My gratitude to my beta, xfang-girlx, who looked this over for me to catch my typos. Thank you!
"Rise and shine, sweetheart!" Shinji yelled, pulling the cover off of her body.
"Shinji! What the hell are you doing?!" Esmerie shrieked, snatching at the cover and shoving the face of the overly excited, asininely grinning blonde out of her face. It was too early in the morning for this crap.
"Time to get up. Wake up!" he exclaimed, grasping her naked body in a bridal carry to take her to the bathroom. He sat her on her feet in the shower before getting in with her.
Esmerie had to admit this part of waking up was not so bad. Her eyes struggled to open as he held her in his arms and tenderly kissed her lips. She sighed happily and lay her cheek against his chest as he commenced to scrubbing her body with the grapefruit scented body wash that was supposed to be invigorating. It was stimulating all right. The gentle movements of his hands over her breasts and belly made her want to go back to the bed, although sleep was the last thing on her mind.
"Are you awake now?" he asked with an overly wide, lecherous grin on his face when her eyes finally blinked open.
"Uh huh," she mumbled, grasping his erect member. "And so are you."
"We don't have time for this," he muttered, attempting unsuccessfully to peel himself away from her as she hooked one leg around his slim waist.
"Make time," she invited, covering his mouth with hers for a passionate kiss.
"Damn," he grunted knowing he did not have time for this and neither did she. Unfortunately, some things can't be helped.
~...~
"You're late," Rose calmly announced when Esmerie shuffled into the studio looking as if she had just rolled out of bed - or in it. His light purple eyes critically surveyed her from head to toe: her hair was still wet and drying into tight corkscrew curls, she was not wearing make up, and it appeared she had grabbed whatever clothes happened to be lying on the floor.
Esmerie shifted from one foot to the other under his direct and judicious scrutiny. She had snatched the first things off the hangers in the closet which happened to be an old tattered pair of jeans and a dark purple button down shirt of Shinji's. A tie patterned in black and purple stripes had been left around the neck of the shirt, and she had used that as a makeshift hairband to hold her hair out of her face. Her black ballerina flats had been an after thought that she had literally walked into as she was on her way out of the door. There had been no time for application make-up to hide the dark circles under eyes or hair products to tame her wild curls.
"Have you ever seen anything so pretty?" Kensei asked Rose, nudging him in the shoulder. After meeting Esmerie, he had asked if he could become her driver, her bodyguard, whatever she needed him to be. That idiot Shinji had finally found a good woman, and he wanted to stick around to make sure the boy did not lose her. He had watched Shinji grow up after all, and it was still debatable if he had done so yet.
"Well then," Rose began, clearing his throat when his smooth voice came out at too high an octave. Using anger to mask his vocal slip of zealous ardor, he carped, "Since our star has finally decided to grace us with her presence, it's time to get started."
"Aren't you being a little harsh, sir?" Love inquired, successfully making the formal address of respect sound sarcastic.
"No. I'm not. I won't have any divas working for my label," he protested, adjusting the frills at his wrists on his white shirt with a disapproving scowl on his face.
"That would be a first," Lisa muttered, giving her boss an insincere smile when he threw a glare of annoyance her way.
Lisa was correct after all. Many a diva had flounced through these studio doors courtesy of a certain blonde talent scout. They all knew Shinji had a penchant for finding the most pretentious, pampered brats to be the next star for Visored Music. Esmerie had been a shockingly different kind of find; she was not one of those snobbish diva, flash-in-the-pan, one hit wonders nor was she a country mouse lost in the city. The biggest shock came when they discovered Shinji wanted to make this one his wife. He had given some insincere and sickeningly sweet promises to his girls before but this one had taken the proverbial cake. Their trip to the wedding had been out of sheer stupefied interest; kind of like watching a traffic accident where casualties are definitely going to be involved. They thought the crash had come when the orange haired woman appeared at the ceremony. Unfortunately, the protective brother and friends had beat the hell out of the chrome dome who had brought the woman. That man had been a strong contender himself to break up the wedding commencement from what Lisa had told them about what occurred the night before at the bachelorette party. The bet the music company employees had going was that Shinji would not follow through with the wedding. They had all walked away from New Orleans a loser. If things did not change, Shinji would be the biggest loser of them all.
