“Don’t I get a kiss then?” Jack smirked, as usual the last one to make it out onto the stage.
Stevie looked at him. “Fuck off, Jack.”
“When you talk like that it’s such a turn on, do you know that?”
“In your dreams, Warner.”
“Always, Stevie. Always,” he shouted as he ran off out onto the stage, the crowd now going wild as the first chords of their classic anthem ‘Days Of Old’ started up.
Mark’s voice belted out into the warm Mediterranean night and Stevie peered out at the sea of arms punching the air, flags waving, bodies jumping up and down to the thumping beat and heavy guitar riffs. And then she looked over at Mark. He was away in that world he always went to when he was on stage. It was his territory, his space, and he owned it.
“Are you two actually together then or what?” Ava asked, moving closer to Stevie at the side of the stage.
Stevie turned to look at Billy’s pretty, dark haired pregnant wife. “In a way.”
“Doesn’t it bother you, though? That he goes off with other women?”
Stevie was watching the band again, watching Johnny play the riffs they were famous for, putting his all into everything as Jack ran around the stage like some demented animal. But it was Mark who had the crowd right where he wanted them. Mark Cassidy - handsome, sexy and dangerous. One hell of a front man.
“It doesn’t bother me in the slightest,” Stevie replied, shoving her hands in the pockets of her denim shorts as she watched Mark jump off the main part of the stage and run down to the barriers that held the crowd back. The girls at the front were screaming like he was some member of a boy band, practically throwing themselves at him, and she wondered if he was picking one out, seeing who’s night he was going to make.
“But, don’t you want to settle down?” Ava was continuing to question her and she just wished she’d go away. What kind of right did she have to start interrogating her anyway when she’d hardly said two words to her the whole time they’d been here?
“No, Ava.” She turned to look at her again. “I don’t want to settle down. If I did I wouldn’t be doing this, would I? And I certainly wouldn’t be with Mark.”
Ava looked her up and down, taking in her tattoos and her biker boots and her oil stained shorts from where she’d carried in the leads and cables they’d needed for the gig.
“Maybe you should get yourself some self respect, Stevie. Then Mark might actually start treating you with some.”
Stevie stared at her as she walked off, cradling her baby bump and obviously on the search for a seat. Ava really had no interest in the band, she just wanted to keep an eye on Billy. Stevie had never clicked with her, never really spoken to her because they had nothing in common, and she tried not to let Ava’s last comment get to her because it usually took a lot to get to Stevie. She’d developed a thick skin over the years, she’d had to. But sometimes some things got through.
“You and her don’t get on, do you?” Dave Deacon, the band’s British-born manager said, standing next to Stevie as she turned her attention back to Mark, who was now back on the main stage and playing to the crowd in the only way Mark Cassidy knew how.
Dave Deacon was forty-eight years old and a bit of a veteran as far as band management was concerned. With his dark hair, good looks and a body that belied his years he could quite easily have been a rock star himself but he’d taken the route of music management instead. And he was one of the best in the industry, especially in the rock world. Black Rock Diamond had wanted him on board the second he’d shown an interest, and he’d been as good as his reputation, guiding them to the top, giving them all the right advice, as well as trying to make sure nobody went too far off the rails. A lot of their success was down to Dave, but there’d always been something about him that Stevie had never quite got.
“Whatever makes you think that, Dave?” Stevie asked, a touch sarcastically.
Dave ignored her. “They’re incredible, aren’t they?”
She looked at him for a second. “Yeah. They are.”
“These stadium gigs are going to be amazing,” Dave went on. “Do you think they’re ready?”
She looked at him again. “What the hell are you asking me for? Surely it’s your job to decide that so, are you trying to make some kind of fucking point here, Dave?”
“Mark.”
“What about him?” Stevie asked, looking back out at the stage as Mark caught her eye, throwing her the Cassidy smile.
“He needs to be focused. He’s started to go off on tangents, Stevie. He’s started to become a little more unpredictable.”
“And that’s my problem because...?”
“You make him crazy.”
She turned to look at him, right at him. “He’s a crazy bastard without any help from me, Dave.”
Dave stared back at her, folding his arms. And then he just walked away, leaving Stevie wondering what the hell had just gone on there. And yet, at the same time, knowing exactly what he’d meant.
CHAPTER SIX
Samantha Madison adored everything about the life she had and the world she lived in. She had a wonderful, loving and extremely successful husband, magnificent homes in various countries and a standing in the local community that made her one of the most popular and prevalent women in the area. She loved the glamorous, jet-set lifestyle she and Daniel afforded – the holidays, the expensive hotels, the staff that meant she never had to drive herself anywhere. She didn’t even have to cook if she didn’t feel like it.
Daniel gave her everything she wanted and she’d never had to work a day in her life. Not for money anyway, because Samantha worked extremely hard in other areas. She ran the local Women’s Institute, sat on the parish council, did a lot of work for charity. She was constantly busy and never bored. People always asked why she and Daniel had never had children, but the simple answer was that they just hadn’t wanted any. They were both simply too busy and Daniel was far too ambitious to let himself be distracted by fatherhood. She may be over forty now but she’d never heard her biological clock tick once, and even if it dared to start she’d just ignore it. She was far too used to the life she had without a child encroaching on it.
