American Diva by Julia London

fantastic.”
    “Wow! Thank you,” she said, beaming with pleasure. “I’ll have to buy you a drink for that.” She chirped to the bartender, “A glass of red wine, please—and whatever my friend is having.”
    “I’m good,” Jack said to the bartender, and to Audrey. “I’m working, remember?”
    As the bartender stepped away, Audrey shifted her gaze to Jack again. “So you saw the whole show? I mean, all of it?”
    “Every number, every dance.”
    “So let me ask you something—what did you think of the lighting during the ‘Take Me’ number?”
    “A little too dark,” he said.
    “Too dark!” She laughed. “What are you talking about? It’s a very sultry song—it’s supposed to be dark. You’re probably not the sultry kind.”
    “What kind do you think I am?”
    She peered at him closely, then winked. “The no-holds-barred kind.”
    “Audrey!” someone called, interrupting them before Jack could tell her she had pegged him exactly right.
    She turned to her right. “Hey, Randy!” she said, throwing her arms wide and around the guy dressed head to foot in Prada. Everyone else in the room was wearing jeans. “Did you see the show?” she asked excitedly.
    “I saw it and it was great. Perfect! But what was that with Bonner?” Randy, whoever he was, asked. “I hope that doesn’t become a habit. You’re spending a lot of money to promote your release. Not his release.”
    “God, Randy, it was just one song,” Audrey said. “Hey, do you want a drink?” she asked, turning toward the bar.
    “Audrey, listen, between you and me . . .” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jack and paused.
    “Oh, this is Jack, my security guy,” she said, putting her hand on Jack’s arm. You can say anything to him.” She smiled up at Jack. “Randy is my agent.”
    Agents, managers . . . it was impossible to keep up with the entourage.
    “Good to meet you,” Randy said, shaking Jack’s hand, but he was looking at Audrey. “I am just saying don’t let Bonner get ahead of you, okay? Remember that you’re the money—not him.”
    “You worry too much, Randy!” Audrey said cheerfully. “Lucas knows that. He was just having a little fun on the kick-off show. And everyone said it was great!”
    Randy didn’t look convinced, and frankly, neither was Jack. But Audrey was sipping her wine, beaming with joy.
    “Okay, Audrey,” Randy said and glanced around the room. His gaze fell on Courtney, who was sitting on a tabletop with her skirt hiked up so high that Randy was afforded a very nice view of her thigh. “I’ll call you next week. Rich and I are headed back to L.A. in the morning.”
    “Rich, too?” Audrey asked absently as she sipped on her drink.
    “He’ll be back. He’s going to try and make a show next week, depending on his workload.” Randy looked across the room again. “Will you excuse me? I’m going to go say hi to Courtney,” he said, and with a kiss on Audrey’s cheek, he looked at Jack. “Later.”
    “Bye, Randy! Thanks for coming!” Audrey said after him. She watched him go then turned her beaming grin to Jack. “You look good in black—it’s definitely a good color for a bouncer.”
    “I am going to pretend that was a compliment,” he drawled.
    “It was.” Her eyes were shining like a pair of headlights on a dark highway. “I’m feeling strangely magnanimous.” She laughed at herself. “The thing is, Rambo, when you aren’t so full of yourself, you’re pretty cute.”
    A smile stretched across Jack’s lips. “That’s interesting. This afternoon you wanted to fire me. Tonight you think I’m cute. You might want to slow down on the wine,” he added, and casually reached up and pulled free a strand of blond hair that had become caught between her glass and the edge of her mouth as she sipped.
    Her eyes sparkling, she lowered the glass. “Oh, I still want to fire you,” she cheerfully affirmed as her gaze flicked to the open vee of his shirt. “But