Music of the Heart (3 page)

Chapter Three

ASHLEIGH

              “I’m doing what?  And for who?”

              “You are going to help us plan the Atlanta Breast Cancer Benefit and sing at it as well.  My mother’s best friend and also my Godmother is the head of the committee and asked for all the girls to help.  I may have mentioned you would be in town for a couple of months and would sing a few songs.  Trust me, you will love Elizabeth.  She reminds me of your mom and she is thrilled to have you involved.  You’ll get to meet her at lunch today.  Dress up a little also, we’re going to the country club.”

              If I didn’t love Merritt so much, I would slap her sometimes.  She loves to tell me what she has planned for me to do and when to be there without asking me first.  Do I ever tell her no?  Ha, never!  Not many people tell Merritt no.

              “Well, thanks for asking me.  Sure, I would love to help out and will definitely sing.  Anything else you have lined up for me while I am home?  Please note the sarcasm.”

              “As if you would say no.  You love party planning as much as I do.  I’ve always told you when you are done singing on the stage, you are coming to work with me. “

              If it wasn’t obvious, Merritt is an event planner. She’s one of the most sought after planners in all of Atlanta as well as the state of Georgia.  She lucked up after college and our other three best friends went into business with her.

Merritt runs it all and is the owner.  Ava, Ellis and Laken all have a share in the company and have their own roles.  Ava is the chef and baker with a huge team that helps her out and her food is to die for.  She kept us all well fed at Auburn.  Laken is the designer and can turn any room or space into a masterpiece worthy to be in a magazine with decorations and floral arrangements.  Lastly, Ellis is a photographer.  Never ask anyone else to take your pictures for you.  She has won awards for her photographs.  All together, these four ladies make up “Bello”, Atlanta’s hottest event planning business.

“I’m really nervous though.  This is the first year Elizabeth has asked me to plan the whole event.  I just hope I make it perfect and to her expectations. Her opinion means a lot to me.”

“Why are you even worried?  You’ve done hundreds and hundreds of events and I have never seen one that wasn’t perfect.”

“Come on, let’s get ready.  Mom and the girls will all be there and cannot wait to see you.  You’ll also get to meet Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law as well as one of her son’s fiancés.  They’ll help us out a lot also.  Oh and just a heads up, Elizabeth will probably try to work her magic on you.  She has one more son who has never had a desire to get married and her mission in life is to find him a bride.  He’s actually Dixon’s best friend and like a brother to me.  How you’ve never met him before is beyond me. “

“You know I am in no position in my life to think about getting married right now.  Music, Merritt.  Music is my life.  We’ve already seen that I couldn’t stay with a guy when my life changed with this career.”

“First, you can date and sing at the same time.  Many people do it.  Second, you and Bennett are much better off as friends.  That was a relationship for convenience on both parts.  It was nice for y’all to have each other but nothing was ever going to come from it.  You and I both know that.  Last, Cross is easy on the eyes.” 

“Who is Cross?”

“Elizabeth’s middle son as well as Atlanta’s most eligible bachelor, four years running.  Every woman wants him but none can tame him.  He is not really the settling down type.  That’s why Elizabeth is trying to find the perfect woman for him in hopes he will choose a different lifestyle path.  Come on, we need to finish up and get to the club.”

Merritt and I are finally dressed and ready to go and I hop in the car with her and let her drive us to lunch.  We get to the country club and Merritt pulls up front to have her car valeted.  Walking in to the club, we see that we are the last ones to arrive.

I am bombarded with hugs the minute I get to the table at lunch.  Everyone seems happy to have me home for a small break.  Introductions are given to the ladies I don’t know and we order lunch.

              “Ashleigh, I have heard so much about you.  Victoria and Lucas talk about you all the time.  I want to go ahead and thank you for agreeing to sing at the benefit.  It truly means the world to me.”

              “Mrs. Hamilton, I am honored to have been asked.  I will think over some songs and let you hear them before so you can approve them.”

              “Goodness, Mrs. Hamilton was my mother-in-law.  Call me Elizabeth.  And I trust your judgment on the songs.  No need for my approval.  Katie, wouldn’t she be perfect for Cross?”

And there it is friends.  Merritt warned me this would happen.  Katie is married to Elizabeth’s oldest son and apparently on a mission to help find her single brother-in-law a wife.  Obviously, I am the target.  Lucky me.

              “Okay ladies, don’t start that with Ashleigh.  She’s here for lunch and to help us with the benefit plans, not to be married off to someone she doesn’t know.  While we wait for our salads, let’s discuss how the evening will go.”

Merritt is all work, all the time.  It’s a good thing she is dating a man who is more laid back.  They work so well together and everyone is eagerly waiting on their wedding day in July.  Merritt starts handing out packets for all of to look over while she talks.  This is typical Merritt.  Always over organized but we still love her.

              “Okay ladies, as you see on the front page, I have listed the detailed outline of the evening.  We will begin the night walking the pink carpet and having pictures made like any red carpet event.  We will then have a cocktail hour before we proceed with dinner. Next will we have our music and entertainment and then go ahead with dessert.  There will be also be a room set up with silent auction items and your guests will be able to bid throughout the night.  We will end the bidding and announce winners 30 minutes before the end of the event.  Ashleigh will sing several songs and she has also agreed to announce the silent auctions winners for us.”

