Mogul (23 page)

“As much as one can be reached,” Eleanor
responded. “There is still an innocent young woman whose life is
forever altered just because she got into a car with the wrong
man.”

Vanni opened his mouth to remind the Wilke
family that Baylee’s problems started way before she got into his
car, otherwise she wouldn’t have been walking the streets in the
first place. But Graham grabbed his arm and guided him from the
room before he stoked Donny Wilke’s antagonism yet again. It didn’t
matter how the events came to be, just that they did. There was
plenty of blame to go around, and Vanni rightly should pay for his
part in the whole sordid affair.

But Vanni was starting to wonder if it would
ever be enough. He said as much to Graham on the way back to the
studio. “Did you see the look in that kid’s face?”

Graham nodded. “Yeah. I’ve seen that look
before. Right before a gun went off.”

Vanni closed his eyes and rested his head
against the seat in the company car. “I’m really starting to worry
for the safety of my family,” he finally confessed.

Graham didn’t even bother asking him which
one, because he shared these same concerns. Andy had already been
caught in the crossfire before. Who would save her if she ever
found herself there again?

And with a baby…

Neither man wanted to utter the words they
were thinking. And neither man could forget the crazy look in Donny
Wilke’s face. Eleanor would surely make them see this offer was
much better for them, and unexpectedly generous, but Vanni learned
a long time ago you can’t reason with crazy.

Crazy doesn’t stop until crazy gets what
crazy wants.

He knew that Donny Wilke was not interested
in money. He wanted to see Vanni pay for what he had done,
painfully and completely.

The best Vanni could hope for was keeping his
family safe. For the first time since he made the public
announcement about Andy and the baby, he was sorry that he pulled
them into his spotlight. He vowed he wouldn’t put Holly and their
son into harm’s way if he could help it. That secret was out but
unofficial – he had to hope that would be enough for now.

He was unusually quiet that evening after he
and Andy had returned home. They shared a simple, home-cooked
dinner, and he retreated to the patio as she cleaned up. He was
staring blindly out at the ocean when she finally joined him a
half-hour later.

She crawled onto the hammock right into the
crook of his arm. “Is everything okay?” she asked softly.

He pulled her closer. “How could it be
anything else?” he asked as he kissed her upturned nose.

“Was it the meeting with the lawyers?”

“No, I told you. They’re just reviewing our
offer and they’ll get back with us. Their lawyer played it cool
when she saw it, but I think they’ll go for it. How could they
not?” She nodded as she wrapped her arm around him. He sighed. “I
guess I’m just tense. Everything is in a holding pattern. This case
with the Wilkes, and waiting for the show to premiere. Getting into
our new house. I’ll feel a lot better when things are more
secure.”

She nodded. She understood. She reached up to
touch his face with her hand, and the moonlight glinted off her
ring. He took her hand in his and kissed it.

“And after we’re married,” he said as he
looked down at her. “Have you thought anymore about a date?”

“I don’t think I can plan a wedding with all
this other stuff going on,” she told him. She had tried, but it
just seemed more practical to wait. They had more pressing
concerns.

“Are you kidding? Kelly’s a born magician.
She keeps all these balls going in the air. You can throw her one
more.”

“Balls? More like flaming torches. And I
don’t pay her enough to throw her one more.” She looked up at him.
“Is there a hurry?”

“Call me old-fashioned but I’d like to marry
the mother of my child before that child is old enough to ask me
why I haven’t.” She giggled. “Besides. How much effort does it take
to go down to the JOP and sign some papers?”

“Such a romantic,” she teased. “Better write
that down. Sounds like a new hit song for Dreaming in Blue.”

“I’m serious, Andy. Let’s just do it already.
What are we waiting for?”

“I don’t ask for much, but I want a proper
wedding. With Iris and Jacob and my grandmother.”

