See You at the Show (24 page)
“She has to make a choice, Johnny.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Dave?”
“She’s messing with this band.”
“She’s pissing off Mark, that’s all.”
“Mark
is
this band.”
Johnny took a swig of beer, looking straight ahead.
“That’s good to hear, Dave.
That’s really good to hear.”
“Quit with the hurt feelings routine, you know what I mean.
Without Mark Cassidy this band’s nothing and you know that and I want him at his best, Johnny.
I want him firing on all cylinders and right now he’s nowhere near that because his head’s in a mess.”
“And this is my problem because?”
“Talk to Stevie.
Like I said, she has to make a choice.
Either she quits whatever’s going down with Daniel Madison and gets Cassidy back on track, or she’s out.”
Johnny looked at him through narrowed eyes.
“Out?”
“If she isn’t around anymore maybe Mark can move on.
Because, right now, she isn’t even giving him the chance to try.”
“I’ll ask you again.
What the fuck has any of this got to do with you?”
“You’re her friend, Johnny.
I’m sure she’d rather hear it from you.”
Johnny laughed, he couldn’t help it.
This whole situation was beyond crazy.
“I’m telling her nothing, Dave.
You’re out of your mind!
It’s none of your fucking business.”
“It’s my business when what she’s doing starts to affect this band so talk to her, Johnny.”
He stood up, picking up the newspaper and sliding it under his arm.
“Or I
will
.
It’s your choice.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Stevie found Johnny outside the recording studio, sitting on the step smoking a cigarette, staring straight ahead of him.
It had felt a bit like he’d been avoiding her lately, he’d certainly been quieter than usual and it bothered her.
Usually he told her everything so if something was up she wanted to know what was on his mind.
“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong with
your
face?” she asked, sitting down beside him.
“I didn’t know you were coming down here today.”
He didn’t look at her when he spoke.
“Yeah, well, they wanted me to help out on something.
I’m a freelance sound engineer as well as your roadie, remember?
And probably cheaper than hiring someone else in.”
She took the cigarette from him, stealing a quick drag.
“And I wanted to see Mark.”
“Really.”
It wasn’t a question, and Stevie didn’t miss the hint of sarcasm.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He took the cigarette back and looked at her.
“Daniel Madison.”
She looked away, her stomach suddenly turning over as a wave of nausea washed over her.
“How do you know about Daniel?”
“You’re not denying it then?”
She looked back at him.
“How do you
know,
Johnny?”
“Dave told me.”
“Dave?
Jesus...”
“And don’t ask me how he knows because I haven’t a clue.
He just does.”
“Christ, Johnny...”
“Top secret, is it?”
“Of course it’s a bloody secret!
He’s in line to become the next British Prime Minister for Christ’s sake; he’s one of the most prominent businessmen in the country...”
“He’s married.”
She stared at him.
“Since when did
you
suddenly start having morals?
You’ve been sleeping with your best friend’s girl for years.”
“It’s not the same, Stevie, and you know that.
We
all knew the score, his wife has no idea.”
She lit up a cigarette of her own, taking a long drag, blowing smoke into the air.
“That’s not my problem.”
He laughed and she looked at him again.
“Ok, what’s the problem here, Johnny?
Because it’s quite obvious you’ve got one.”
“Why, Stevie?
Why get yourself into something dangerous with a guy like Daniel Madison?
It’s crazy.”
“I like crazy.”
She took another drag on her cigarette.
“He’s different Johnny, and sometimes I need different.”
“Sometimes?”
She threw her half smoked cigarette onto the ground, grinding it into the concrete with her boot.
“Sometimes I still need Mark.
I can’t leave him alone, I can’t do that.”
“You might have to try.”
She looked at him.
“Sorry?”
“Dave...”
Johnny threw his head back, closing his eyes for a few seconds, pushing a hand through his hair.
“...he could blow this whole thing apart for you, honey.”
“Why…why would he do that?”
Stevie felt sick.
No-one was supposed to know about her and Daniel.
No-one.
So what the hell was Dave Deacon doing running around with that information?
“He thinks you’re messing with Mark’s head.”
Stevie couldn’t help laughing at that.
“It doesn’t exactly take much does it?
So what’s new?”
“It’s affecting the band,” Johnny sighed, looking down at the ground.
“In Dave’s opinion.”
What was he supposed to say to her?
But she spared him the trouble of saying anything as she jumped up, tightening the bandana round her head.
“Where you going?”
“To speak to Dave.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“If he’s got anything to say to me he can say it to my face.”
Johnny stood up and walked over to her.
“Stevie, hang on.”
She turned round.
“What?”
