Mogul (6 page)

When they presented the financial
compensation they were willing to offer, Graham’s eyes widened.
There was no way Vanni could walk away from an eight-figure
payday.

They all stood and he walked them to the
door. “It was such a pleasure meeting you, Shannon,” he said as he
warmly shook her hand. “Thank you for thinking of my label for this
project.”

She smiled. “We always seek out the best,”
she said. “And you’re the best in the biz.”

He gave Gwen another hug before he shut the
door behind them and turned back to Maggie. She was already on her
feet to help him back to his chair. It had been a tiring day and he
was showing definite signs of fatigue – signs he’d successfully
hidden from the women who had just left his office.

He only showed his weaknesses to Maggie.

“Sounds like a great project,” she said as
she stretched out his legs. “Think he’ll go for it?”

Graham shrugged. “I don’t know what to make
of Vanni these days. He might just surprise us all.”

Maggie wasn’t convinced, especially that
evening when Graham perused through the DVD of auditions Shannon
had left behind for his consideration. They weren’t kidding; some
of these contestants did fit outside the traditional pop mold. But
they could definitely sing their butt off, specifically a
fresh-faced eighteen-year-old girl from Iowa named Jordi Hemphill.
She was short and stout with a smile that wouldn’t quit and a voice
that practically blew both Graham and Maggie off of the sofa. She
sang the National Anthem, and her near-flawless five-octave range
had “diva-in-training” written all over it.

Her skin was alabaster, but her voice was
pure soul.

Graham was especially impressed by her
confidence. She moved her larger body around with fluid grace, one
that did not apologize for her size or shrink from the limelight.
In fact, her attitude was one of, “Sit back and let me show you
what I can do.” He had a feeling she had more than a few doors
slammed in her face, but she seemed to know if she opened her mouth
and let that first note fly, she’d make a believer out of
anyone.

He was an immediate fan.

He sent the DVDs over to Vanni’s house the
following day after they had a brief video-conference about the
show. Vanni wasn’t completely sold at first.

“A judge? I don’t know. Sounds a bit like a
tombstone for my career, like I’m admitting the best is behind me
as a performer.”

“Not necessarily,” Graham said. He ticked off
notable exceptions from recent memory. “You can’t tour and this
keeps you in the immediate memory of all your fans through the
duration. Not to mention it introduces you to a whole new audience
that gets to know you based on who you are as a person, not just a
front-man for a rock band.” He left out any kind of slam that might
hurt more than it helped. He wasn’t entirely convinced that Vanni
could keep up the charm for five months. His only proof there was
anything of any value there at all was the fact Andy still loved
him after all this time. She wasn’t a dumb girl; she had to be
hanging in there for more than some long hair and six-pack abs.

“Besides, they’re willing to offer you ten
million dollars to do it. In fact, several sponsors are holding off
endorsement until they know you’re attached. It’s a win-win for
everyone involved, especially the people who could get their big
break because of it. You’ve been there. You can offer that
perspective.”

Vanni nodded, that part had appealed to him.
It took seeing the DVD to convince him. He and Andy watched them
together, in awe of the diverse landscape of possible contestants
for the show. The most “normal” was a contestant from Texas who had
earned beauty titles as a Rodeo Queen. Jolene Anderson was as
talented as she was beautiful, but, like Graham, Vanni was blown
away by Jordi’s audition. She was a standout in more ways than
one.

These singers needed a break, and he needed a
job.

What could be better than paying the universe
back for all the breaks he’d been given?

For the first time in a while, he finally
felt like things were turning around. He would have taken Andy out
to celebrate but instead he cooked a light meal they shared in
front of the fireplace. They made love in the glow of the fire and,
though he didn’t say it out loud, he fantasized about the day he’d
make her his bride.

With a ten million dollar payday he could
afford a nicer wedding than some quickie elopement in Vegas.

And Andy deserved the best he could
offer.

He didn’t voice these plans as he held her
close. After all they had been through, words were insufficient
now. He was going to spend the rest of his life proving to her that
he was the man she already believed him to be. Instead he caressed
her hair and talked to their little Bean, about how Daddy would be
the host of a new hit show that helped people reach their dreams,
and how he’d always help her reach hers. Andy was so contented by
his state of mind she didn’t even bother to tease him that they
could be having a boy. Instead she listened to him sing a lullaby
as she cuddled into his strong embrace. They fell asleep in each
other’s arms, nestled in a soft blanket on the floor of their
living room.

CHAPTER SIX

Brooklyn, New York

February 13, 2011

Andy jerked awake suddenly from a nasty dream
that left her emotionally raw. These had become an unwelcome but
constant companion during her second trimester of pregnancy, and
were horrible, recurring dreams where Vanni would walk away from
her and the baby. Without apology he’d carelessly discard all the
promises he had made to take care of them both. Instead he’d laugh
as he turned his back on her, wrapping his arm instead around
another woman whose body had not begun to take on a matronly
shape.

After nineteen weeks, the firm mass in Andy’s
belly was finally starting to make its presence known with a
definite little pooch. She hadn’t bought any maternity clothes yet,
thanks to the extra weight she carried her condition was still
under wraps. But almost five months along, she knew they needed to
figure out how they were going to handle things publicly sooner
rather than later.

She caught her breath as she reoriented
herself to her current surroundings, which were far different from
their cozy little love nest on the sunny beach on an opposite
coast. It took a minute to remember they had arrived at Vanni’s
Brooklyn brownstone the night before, flying in from Nashville
where they had finally broken the happy news to her
grandmother.