“And Graham to give you away?” Her face
promptly fell and she tried to struggle out of his arms. “I’m
sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“Very,” she said, but she let him pull her
back down into his arms. “We’ve walked a really hard road to get
where we are, Vanni,” she said as she twirled her finger along his
chest. “We deserve something nice, don’t we?”

He hugged her tight. “You deserve the best,
babe,” he said as he bent for a kiss.

“I’ve got the best,” she said against his
lips.

He forgot about his worries as they made out
to the sound of the ocean. In fact he forgot about anything other
than the woman in his arms, who knew just where to touch him to
make him crazy with desire.

They had enjoyed the second trimester of her
pregnancy in many ways, but particularly in the bedroom. Her nausea
had abated, and she found herself hungering for him in ways she
never had before. Her body was more sensitive, making their
lovemaking more intense. And Vanni loved exploring the changes in
her body. Her breasts were larger and her hips were more rounded.
He especially loved watching her stomach grow from week to week. He
would spend hours cuddling with her, his hand spread out over her
tummy, feeling their daughter kick and move around in her cozy
first home. Vanni had always worshipped her womanly curves, and
pregnancy had perfected what he already considered a masterpiece.
So every time she reached for him he was a ready and willing
lover.

They experimented with different positions to
accommodate her growing belly, and she found herself amazed how
much new pleasure they could discover. That night was no different.
It was hours before they finally collapsed against each other,
sated and exhausted. They cuddled together as they drifted into a
deep sleep.

Only this time it was Vanni who had the
nightmare. Instead of Andy leaving him for another man, he could
clearly see her opening the door of their beach house to find a
gun-wielding Donny Wilke on their doorstep. He tried to scream for
her but he couldn’t make a sound. Instead he watched a gun fire a
bullet straight through her extremely pregnant belly.

Screams were strangled deep in his throat as
Vanni lunged for her. Blood had spilled everywhere and was all over
his hands as he grabbed Andy to him. He could clearly see into her
womb, where the bullet had lodged in their child. He gave a muted
wail just as he heard another gunshot and with a start he shot
right up in bed, covered in a cold sweat.

Andy had roused from his moans and jerks. She
touched his arm. “Are you okay?”

He looked down at her where she lay on the
bed next to him. The moon shined upon her ivory skin, and the
covers had slid down her full, pregnant, healthy body. There were
tears in his eyes as he lay back down and took her into a fierce
embrace. It took her a minute to realize his body shuddered with
silent sobs.

“Vanni?” she said as she held him tight.
“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. He couldn’t speak. All he
could do was thank God it was only a nightmare and she was still
healthy and alive in his arms.

He swore he’d give his last breath to make
sure he’d never have to live one moment without her.

He could not bring himself to go back to
sleep. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was his
beloved Andy in a pool of blood. She dozed long before he did, and
he treasured the weight of her body against his own. He stroked her
hair as he stared out of the window opposite the bed. He didn’t
know how he would keep her safe, but he’d have to find a way.

The first step was constructing a safe room
in their new home. The sale had finally closed that past weekend
and was theirs to move into, but there were certain modifications
they wanted to have made before they moved in. Most of it had to do
with security, and it was his idea to include a “panic room” just
in case anything were to happen to her when he couldn’t be there –
like if he was touring. She indulged the suggestion, mostly because
she wasn’t quite ready to worry about moving in. There was so much
to do with the show that decorating a house seemed like a
superfluous waste of energy. And with the security cameras at the
beach house, Andy had begun to feel safe again. She knew that the
gated community would only feel more so. But it was important to
Vanni so she said nothing about the plans. They put off delivery
for most of their furniture until mid-May and focused all their
energy on the show.

Each judge had advanced certain contestants
to the live round, which would be judged by all three judges. In
this quarterfinal round, these performances and the judges’
critiques were taped for broadcast during the first couple of weeks
of the series. These days often ran long, with all three judges in
and out of makeup and wardrobe.

