Delilah’s was a popular club with tons of celebrities, but all Annie could think about was getting back to the hotel and sleeping for at least ten hours. It was after midnight, and she was dragging. How Sterling did it continuously was beyond her comprehension.
“You were so great onstage,” Sterling said.
Annie was impressed with how Sterling managed to use large hand motions and not spill her wine. “Thank you again for this opportunity. I’m having so much fun.”
Sterling cocked her head and pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. She slightly shook her head as though erasing a thought and held her wine glass against Annie’s. “That’s what we do. Enough about that. Tell me about your life back in Denver. You do music for your day job, right?”
How did she know that? “Yes. I’m a contract jingle writer, but I took the last month off to do this tour.” She glanced at the time again. It was almost twelve thirty.
“You keep looking at the time, and I’m starting to get a complex,” Sterling said.
“I’m sorry.” Annie automatically put her hand on Sterling’s. It was more of a reaction to calm her, but within seconds, Sterling had intertwined their fingers. Now they were holding hands, and as much as Annie wanted to pull away, she didn’t want to offend her either. “I have a lot going on tomorrow. I also haven’t slept the greatest in days.”
Sterling nodded sympathetically. “How about we watch the rest of the concert tomorrow from the company suite? We can have dinner and a nice conversation. You can meet my dad and a few of the executives. There won’t be pressure to sign with us. It’ll be a good time.” As she spoke, she rubbed her thumb across Annie’s fingers.
Annie hated every second of contact between their joined hands. Maybe it was because she knew Sterling would be her boss if she signed with Top Shelf, or maybe it was because she was attracted to Bristol and not Sterling. Either way, she wanted out of this situation. Sterling’s idea had merit, and agreeing would give her an out for the rest of the evening. “That sounds like a nice plan. I really should go now though.”
Sterling let go of Annie’s hand and grabbed her phone. “I’ll have the driver meet us out front. He can take you back. Come on. I’ll walk you out.”
“Thank you. That’s very nice.” Annie followed her to the front of the bar. It took a solid ten minutes to get to the door because of all the people who stopped Sterling to say hello. She made sure to introduce Annie to every single person. She met two blockbuster movie stars, a top model, a morning talk show personality who used to host a reality show, and tons of musicians, some she recognized and some she didn’t. When they finally made it outside, the limo was there waiting. “Thanks again for tonight. I had a great time.”
“It was my pleasure,” Sterling said.
Before Annie had a chance to react, Sterling pulled her close and kissed her. Annie stumbled back and held her hands up. “Hold on. I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding.”
Sterling held a perfectly manicured hand to her chest as though shocked. Annie wasn’t sure if it was because she got turned down or if she was playing it up.
“I’m sorry. I guess I read you wrong. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. This is entirely my mistake,” Sterling said.
“I’m fine. I just don’t think this is a good idea, especially if you want me to sign with Top Shelf. Let’s keep this professional.” She tried hard to keep the anxiety out of her voice, but Sterling’s move really threw her off.
Sterling nodded. “I understand. Have a good night, Annie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As poised as she could manage, she crawled into the limo and started breathing again when they pulled away from the curb. LA was tough and the women were intense. The ride to the hotel took twenty minutes. Sitting alone in the limo made her realize how tense and tired she was. Annie had never been so excited to get back to a hotel room in her entire life.
* * *
Her phone’s vibration was loud on the glass nightstand. She reached for it and swiped it on. “Sarah? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. You told me to call you on my lunch break.”
Annie looked around the dark room. “What time is it?”
“One. So eleven your time.”
Annie rubbed her face with her free hand and stretched. “Sorry. I’m exhausted. As much as I’m loving this life, I can’t wait to get home. I don’t know how people do this every night.”
“Do what?” Sarah asked.
“Stay out all night, every night.” She pushed the covers off and turned on the small lamp on the nightstand. She winced at the bright light and wiggled her way into a sitting position. “How’s Peyton?”
“So far, everything is good. She’s responded well to the treatments. She wanted me to tell you that she’s taking excellent care of Raven, and she’s organized your mail by color,” Sarah said.
Annie chuckled. “I’m sure Raven’s kicked it around by now. She hates piles. Thank you again for taking care of her. I know she’s difficult.”
“It’s a good thing she loves Peyton so much because she despises me.”
“She does not,” Annie said, but they both knew she was lying. “Tell me about life.”
“I’m pretty sure you need to tell me about what’s going on in yours. How’s the tour? How’s Bristol?”
