AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When they finished, she went to the front and gathered her stuff from Tisha, who let her know that Roberta, The Kingmakers’ primary publicist, had dropped by and left a few things. Lauren was glad she didn’t have to talk with Roberta. She found the woman abrasive and her tactics occasionally questionable. She knew Augie felt the same, and she’d been meaning to talk to the management team about finding someone new.
As her driver navigated the New York streets, Lauren settled in and looked through a few of the documents Tisha had sent with her. One was a copy of the contract. She and Augie would go through that later. They’d both—at the insistence of their fathers—taken summer business courses at a local college while they were still in high school. That foundation, plus the experience they gained over the years, had made both competent at reviewing contracts despite not being lawyers. So, in addition to the band’s legal team, they always made sure to go through the paperwork themselves.
Then she picked up Cole’s paper and flipped through. Cole had started with a summary of Lauren’s professional career but then went back to the beginning, her life before becoming famous, and then brought the timeline up to the present day. She even provided her own assessments of the band’s albums, citing reasons she agreed or disagreed with industry pundits. Lauren put the paper down in her lap as she started wandering through memories.
Leaving Danny behind was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Even as angry as she’d been over their breakup, she’d watched him in her rearview mirror all the way down the street that day—and cried half the way to California. Each morning she’d wonder if she could do it without him, swinging back and forth between hating herself for leaving and being furious with him for not coming with her.
Unbidden, a memory surfaced about the first Christmas dance he’d asked her to. It had been an awkward, hesitant question, and her answer had been just as uncomfortable. They’d been what, fourteen years old? They’d danced together, that awful, wonderful first slow dance where no one knew exactly what to do. But they’d gotten more comfortable and closer until Sister Agnes reminded them to leave space enough between them for God. They’d been mortified.
Lauren chuckled. That dance was just one of many firsts she shared with Danny Padovano.
First dance.
First kiss.
First relationship.
First time.
First love.
Lost in her thoughts, Lauren didn’t realize the SUV had stopped and she jumped when the driver opened the door. She gathered up her papers and got out of the Escalade.
First love?she thought.Try only love.
ChapterEight
The phone on the faux-marble kitchen counter rang.
“Cole. Get that, please, my hands are full.” In the kitchen, Maggie angled a pot lid to let a bit of steam escape.
“Why do we even have a landline anymore?” Cole reached across the counter.
“Because.”
Cole pushed the answer button. “Hello?”
“Good evening. May I speak with Cole Padovano-Shea, please?” The woman on the other end of the phone sounded very businesslike.
“This is Cole.”
“Hello, Cole. My name is Roberta Thompson-Traeger. I’m a publicist with Red Ridge Entertainment and represent Lauren Stone and The Kingmakers.”
“What? No way!”
On the other side of the room, her mom looked up. “Who is it?”
Cole covered the receiver. “Mom! You won’t believe this! Lauren Stone’s publicist is on the phone!”
“I’m delighted you’re so excited to hear from me,” Roberta said, clearly having heard Cole despite the muffled microphone. “Ms. Stone received the paper you wrote, and she was quite impressed. In fact, on her behalf, I’d like to invite you and the rest of the Padovano family to be in the audience for her interview with Martin Sandoval onBackstage.”
“No way! In the live audience?”
“I’ll need to know how many tickets—”
“Mom! Get this! We’re going to be in the audience for Lauren’s interview with Martin Sandoval! The whole family is invited. We’d need, what? Seven, eight tickets?”
“Cole, give me the phone.”