Some of the contestants were no-brainers.
These were the ones that all three judges had pushed through, so
they only had to sing one song with accompaniment to get the green
light to head to the live shows. Jolene Anderson was one of these
early favorites, whose country twang and perfect blond beauty made
her a diva in the making. All the judges were goners from her
amiable, “Hi, I’m Jo, from Texas. Sorry my hair’s a bit deflated.
It’s hot back stage!”

Then there was Milo Singer, who was openly
gay and absolutely fabulous. He was only 17 with a shock of red
hair, but he had no insecurities as he opened his mouth and belted
out a flawless rendition of a Broadway classic.

Each contestant was fiercer than the last,
and on the end of that first day Vanni was thrilled to see Jordi
Hemphill take the stage. She didn’t try to hide her size-20 figure
under layers of boring black. She wore a deep purple halter with
flashy sequins, with black leggings with lace down either side. Her
face was framed by chunky purple glasses with square lenses, and
she wore her hair up in a faux-hawk that had a deep violet-streaked
braid down one side. This was a girl unafraid to be seen. She gave
the judges a big smile. “My name is Jordi Hemphill. I’m from a
small town in Iowa you’ve probably never heard of. And I’m here
because I’m fierce.”

It was a bold declaration that left no room
for argument. Vanni gave her a big smile and a wink as she paused
before the music was cued to start.

Instead of using accompaniment, she motioned
to the band to stay silent. She looked down at the floor and
gathered the character she wished to portray, in a challenging song
from a 1980s musical, in which a young girl sang of painfully
unrequited love. The loneliness in her tone filled the auditorium
like a thick cloud. Bit by bit the band joined in as she motioned
to each musician, sweeping the entire production into a powerful
crescendo. Just as dramatically she brought all the music to a stop
with a raised hand. When her voice cracked with emotion as she
brought it to a close, Vanni actually had tears in his eyes.

He began to clap and then stood on his feet.
This girl was a star.

Allison also stood for her performance, and
Ryder, considered her thoughtfully before he, too, rose to his
feet.

After she departed the stage, the cameras
caught the judges comparing notes about this unusual
contestant.

“Now that is a star,” Vanni said. “We were
all putty in her hands and she knew it. That girl’s fearless and
she brings true meaning to the name of the show.”

Allison pursed her lips as she weighed the
pros and cons. “She’s great,” she agreed. “And I know we’re trying
to get away from the image-based pop culture that would normally
eat her up and spit her out. But what is she? Eighteen? She’s a
baby still. It’s easy to have confidence on that first step of the
ladder of success. But this isn’t some small town in Iowa. The
whole world will be watching. What’s going to happen to that
confidence if the audience doesn’t like her? Or worse… if they’re
cruel to her?”

“You think she’s not used to people being
cruel?” Vanni said. “Look at her. She goes out of her way to draw
attention to herself. And you know how high school can be. No
audience is going to be worse than some clique of teenage girls who
are jealous because she’s got more potential for greatness in her
little finger than some do in their entire bodies. You should know
that.”

“Yes, I do know that,” she replied. “I’m also
a mama, and I can tell you that y’all don’t know what it does to a
woman’s self-esteem to be torn into day after day because she
doesn’t ‘fit in.’ It’s just not the same for men.”

Ryder nodded. “She’s got an amazing voice.
But how do we market someone like this and keep her sane in the
process?”

“Isn’t that the challenge?” Vanni asked them.
“We’re here to find a star that defies definition and I’m telling
you – we found one. I think there is an audience for someone that
secure in herself and in her talent to say to hell with what the
world thinks, she’s going to follow her dreams anyway.”

Shannon smiled as she
watched the conversation from her spot in the front row in between
Graham and an emotional Maggie, who was still sniffling from
Jordi’s powerful performance. Shan handed her a tissue, knowing
everyone who watched would be just as profoundly affected. That was
exactly the kind of contestant she wanted to champion with
Fierce
. The people she
touched would come to her defense as passionately as Vanni had. She
was very impressed that someone like Vanni, who had a reputation
for treating women like tissue paper, could see her value and fight
for her right to perform on the show.