Winter's Role, page 24
“I’d like to hear your stuff, sometime. I’m looking for a rockin’ soundtrack for this movie. Maybe we could get together and I could give it a listen?”
“I’d love to, David. Thanks!” Jessie answered enthusiastically. She could hardly believe this was coincidence, but she’d take it. What kind of fool would turn down an opportunity like this? “How about we set something up for after Christmas? I can clear my schedule for a meeting.”
Before David could respond, a tall Latina woman in her mid-fifties walked up to them. “Stephanie? Stephanie Winters? It is you!”
Stephanie stifled a groan when she realized who was talking to her. Lydia Sanchez had been a pain in her butt ever since she’d made the mistake of going on one date with her years ago. Plastering on a fake smile, she turned and looked at the woman. “Lydia, it’s nice to see you again.”
“Oh, you don’t have to be so nice, Stephanie. We both know you’d rather not run into me,” the woman said, pulling up a chair and inviting herself to sit down with them.
“As long as we both know where we stand with each other Lydia, I’m fine running into you,” Stephanie replied, taking a long drink from her glass. Why did she have to see Lydia now?
The woman’s attention turned to Jessie then, smiling at her broadly. Sticking out her hand, she introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Lydia Sanchez, and you are…?”
Jessie had known right away that Steph didn’t like the woman who barged in on their conversation. Stephanie was gritting her teeth and clenching and unclenching her fist as she talked to the woman. But in the interest of not causing a scene, she smiled and said, “Jessica Drake.”
“Ooh, Stephanie’s newest conquest. It’s so nice to meet you.” She looked over at Stephanie to gauge her reaction as she said, “You know…when you get tired of white bread, you should try something a little darker, and perhaps spicier. I can guarantee you’ll never get cold out there in…where is it, again? Ohio?”
Jessie tried not to be rude or sarcastic, she really did. This woman had some nerve, hitting on her with Stephanie sitting right there. Before she said anything, she took her time formulating her response to the proposition. Finally, after taking a deep breath, she said, “That’s a truly interesting offer, Lydia. However, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I tend to prefer my bread white and a little less stale and…unfortunately, spicy things tend to give me heartburn. Oh, and just so you know? I’ve got someone hot to keep me warm, thanks.”
The look on Lydia’s face was priceless as she processed Jessie’s reply. No one had ever turned her down before, and she was decidedly stunned. Mustering some manners from somewhere, she managed to remain polite, however. “Well, if you ever get bored,” she gave Stephanie a scathing look, “give me a call. A little heartburn never killed anybody.” She got up then and left the table rather hurriedly, not bothering to look back.
David, who had been sitting back watching the exchange quietly, whistled when Lydia stalked off. Shaking his head, he said, “Jesus, Jessie! I’ve never seen anyone shut her up so fast!”
Jessie grinned and shrugged. “I don’t like people who try to mess with me or someone I care about. If she hadn’t known Steph and I were together, I could forgive her for hitting on me. But she knew and she did it anyway.”
“You’ve probably made an enemy,” the producer warned her.
“I couldn’t care less. I’ve got all I need right here,” she said, catching Steph’s hand and kissing the back of it lightly.
Stephanie blushed at the compliment and squeezed Jessie’s hand. “Thanks. But David’s right. Lydia won’t take being turned down very well.”
“Would you have preferred I took her up on the offer?” she asked, teasing.
Stephanie pretended to think about the question for a minute before answering. “Uhh, no?”
“I didn’t think so.” She turned back to David. “So, since we were so rudely interrupted…any ideas on a date to get together?”
David shook his head and laughed. “I’m thinking sometime in February would be good. The deadline for re-writes on the script is the end of January, and I need to go over it first. I’ll forward a copy to each of you as soon as I’ve got the rough draft.”
“Sweet! I’ll go over it and start working on ideas.” She handed him a business card for the band. “Here’s my card. We have clips of our originals and videos of our live performances on our website. If you have any questions between now and our meeting, you can call or e-mail.”
