Love Evolution (23 page)

CHAPTER 30 

Avery wasted no time in holding Justin to his promise. She had spent the morning checking him into a thirty day residential treatment program. On her way back to the hotel, she found herself nodding off in the cab. Brutal Strength was on its way back to Vancouver without her. Before they had left that morning, JR had called, trying to encourage her. She knew better. Not only had she betrayed Marcus on a personal level, she had also screwed things up with the band. Hell would freeze over before he forgave her for that.

Avery turned her phone back on as the taxi pulled up to the hotel, and groaned. Twenty-two missed calls. One of the texts was from Trevor.

“
You look like crap, kiddo,
”
he told her as he let her into his hotel room.

She shrugged.

“
Do you mind telling me, what the hell is going on?
”

Avery dropped down onto the corner of the bed and did exactly that. When she finished, Trevor whistled.
“
You can
’
t make this kind of stuff up.
”

“
What am I going to do now?
”
she asked him.

He smiled grimly.
“
Did you get a chance to see any of the morning talk shows?
”

She shook her head.

“
You and Justin are the top entertainment story. Miss V is claiming the whole thing was a big publicity stunt for Brutal Strength. She apparently started taking pictures with her cell the minute you fainted. Marcus has refused all requests for interviews.
”

‘
That conniving bitch,
’
Avery thought.
‘
That makes us two of a kind now, as far as Marcus is concerned.
’

“
There
’
s more,
”
Trevor continued.
“
Mary called me. She wants us in her office first thing tomorrow morning.
”

“
That
’
s the last place I want to be, Trevor,
”
she told him.

“
That
’
s irrelevant, Avery. You have a contract with Black Cat. The way I see it, they
’
re holding all the cards right now. I
’
ll check your contract for loopholes, but I think
it
’
s
pretty ironclad.
”
He took a hotel key card off the desk and handed it to her.
“
I have us booked on a late flight tonight. I got you a room down the hall. Go get some rest, and stay out of sight. The media is going ape shit over this story.
”

*****

“
Marcus refuses to let Avery out of her contract,
”
Mary told them in a matter of fact tone. When Trevor and Avery had arrived, Avery had been contrite, apologizing profusely for her subterfuge.
‘
Good move on her part,
’
Mary thought. What she had done was bad, probably illegal, but Mary had seen worse in the years she had been in this game.  Secretly, she was more than a little pleased. The publicity was great for one thing. Besides that, the girl guitarist dynamic was exactly what she had pushed for all along. And Marcus
…
well, he would eventually come around.

Avery squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, waiting for Mary
’
s verdict.

“
For now, this is what we
’
re going to do,
”
Mary decided.
“
You are going to do some session work here that won
’
t violate your contract. We just brought on Chris Alex, and he could use a little help reviving his career. Some media attention thrown his way wouldn
’
t hurt either.
”

Avery
’
s eyes widened, her interest obviously piqued. Mary must have known she had a fondness for classic rock. Chris Alex had headlined for some of the biggest acts back in the day.
“
But if I run into Marcus
…”
Avery said, voice laden with trepidation.

“
That won
’
t be an issue. Marcus has taken a leave of absence,
”
Mary informed her.

*****

Avery was grateful to Mary for her mandate. She had needed something to keep her mind off Marcus. After the initial shock of his words had worn off, Avery had gotten mad. How dare he summarily dismiss her, no trial,
no
chance of defense, just him, judge and jury all in one.  

When Mary had approached her to do the video with Chris, she had seen it as an opportunity to pay him back. She had wanted him to see her with another guy, to show him just what he had passed up by throwing her in the same discard pile with the likes of Miss V.

Now, Avery regretted it. It had been a mistake, one that hadn
’
t lessened her pain and might have given Chris romantic ideas. He was really a sweet guy, patient and considerate and had told her repeatedly how much he appreciated her efforts on his behalf. In addition to the video, she had laid down some guitar tracks for his new project. Not that they were anything special. Her heart hadn
’
t been in any of it. The last thing she needed to do was to lead him to believe that their relationship was anything but professional. Avery admitted to herself that it was Marcus she wanted and would never have.

