Chapter 14

Mark and Ana had been home for about an hour when the phone rang. Mark answered it and found that it was Roger who explained every thing to him. Then they arranged to meet back at the hospital in two hours. When he got off the phone, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get that if you want Mark." Ana called from the kitchen.

"It's okay I got it." Mark called back. Then he got up and opened the door. Standing there was Lanna.

"Hey Mark." she greeted. "Is Roger around?"

"No he's at the hospital." Mark told her, moving aside so that she could come in. "Our friend collapsed at work today and they are running some tests on her right now. Roger and her fiancé went to be with her."

"Oh I'm so sorry to hear that." Lanna said genuinely. "Which one of your friends was it?"

"Mimi Marquez." Mark said simply.

"The little Hispanic dancer? That's terrible." said Lanna.

"Yeah well she should be okay." Mark said. "What do you want with Roger exactly? Because I don't really buy that whole you want to be friends thing." he told her, getting to the point.

"Look Mark. Despite what you may think of me, I am a good person. And I do want to be friends with Roger. You too if you'd let me. Yes, I do have a bit of a hidden agenda for coming here; but that's not the only reason, and if you'd just let me explain, I think you'll be okay with it." Lanna said a little angrily.

"Alright." Mark said. "Come and have seat. Tell me what you want and I'll see how I feel about it."

"Thank you." Lanna said, following him into the living room. Once they were both seated she began. "Last week I got a call from Laurel Ducky. You remember her?"

"Isn't she that big shot producer from Europe?"

"The very same." Lanna confirmed. "She was just calling to see how Roger was doing and if he was still out of the music business. I told her that he was happily um- married and that yes- he was still out of the music business. Then she told me that she had somehow gotten a hold of some songs that Roger had written over the years and that she'd like to use them for some of her other artists if Roger didn't mind."

"Wow she really likes Roger's music that much?" Mark asked in awe.

"More than his music Mark. She likes Roger's lyrics and she wants to hire him as a songwriter for her company."

"What would that mean exactly?" Mark wanted to know. "Because he can't go to Europe. I mean he has a child to look after now."

"Ducky assures me that he won't have to travel." Lanna told him. "Basically, Roger would write a song then give it to me and I would have it sent to Ducky in London. Then she would pass it on to whoever would be singing it, and Roger gets full credit for the song."

"That sounds okay." Mark said. "What about payment for his songs."

"It works like this." Lanna explained. "Roger gets paid a basic commission for each song he writes and he gets a tidy sum whenever the song or any part of it is used for media purposes. We can't give him any money for the records sold because technically there not his records. But what he does get will still add up considering he is still getting paid for his own record sales and whenever one of his songs is used."

"Well Lanna, you were right. I do like the sound of that plan. But unfortunately what I think isn't what really matters here. You still have to run it by Roger, though I think he will be pleased with your offer. He's been feeling a little useless lately." Mark told her with a smile.

"Good. Can we effectively say that you like me a little better now?" Lanna asked him.

Mark nodded. "Yeah I think we can." he said.

Author's Note: I know that this was short and kind of pointless, but I just had the urge to write something and not much time to do it. Anyway I hope you all are enjoying the story and I have a question that I hope you guys can help me with. Do you think that Roger and Mimi should have an affair? A friend of mine said they should because it would add drama to the story, but I don't think he should do that to Mark and Ana. What do you think?