Lydia Foster had been beside herself with
joy. She knew that Vanni was the man for Andy even before they had
figured it out for themselves, but she hadn’t expected them to give
her a great-grandchild so quickly. She cooked enough food for an
army, swearing that Andy looked too thin to have a healthy baby.
With one glance over Andy’s figure she declared in no uncertain
terms they were going to have a girl. She and Vanni had spent the
rest of the evening picking out names for her great-granddaughter,
much to Andy’s amusement.

The happy couple had even stayed in Lydia’s
house that night, in the same bedroom no less. But Andy’s
God-fearing grandmother let Vanni know if he didn’t make an honest
woman of the mother of his child, there was a huntin’ rifle with
his name written all over it. After Andy had gone up to the room,
exhausted by their travels, Vanni stayed behind to reassure Lydia
that he fully intended to marry her granddaughter – he was merely
waiting for the right moment to pop the question.

“If you hear a baby cryin’,” her feisty
grandma had said, “you waited too long.”

The next day they flew to Brooklyn for a
Valentine’s Day celebration away from the prying eyes of the Los
Angeles paparazzi. Vanni hated that Andy lived like a prisoner in
her own home, and had even considered making a place for her in the
production team of their new show. It would be a good excuse for
their being together without her constantly worrying about being
“outed” as the one who broke up his very public relationship with
Holly.

He didn’t care who knew Andy was his girl,
and had always held his heart no matter what girl was on his arm.
He finally ready to shout it from the rooftops, but Andy was the
one who put the brakes on his enthusiasm. Everything negative that
had happened in the past year – from Vanni’s public fall from grace
to the shakeup of the band – had landed in Andy’s lap as far as the
press (and his fans) were concerned. She was understandably gun-shy
to be thrust back into the public eye any sooner than
necessary.

One gun stuck in her face was enough.

Vanni suggested that they at least come clean
about the debacle with Holly, outing her for the lying opportunist
she was so it could take the misplaced anger directed toward Andy
and finally put it on the right person. But Andy convinced Vanni it
was just best to ignore the past entirely. Holly was gone; they had
much more positive things that deserved their focus. Who cared what
the press had to say about it as long as they knew they were
happy?

So he took her up on her challenge to
celebrate their very happy present. He orchestrated a special trip
to the place where their love affair had taken root. Not only had
they fallen in love with a New York backdrop, they had conceived
their child there.

Best of all his old Brooklyn neighborhood was
traditionally working class and low-key. They could be themselves
again – which was the best gift he could have given her.

She glanced over at his sleeping form and the
way his hair fell over his naked back like a silky curtain. Her
heart filled with her love for this amazing man. He was her dream
come true in almost every way possible. All she wanted to do was
make him as happy as he had made her. She slid from the bed and
padded barefoot down the hall to the kitchen, where she prepared
breakfast from the staples they had grabbed from the market as they
drove into town.

The smell of bacon and eggs roused him from
his slumber. She turned to find him leaning up against the
doorframe with his tousled hair and clad only in loose pajama
bottoms. He met her smile with his own as he walked over to where
she stood by the stove. He wrapped his arms around her waist, his
large hand cupping the barely noticeable bump in her abdomen. “I
love it when you spoil me,” he said as he nuzzled her neck. “My
woman,” he claimed as he turned her around and kissed her deep and
slow.

“My man,” she growled as she kissed him back.
It had been a long time coming to make that claim, and she was
going to exercise her girlfriend rights whenever the opportunity
presented itself.

He was hers now. And she was going to fight
to keep it that way, even if it took staking a very public
claim.

This trip had reminded her how much she
missed being a part of the world, even the crazy world that
surrounded Vanni. She didn’t want to worry about how to avoid the
press and keep a low profile. She wanted to go to the supermarket,
ride the subway, to walk down the street hand in hand. The minute
they got to New York she had been liberated. They went to an
all-night deli, and lost themselves in the crowd in Times Square.
Nobody around them cared who they were. He barely got recognized
himself thanks to his hat, glasses and jacket.

He was just another New Yorker in the midst
of a crowd of thousands. He didn’t even look that remarkable
dressed down in jeans and a beat-up leather jacket. This was a far
cry from the half-naked man who strutted around the stage in
skin-tight leather pants, rings on every finger, cuffs on either
wrists, his long hair flying about his head in unruly waves.

His most effective disguise was masquerading
as an ordinary man. Only he was far from just another man. He was
her man.

And for the first time in months Andy felt it
was high time the world knew it.

After breakfast they spent the morning in the
city. They did some window shopping before they headed for the
park. He talked her into going ice skating, which meant she spent
the better part of the afternoon tucked into the nook of his arm as
he pulled her around the rink. He never let her fall. Instead they
laughed and cuddled and kissed in the crisp wintery air. That night
they were off to eat dinner with her dear friends, Iris and
Jacob.

Everyone doted on Andy and she soaked up the
attention. Her L.A. life with Vanni had been loving and romantic,
but she had missed being around other people, especially people
that she loved.

Unfortunately the past few years had put her
and her friends on opposite courses. They chatted regularly and got
together whenever possible, but they were on two completely
different coasts in two completely different environments. She
realized with a start that her closest friend in the past few years
had been Graham, especially in those lonely days after Alana left
for England.

Because of this she still missed Graham
something awful, but had never breathed a word of that to Vanni for
fear she’d hurt his feelings. She knew that relationship had been a
sore spot for her lover, even though he had technically “won” her
in the end.

It had just been easier to hide within the
safe four walls of their house than deal with all the complicated
circumstances around her extended social circle.

New York showed her that she wanted something
more.

She was the one dragging him from the
brownstone every day during their trip. She wanted to prowl the
museums, go shopping, and see the sites – even those she had seen
before. When she had made her living as a travel writer she was
constantly on the go, writing about all the fabulous places to
visit all across the country and even abroad. She didn’t realize
until her time as an accidental homebody just how much she needed
to be a part of the world around her.