Esmerie took off her sunglasses and threw them in her purse so she could look over the music sheets sitting on the small metal podium in front of the microphone. She loved the microphone because it was one of the big metal, old-fashioned type microphones and hung suspended from the ceiling. Looking at the blond surfer-meets-Shakespeare man in the sound booth, she smiled. She liked his unique style that was a blend of Renaissance man mixed with California beach bum which seemed to carry over in everything in his life, even the way he decorated his office and studio. Shifting her attention to the papers in front of her, she almost squealed with joy when she saw the song she would be singing, I'm Feeling Good. Oh, yes, she was definitely feeling good.
~...~
Rose found Esmerie at a corner table in the cafeteria along with Shinji's sister. At first he considered passing by and going back to his office. He was sure she knew about the photo shoot this afternoon because Mashiro was supposed to remind her. Rolling his eyes upon realizing the dimwitted receptionist probably forgot about it herself, he decided to at least pause long enough to give her the friendly reminder. He was not sure the two women had even noticed him until they sat back in their chairs and offered him welcoming smiles.
"Sit down, boss," Esmerie offered, pushing out the chair with her bare foot. Her shoes had been abandoned under her chair, and she folded her leg back into her seat where she was sitting in what looked like a yoga pose.
"Actually, I just wanted to remind you of your photo shoot this afternoon," he said, taking the seat anyway.
"Oh, I haven't forgotten," she grumbled irritably, taking a long sip of her iced tea. Her green eyes suddenly darkened with emotion. "My husband reminded me of it three times as he drove me here this morning. Do we still have that meeting tonight with the owners of that club in Nashville?"
"We do," he answered, smiling at the little sister who was looking around at everyone in the room as if she were searching for someone. He wondered if she had found who she was looking for when her brown eyes suddenly widened.
"Oh, Esmerie, Esmerie!" she squeaked, pointing toward the door. There stood a man with blue hair and self-centered smirk wearing sunglasses despite being inside which made him look very much like the pampered, spoiled rock star.
"We handle all kinds," Rose offered as if to explain the man's unusual appearance when Esmerie raised a questioning eyebrow.
Esmerie shook her head and laughed lightly. She had to admit the blue haired hunk was quite handsome but she could also tell he was the type of man who knew just how appealing he is. As the fangirls swarmed around him, she turned her attention to Hiyori who looked ready to jump out of her chair and run to join the crowd. Apparently he must be one of her favorite singers and she had been hoping something like this would happen today while Hiyori was here.
"Well, go get an autograph," she suggested, chuckling as the girl took off like a shot fired from a gun.
"Are you okay?" Rose queried once the blond girl had worked her way to the front of the crowd and was way out of ear shot.
"Of course. I'm fine," Esmerie answered in a voice that was too happy with a smile that was too fixed.
"Tell me the truth when you're ready. I'm willing to listen," he said, his eyes boring into hers.
"I don't want to talk about it. I don't know what's going on for sure and right now it's easier to pretend nothing is going on. I'm still trying to adjust to my new lifestyle," she replied, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes momentarily. She was so tired, and this conversation was draining what energy she had left.
"My offer stands," he returned, reaching out to pat her on the hand.
"Oh, my god! That was incredible!" Hiyori screeched when she returned to the table. "Not only did I get his autograph but he gave me a kiss on the cheek! I thought I was going to just absolutely faint and die!"
"Don't do that...I'd miss you," Esmerie joked, making both of them giggle.
"Hey, is there any way I can go with you to the photo shoot?" she asked, bouncing ecstatically in her seat with hopefulness while still clutching the piece of paper with the coveted autograph in her hands.
"Is there?" the dark haired singer questioned her boss. Upon seeing his discomfort from being put on the spot as his fair skinned face took on a pink hue. When he sat back in his chair as if to give it some thought, she suggested, "What if I had an assistant? All divas need an assistant, don't you know."
Esmerie cocked a dark eyebrow bringing a smile to Rose's face. You're something quite special, he thought to himself as he stared at the woman. "Of course. You can't go anywhere without your assistant. Who would bring you your double tall nonfat caramel latte?"
~...~
"Wow," Hiyori gasped as they walked into the professional studio crammed full of camera equipment and props.
