Unexpected Encounter (Singleton) (11 page)

Driscoll played some notes on the keyboard then stopped, writing on his sheet. He hummed under his breath then scowled.

“Fuck.” He crossed out what he’d written before pushing the paper away and running his fingers through his hair.

“You need to take a break. Get something to eat, relax a little or something,” Irene said from behind him.

“I’m fine.”

“When you create, you know if you hit a wall in the process, you need to take a break.” Irene came into view, standing before his table. “Why do we always have to do this dance of you being an ass and resisting?”

“It’s one of my joys in life to thwart whatever you have planned for me.” Driscoll smirked.

“I swear you want to give me gray hair or drive me to drink.”

“I’ll be sure to buy you hair dye and loads of alcohol,” Driscoll retorted.

“You are so kind, sir.” Irene crossed her arms over her chest. “So are you gonna take a break or do I need to get rough with you?”

“I’m so afraid.” He put up his hand and deliberately made it shake. “See?”

“Idiot,” she said fondly. “I’m bringing out my new weapon.”

“What—?” His cell vibrated.

Irene smiled, whistling as she left.

Driscoll picked up his cell and glanced at it. He rose, smiling as he left the room then went toward the front door. In the foyer, Driscoll chuckled when he saw Irene at the door holding his sandals.

“You think you’re slick.” He accepted the shoes then dropped them on the ground and pushed his feet in.

“I know it. Enjoy.” Irene opened the door for him.

Lila smiled at him from where she leaned against the porch rail.

“Get your ass out there.” Irene pushed him out of the door. “And out of my and Aida’s hair. He’s all yours, Lila.”

“I am your boss.” Driscoll glared at her.

“And you need to get out of the house before I beat you with a stick or Aida makes you something to gives you the runs.”

“God, Driscoll, when I see you at night you never mentioned you were driving people crazy.” Lila chuckled. “Well, crazier than usual.”

He and Lila had slept in the same bed since the first night they’d sex. Two short weeks, and Driscoll was getting used to waking up beside her.

“He is. He gets like this when he is working and it’s not going well. Thanks for taking him off our hands,” Irene said. “Don’t you come back here, Driscoll, until you chill out. Good luck, Lila.” Irene slammed the door closed.

“From what Irene told me when she called, you needed a break.” Lila looked behind him. “But now I’m here, I’m thinking they did. What have you done?”

“Nothing.” He scowled then sighed. “There’s something missing from the song I’m writing and I can’t nail it down. When that happens, I might get a little testy.”

“Really? I didn’t see your testiness.” Lila tilted her head to the side. “Whenever I came by or you came to my place, it didn’t seem like anything was wrong.”

“I’m good at hiding it and I let it go when I’m with you.” Driscoll shook his head. “I’ve learned to compartmentalize. But it’s been building slowly. Thanks for saving me from Irene and Aida’s wrath.”

He approached Lila and she straightened, lifting her head. Driscoll kissed her and stared into her gaze.

“Didn’t you have plans today with your friends?”

“We had just ordered lunch. But Aja got called in and so did Colby, so they canceled their order and Storm and I stayed and had lunch.” Lila shrugged. “We were just parting ways when Irene called. Come on, let’s take a stroll. Get you to chill so Irene and Aida don’t follow through with their threats.”

“Those two would do it too.” He smiled sheepishly. “I guess I have been a bit surly. So lead on, my dear.”

“I bet they would. The duo is something else.” Lila slid her hand into the crook of his elbow.

“They are.” Driscoll led her down the steps and waited until they were at the end of the driveway before saying, “Don’t ever tell them I said this, but I do enjoy their being the way they are. Irene’s organization skills and handling all the little details lets me not have to worry about missing something I need to know about. And Aida takes care of my home, making sure it runs smoothly. I’d be lost without either of them.”

“I’m curious how you ended up with them working for you.” Lila squeezed his arm. “Also when I’m here, I never see them arrive, but they conveniently pop up when I’m leaving for the day. It is kinda disconcerting. There isn’t even a car in your drive for either of them.”

Driscoll laughed then said, “They do it deliberately. They like to build on the mystique that they see all and know all. They used to live in the house and it was good. We weren’t home that often so we had space when we traveled instead of being underfoot. When I retired, they decided they would move out before we killed each other from being in each other’s company so much.” He exited the side gate then strolled with her down the walk.

