Love Evolution (20 page)

CHAPTER 23 

As the chartered Lear jet gained altitude, Avery could feel Marcus
’
gaze boring into her back. She wondered if he thought she
’
d
ratted
him out about the previous night. Not that it would have been necessary she thought. Marcus was unmistakably hung over.

When Dwight had confronted him prior to takeoff, he
’
d been hostile and defensive. Their terse exchange had ended abruptly with Marcus telling Dwight in less than polite terms to mind his own business. Marcus had stomped onto the plane and crashed into one of the back seats. Avery and JR had exchanged worried glances, taken their seats, popped in ear buds, and pulled magazines up over their faces.

As soon as they leveled off, Marcus grabbed a beer from the fridge, chugging it before letting out a loud protracted belch. Dwight turned around and told him,
“
Oh, grow up, Marcus.
”
The tension remained high the entire flight.

The ride over to the Nokia Theatre from the airport featured more of the same. Marcus sat on the opposite end of the limo from Avery in full sulk mode. When they arrived at the venue, the planet-sized personality that was Miss V had just finished her own rehearsal.  As the band entered, the buxom beauty rushed over to Marcus. Squealing, she flung herself into his arms, nearly knocking his mirrored sunglasses off his face.
“
Hello, gorgeous,
”
she cooed.
“
I
’
ve missed you so.
”

For a moment, Marcus was speechless.
‘
Amazing,
’
he thought. Did she really expect him to pick up right where they had left off? She acted as if the last six months had never happened. On the other hand, maybe she was just the tonic he needed to get his mind off the Avery thing. So far, booze and bleach blonde bimbos had failed to do the trick.
“
I
’
ve missed you, too, V,
”
he murmured in a low sultry voice, dipping her back over his arm, and brushing his lips across her exposed neck. 

V giggled.

Dwight rolled his eyes and groaned.

“
Hey, babe.
Who
’
s this?
”
Veronica asked breathlessly, tilting her head in Avery
’
s direction.

“
That
’
s just our new guitarist, Avery Jones,
”
he replied in a disinterested tone.

Veronica stepped out of Marcus
’
embrace. She laid her hand on Avery
’
s arm.
“
I know who you are, honey. I saw you on
Good Morning, America
.
”
She tossed her long, jet-black hair over her
shoulder. Looking flirtatiously up at Avery from under her false eyelashes, V said in a voice so soft only Avery could hear,
“
If you
’
re still looking for the right girl, I
’
d love to try out for the part.
”

‘
What a piece of work,
’
Avery thought, wanting to puke. Instead, aware that Marcus was watching, she took a deliberate step back and forced a polite,
“
Nice to meet you, too, Veronica,
”
from her lips.  

Brutal Strength
’
s turn on stage was next. Veronica kissed Marcus on the cheek, and sauntered away. They did a run through of
“
Brothers.
”
It did not go well. Everyone was out of sync. The musical synergy, the tightness they normally had as a group, was missing. Avery and Marcus ran into each other because they were avoiding eye contact, and John dropped his drumsticks. At the end, Dwight cursed under his breath and drew Marcus aside.

From a distance, Avery couldn
’
t hear everything that was said, but she did hear her name and Veronica
’
s name mentioned. Marcus shook his head a couple of times at Dwight and glanced over at her while Dwight
’
s voice continued to escalate. 

JR interrupted Avery
’
s attempted eavesdropping.
“
Hey kid, you ok?
”
 

“
Yeah, fine. Why?
”
 

“
I just didn
’
t want you to worry about anything really happening between V and Marcus. She
’
s just a big flirt.
”

Avery wasn
’
t so sure.
“
What happened between them?
”
she asked him.

“
They dated for a while, at least until Marcus got her a tryout with Time Warner. She broke it off to focus on her career, or so she said. But a week later, she was seeing someone else. V
’
s a player. She loves the limelight. She loves attention. She doesn
’
t love him. I
’
m sure Marcus understands that now.
”

*****

In the privacy of the limo on the way to the hotel, Stephen laid into all of them.
“
You guys
stunk
it up in there. You do realize you will be seen by millions of people? We
’
re going to have to do another run through. Lucky for you, I was able to secure us another rehearsal slot, but it
’
s first thing in the morning, so no late nights for any of you. Marcus, Avery- whatever
’
s going on
between the two of you, figure it out as soon as we get checked in. It
’
s a distraction we can
’
t afford right now.
”
 

Avery and Marcus glanced at each other briefly and nodded.