"Hey, you're my assistant...assist me," Esmerie hissed, shoving her large purse and book full of music sheets into Hiyori's hands.
The photographer and the man standing beside him who had been eyeing the young woman suspiciously lost interest and continued their argument about proper lighting. The photographer was a tall, gaunt man with long stringy black hair dressed in jeans as tattered as Esmerie's but with no shirt or shoes. He was so thin and unkempt in appearance she would have thought he was a bum from the streets. There was an eye patch over his left eye; one would think a photographer would be in need of both eyes. He had the most annoying and disconcerting smile that reminded her of someone; possibly the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. His assistant was quite different. The man was probably a foot shorter with shaggy blond hair that her mother would have described as dishwater blond. But he looked quite clean in comparison to his employer. He had the warmest brown eyes she had ever seen that seemed to light up when he smiled at her.
Esmerie swung her gaze to Rose who was talking to the photographer about what kind of shots he wanted. It seemed like everywhere she went she was surrounded by good looking blondes. She backed away apprehensively when the cute brown eyed blonde assistant approached her.
"I'll show you to the dressing room," he said, taking her by the arm. "My name is Tesra." His voice was soft but definitely masculine. It made a tingle race down her spine especially when his hand held her arm. His palm and fingertips were as smooth and silky as a woman's. She doubted he had done a real day's work in his life. Her hands were still calloused from many years of working in her aunt's restaurant.
"I didn't bring anything with me," she replied in a gasp.
"It's okay. We have costumes and clothing. You could always pose nude," he offered, looking straight ahead as he led her to the dressing room.
Esmerie was so stunned she was unable to keep walking. Her gape mouthed stare apparently amused him because he laughed at her when he turned to look at her.
"I'm just kidding. You looked like you needed a good laugh," he chuckled, taking her by the hand and pulling her along with him. "Don't be so serious. You're too pretty for that."
Esmerie felt a blush rushing across her cheeks. She chided herself for acting like a teenage nerd who had just been given a compliment by the coolest boy in school.
"HEY! Don't forget your assistant!" Hiyori yelled, running with the oversized purse in front of her. Her head bobbed up and down over the top of it, her ponytails flying behind her.
"Oh, sweetie, I would have waited for you," Esmerie giggled, unable to stop laughing at her.
"Hi, what's your name?" Tesra asked her, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Hiyori glanced at her sister-in-law receiving an encouraging wink. "Hiyori."
Esmerie waited for the next person to speak but the two stared at each other with moony eyed interest. Rolling her eyes and putting her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh, she pushed open the door to the cluttered dressing room. She was sure she had just stepped into the back room of a costume factory. Pawing through the crammed rack and the boxes below, she amused herself with the odd things she found. Upon finding a pair of pink bunny ears, she shrugged and pushed the tie off of her head to replace it with the ears.
Rose walked into the room the two blondes outside the door had pointed him to. He was taken aback when the sight of her behind in the air was the first thing to fill his vision. Daring to indulge his male tendencies to admire the bum of a beautiful woman, he silently perused her backside as she dug around in the box that was waist high on her therefore the top half of her body was submerged in the contents. He heard her make a sound something like a triumphant 'ah hah' from the depths of the box and covered his laugh with a cough. His laugh freed itself when she abruptly stood up complete with bunny ears and a mask that covered her nose complete with big bucked teeth covered her mouth. Apparently the 'ah hah moment' had come when she found the mask.
Esmerie snatched off the rubber nose and teeth along with the bunny ears. Her eyes glued themselves to the floor as a blush of humiliation burned her face. She had been playing around in here like a kid when it was time to get to work.
"Honey, it's okay," he said, moving close to her to hug her. He could not help it. She looked like a dejected and sad little girl. The impulse to hug her overwhelmed him before he could stop himself. "You were actually quite cute."
"Was I?" she asked, sniffing back the tears. Due to lack of sleep and crushing embarrassment, it had instantly brought tears to her eyes.
"Yes, very," he chuckled with amusement, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Esmerie clutched his jacket, holding her breath. She was far too close to him and far to emotionally delicate to be this close to him. Giving him a weak smile, she turned away when her lip began to quiver. She commenced to looking through the clothes again to find something suitable to wear.
