ll hang in the car,” Bailey grinned, “you go.”

  Oliver nodded and climbed the stairs leading to her door. “Lexie,” he said as he knocked. “Hey, I know you’re here. Talk to me.” He waited silently for a moment, but she never responded. “Listen, about last night. I just want you to know that it was one of the best nights of my life, but I have to go back to L.A. Something’s happened with the label and I have to go out there to take care of some legal issues.” He let his head fall against the door. “Lexie, come on and open the door.”

  A shadow moved past the bottom of the door, proof she was listening.

  “I have to catch a plane now, but I want you to know I’m coming back for you. You’re the one for me and the sooner you get onboard, the sooner we can start our lives together. I don’t care if it’s here or in L.A. Wherever you want to be is fine with me. I just want you.” He banged his head against the door lightly at her continued silence. “Please understand.”

  Lexie squeezed her hair with a towel as she stepped out of the hallway in her robe. As promised, and dreaded, Donna was still there.

  “Why are you standing at the door? Was someone here?”

  Donna spun on her heal and smiled too brightly. “Nope, I just thought I heard something. What should we do for lunch?”

  Chapter 21

  As the lawyers situated around the oversized, mahogany table droned on around him Oliver glanced at his phone. Four days. It had been four days since he’d left and still there was no word from Lexie.

  He turned his phone face down on the table and found his gaze coming to rest on Andy who was seated across from him. A bead of sweat shone under the florescent lights at Andy’s temple. Why was he sweating?

  “But, what you’re saying doesn’t have to be true,” Andy cut in almost frantic. “We can negotiate a new deal, a new contract everyone can agree on. There’s no reason to end what’s been a successful relationship for everyone involved.”

  “Successful yes, but we’re ready to take a break, an extended one. And, that’s something your boys aren’t ready to accept. They also want a new album by next year and we aren’t sure that’s going to happen, either.” Oliver sat up straighter in his chair and tapped the documents in front of him with one hand as he spoke. “Bailey needs the time off.”

  In Oliver’s mind that was enough. Bailey’s health came first and to hell with everything else. Granted, Bailey had made it clear he would understand if the guys needed to pull in a filler guy on guitar for a while, but they’d agreed it wasn’t going to happen. Bailey was as much a member as anyone else and he wasn’t going to be replaced for any amount of time. Besides, David was on the verge of proposing and he deserved to have some time off with his woman.

  “The label isn’t willing to wait two years for a new album nor is it willing to wait for another two to three years for another world tour. The time to strike is now while the spotlight is on you guys.”

  Leo sucked in a breath beside him and stood so fast his chair shot out behind him in a rare showing of temper. “We aren’t going to use Bailey’s situation to sell more albums. What kind of assholes do you take us for? Of all the—”

  Oliver reached out and set a hand on Leo’s wrist. “We’ll pay the amount we agreed on to get out of the remaining year of this contract and not a penny more. If you try to take us to court, we’ll fight you and chances are we’ll win. No one is going to look at the millions of dollars we’ve made this company and think we haven’t held up our end. To the outside world, you’ll end up looking like the overpaid, selfish pricks you are.”

  The CEO of the label stared at him with his mouth pressed into a firm line.

  “From now on, it’ll be up to us what new music to release, and when, and for how long we’re willing to tour.” He turned his attention to his team of lawyers. “You guys can hash out the details. I’ve had enough.” He scooped his phone off the table and headed for the door with Leo and David following close behind.

  As the door swooshed closed behind them, the weight of a hundred amps tumbled from his shoulders. They were taking their lives back.

  “You kicked ass in there, man,” Leo slapped him on the shoulder. “I mean, if I had to sit there one more damn day, my head was going to explode.”

  “Are you kidding?” David said as they stepped onto the elevator. “I think it did.”

  Oliver smiled as he leaned against the glass wall where the tall buildings and scattered palm trees of L.A. donned the scenery of their descent. With the label handled for the most part, it was time to go get Lexie and make her see reason. He wasn’t sure what it was going to take, but he was willing to do it, whatever it was. What he needed was a plan of action. A way to get her to listen. To make her understand he was for real.

  “Hey, Leo?”

  “What’s up?”

  “Do you still have Simone’s number? You know, Lexie’s friend.”

  Leo’s face broke out into a boyish grin. “Sure do.”

  “Uh-oh, Oliver’s up to something.” David eyed him as they stepped off the elevator and continued outside into the
California sun. “How much of our pride is this going to cost us? Which by the way, you still owe me for the little singing telegram.”

  “Believe me, I haven’t forgotten, and if it means you want me to dress like a chicken and serve you dinner when you propose, I’ll do it.”

  “Oh, I know you will.” David punched him in the arm. “A man’s only as good as his word, right?”

  “Exactly, which means I’ve got to run.”

  Leo offered a final thumb’s up as they left him by his car. “Go get her, man.”

  Oliver nodded. That was exactly what he planned to do and he wasn’t going to let anyone get in his way. He opened his text from Leo and pressed the phone number. When Simone answered on the second ring, he took a deep breath, “Hey, this is Oliver,” there was a pause while she questioned him. “Yes, that Oliver. I need your help.”

  Lexie flopped down onto her couch and had an internal debate about turning on the TV. Some mind numbing comedy sounded good, but the remote was across the couch. After a week with Donna, she was so exhausted she wasn’t sure she could move that far. Between the shopping, salon appointments, lunches, dinners, nagging, and constant critiques, her mind was on the verge of a meltdown.

  The alarm on her phone buzzed to remind her it was time to get online. Groaning, she sat up and reached for her computer and logged onto Skype.

  “Hey, stranger,” Simone said as her face came into focus.

  “Hey, yourself.” Lexie couldn’t stifle a yawn. “How’s the show coming along?”

  “Fine, busy. Today was the first day I’ve seen sunlight in a week. There was a major plot overhaul and we had to rewrite a huge part of the storyline. But, I guess that’s what happens when one of the stars checks into rehab. How are things with you?” Simone’s nose and then eye filled the screen as she pressed her face too close to the camera. “You look beat. Is it work?”