When they pulled around to the front of the Ritz, the limo driver had to show identification to pass through the barricade LAPD had erected around the perimeter. Fans swarmed around the vehicle trying to see in through the tinted glass as they passed through. Avery shook her head.
‘
Insane,
’
she thought.

Dwight glanced over at her, chuckling.
“
Hey Avery, there are almost as many fan signs out there for you as there are for Marcus.
”

Inside the posh hotel, Stephen checked in the group and gave each of them their room keys. He gave Marcus and Avery a pointed look but didn
’
t say anything more. Marcus put his sunglasses up on his head and glanced at Avery before heading down the corridor past her room.
“
I
’
m
gonna
put my stuff in my room,
”
he said.
“
Can I come over to yours in a sec?
”
 

“
Sure. All right,
”
Avery responded. She was just getting ready to enter her room when John came by.

“
Hey, Avery.
”

“
Hey, JR.
What
’
s up?
Wanna
come in
?
”
 

“
Yeah, sure.
”
John moved into the room and held out his phone.
“
Veronica wants to know if you
wanna
meet for drinks down in the bar in a bit.
”

“
Sorry I can
’
t, Marcus and I have plans
…”
She stopped, hearing a knock on the door, and went to open it.

Marcus hesitated in the doorway, spotting JR over Avery
’
s head.
“
What
’
s going on?
”
He lifted his head in acknowledgement, brushing past her as he entered the room.

“
Oh, not much,
”
John replied, waving his cell.
“
I was just showing Avery a text message from Veronica. She asked the two of us to drinks later. Avery turned us down, said you guys have plans.
”
He turned to leave.
“
Let me know if you change your mind, Avery.
”

When the door clicked shut, Avery turned to look at Marcus. His expression was guarded. She could understand why he felt the need to put distance between them, physically and emotionally. He had to be wigged out after what happened on Vancouver Island. Maybe she should just go ahead and tell him now.
“
Marcus, about what happened on Vancouver Island-
”
 

“
Nothing happened,
”
he interrupted her curtly. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.  When he opened them, he speared her with a sharp look.
“
Never bring that up again, Avery, ever.
”

“
Ok,
”
she whispered, shaking her head.
“
What do you want me to do then, Marcus?
”
 
When he didn
’
t respond, she groaned in frustration, looking up at him sadly.
“
What can I do to make things better? Just tell me and I
’
ll do it.
”

“
You really want to help, Avery?
”

She nodded.

“
Then go meet JR and V for drinks. Tell her I
’
m interested in getting back together. Then tell me what she says. Ok?
”

Could this get any worse? She
’
d already had the image of him with that blonde burned into her brain. Now, he wanted her to play matchmaker for him with that tramp Veronica? It was like death by a thousand cuts. Oh, joy.
“
Alright,
”
she managed.
“
I
’
ll text him right now.
”

Avery: Change of plans, can meet with you and V. Where and what time? 

JR: Great.  7
–
club
lounge, cu.

“
Ok, all set.
”
Avery raised questioning eyes up to Marcus,
“
Are we good now?
”
Looking a little guilty, he hesitated before turning and heading to the door.

“
Sure Ace, I
’
ll see you in the morning.
”

CHAPTER 24  

“
I told you I want Pellegrino! You know how I feel about this domestic crap!
”
Veronica screeched at her personal assistant, Manny, a prudish middle aged man with a handle bar mustache and a receding hairline. He cringed while she made a big production of pouring the offending beverage down the sink.
“
Manny, sometimes I think that you wake up in a new world every day.
”
 

“
Yes Miss V. Sorry Miss V,
”
he groveled.
“
I
’
ll get you some Pellegrino immediately.
”
As he scurried out of V
’
s palatial presidential hotel suite, he passed her stylist, Marie.

Marie put her hands on her hips and hissed at him under her breath,
“
I
’
ll get you for this, toad.
”
  
Her cell phone had gone missing, no doubt with a little help from that worm. The animosity between the two of them was constant, each vying for the top spot in Miss V
’
s fickle affections. Marie hurried on into the bedroom.
“
You called for me, V?
”
 

Veronica whirled around, glaring.
“
Yeah, what took you so long? I called like thirty minutes ago.  I
’
ve got cocktails with BS
’
s hot new guitarist at seven. Help me get ready already.
”

As Marie pulled out outfits from the closet, V looked in the mirror, cataloguing her assets. One set of lush collagen injected lips, gorgeous. Two beautiful golden eyes accentuated by fake eyelashes, deadly. And the
pi
é
ce
de r
é
sistance, the nicest pair of double D
’
s money could buy. She gave her reflection a nod of approval and turned to try on clothes.