"What about this?" Rose suggested, holding the simple purple silk sheath dress out to her. He had bought it just for her.
"Is it a nightgown?" she inquired, staring at the dress skeptically. Her fingers trailed over the sensuous fabric, and she sighed. She wanted to wear it.
"No. It's a dress," he assured her, pushing the hanger at her. With a somewhat shy smile, he told her, "I'll leave so you can get dressed."
Esmerie shook her head and resisted the compulsion to slap herself. Why had she wanted him to stay to assist her with the fairly simple piece of clothing? Hanging it over the back of the chair next to her, she began to unbutton her shirt, well Shinji's shirt, to change.
"Oh, my god! Ezzy, I love you!" Hiyori hollered, ignoring her sister-in-law's screech of surprise upon her opening the door while she was clad in nothing but her panties and bra. "Tesra's amazing. We're going out tomorrow night," she informed the woman as she helped her with the dress, before asking, "Ooooh, is that what you're wearing?"
"Yeah," she answered, staring at her reflection. There were odd bumps and creases that she could not smooth out no matter how many times she ran her hands over the dress.
"You've got to take off the panties and bra," the ever helpful assistant informed her, unhooking her bra. She pulled the straps down the other woman's arms and with a disturbingly quick flick of her wrists the bra was gone.
"Hiyori!" she shrieked, grabbing her chest as her breasts pressed against the thin material after being freed from their prison called a bra.
"And the panties. Let's go," she ordered. She was willing to help but there were limits.
"Are you kidding me?" Esmerie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the blond who gave her a feral smile with a tooth showing against her lip.
~...~
"What's going on in there?" Nnoitra, the cyclops photographer, inquired snippily. The artiste was losing patience.
Sounds erupted from behind the door that could have been from two cats fighting in an alley. Screeching and wailing mixed with hissing made the men wonder what really was going on in that room. At last the two women emerged, Esmerie clad in the purple dress complete with full make up and hair that had been straight ironed although it still curled loosely at the bottom. The assistant appeared to be in need a little assistance herself. Her pigtails were slightly askew, there was a scratch on her cheek, and what appeared to be a bruise was developing on her wrist. Tesra happily filled that need to offer his services in the form of gently searching hands that checked the cut then the bruise that appeared to be five perfect fingerprints.
"Ah, the princess arrives," the huffy scarecrow snorted, glaring at her scornfully.
"Princess? I don't qualify to be the Queen? Was the throne already taken?" she shot back, raising an eyebrow questioningly at the man.
"Oh, she's a feisty one," he complimented, giving her a wide toothy grin that distinctly reminded her of her husband at his most irritating. "I assure you, my dear, I am a straight man. I could wear your ass out and would do so if given the chance."
Esmerie cringed when the man became positively predatory, licking his lips as he gave her a long look from head to toe. She willingly moved behind Rose when his hand rested against her waist and pushed her gently.
"You won't be getting the chance," Rose said in a low, growling voice that was very uncharacteristic of his usual easygoing, pleasant demeanor.
"Oh, calm your ruffles there, Rose," the tall thin man grumbled, adjusting his camera. "Are we going to do this photo shoot or not?"
~...~
Rose waited for the two women to pull themselves together after the photography session since they would be going directly to the restaurant to meet the club owners. He was pleased to see they came out of the dressing room without contusions and abrasions this time. Offering each an arm, he led them to the limousine and Kensei waiting outside.
As they were about to get into the car, Esmerie's phone signalled she had just received a new text message. She removed her arm from Rose's digging for her phone in her huge purse while he assisted Hiyori into the car. Pressing the button, she bit her lip in jubilant anticipation of a text from her husband telling her that he would be seeing her soon.
"What is it?" Rose asked when her joy quickly turned to sadness. He was afraid she was going to cry when her eyes became excessively shiny in the light from the surrounding lamps illuminating the sidewalk and street.
"Nothing," she said, her voice husky with emotion as she offered him a quavering smile with a flip of a curl over her shoulder. She ducked her head to get into the limousine then paused. As if just remembering something, she told him, "Oh, and Shinji said he won't be coming tonight. He has a late meeting with a client in White Chapel."
White Chapel? What the hell is he doing in White Chapel?, Rose thought to himself but smiled at Esmerie and helped her into the car. If that bastard is doing what I think he's doing...