“Irene lives a few houses over that direction.” He pointed behind him then gestured up ahead. “And Aida is that way. Close enough they can walk to work and if anything comes up they can be available. Once they are off the clock for the day, I don’t like to disturb them. Although they get pissy when I’m working and come check on me even when they have stopped work for the day and gone home. They say it is their task to make sure I eat, sleep and do daily things like bathe. I tend to get focused and block everything out. Anyway, back to them appearing out of nowhere and in time for when you leave. When they pop up is because they probably studied your pattern and know when you leave to go to work. So it makes it seem like they come out of nowhere.”

“Oh… That explains it.” Lila shook her head, laughing. “I wondered if they had the house bugged or something to know what happens. I didn’t realize they didn’t live in the house.”

“Nope. They have their own homes.”

“Space is good to have.” Lila leaned against him as they walked. “You get focused when working and block everything else out, huh?”

“Yep.” Driscoll chuckled ruefully. “That sort of leads to how they ended up working for me.”

“Tell me.”

He glanced up as they passed Aida’s place. “I met Aida first. She was the girlfriend of one of my band members. They’d been together for a long time.” He cleared his throat as it got thick. “He died in the crash. They were engaged to be married.”

“Oh no.” Lila hugged him. “That must be hard on her.”

“Yeah. She still misses him, as do all of us.” Driscoll didn’t let the emotions overwhelm him, instead focusing on his story. “When I met Aida, we had just started to make it big. Women were coming and going for all the guys in the band. When she started dating him, we didn’t even think about it, figuring she wouldn’t be around long. She used to cook for all of us and we enjoyed it but figured eventually our friend would move on. I remember the day that I refused her food because I was busy writing a song that had been filling my head.” Driscoll chuckled. “Have you ever had a pot of rice thrown at your head?”

“Ummm…no.” Lila stared at him. “She did that? Aida doesn’t seem the type.”

“She calmed down a lot. But when she was younger, she had a temper. Well, she still has a temper but controls it better.” Driscoll remembered the blaze in Aida’s gaze. “Thankfully I ducked in time to avoid the pot knocking me out. The band was shocked that she’d had the gall to do that. I was just wondering if she had any more food to throw at me. I asked her and her reply is what sealed our friendship.”

“What did she say?”

“That she wouldn’t waste any more of her good food on my mangy ass.” Driscoll laughed. “She insulted me and smiled as she did it. It was refreshing from having people kiss my ass because I was becoming a ‘superstar’”—he made quotes with his fingers—“I knew even if my friend decided to break up with her, I was going to keep her as a friend. Thankfully, he wasn’t idiot enough to let her go—he and Aida were together for many years. Sometime during that time she became my house manager and I put her on payroll. My friend kept asking her to marry him, but she kept saying no. None of us had any idea why.”

“So her insulting you is why you decided to be her friend.” Lila shook her head. “You are one strange man, Driscoll.”

“Eccentric. That’s what Irene called me the first time she met me.” Driscoll chuckled. “And yes, her insulting me is what made me know she wouldn’t put up with my shit or let me get away with it, no matter how supposedly famous people think I am. The bluntness and treating me like a person is why I became friends with Aida then Irene. Hell, Aida was easier to hire than Irene was. I met Irene because of Aida. They are best friends and have known each other for years. It was about a year after I hired Aida when I met Irene for the first time. I’d heard of her and that she was a great assistant for the CEO of a company she worked for. I didn’t think anything of it. Not until she came to see Aida and reorganized my calendar.”

“She didn’t work for you and did that?”

“Yep. When I asked her and basically told her how dare she do such a thing, she told me someone needed to get my shit straight. Then proceeded to tell me she didn’t understand why such an eccentric man would not have someone who could put up with and adapt to his eccentricity. Someone to make sure he could be as weird ass as he wanted to be without worrying about the details he didn’t choose to. And damn if she wasn’t right.”

“So she wanted a job?” Lila waved at Spencer and Regina as they passed them where they stood in their driveway.

“Hell no! And those were her exact words when I offered her the position. She loved her job and didn’t want to leave it.”