“That’ll be great!” He accepted the card and tucked it in his wallet. Standing up, he said, “Well, I’ve monopolized enough of your time, and I should get back to the party. Thanks, both of you, and I’ll be talking to you soon.”
“Bye, David. We’ll see you later,” Stephanie said as he left to mingle with the other guests. She leaned back in her chair and looked at Jessie. “So…what do you think?”
“About what?” Jessie asked, smirking at her. “The job offer or Lydia?”
“Oh, Good Lord, Jessie! The job offer, of course!” Stephanie answered, rolling her eyes at the other woman.
Jessie laughed at her reaction. “I think it sounds great. It could be a great opportunity. Is he good for the work?”
Stephanie shrugged. “He’s always been good to me. David’s a good friend. As a matter of fact, he’s one of the few that I’ve trusted over the years with my personal life.”
“That’s good enough for me, then.”
Stephanie stood up and extended her hand. “Come on. Let’s get another drink and mingle for a while. There are a few other people here that I’d like for you to meet.”
Jessie took her hand and allowed Stephanie to lead her back into the heart of the party. For the next three hours, they shook hands, mingled, and smiled so much she thought her face might be frozen. In the end, Stephanie managed to drag her out onto the dance floor, and they spent a considerable amount of time staring into each other’s eyes. To make the evening even better, Steph kissed her long and soulfully while they danced. She relaxed immediately, not realizing until that moment how tense she’d been.
“You all right?” Stephanie asked, both arms wrapped around Jessie’s neck loosely.
They swayed to the music as she answered, quietly. “I’m fantastic, now that you’ve kissed me. Your touch is like magic to my soul.”
“Mmm, I love hearing that.” She nuzzled Jessie’s neck and kissed her ear before whispering, “Take me home, Jess. I’m in the mood for making some real magic tonight.”
* * * *
When the phone rang, it took Stephanie a minute to answer. Between the grip Jessie had on her and the sheets tangled around her legs, she had a hard time getting out of bed. Normally lying next to the bed, she had left her cell phone on the dresser when they’d arrived home that evening. When she finally managed to get to it, she was surprised to find that it was Theresa calling. “Hello?”
“Stephanie, sorry to call so late, but Jessie wasn’t answering her phone. I really need to talk to her. Is she available?”
“Yeah, hang on and I’ll wake her up.” She stepped over to the bed and shook Jessie gently. “Jess? Hey, Theresa’s on the phone for you.”
Barely conscious, Jessie took the phone from Stephanie. “Hello,” she mumbled.
“Jess?”
“Mmm?”
“Jess, come on. Wake up. Look, something’s happened. I need to talk to you.”
Responding to the urgency in Theresa’s voice, Jessie finally woke up. “T? What is it? What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry to call so late, but I thought you should know…Someone broke into your house last night.”
Now fully awake, Jessie sat up and turned to sit with her feet touching the floor. “What! What happened?”
“I’m not really sure. I stopped by your place on my way to the gym to check on things. When I got here, the front door was wide open.”
“You didn’t go in, did you?”
“Of course not. I waited until the police got here and they went through the house first. When they were satisfied that no one was here and I was who I said I was, they let me in.”
“And?”
“Well, it’s a mess. They tossed things around pretty good, but it doesn’t look like they took much. Your studio’s fine. I don’t think they took any of your instruments. From what I can tell, the only things they took were a few pictures of you and Stephanie.”
“Okay. What about the alarm? Why didn’t it work?” By this time, Stephanie had turned on the bedroom light and sat down next to her on the bed. Relieved that only a few pictures had been taken, Jessie relaxed and leaned into her.
“The police checked and it looks like whoever did this knew about the alarm and disabled it somehow. It never went off at all.”
“Great.” All the money she’d spent on an expensive alarm system and someone managed to disarm it? She couldn’t believe it.
“Look Jess, you don’t need to come home. I’ve already called the security company and they’ll be here in an hour. Your mom’s coming over too, to help me straighten up.”