~...~
Esmerie lined up the shots in front of her according to color going from lightest to darkest shades of rum. She had no idea it came in so many colors from colorless to dark brown like whiskey. For an hour, she had pushed her food around on her plate while Rose and the owner of the night club had debated and worked out an agreement for her performance. The food had been unappetizing to her and the conversation uninteresting. Her husband should have been here to work out this deal. It wasn't Rose's responsibility. She wasn't Rose's responsibility. Picking up the clear rum, she brought the shot glass to her lips and drank it down. It burned like hell fire down her throat and set her insides on fire as it continued its downward trek through her digestive system. Nothing could burn and hurt her more than constantly being left alone. She felt lost and afraid. Looking around the room, she stared at all of the strangers in expensive suits and flashy jewelry. She didn't belong here. This wasn't her life. Is this what Alice felt like while sitting at the Mad Hatter's table? Picking the tea colored rum, she decided to have a spot of 'tea' and continue to have one until she just did not care anymore.
"Ezzy, are you all right?" Hiyori inquired, putting her hand on the woman's forearm. She pushed down to prevent her from hefting another shot glass to her lips. She wanted an answer as to why she was drinking her cares away.
"No. I'm not," she answered honestly with no further explanation. "I need to go to the restroom."
"Ezzy..." Hiyori chewed her lip nervously as she watched her friend/sister-in-law move unsteadily toward the door of the private meeting room.
The door opened into a long hallway that was filled with random people and doors that led to other rooms. Esmerie staggered to the doors indicating the restrooms that they had passed on their way to the meeting room. She pushed her way inside, nearly falling before leaning against the cold tile wall. Pressing her forehead against the wall, she slid down to the floor not caring that it was so close to the entrance and she could get stepped on. Her head was spinning. She could not think which she liked. Unfortunately the lack of sleep coupled with the alcohol and an empty belly was making it hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Hey, are you okay?" a pretty woman with massive breasts and dark blond hair asked her.
"Sure. I'm fine. Just resting a bit. It's been a long day," Esmerie responded, smiling like a drunken loon.
The highly blessed blonde took pity on her and pulled her inside to sit her on the couch in the sitting area outside of where the stalls were hiding the toilets. Why the hell did it seem she was surrounded by blonds no matter where she happened to be? Esmerie leaned forward, able to focus momentarily on the light, arctic blue eyes of the kind stranger. There was a beauty mark on her cheek and she could not help but notice the woman was indeed lovely.
"You look like you need these," the woman said, taking two harmless looking white capsules out of her purse and handing them to Esmerie who stared at them questioningly in her palm. "It's okay. They're just to give you a little extra energy. A little oomph to get you through the night."
"Thanks," Esmerie mumbled, tossing them into her mouth and swallowing them without water.
"Well, see ya, sweetie," her benevolent benefactor said, getting up from the couch and walking out without another word.
Esmerie was too drunk to care how weird the whole interaction was that had just occurred. She also did not care what she had just put into her body. Leaning back on the couch and throwing her arm over her eyes, she sighed noisily and relaxed as if she were going to take a nap. Within minutes, her body was accosted by an adrenaline dump and started shaking. She was sure if she didn't move and move a lot she would explode. Jumping up from the couch, she ran back to the meeting room. After scarfing down the cold food on her plate, she began to make her way around the room from one executive to the next. She laughed, she flirted, she was a pure delight as the men were quick to tell Rose at the end of the evening. Not only did she seal the booking for the end of the month, she was able to finagle two more performances for the next month.
"I'm impressed," Rose complimented as they rode home in silence. Whatever had happened to her had run its course, and she now leaned heavily against his shoulder while slumping in the seat like a rag doll. "You were positively charming and amazing. Maybe you should think about handling your own career after tonight."
Since it doesn't look like your husband will be around to do it for you, he added mentally but refrained from doing so out loud. He glanced down at the woman next to him to see she was asleep. Gazing at her face, he could see why Shinji had fallen in love with her. In sleep, her face was so sweet and innocent; angelic like that of a child. Even if he could have, he would have not have stopped himself from leaning down to kiss her forehead. She needed someone to watch over her. He would have a talk with her neglectful husband.