She couldn
’
t wait for each day to end. At work, she would hide her sadness behind a fa
ç
ade, just managing to fight through each hour despite a looming tidal wave of hopelessness.

Alone in her hotel room each night, shut off from outside eyes, Avery would let down her guard. She would give her mind free rein to replay their moments together. Often, she would lose herself in her favorite memory of Marcus, the one where he
’
d been in the studio working on
“
Jewel
”
with his acoustic in his lap. She would remember the sublime expression on his face, how his fingers moved expertly over the steel strings, and his jeaned thigh rhythmically kept time. He would glance up, hold her gaze, and smile. In her mind, the sound of his voice would wrap around her like a musical embrace.  

Finally, she would
lay
in bed, weeping quietly. Sleep, if it came at all, would bring the same dream. In it, Marcus would be there, but he would look right through her. As if she didn
’
t exist. As if he had never known her. As if the time they had spent together had never happened.

CHAPTER 31 

“
Where have you been, bro? Haven
’
t seen you in over a week and that
’
s antisocial even for you,
”
Dwight told Marcus when he saw him come into the studio.

“
I haven
’
t been very much fun to be around lately,
”
Marcus replied.
“
Mom kicked me off the farm. Told me to quit hiding from the paparazzi, and gave me the old
‘
pull yourself up by your bootstraps
’
speech.
”

Dwight winced.
“
Not that one. Sorry, man.
”
He had been in contact with his mom. In fact, they had talked last night. Both agreed it was past time to give Marcus a nudge in the right direction. 

“
What have you guys been doing?
”
Marcus asked, interrupting Dwight
’
s thoughts.

“
Oh, not much.
Just counting the money coming in, you know.
”

Marcus glanced toward the break room, noticing the crowd of people gathered around the monitor.
“
What
’
s everyone watching in there? What
’
s going on?
”
He pushed his way into the room, looking up at the wall mounted display. He swallowed with some difficulty, his throat having suddenly gotten very tight, seeing Avery
’
s image fill the screen. Her fingers assaulted the strings of her guitar, causing combative guitar riffs to explode out of the break room
’
s sound system. 

She looked amazing in the video. Hell, even dressed as a guy, she had been way too pretty.  Her jeans and t-shirt exquisitely hugged her curves. Something in her beautiful emerald eyes looked different, though, and her smile was a pale caricature of the one he had come to know.

Marcus wasn
’
t familiar with the song and wondered how she had gotten around her contract restrictions to do the video. Who had given her the approval to do it? Marcus tensed when the camera pulled back for a wide shot, and he saw Avery facing Chris Alex. Their fingers flew over their respective
fretboards
. How did she get in a freaking Chris Alex video?

Dwight came over and stood beside him. Leaning over, he told him,
“
Chris is in the Black Cat portfolio now. Mary insisted Avery do the video to help with his new album.
”
Noting his brother
’
s look of bewilderment, he asked,
“
Didn
’
t you know? I thought you
’
d given your approval.
”
  

Marcus shook his head while his gaze remained locked on the monitor.

Suddenly, the room filled with cat calls and appreciative whistles. Glancing back up at the screen, Dwight
’
s jaw tumbled open. Holy crap! Avery was climbing up out of a swimming pool, dripping wet, combing her fingers through her hair, and wearing a red bikini.

Marcus stood there mesmerized. How could he have been so clueless? His hands burned thinking about how many times he had been so close to her.

Dwight glanced sidelong at Marcus, an amused smile creeping across his face. Mary Timmons was up to something, and it appeared to be working. Now her cryptic comment made perfect sense.
“
If eye candy is what Marcus wants, eye candy is what he
’
ll get.
”
If Mary was trying to shake him up, she was doing a bang up job. Dude might need some oxygen. 

