Chapter 11

Lauren struggled to sleep that night. She tossed and turned in bed, kicking the sheets off and then pulling them up because she was cold. She turned the events at the Sandoval show over and over in her mind, and several times woke up still thinking about what had happened. She thought about Danny's shocked face in the audience, and then the warm smile when they met backstage. Finally, after several hours, she drifted into a fitful sleep.

A flash of lightning and sharp crack of thunder shook her awake. Lauren sighed and fumbled for the clock. It wasn't even 5:00 a.m. yet. Fluffing her pillow, Lauren tried to go back to sleep but by 5:15, she'd just given up. She got up, showered and headed for the studio. She was there before 6:30. Fitz had given her a key and the security codes so that Lauren could go and play, rehearse, or write whenever she needed to.

At 8:00, Tisha arrived. It was a Sunday but Fitz knew that Lauren and Augie were meeting and until they both got the lay of the land, he wanted Tisha around. She didn't really mind. Fitz didn't often ask her to work weekends, but when he did, he always compensated her generously. Once it was even a four-day trip to Florida.

Clearly, she was going to earn her pay today. Outside, the wind whipped the rain and it hammered on the window glass. Tisha sighed. It was a miserable day outside, and seemed like it might be a miserable one inside as well. When she arrived, she'd said hello to Lauren who barely said anything in return, and based on the occasional curse words she heard coming out of the other room, Tisha knew that this morning's writing session was not going well.

The door opened and a man in a raincoat hurried in. He shook the water from his shoulders and muttered softly about the weather. Michael Augustus Francis Stone—affectionately known as Augie to the band—was Lauren's cousin and the band's drummer. Two years younger than Lauren, he'd followed her to LA as soon as he graduated.

"Hey Tisha. Good to see you. Is she here?" asked Augie. "How is she?"

The sound of a notebook being flung against the wall and a muffled f-bomb answered that question.

"Let's just say she's crabby," said Tisha. "I was here at 8:00 and based on the security system, she disarmed it at 6:30."

"Did you see the show last night?" He hung his coat on the rack to dry.

"I did. Things were great until that little surprise." While she was watching the Sandoval show, all Tisha could think was that Lauren looked like she'd seen a ghost when they showed the Reagan family in the audience. And the Reagans had looked just as shocked to be called out.

"I'm going to have words with Sandoval over this if she hasn't already. One of the reasons she did his show is because he's a straight shooter. You know how Lauren is about doing interviews alone. There's no way she'll do anything with him again. Not after this." Augie had been nearly as shocked as Lauren when he watched the show. Martin was normally a straightforward reporter, so to see the whole episode unfold was close to scandalous. Lauren has a long memory for people who screwed her over. She is not going to forgive and forget this.

But Lauren's ability to hold onto a grudge with terrier-like tenacity wasn't the only reason Augie was concerned. Danny was his main concern. He'd been in high school with Lauren and Danny; he knew how much his cousin loved Danny and how many regrets she had over their relationship. If you asked him, Danny was among the many reasons Lauren had careened out of control when she first got to LA—she'd been looking for a way to forget him, to fill the empty part of her where Danny used to be.

Tisha got up from her desk. "I'm going to make some coffee, do you want some?"

"Please," said Augie. "I'll be in there." He took a deep breath, opened the door to the studio area and went in just in time to see Lauren fling her pen down in disgust. She looked up sharply.

"It was Roberta, not me," she snapped. "Roberta's the one who set that whole fiasco up, and I fired her ass last night. And if you—or any of the other guys—have a problem with that, I'll fire you, too!"

Augie didn't respond, although he wanted to remind her that she really didn't have the power to fire him or anyone else in the band. But that would just wind her up. He'd always had a good sense of how to handle Lauren. His level head and mellow attitude often softened her drive and sharpness. Instead of taking the bait, he answered her in a couple funny, cartoonish voices.

"Good morning, Augie. How are you? I'm good, Lauren. I had a nice dinner with my parents last night. They said to say hello to you. That's nice."

Lauren took the hint and her attitude shifted from confrontational to guilty. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped your case. Let's start over: Good morning, Augie. How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you doing?" He paused. "I saw the show."