“Good for her.”

“But I was determined to convince her. I failed miserably, no matter how I tried. I enticed her by sending her my calendar and begging for help. She would get it straight for me, send it back and tell me to hire someone. Even gave me a list of people, but I wanted her. I knew we would click as a team and not just anyone would do. Trusting someone with all my stuff isn’t easy to do, but I knew with her I could.”

“So how did you finally convince her to work for you?”

“I didn’t convince her. She showed up one day and told me she was now free to take me on. Her boss was dumb enough to let her go because his new wife didn’t like him having an assistant who looks like Irene.”

“Wait, he fired her because she is beautiful and his wife was insecure because of it?” Lila frowned. “That can’t be legal.”

“I know. After she told me the story, I made sure he paid financially for it.” Driscoll bared his teeth. “Irene didn’t care either way, but I wanted him to feel it where he would understand—his wallet. He paid for it. By then, Irene was working for me and living up to and beyond what I’d expected. Her old boss’s wife didn’t last long. Less than a year, and Irene’s old boss came begging her to return to work.” Driscoll shook his head. “She told him off. I never knew until then she could curse like that. And she’s been working for me ever since.”

“That was an interesting story.” Lila held his hand. “Both of them were. Basically Aida and Irene are invaluable to you.”

“Yes. I would lay down my life for either of them.” Driscoll stopped. “Well, fuck. That’s it. Come on.” He turned, tugging her behind him.

“Wait, where are we going in such a rush?” Lila hurried to keep up with him.

“Invaluable and laying down your life.” He increased his strides. “That’s the premise missing from my song.”

He hummed under his breath, lyrics filling his head. Automatically he headed home and when he arrived he went to his studio.

“You’re back sooner than we thought you would be,” Aida said from behind them.

“The walk with Lila helped me get my head clear.” He stopped just inside his studio.

“I didn’t do anything,” Lila replied.

Driscoll kissed her gently. “You did. Talking with you made me see what I needed to see. Sit.”

“I’ll just go—”

“For fuck’s sake, just sit down.” Driscoll glared at her. “I don’t have time to argue. I need to work.” He turned away and went to his console then sat.

“Do you need a two-by-four to bean him over the head?” Irene entered the room and scowled at him.

“Yeah.” Aida passed him, also giving him a look. “Don’t mind Snarky Puss, he gets like that and forgets to act like a human being.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, okay?” Driscoll faced them.

Lila was sitting on the couch with Aida and Irene on either side of her. The two women were glaring, but Lila’s eyes twinkled with laughter.

“You’re lucky you apologized.” Aida folded her arms over her chest. “We like her and we’re keeping her.”

“Yeah.” Irene crossed her legs, lifting an eyebrow. “She’s the only person you’ve dated
we
actually like.”

“You can’t just keep her. She’s not a cat or dog or some pet.” Driscoll looked around. “Wait, where’s Reggie and Vere?”

“At the groomers.” Irene rolled her eyes. “I told you they were going there.”

“I don’t remember you telling me that,” Driscoll said to Irene as he gestured to Lila to come closer.

She rose then came toward him. He glanced up at her and placed his hands on her upper thighs.

“Sorry for being—”

“A snarky puss.” Lila gave him a peck. “No worries this time. Do it again and I will get that two-by-four.” She patted his cheek.

“Now I see why they like you. You have violent tendencies like those two, who supposedly work for me. Sometimes I think it’s the other way around, how they take such pleasure in running my life.” Driscoll laughed. “Yeah, guys, we might just be keeping her.”

“I’m not a pet.” Lila snorted. “I only get kept if I want to.”

“So do you want to be kept?” Irene asked.

“Get to work,” Lila told him before stepping back and turning his chair around. “I’ll be waiting for you when you’re done. Now, Irene, as for your question, I’m not sure if I do. Especially since someone keeps trying to get me to tell her my schedule. And that same someone keeps trying to convince my assistant to give her the information.”

Driscoll listened absently as they talked while he started writing.

“I keep doing so because I need to know,” Irene replied.

“You don’t need to know,” Lila said. “You’re just trying to control things. I don’t like being managed. My assistant said they told you that. I would heed his words.”