The only thing that sometimes got the usually cheerful and upbeat Samantha down was the fact that she didn’t see half as much of her husband as she’d like to. He wasn’t just an MP, he still had his businesses to run, and all of that meant he was away from home far more than she would have liked. She sometimes accompanied him on the occasional business trip but Daniel usually preferred to go alone. He wasn’t one to allow distractions to get in the way and sometimes he saw her as just that. A distraction. But that was who he was, a focused and very ambitious man, and that was why she loved him.
She’d met Daniel Madison at her twenty-first birthday party, a lavish and extravagant affair thrown by her parents at their modest stately home deep in the Berkshire countryside. At the time he’d been at the very beginning of his immense success, a twenty-two year old entrepreneur striking out on his own with a first class degree from Oxford and a head full of ideas and ambition.
She’d fallen for him almost immediately. With his movie star looks and gentle nature he’d seemed like the man she’d always been looking for but had never managed to find. And the fact he’d been so driven had made him all the more attractive.
By the end of the party he’d asked her out to dinner. A year later they’d been married in a huge and elaborate ceremony at her parent’s home, embarking on a marriage that had lasted almost twenty years and was still going strong. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect man. Or a more perfect life. Samantha Madison had it all and she saw no reason why it should ever be any other way.
What had been nice about the past few days, Samantha thought, as she bustled about the kitchen preparing breakfast, was that Daniel had actually been home for a while. He spent most of every day, and a good chunk of his evenings, holed up in his office working but at least e
very night he came upstairs to their bed, and that was what mattered. She’d never liked sleeping alone, even though it was something she frequently had to do.
She looked out of the kitchen window as she filled the coffee pot with boiling water. It was a beautiful, bright, sunny June morning and when the weather was like this it always made her feel uplifted. Having Daniel around also helped ofcourse, that was a bonus, and one she was making the most of because it wouldn’t last forever. He’d soon be back off to London and she’d be on her own again but she wasn’t going to think about that just yet.
She took the coffee pot over to the kitchen table, placing it neatly in the centre as Daniel walked in.
“Good morning, darling. Did you sleep ok?” she smiled, walking over to him and lightly kissing his cheek.
He smiled back, placing his newspaper on the table, sitting down as Samantha poured his coffee.
“I slept perfectly. I don’t know where you got those pillows from but they’re better than any I’ve slept on in the best five star hotels.”
Samantha smiled again. She did everything she could to make sure her husband was as looked after and cared for as he possibly could be so it was more than gratifying to know her work was paying off.
“My mother recommended them. She said she’d never had so many uninterrupted nights of wonderfully rested sleep since she started using them, and you know how often my father’s snoring has kept her awake.”
Daniel laughed, thinking how beautiful his wife looked this morning as she placed a rack of mixed white and granary toast in front of him. He was a very lucky man. Very lucky.
“Would you like some eggs and bacon?” she asked him, gently touching his shoulder.
He opened his paper and started scanning the business pages.
“Just coffee and toast will be fine,” he replied.
She sat down at the table and poured herself some coffee. “I thought we might go out for lunch today,” she said, watching him as he read his newspaper, a look of total concentration on his face. She didn’t want to ask what it was that was holding his interest. She wouldn’t understand anyway even if he told her.
He looked up at her. “Sorry, darling, did you say something?”
“Lunch. I thought we could go out somewhere, make an afternoon of it. It’s such a lovely day.”
“Oh, sweetheart. I can’t. Not today. I’ve got a conference call at 11.30 and a pile of paperwork to get through. I was just going to grab a sandwich at my desk.”
Samantha took a sip of coffee and smiled, trying to hide her disappointment.
“I’m sorry,” Daniel said, folding his newspaper and setting it down next to his coffee. “Things are just so hectic right now, you understand, don’t you?”
She nodded. Of course she understood. She’d been married to him for long enough to know how his life worked now.
“The rumours are getting stronger about Mitchell stepping down too,” Daniel went on, referring to the much talked about gossip concerning the Leader of the Opposition resigning due to personal problems. It was all Daniel could think about at the moment.
He leaned forward and took her hand, squeezing it gently as he looked into her eyes, a look of almost child-like excitement in his own. “If he does resign, Samantha - and it’s looking likely that he will - then I’m going to go for the leadership. I’m going to do it, darling. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of, you know that. And I’ve got the backing, I’ve got people who’ll support me. I just need to be focused and ready. It could mean a big change for us, especially with a General Election looming.”
Samantha watched his face light up as he spoke. The next phase of Daniel Madison’s career was about to take off and although she was pleased for him, ofcourse she was, she was also scared that this was going to take him farther away from her than he already was. She should be used to it by now but sometimes she just missed him.
“Another time?” he smiled, squeezing her hand again before standing up, tucking his paper under his arm.
“Another time,” she smiled back, knowing she’d lost him for the day now and it was pointless trying to get him back.
Daniel took a quick gulp of his coffee and leaned over to quickly kiss her cheek.