Marcus blinked, snapping out of his trance. Looking around the room, he growled at the other men,
“
Don
’
t you guys have something better to do!
”
 
He couldn
’
t believe Avery. What had possessed her to agree to wear that skimpy swim suit? 
Might as well have nothing on.
Nothing was left to the imagination with the way it had clung to her body. Someone needed to have a serious talk with her.  Did no one around her love or care enough about her to tell her she was being exploited?

As the crowd dispersed, Marcus began pacing back and forth.
“
What is she thinking, Dwight? I mean, come on!
”
 

Dwight chuckled under his breath. It seemed to him that Mary and Rheta had both been working behind the scenes to fix this thing between Avery and Marcus. He shook his head, thinking,
‘
I wouldn
’
t want to be on the wrong side against either of those two.
’
Turning back to his brother, he said,
“
I don
’
t know, Marcus. This video and the guitar work for Chris are the only things she
’
s done all week. And she
’
s had tons of offers, believe me.
”

Marcus frowned.
“
I don
’
t like the way Chris was looking at her.
”

Dwight paused, pinning Marcus with a look.
“
Really Marcus, why do you care? You dumped her, after all.
”

Marcus scowled.
“
You think she was justified in what she did?
”

“
Maybe not justified, but I can definitely understand why she did it. Can
’
t you? Did you give her a chance to explain the bind she was in with Campanella?
”

“
Mom told me yesterday. Just before she told me to get my stuff and get out.
”

“
Ok, well, that guy is the real deal, Marcus. And she thought he had murdered her brother.
”

“
Everybody
’
s on her side, aren
’
t they?
”

“
Yeah, pretty much. I
gotta
tell you
Marcus,
sometimes I don
’
t understand what
’
s going on inside that thick skull of yours. Avery
’
s proved she
’
s no media hungry bitch like Veronica.
Real boneheaded move dating that one.
Never knew what you saw in her, besides the obvious. She even hit on me last year when you two were dating.
”

Surprise flickered briefly across Marcus face.

“
Don
’
t even get me started on that love song Avery wrote for you. Damn Marcus, that
’
s some heavy shit.
”

“
Wait a minute. What love song?
”
Marcus asked.

“
Avery finished the lyrics for
‘
Love Evolution.
’
You really need to hear it, man. All that
’
s missing is your vocal track.
”

Marcus hadn
’
t slept worth a damn this past week thinking about Avery.
From the get go he had missed her, missed everything about her, including all the quirky things.
How she was a troll until she got her caffeine in the morning. The way she got all fidgety when she was nervous. Even the fact that she didn
’
t put up with his crap and rolled her eyes at all his sad jokes.

Starting to go into full panic mode, Marcus said softly,
“
I screwed up, didn
’
t I?
”
   

“
Hell, yes.
”

He gave Dwight a wry look.
“
It
’
s ironic, really. I mean, after all the searching
…
And now that I found her, I let her get away. My life sucks without her in it.
”

Dwight rested his hands firmly on Marcus
’
shoulders.
“
Sounds like you might be in love, little brother.
”

“
I do love her, Dwight. But I
’
m scared to death that I
’
ve missed my chance with her.
”
 

“
Well then, as I see it, there
’
s only one real impediment in your way.
”

“
Only one, huh?
What
’
s that?
”

“
Chris Alex,
”
Dwight teased.

“
What? He
’
s old enough to be her father!
”

“
Not quite that old, but he is a little older than you.
”
He shrugged.
“
I wouldn
’
t worry, except for the fact that Avery seems to have a thing for tortured, talented old men.
”
Dwight raised an eyebrow at Marcus and nudged his shoulder.

“
Stop it, Dwight. Quit yanking my chain! I
’
m worked up enough as it is.
”
He let out a frustrated sigh.
“
Help me get her back, man!
”

“
I thought you
’
d never ask. The first thing we need to do is make some phone calls.
”