"I don't know how I'm doing. I'm angry. I'm confused. I'm embarrassed. You should have seen the looks on their faces when their seats got lit up, Augie. They all thought I'd done it to them, even Danny." She looked sad and lost for a moment and then her temper flared again. "I let Roberta have it right there in the studio and told her to get out. You should have seen her face when I fired her. Scott's been calling but I don't want to talk to him right now."

Augie nodded. Jackson Scott, known as Scott or Scotty to his clients, owned the firm that had represented the band before Lauren fired Roberta. Augie liked Scott and didn't think they should leave the firm, but he was as glad as anyone to be rid of Roberta. Over the past few months she'd been more and more difficult, doing what she wanted and not consulting the band. But keeping Scott Entertainment Limited on the payroll was a discussion for a different time.

"Did you talk to Danny or anyone after? I saw Erin and Jamie in the audience…" Augie had been a year behind Erin at St. Catherine's.

"I did. Actually, I didn't realize they'd been brought backstage. They all saw me rip Roberta a new one and fire her." A satisfied smile crossed her face.

"Good," said Augie vehemently. "At least they know it wasn't your idea. How is everyone?"

"They're good. Jamie went to Harvard Law and then gave it up to be a cop. Can you believe it? I don't know what it is about the Reagan family and being cops. Erin's an ADA, divorced. I really like her daughter, Nicky. She the one who wrote the paper I told you about. I invited them to come by the studio at some point to see us record."

"That would be cool. I wouldn't mind seeing Erin again, even though she wouldn't give me the time of day in high school. I wasn't bad boy enough for her." Augie laughed. No one had believed that skinny, shy Augie Stone would have followed through on his promise to follow Lauren to LA.

"And you won't believe this. Mrs. Reagan died a couple years ago—a heart attack."

"No!" Augie was shocked. He hadn't been as close to the Reagans as Lauren, but Mrs. Reagan had often volunteered at school functions, and he always saw her at church. She was a nice lady, and it was a shame to hear she'd passed away.

"And that's not all. Joe's gone, too."

"What? Joe Reagan? What happened?"

"Killed in the line of duty. Shot. Its just awful." Lauren shook her head.

"Damn," said Augie. "You'd think one of our Moms might have thought to mention something like that."

"You're not kidding. Carolyn's a total gossip; I'll have to tell her she fell down on the job on this one. I would have at least sent flowers or something."

"So," Augie finally got around to the question he really wanted to ask. "How was it to see Danny after all this time?"

"It was great. He looks great. It took all of, like, two minutes for it to feel just like old times. I could have talked to him all night." She lit up when she talked about him, and that worried Augie a little.

"That's good. I'm glad you were both cool with everything, considering the circumstances. Anyway, back to business. Stevie and his family are getting here today but they'll need a little time to get settled. DJ and Mike will be just after them. Since it is just you and me today, anything you want to get done?"

"Nothing specific. I've had a couple ideas rattling around, but I just can't get them into any kind of form I like. Not even rough ideas. Was there something you wanted to do?"

Augie shook his head. "Not really. I was going to tinker with some different beats to go with some of the songs we're thinking about, but I was really just going to experiment."

Then Tisha appeared with his coffee and he lit the room with his dimpled smile. "Ah, my A.M. angel of mercy! Thanks, Tisha."

"Sweet talker. Can I get you anything, Lauren?"

"Coffee would be great if you don't mind. Black one sugar, please. And Tisha? I'm really sorry if I was as bear this morning."

"Everyone's a bear until their third cup; don't even think twice about it," answered Tisha. "I'll be back in a flash."

"She is priceless," said Lauren. "If Fitz ever lets her go, we're hiring her for something. I wonder if she does PR?"

Author's Note - Author's Note - Author's Note

It is amazing how much writing you can get done when the weather outside is terrible and you neglect all of the housework you're supposed to do. Just a thank you to everyone who has been reading the story so far - please leave comments if you have them. I do appreciate getting feedback, so let me know what's working, what you like, and if there's something you don't like, you can tell me that, too. If something's not working, I can think about how to fix it in the future!