              “Um, Merritt, I never agreed to announce the winners for you.”

              “Ashleigh, will you announce the winners of the silent auction at the benefit, please?”

              “Well, sure.  Of course I will.”

              “There.  See, you agreed to do it.  Now that we have that settled, let’s move on to the food and decorations.”

              We sat and ate our lunches and discussed the breast cancer benefit in extreme length for several hours.  I felt so proud for my friends.  This was a huge event to plan and put on and it sounded like it would be amazing.  As we sat and had a glass of wine, I remembered I did have some fun news for all of them.

              “Ladies, I completely forgot to tell you some news I have for you.  Merritt mentioned no one had gotten their dresses yet and seeing as we only have three weeks until the event, I called in a favor.  Tommy Langner does my wardrobe for all my tours and shows and has graciously offered to come down this weekend with racks of pink dresses in all different styles for all of us to choose from.  Is everyone up for that?”

              The looks on their faces were priceless.  Elizabeth just looked at me with pure happiness on her face.  

              “Ashleigh, that would be amazing.  I love his designs and work.  Are you sure he doesn’t mind coming to Atlanta though?  I know he’s a busy man.”

              “He is perfectly happy to do this for us Elizabeth.  He told me he had a wide range of pink dresses he will be bringing.  From the lightest pink to the brightest pink and from simple to more beaded and elaborate.  He’s also bringing shoes and bags to match for all of us to choose from.  So plan on Saturday morning around 9:30 if that works for everyone.”

              “That sounds perfect.  Oh and I will plan a spa day for all of us the day before the big event and then all the ladies can get ready at our house.  I’ll schedule hair and make-up to be here for everyone as well.  We can all be pampered.  Merritt, you better have all your staff ready to help out so you can be pampered too.  I will not take no for an answer from you.”

              “Yes ma’am, Elizabeth.  I had already planned on it.”

              As we finished up our lunch, I knew I really needed to get home and do some work.  I have a new album in the works and I have got to put some lyrics together.  I tell the ladies I need to excuse myself to catch up on some work and also to decide what I will be singing at the benefit.  Laken says she need to leave as well to work on the order for all the pink flowers needed for the benefit as well.  We make a quick stop at the restroom and then she offers to take me home since I rode with Merritt.

              I get home and start writing or at least try to write some new lyrics.  I have been struggling lately because my voice is always on my mind.  I am worried what the doctor will tell me on Monday.  Hopefully, it will just be to rest my voice for a bit which I am doing now.  One more day and I’ll know.

CROSS

              Mom called and wanted me to meet all the ladies for lunch.  She said they were discussing the benefit which normally, I would drop everything to help her with but I have another huge meeting today in Nashville.  Not only am I looking at two new properties to start developing on, I also have a shareholder meeting at one of the major record labels.  I just bought into this label and this will be my first meeting to attend.

              Working alongside the country music industry is something new for me.  I am not a huge fan of country music but the president of the label, Jamie Matthews, is a very old family friend.  He and I talk a good bit and I knew this would be a great investment on my part. 

I walk in the building and go up to the 15
th
floor.  As soon as I step off the elevator, I feel like I am in a different world.  Country music is softly playing, pictures of their famous artists line the walls and the receptionist is a beautiful country singer wanna-be.  It’s just written all over her face.  I walk up to her desk and as soon as she sees me, her face immediately lights up.  I tend to have that effect on women.  The flirting begins but I am not interested in that today.  I just want to have this meeting and be on my way home. 

I am slammed with meetings up until the benefit in three weeks.  I still have to find a date for this thing.  I would go alone but my mother believes we should all bring a date.  Of course, I am the only single brother of the three of us.   I take a seat and after a few minutes, I am called back to the conference room.

              “Mr. Hamilton, you can come back with me now.”  Jamie’s secretary shows me to the conference room and I join the rest of the shareholders. 

              “Cross Hamilton, it’s great to see you man.  Let me introduce you to the rest of the shareholders.”  He goes around the room and I meet seven other men and women.

              The meeting goes great and I already learn a lot about the business. I’ve known Jamie, the president of the label for a while.  He’s in his early forties and took over after his dad retired.  Couldn’t ask for a better man to run this label.

              As I leave, I take a moment to look down the halls of pictures displaying their country music artists.  So many famous faces line these walls. I head to the elevator but before I get out the door, a picture catches my eye.  This woman is stunning and not just that, she has this down to earth look to her as well.  That makes for a unique and beautiful face.  Given her job, her attitude is probably not as pretty.  She’s probably one of those who thinks she is the best there is and likes to flaunt it.  Why I am so drawn to her picture is beyond me.  I don’t even listen to country music so I am clueless as to who she.  Oh well.  I head to the car and Thomas proceeds to drive us back to Atlanta.  No plane today.  I just needed some time to think and being in the car alone seemed the perfect time.