“No, I should be there. You don’t need to do all that. I can catch a plane and be there in a few hours.”
“Jess, no. Stay with Stephanie. There’s nothing to do. I’ll take care of everything and see you when you get home.”
“But…”
“No buts. You stay there. With all the weird phone calls and now this…You’re safer there. I’ll call you later and let you know what’s going on.”
Acquiescing, she could only agree. “Alright. I’ll stay. I’ll call you in a few hours. I want to talk to the security company.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later. And Jess? Don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Theresa. I’ll try not to.”
Stephanie, hearing everything, wrapped an arm around her when she hung up. “I’m sorry, Jess. If you’d like, we can still catch a plane? I’ll go with you.”
Jessie shook her head. “No. Theresa’s right. The damage is already done and there’s nothing I can do.”
“She said something about weird phone calls. Have you been getting calls too? And why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was just some weird calls. That’s all. Every once in a while some weirdo starts calling me and leaving messages. It’s a hazard of being in a popular band.”
“Jess…”
“Steph, I get weird calls all the time. This is nothing different.”
“Okay then, why didn’t they take anything but some pictures of us?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s a jealous fan?”
“I’m starting to get scared. I mean, first, I get a bunch of hang-ups. Then, someone started leaving crazy messages on my voice mail. Now you’re getting strange calls and someone’s broken into your house. Do you think we could have a stalker?”
“It’s possible. I just don’t know why anyone would waste their time on us.”
“Maybe it’s time we hire a bodyguard or something?”
“No.” Jessie shook her head. “I’ll tell you what. I have a friend who owns a private security company. If it will make you feel better, I’ll call her and see if she can check a few things out.”
Stephanie nodded in agreement. “Okay. I’d feel better knowing that someone’s watching out for us. Come on,” she stood up, pulling Jessie with her. “We might as well get up for the day.”
“Yeah, I guess we should,” Jessie answered unenthusiastically, following Stephanie downstairs to start breakfast. No matter what she said, she was worried. It was looking more and more like someone was stalking them. She just couldn’t figure out who or why. Hell, for all she knew, it could be some random person with no real reason at all.
Chapter 19
Stephanie and Jessie got off the plane at LaGuardia and stepped into the unloading area. As they made their way through the doorway, Nancy’s voice rang out. “Stephanie, Jessie!” She was waving her arms, trying to get their attention. When she got close enough, she grabbed both of them, pulling them into a hug. “I’m so glad you made it! This snow is just awful,” Nancy said, releasing them.
Stephanie laughed. “Mom, I swear…you get so excited over the snow. You’d think it never snows here.”
“Oh, you know I love it,” Nancy replied. Turning to Jessie, she said, “Stephanie’s always been a big fan of snow, too. Don’t let her fool you, Jessie.”
Jessie was grinning, watching Nancy hug on her daughter. She was so excited to see them, it was almost comical. “Nancy, it’s good to see you again,” she smiled at her, hugging her again when the older woman wrapped her arms around her.
“We’re so glad you could make it,” Nancy said. “Bill? Bill, come here and meet Jessie. Jessie Drake, this is Bill, Stephanie’s father.”
Jessie stuck out a hand in greeting. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Winters.”
“Mr. Winters? My fathers’ not here, is he?” Bill asked turning and looking around behind him.
“Dad,” Stephanie said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t mess with Jessie until she’s been here a while. Please?”
Bill laughed, shaking Jessie’s hand. To Stephanie, he said, “Relax, Honey.” Then, turning to Jessie. “You can call me Bill. Someone says Mr. Winters, and I look for my father. Come on. Let’s get you two out of here.”
“I know how it is. My dad doesn’t like being called ‘Mr. Drake,’ either.”
As he led the way to the baggage claim, Nancy chatted about everything from the weather to what she was making for Christmas dinner. Finally, bags loaded in the back of the car, they headed toward home. It had been snowing for days in New York, and yet Jessie was amazed to find that the roads were still fairly passable. It was a huge change from the way things were at home. When it snowed in Ohio, even if it was only an inch, the roads were a mess for what seemed like days before they got cleared, depending on where you lived.