“I’d better get into the office and wait for that conference call. You have a good day, darling.”
And she would. Even if she couldn’t be with him she’d have a good day. It would just have been so much better if he’d been there too.
***
Daniel switched on his laptop and waited for it to start up. He’d have the usual barrage of e-mails to read through no doubt. It was going to be a long day but that wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to. He thrived on it. He hated having nothing to do, he couldn’t handle boredom. Not that he’d ever experienced much of it. There was always something going on in Daniel Madison’s life and that was just the way he liked it.
He leaned back in his chair, placing his mobile phone down beside the computer, knowing it wouldn’t be long before that started ringing too. And as if it had read his mind the shrill tone of an incoming call reverberated around the large office space as Daniel smiled to himself. His day was beginning.
He leaned forward to pick up the phone, logging onto his e-mail account as he spoke.
“Daniel Madison.”
“Daniel, it’s George.”
George Marshall was one of Daniel’s closest and most trusted business associates, and a very dear friend. He was one of the wealthiest and most influential businessmen in the country and he’d helped Daniel no end with many of his companies, not to mention his political career. Their families often socialised together, took holidays together, and Daniel and Samantha were Godparents to George’s teenage daughter. They’d been friends for a long time.
“George, hello. What can I do for you?”
“It’s a social call, Daniel. It’s Audra’s eighteenth birthday soon, as you know, and I just wondered if you and Samantha were free to join us. We’re holding a party for her at the Country Club and we’d love for you to help us celebrate.”
“And we’d love to be there, George. Count us in. We could do with a little light relief.”
George laughed. “You won’t get much of that I’m afraid. We’re hiring a rock band to play for her. Not our cup of tea but it’s what she wants and you know Audra – what she wants she usually gets. I know I spoil her far too much but what can I do? It’s her eighteenth.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “A rock band?”
“I know,” George sighed. “But they’ll be outside so there’ll be plenty of places for us adults to hide away indoors if it all gets too much. Never heard of the band myself but Audra loves them, or rather, she loves the lead singer, so Annabelle tells me anyway. We’ve got Ashbury’s doing the catering though so at least the food will be exceptional, even if the entertainment won’t exactly be to our taste. I haven’t put you off old chap, have I?”
“No,” Daniel laughed. “No, you haven’t. Tell Annabelle and Audra we’d love to join you for the party.”
“Fantastic! We’ll get the invitation sent out today. Oh, by the way, has Mitchell resigned yet? I haven’t watched any news this morning. I’m a bit out of the loop at the minute.”
Daniel sat back in his chair and pushed a hand through his hair. “I haven’t heard anything as yet, George, but it’s definitely looking like it’s going to happen soon. All we can do is wait.”
“Keep me posted, will you? And you know you’ll have my full support.”
“Thank you, George. We’ll see you at the party then.”
Daniel ended the call and placed the phone back down on his desk, looking out of the window. The bright June sunshine bounced off the vivid green lawn and the colourful plants and shrubs dotted around their perfectly landscaped garden. He felt quite calm as he watched the birds hopping about from tree to tree, the light breeze shaking the branches slightly. He felt good. Everything was in place. He could do it, he had no doub
t about that. And he was the front runner, he knew that too. But, like he’d told George, all he could do now was sit back and wait for Andrew Mitchell to resign. Because when he did, Daniel Madison would be more than ready to take his place.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Why does Dave do this shit?” Mark threw his ‘phone down onto the table in front of him, swinging his feet up beside it. Stevie looked at him, watching as he stared out of the bus window. Sometimes he could act like a petulant schoolboy if things didn’t go his way and, in the middle of the most important tour of their lives, a private gig for some rich businessman’s daughter was something Mark evidently wasn’t in the mood for.
“It’s one night, Mark,” she said, sitting down next to him. “Grow up and deal with it.”
They were on the tour bus, heading to Manchester and another string of sell-out stadium gigs. But Manchester was somewhere Stevie was never that keen on re-visiting. She just couldn’t tell anyone why, because she didn’t want to re-open those still un-healed wounds, she didn’t want to re-live the past. But she could never stop the nerves and the fear hitting her every time they came back to this city because some things, no matter how hard you tried, could never be laid to rest. Not fully.
The tour, however, was going incredibly well. They’d played Dublin, Glasgow and Sunderland so far and the reviews had been amazing. The fans had gone wild, the guys had stepped it up a notch and the atmosphere had been something Stevie had never experienced before. Watching them out there, night after night, she knew they’d really hit it big now. They’d hit it really big. They were commanding the audiences they’d always craved and they deserved it. All of it.
But they were all living on a mixture of adrenalin and lager at the minute and sometimes the strain began to show. Mark especially was becoming edgy and temperamental and Stevie knew she’d have to try harder to keep him calm, because when he was like this he could so easily go off altogether. And nobody wanted that right now. But she could control him. She was the only one who could, and everybody knew that. “Think of the money,” Jack said, sitting down opposite them, his attention focused on a small hand-held video camera, concentrating on what was playing out in front of him on the screen.
See You at the Show Page 4