About ten outfits later, finally satisfied, V left, trailing a cloud of Dior perfume. Marie had just about finished re-hanging all the rejected clothing when Toby showed up. Marie gave Miss V
’
s swarthy bodyguard/driver a come-hither smile as he leaned against the bedroom doorframe.

“
How
’
s it going, Marie? You sure are looking fine,
”
he said, slapping her on the rear.

Marie huffed, stepping past him.
“
I
’
m working. Why aren
’
t you with Her Highness?
”

“
She sent me away. Said she wanted some privacy. She
’
s downstairs with her cousin and some girly looking guy,
”
he slurred, stumbling on his words.

Marie came close to him, eyes narrowing.
“
You
’
re drunk.
”

“
What if I am? You
ain
’
t
my mother. Besides, I
’
m off duty anyway. Want to go out?
”

“
I guess so.
If you
’
ll help me play a little joke on Manny first.
That little prick hid my cell phone, and V practically ripped me a new one when I was late getting her ready tonight.
”

“
Count me in. That guy gets on my nerves, thinking he
’
s so much better than everyone else.  What did you have in mind?
”

Marie smiled wickedly.
“
You know, I think Manny actually fancies our Miss V. So, I
’
m going to encourage him a little.
”
She held a note near his face. 

      Manny, update my Face Book page with the following message: I can
’
t keep it to myself anymore. M really does it for me. If he could just loosen up
…
show me his wild side. I
’
m thinking shirtless, collared, and in leather. A serenade would be a bonus.

“
Your handwriting looks just like V
’
s.
”
Toby dropped the note in Manny
’
s box.
“
Oh Marie, you are an evil woman.
”
They snickered together as they left the suite.

*****

In the Ritz Carlton Club Lounge Avery, JR, and V sat around one of the small cocktail tables. V had just polished off her third Cosmo while JR nursed a beer. Avery wearily trailed a finger through the condensation on her glass of club soda and shifted uncomfortably away from V
’
s overly friendly wandering fingers
…
again. Apparently, the vamp couldn
’
t take a hint.

Giving JR a pointed look, Avery nodded her head in V
’
s direction, subtly imploring him to give her a little help with the unpleasant situation. After having spent the past hour putting up with V
’
s flirting, Avery wanted to scream. 

Ignoring her plight, JR typed something into his phone. Avery looked down as her text alert tone pinged.

JR: You should see your face, A, this is priceless!

Avery started to text him back when V put a hand on her knee.
Again, really?
The woman was a menace. Kicking JR under the table, she scooted her chair away from V. Avery swore if she had to move her chair one more time tonight, she was going to end up sitting at the next table.

Currently V was too preoccupied sizing up the cute bartender to notice anything. Avery rolled her eyes and texted JR back.

Avery: Help me u jerk!  :-

JR:  I
’
ll try. U R just too irresistible
…
MAN.
  

“
Hey V, you sure look great tonight,
”
JR said.

“
Thanks, John.
”
V turned to Avery, batting her fake eyelashes.
“
What do you think, sugar?
”

Avery sighed. She
’
d had enough of this.
Time to cut to the chase.
“
Speaking of looking good V, didn
’
t Marcus look fine today?
”

V leered at Avery.
“
Been there, done that, honey, if you know what I mean.
”

‘
Riiiight
, Too much information,
’
Avery thought.
‘
Better just spell it out for the dense witch, so I can leave.
’
Speaking slowly, like she was talking to someone who was a little slow, Avery said,
“
V, Marcus- wanted- you-to- know- he- is- interested- in- getting- back- together.
”

There, duty done.
She texted Marcus.

AVERY: Told V.  ?
on
interest
…
c u
tomorrow
…

Avery slid her cell phone into her pocket, stood up, and pushed back her chair. Her abrupt action startled V whose elbow had been resting there.
“
I
’
ve
gotta
say goodnight, V.
Early rehearsal in the morning and all.
”
Avery turned away, tossing a parting volley over her shoulder.
“
Night, JR. Don
’
t plan on sleeping too well.
”
 

Watching Avery exit the lounge, Veronica eyed the guitarist hungrily.
‘
So Marcus wants to get back together, does he? How great is that?
’
She would be like the woman in that Eric Clapton song,
“
Layla
,
”
with rock gods fighting over her. Might even make the cover of
Rolling Stone
with that angle
…