“Touring is so much fun, but only because I’m touring with somebody big. I’m sure if I was the headliner, we’d be staying at two-star hotels, not four-star.”
“How was Vegas? Charley said it was amazing, but she was too busy to give me details.”
Annie couldn’t believe she’d left Vegas yesterday. It felt like a lifetime ago. “We had so much fun. VIP is awesome. I felt like royalty everywhere. Bristol even assigned a security guard to me one night when I stayed out later than she did.”
Sarah laughed. “I’m so jealous. We’re going next time I catch a break.”
Annie’s heart fell just a little bit. Her sister had so much on her plate, with no real break in sight. “When I get back, we’ll go somewhere fun. And it can just be us girls.” It wasn’t that she didn’t love Chase, because she did, but she and Sarah were so close that sometimes it was just awkward with him there. “Peyton included.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Sarah said. “Tell me about what’s been going on with you. The concert isn’t for another hour, so we have time to catch up.”
Fuck. Annie had forgotten she was doing a virtual concert for the kids today. She scrambled out of bed and pulled clothes out of her suitcase. She had fallen face-first on the mattress last night. Her smudged makeup was going to take forever to scrub off. At least her guitar was in the room, so she didn’t have to scramble to get that off the tour bus. “So much has happened, I don’t even know where to begin.” Annie couldn’t have spoken the truth more. “Four Twelve Entertainment wants to sign me. They rep Three Times Wrong.”
“Oh, I love them. That’s amazing.”
“It gets better. Top Shelf wants to sign me too, but everyone I trust is telling me to get a manager.”
“Oh, my God! That’s even better news. It’s your dream come true.”
“Yes, but touring is grueling, and they are known for throwing their artists out on the road after each album.”
“But isn’t that the business?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, maybe when we were kids. Music is different because of social media and all the available platforms artists have. Concerts are one thing, but there’s so much more available.” Annie thought about her words and found them to be true. The industry had changed so much. She remembered her parents telling them stories of standing in line at the venue for concert tickets when they were teenagers.
As if reading her thoughts, Sarah said, “You know I’m super proud of you. I always knew you could hit it big. Mom and Dad would be at every one of your performances if they could.”
“I was just thinking about them. Remember how Dad used to tell us about the lines they had to physically stand in to buy concert tickets? I can’t even imagine,” Annie said.
“I can’t imagine a world without the internet. How was life even possible? What was social media back then? Friday night at the roller-skating rink?” Sarah laughed. “Remember the mix tapes they made? I think I still have Mom’s from when she was in college.”
“I have some of her letters she wrote to her friends. On paper.” Annie laughed with Sarah. As much as they teased their parents, they both missed them terribly.
“Listen, lunch is almost over, and I have some paperwork before the concert, so I’ll let you go. Give me thirty minutes.”
“Sounds great. I’ll see you soon.” Annie disconnected the call and jumped into the shower. It didn’t matter what she looked like for the kids. She could just throw her wet hair up in a bun. She still needed to wash all the ickiness of the twenty-four hours off. She had everything ready to go for the concert with only a minute to spare.
“Welcome, Annie Foster,” Sarah said.
Annie waved. “Hi, kids. How are you?” A chorus of “fine” and “good” answered her. “Do we have any requests today, or should I just wing it?” Annie knew Sarah would have to pull requests from the kids, as most of them were quiet and shy.
“How about something you’re playing on tour right now. What’s your favorite song to sing?” Sarah asked to spark interest.
Annie thought for a moment and decided on the song she sang with Bristol. “I bet everyone here knows this song.” She strummed and started singing. By the end of it, half the kids were singing, and Sarah was dancing down the aisle, making the kids laugh. She wasn’t a great dancer but also wasn’t trying very hard. The goal was to make the kids have fun. A few nurses popped in to check on machines and IVs and danced with Sarah. The concert was over too quickly, and Annie didn’t want to say good-bye.
“Thank you for letting me play my guitar for you.” Annie waved to the children and smiled as they waved back.
“See you later, sis,” Sarah said before ending the Zoom call.
The concert invigorated Annie. She wanted to get out and see a little bit of Los Angeles before she was expected at the arena. The rumbling in her stomach motivated her to get up and out in search for food. She slipped into shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. Nobody would recognize her. She found a coffee shop and ordered a latte and a slice of lemon pound cake. She sat at an empty table near a window, popped a piece of cake into her mouth, and almost choked when she opened her Twitter feed and read what was trending. “Oh, fuck.”