“Is it serious?
This thing with Daniel Madison – is he really worth it?
Have you any idea of the shit this is going to throw up if it ever gets out?”
“It won’t get out.”
“How the hell do you know that?
Dave’s found out, who’s to say there aren’t others out there who’ve already sussed what’s going on?
Do you really know what you’re getting yourself into?”
“I can handle it, Johnny.”
“Can you?”
She leaned back against the wall, sighing heavily.
“Is he worth it, Stevie?
Because if it really is just some affair, if that’s all it is you should end it, honey.
You should end it now.”
“I can’t do that.”
She looked down at the ground, kicking an empty can that had blown in front of her.
“It isn’t just some affair, Johnny.
And I can’t believe I’m saying this because this isn’t me, I don’t do this.
I don’t.”
Saying the words out loud was a little bit frightening because it had been a long time since Stevie had felt anything like what she was feeling for Daniel Madison.
And she’d vowed she’d never let herself feel that way again, which is why she’d put up such resistance with Mark.
But this was getting harder to deny.
These feelings weren’t going away.
“Maybe it was before, y’know.
Maybe that’s all I ever really intended it to be, just an affair, but now...”
She looked up at him.
“...it isn’t just some affair.
Not anymore.”
Johnny sighed, pushing a hand through his long dark hair.
He felt almost powerless now.
In the blink of an eye she’d changed and he’d never seen her like this before.
“So, he’s worth it then?
All the crap that could happen, all the shit you’re gonna get?
He’s really worth it?”
She looked at him.
“He’s worth every second, Johnny.
Every fucking second.”
He leaned back against the wall next to her, staring straight ahead.
“What you gonna do now then?”
“Tell Daniel what I’ve just told you.
That’s what I’m gonna do.
I’m gonna tell him exactly what I’ve just told you.”
***
Daniel couldn’t concentrate.
He was beyond that now, and he’d had enough for one day.
He’d been up since
and his head was spinning with the amount of meetings he’d been to and ‘phone calls he’d made.
He wasn’t used to the distractions that had suddenly invaded his life, but he didn’t want them to go away either.
Because they were all he could think about,
she
was all he could think about, this wild, loud, tattooed woman who’d crashed into his life and taken it over.
That’s all he could think about.
She was on his mind from the second he woke up to the second he fell asleep.
Every time he closed his eyes he saw her, she was a constant fixture, a permanent reminder of how his world was changing.
And of what he was going to have to do next.
Because he couldn’t go on like this.
Amy’s voice shook him back to reality and he sat up straight in his chair, quickly pulling himself together.
The working day wasn’t over yet, no matter how much he wanted it to be.
“Mr. Madison, Mr. Gordon’s here to see you.”
“Thank you, Amy.
Send him straight through.”
Angus Gordon closed the door behind him and strode over to Daniel’s desk with more than a purposeful stride, leaning forward to look at him, his hands flat on the desk in front of him.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, Daniel?”
Daniel looked at him.
He could pretend he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about but what would be the point in that?
He’d known for some time that he was failing to pull the wool over Angus’s eyes.
It had only been a matter time before this happened.
Daniel got up and walked over to the window, ignoring Angus for a second, looking outside at a city getting on with life while his own was slowly being turned upside down.
“Daniel?”
He waited a few seconds, because when he turned round he knew he was going to tell Angus the truth and the idea of it all coming out in the open made him both nervous and excited.
But it had to be done.
So when he finally faced Angus he had a look of resignation about him, but there was also a weird feeling of the relief to come.
“Something’s been going on for a while, hasn’t it?” Angus asked, standing up straight and folding his arms as he looked at Daniel.
“Is it you and Samantha?
Has something happened?”
Daniel pushed a hand through his hair.
“You could say that.”
“Everyone’s marriage goes through bad times, old chap.
Especially with the stress you’ve been under, I’m sure Samantha understands that...”
“I’m having an affair.”
Angus looked at him.
He didn’t know what he’d expected to hear but it hadn’t been that.
Not from Daniel.
“An…affair?
Jesus…”
“I can’t stop thinking about her, Angus.
I can’t get her out of my head.
She’s just the most…the most incredible woman, and she is so far away from anything that Samantha is and…and I need to be with her.”
Angus still couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
He’d never expected anything like this from Daniel, not Daniel.
The man with the squeaky-clean morals and the perfect marriage, something which had made him the envy of many a close colleague.
“You can’t be serious, Daniel.
Please, tell me you’re going to do the right thing and end this now.
Have you any idea what could happen if this gets out?
We’ve got a General Election just months away...”
“I’m well aware of that, Angus.”