Still, they made good time, and arrived at the house within an hour. As they pulled up, Jessie smiled and felt a warm feeling come over her. Stephanie had grown up in a nice, upper middle class neighborhood. The house was a two story brick, with four bedrooms and a finished basement. Painted white with black shutters and decorated for the holidays, it looked as warm and inviting as Jessie imagined it would.
Grabbing their bags and following Nancy and Bill into the house, they were stunned when they were immediately bombarded by voices and kids all at once. “Aunt Stephanie! Aunt Stephanie!” Three kids came running out of the other room and surrounded Stephanie, wrapping themselves around her legs before she could even get through the door.
“Kids! Settle down and let them in,” a tall man a little older than Stephanie said from the doorway. His hair was darker than Stephanie’s and he looked more like their father, but Jessie could tell they were related. He had the same chin, nose and eyes as Stephanie. Smiling at them, he walked up to Jessie and extended a hand. “Let me help you with these. You must be Jessie,” he said, picking up a bag. “I’m Steve, Steph’s older brother.”
“Nice to meet you, Steve,” Jessie smiled back at him.
“Mom’s got you two in your old room, Sis,” Steve said, indicating the stairs. “Lead the way.”
Stephanie headed up the stairs and took the second room to the right. On the door, was a bicycle license plate that read ‘Stephanie’s Room.’ Jessie smiled again, when she saw it, because it just seemed so normal. She had to keep reminding herself that Stephanie might be a celebrity now, but she grew up with a regular family just like she had.
The bedroom itself had been redecorated a bit by Nancy sometime after Stephanie moved out. She’d kept the furniture, the knick-knacks and the bed, but had long ago removed the teen heartthrob posters and anything else that made the room look like it belonged to a teenage girl. Still, it had Stephanie’s personality, and Jessie decided she liked it right away.
Setting the bags down, she looked at Stephanie dubiously for a minute. “Uh…Steph?”
“Yeah?” Noticing the look Jessie had on her face, she asked “Is something wrong?”
Jessie shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. I just…” she shrugged, not wanting to say anything in front of Steve.
“I think Jessie’s surprised that Mom and Dad would have the two of you sharing a bed,” Steve said, understanding right away.
Stephanie blushed. “Oh! Jess, they already know we’re practically living together. It doesn’t bother them for us to sleep in the same bed.”
“Just don’t get too loud and keep them awake,” Steve added, causing Jessie’s face to turn bright red.
“Steve!” Stephanie said, slapping him on the arm.
“What? You know it’s true, Sis. They always heard everything,” he said, putting up only a token resistance and laughing.
“Stop it! You’re going to embarrass Jessie!” Stephanie said, acting like she was going to punch him. He responded by grabbing her and wrestling her to the floor. Pretty soon their argument had degenerated into a tickle fight. Slightly overwhelmed, Jessie found herself suddenly drawn in when Stephanie, running from Steve, put her between them.
“Jessie’s not immune,” Steve yelled, wiggling his fingers in the air at both of them. “She can’t protect you!”
“What the Sam Hill is going on up here?” Bill’s voice boomed through the room. He was standing in the doorway looking at all of them. Even though his arms were crossed, he had a huge grin on his face. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, he said, “Can’t you wait until your sister’s been here more than five minutes before you start in? You’re gonna scare the daylights out of Jessie and make her think we’re all crazy!”
“Aw, Dad,” Steve said, looking chagrined. “Jessie’s been around Stephanie and Mom for more than one day at a time. She’s gotta know by now we’re all nuts.”
Bill’s shoulders were shaking with laughter. “Regardless, you should get downstairs. Your mother’s excited to see you all together.”
“All right, all right. Come on, guys.” Steve turned and walked out of the bedroom, following Bill down the stairs.
