Athena, eyes sparkling.
“He your man?”
“Nope,” Athena grinned. “Just someone I used
to know.”
“Well, then.” The woman winked at Athena
before turning back to Simon. “You want any else besides coffee or
tea, you come on in the dining room and find me.”
As she went chuckling back to the dining
room, Athena looked at Simon over the rim of her coffee cup.
“Look at you charming the prettiest women
this morning.”
“I love this town.” Simon leaned back in his
chair with a lazy smile. “Everyone’s so friendly.”
Athena smiled and took a sip of her coffee.
“Actually, Memphis is a great place to live.”
Using the attached string, Simon dunked his
tea bag up and down in his cup. “And to think you’ve been here the
whole time when Derek was out of his mind wondering what happened
to you.”
A stab of guilt knifed through Athena’s
heart, and she blanched. “I really wasn’t here the whole time. I
lived in New Mexico for a while. But we’re not going to discuss any
of that, got it?”
“Right. Sorry, love.”
“Good.” She sighed, and attempted to get her
emotions back in order. After a few more gulps of coffee, she was
ready to get started. “Okay, the job. Lay it on me.”
“Right.” Simon handed over a black-bound
notebook. “Pretty much everything you’ll need to know is in that
book. Have a quick look, and then you can ask me about anything
that’s not immediately clear.”
She flipped through the pages, pleased to
find that it was broken down into sections, one for luggage, one
for room preferences, one even containing a list of restaurants and
dry cleaning facilities for the cities they’d be visiting.
“Hey, this is really handy.”
Simon blew on his tea. “Yeah, Richie put it
together.”
“Richie? The guy who broke his leg?”
He shrugged. “He might have been clumsy, but
he was also organized. You won’t have to worry so much about the
luggage and such. It’s all loaded on and off the plane, and
delivered to the hotels. If anything goes missing, though, it’s
your place to track it down.”
One word made her forget about the band’s
luggage concerns. “Plane? What plane?”
“We’ve hired a Learjet for the tour, love.
That plane.”
In an instant her palms went clammy. “I
thought you guys had a bus,” she said in a small voice.
Simon snorted. “I shouldn’t think so. We may
not be able to get a jumbo jet like Zeppelin does, but at least we
don’t have to bang around in a bus like some opening act.”
“But at the store the other day I could have
sworn you said something about a bus.”
“Oh, that.” Simon waved an airy hand. “Just a
term. It was more of a large van, really. It brought us from the
airport, that’s all.” He peered at her with a concerned frown. “You
don’t have a problem with flying, do you?”
“No. I’d just prepared myself for a bus, not
a little…airplane.”
“It’s not a propeller plane, Athena. It may
be small, but it’s still a jet. Perfectly comfortable and perfectly
safe, you’ll see.” He patted her knee.
“I’m fine, really.” She hoped she sounded
convincing. It was hard to tell with her heart lodged somewhere in
her throat, pounding like she’d just run from a burning building.
“It just threw me. That’s all.”
“Good, then. The main thing you’ll need to do
when we arrive in a new city is to make sure the lads’ rooms are
stocked with their preferences.”
“Like what?” She flipped through the
notebook, looking for the correct section.
“Well, for example, Paul’s become addicted to
Dr. Pepper and likes to have it in his room so he doesn’t have to
keep calling down for it.” Simon sat back and propped one ankle on
his knee. “Derek likes to have tea available at all times, things
like that.”
Athena finally found the correct part of the
notebook, and scanned the information under Derek’s name. “Electric
kettle,” she read aloud. “Earl Grey. Milk.” She
“He your man?”
“Nope,” Athena grinned. “Just someone I used
to know.”
“Well, then.” The woman winked at Athena
before turning back to Simon. “You want any else besides coffee or
tea, you come on in the dining room and find me.”
As she went chuckling back to the dining
room, Athena looked at Simon over the rim of her coffee cup.
“Look at you charming the prettiest women
this morning.”
“I love this town.” Simon leaned back in his
chair with a lazy smile. “Everyone’s so friendly.”
Athena smiled and took a sip of her coffee.
“Actually, Memphis is a great place to live.”
Using the attached string, Simon dunked his
tea bag up and down in his cup. “And to think you’ve been here the
whole time when Derek was out of his mind wondering what happened
to you.”
A stab of guilt knifed through Athena’s
heart, and she blanched. “I really wasn’t here the whole time. I
lived in New Mexico for a while. But we’re not going to discuss any
of that, got it?”
“Right. Sorry, love.”
“Good.” She sighed, and attempted to get her
emotions back in order. After a few more gulps of coffee, she was
ready to get started. “Okay, the job. Lay it on me.”
“Right.” Simon handed over a black-bound
notebook. “Pretty much everything you’ll need to know is in that
book. Have a quick look, and then you can ask me about anything
that’s not immediately clear.”
She flipped through the pages, pleased to
find that it was broken down into sections, one for luggage, one
for room preferences, one even containing a list of restaurants and
dry cleaning facilities for the cities they’d be visiting.
“Hey, this is really handy.”
Simon blew on his tea. “Yeah, Richie put it
together.”
“Richie? The guy who broke his leg?”
He shrugged. “He might have been clumsy, but
he was also organized. You won’t have to worry so much about the
luggage and such. It’s all loaded on and off the plane, and
delivered to the hotels. If anything goes missing, though, it’s
your place to track it down.”
One word made her forget about the band’s
luggage concerns. “Plane? What plane?”
“We’ve hired a Learjet for the tour, love.
That plane.”
In an instant her palms went clammy. “I
thought you guys had a bus,” she said in a small voice.
Simon snorted. “I shouldn’t think so. We may
not be able to get a jumbo jet like Zeppelin does, but at least we
don’t have to bang around in a bus like some opening act.”
“But at the store the other day I could have
sworn you said something about a bus.”
“Oh, that.” Simon waved an airy hand. “Just a
term. It was more of a large van, really. It brought us from the
airport, that’s all.” He peered at her with a concerned frown. “You
don’t have a problem with flying, do you?”
“No. I’d just prepared myself for a bus, not
a little…airplane.”
“It’s not a propeller plane, Athena. It may
be small, but it’s still a jet. Perfectly comfortable and perfectly
safe, you’ll see.” He patted her knee.
“I’m fine, really.” She hoped she sounded
convincing. It was hard to tell with her heart lodged somewhere in
her throat, pounding like she’d just run from a burning building.
“It just threw me. That’s all.”
“Good, then. The main thing you’ll need to do
when we arrive in a new city is to make sure the lads’ rooms are
stocked with their preferences.”
“Like what?” She flipped through the
notebook, looking for the correct section.
“Well, for example, Paul’s become addicted to
Dr. Pepper and likes to have it in his room so he doesn’t have to
keep calling down for it.” Simon sat back and propped one ankle on
his knee. “Derek likes to have tea available at all times, things
like that.”
Athena finally found the correct part of the
notebook, and scanned the information under Derek’s name. “Electric
kettle,” she read aloud. “Earl Grey. Milk.” She
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