“What about work?” I asked him, then shook my head and turned to Reece. It was really a question for the boss. I turned to Reece. “What about work?”
Reece raised his eyebrows in question while Mal cleared his throat. “Well, I figured you’d want to talk to him about that,” said Mal.
“Yes, I do.”
“But, Anne, for once don’t worry about the money, okay? I’ve got you covered.”
Hmm. I didn’t know about that. Realistically, though, if I was with Mal, I’d be crashing in his hotel room. My rent was paid up. Apart from the occasional meal, I shouldn’t need much.
“Okay. Just give me a minute please, Mal.” I moved the cell back a bit. “Sorry. Reece?”
“We talked,” Reece said. “He said it’ll probably be crazy for the next week or so, but then it should calm down.”
“I’m sorry about the reporter. But I was hoping to ask if I could take some time off anyway? I realize this is short notice, but given the circumstances … ”
Reece flinched and panic rose up like a tidal wave. He didn’t seem angry last night, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t holding a grudge, or he might well decide he’d had enough and fire me. Things could get screwed up pretty fast here.
But he sighed and relaxed once more. “You’re going on tour with him?”
“I’d like to. Just for a while. It would give this a chance to blow over.”
“I guess it makes sense. Though if you stick with him, this shit could be ongoing. Have you thought of that?”
“Are you asking for my resignation?”
“Of course not.”
“I’m not giving him up, Reece.”
He looked away. “I can cover you for a week, Anne. With such short notice, I don’t think I can do more.”
“No, a week would be great. Thank you.”
“You’re overdue for vacation. And I can’t have reporters hanging around, scaring the customers. I’ll rearrange the shifts with Tara and Alex.”
“I really appreciate it.”
He grimaced.
“You’re an awesome friend.”
“I’m awesome,” said Mal in my ear. “I’m so much more awesome than him, I can’t even … there’s no comparison. Why would you even use that word in reference to him?”
“Hush,” I told him.
“Be back in time for your birthday, okay?” asked Reece with a hesitant smile. “We’re still going to dinner, right?”
“God, I hadn’t even thought about it. I’ll be back then.” We always went out to dinner on each other’s birthdays. It was our tradition. Mal would still be on the road, so I could celebrate with him early. This would be a nice chance to mend bridges with Reece, going out as just friends. “I’d like that.”
“What?” asked Mal. “When’s your birthday? Pumpkin?”
“Take care,” said Reece. “You need anything, call me.”
“Thanks. Really, I … you’re a great friend.”
“A great friend … right,” he said dryly. Then he leaned in, kissing me on the cheek. “Bye.”
“Did he just kiss you?” Mal yelled in my ear, making it ring.
I winced, pulling the cell back. “Whoa. Noise levels, buddy.”
Reece moved through the crowd and out the door. Maybe we were going to survive this after all. Last night, I hadn’t been so sure.
“When is your birthday?” Mal asked.
“Twenty-eighth of October.”
“A week and a half away. I’ll have to get something sorted for you.”
“Just you will do. We’ll have to celebrate it early, though. I’ve only got a week and I was probably damn lucky to get that what with the giving five minutes’ notice.”
“Can’t believe he kissed you. Ballsy, but still, he’s dead.” He mumbled some more of what I presumed to be idle threats. “Don’t come back here, just in case. I’ll ask Lauren to help me pack a couple of bags for you. You head to The Benson, okay? There’ll be a room ready by the time you get there.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re not mad about me turning your life upside down?”
“I’m a big girl, Mal. I knew who you were going into this and I saw what went down with Ev. There was always a chance this could happen.”
“And if it keeps happening, you gonna get sick of it and leave me?”
My heart rebelled at the thought. “No. We’ll work something out.”
“Yeah, we will,” he agreed. “You’re pretty mellow after a night of hot sex. I’m keeping a note of that.”
“You do that, my friend.”
He chuckled. “See you in an hour or two. We’ll break in the hotel mattress, order some room service, and hang out, okay?”
“Sounds great.” With a grin, I slumped down in the chair. I was officially on vacation. The last vacation I went on was to Florida with Mom, Dad, and Lizzy. I’d been fourteen years old, the year before everything went to shit. And no way did I need to be dwelling on the past.
Life here and now with Mal was a roller coaster. Scary and elating. No matter how strange the circumstances, I was going to enjoy this time.
***
The dinner with the band and his parents was lovely.
Afterward, we headed for a dive bar on the edge of Chinatown. It was located down a narrow staircase, underground. Not too clean but not too dirty. There were pinball machines and a pool table, a jukebox blasting out Joy Division. The crowd had the market on slacker-hipster style cornered. Apart from a few double takes, nobody got excited when we came in. I guess they were all too cool to freak out over some boring old rock stars.
Though Sam the body guard was along, just in case.
My cell had been ringing on and off due to my newfound fame. Plenty of messages had been received, but I’d checked in with Lizzy and she was fine. There wasn’t really anyone else I needed to talk to. Ev had given me a pep talk about dealing with all the attention. To keep my head down and not feed the monster. Eventually, they’d lose interest and move on.
At the hotel, Mal and I had watched movies and taken it easy. It’d been great. Lori had invited me down to the lobby bar for a drink before dinner. She seemed more concerned about the media attention than I was. Though I’d managed to pretty successfully hide from it so far. I assured her that her son and I were doing fine. Real fine.