“RISE AND SHINE, CRUSH!”
Jason’s voice booming through Crush House startled Lucy so much that she actually fell out of bed. Or rather, off the sofa she’d crashed on after creeping into the house at 3:00 a.m. She’d planned to wait up for Harper so that they could try to sort out what to do next, but she must have fallen asleep.
Now Jason Darrow was standing in the middle of their living room, a camera crew at his back, shouting at the top of his considerable voice.
“OUT OF BED, NOW! WE’VE GOT WORK TO DO.”
“What the f—” Harper cut herself off as she peered sleepily over the balcony that ran around the open second floor and saw the cameras. “What the hell, Jason? What are you doing here? It’s like … six o’clock in the morning.”
“You girls have a gig in Studio City in five hours and, as I hear it, you need some practice before we get you back on stage,” Jason shot back at her. “Get your butt down here, Harper. And the rest of you come with her.”
Five minutes later, a very sleepy and very curious Crush was gathered on the living room sofas in front of Jason.
What was he up to? Lucy wondered. She shot a covert glance at Toni, who was sitting as far from Jason as possible, her face sickly pale.
“Now, ladies,” Jason said. “I realize that it’s been a terrible couple of weeks. I’ve been … distracted by some personal issues, and I’ve let you down.”
He swallowed hard, and Lucy wondered if the others could see how nervous he really was. But then, just like that, the flash of emotion was gone.
“You have every right to get me fired,” he continued, “but I’m hoping that you won’t. I may have made a mess of things, but I’m still the best Catch-22 has to offer. And I think we all know Crush needs a miracle. I can give you one, if you’re willing to accept it.”
He was looking at Toni now, hope and sorrow and fear in his eyes. “Will you let me give you your miracle?”
Lucy held her breath and waited for Toni to speak. Jason might have addressed the question to all of them, but everyone knew it was really Toni’s to answer.
Finally, Toni nodded. Just once, but it was enough.
“All right then, you ladies better wake up quick, because your miracle isn’t going to wait for you to have a nice, restful morning,” Jason declared.
“A midday gig on a Wednesday doesn’t sound like much of a miracle,” Harper said.
“It does when it’s The Eva Show and Eva St. Marie herself is naming Crush the new face of Young Women International, which is only the most visible international women’s charity in the world.”
“WHAT?!” Robyn cried. “We’re going to be on The Eva Show? No way. No way. We’re going to —”
“Going to blow every other Project Next competitor out of the water?” Jason said, smirking. “You bet you are. You girls are going to work harder than you even thought was possible in the next three weeks campaigning for YWI, and when you’re done, the world is going to know just how amazing Crush is. Especially after the benefit.”
“Benefit?” Lucy asked, letting the excitement that was starting to buzz in her belly grow.
“Oh, did I forget to mention that Crush is throwing the party of the year in three weeks’ time, right here in Crush House?” Jason said with deliberate casualness. “You’re going to raise a million dollars for YWI, and you’re going to have the best damn headlining debut in history while you’re at it. That is your miracle. You ready to help me make it happen?”