Sweet Trilogy: Sweet Talk / Sweet Spot / Sweet Trouble. Сьюзен Мэллери

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      “There is no ‘we’ in this.”

      Lisa ignored that and walked the length of the room. “Do you know if she looked at the schedule I sent? It should have arrived today.”

      Nicole thought about the FedEx package in the kitchen. “No, she hasn’t seen it.”

      “She can study it tonight. We need to get going if we’re going to confirm for this fall. It’s already so late, but there were openings. There’s so much for her to do. Learn new music, schedule fittings and media events. Publicity is a large part of what we do. There’s the travel to set up. It’s only thirty concert dates in four months, but still. Preparations must be made.”

      Thirty concerts in four months? Nicole did the math. That was about a concert every four or five days. If they weren’t in the same city, that meant travel to and from. Add in the four hours of practice Lisa seemed to require, along with fittings, interviews and who knows what else, it made for a busy day.

      Was that really Claire’s life? Constant travel and practice, with the possibly evil Lisa watching over everything?

      Nicole remembered Claire telling her that her life was more difficult than it seemed. Not that Nicole was impressed or felt bad or anything. It was still a lot easier than living in the real world.

      Lisa crossed to the front window and stared out. “Has she said anything about the recordings?”

      “No.” What recordings?

      “She’s been invited to be on several CDs. I know she’ll accept the ones for charity. She always does.” Lisa seemed annoyed by that fact. “But some of the others would be helpful, too.”

      Recording sessions in addition to everything else? It made Nicole tired hearing about it.

      “At least she gets to see all those cities she travels to,” Nicole said, more to herself than to Lisa.

      Lisa turned to look at her. “It’s not her job to see the cities. It’s her job to practice and play and give interviews. Of course she would rather run away. I don’t know how I let things get so out of hand.”

      Lisa walked back to the chair and picked up her coat. “I will not simply stand around waiting for her. Please tell her she can call me on my cell. And that I’m not leaving Seattle until we get this disaster straightened out.”

      Nicole didn’t know what the disaster was and she didn’t want to know. Fortunately, Lisa was no longer her problem. She listened to the familiar sound of a car in the driveway.

      “Tell her yourself,” she said. “She just got home.”

      “I’M BACK,” CLAIRE CALLED as she walked into the kitchen. “Sorry I’m late. Wyatt asked me to join them for dinner, which turned out to be KFC. It’s their one fast-food night a week and Amy picked. Have you eaten there? It’s really—”

      She walked into the living room, saw Lisa standing next to Nicole and instantly wished she hadn’t had that extra chicken leg.

      “Hello, Claire,” Lisa said coolly. “Tell me you didn’t actually eat fried chicken.”

      Lisa had always had the ability to make her feel small and stupid. An apology hovered on her tongue, but she bit it back. She was a grown-up and if she wanted to eat fast food, she would. It was her right.

      “Yes, I did. It was delicious.”

      Lisa pressed her lips together. “What about the diet I gave you? It’s nutritionally balanced, with a strong emphasis on soy.”

      Nicole made a gagging sound, then held up both her hands, palms out. “Sorry. She just showed up. I didn’t know what to do.”

      “It’s okay,” Claire said. She couldn’t hide from Lisa forever. Although it was a lovely daydream.

      Lisa ignored the exchange. “I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I am in you, Claire. Disappearing like that, with no warning. Just a voice mail to tell me you were gone. You’ve been ignoring my calls. Did you think that would work? That I would just go away?”

      Claire squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I had a family emergency,” she said, then prayed Nicole wouldn’t pipe in with a stinging comment about how Claire wasn’t exactly welcome here.

      Fortunately, for once her sister was silent.

      Lisa’s gaze flickered over Nicole, then returned to her. “Everything seems to be fine on that front. I assume you’re returning to New York shortly?”

      “I am not.”

      “What about the fall schedule? It’s already half the dates it should be. If you are not out there, people will forget who you are. Brilliance isn’t enough. You know that. You know how easily everything can be lost.”

      It was a message Claire had been hearing for years. She’d once heard a university professor complaining about the “publish or perish” rule. For Claire it was “perform or perish.”

      “I can’t take anything on right now,” she said firmly. “I have no idea when I’ll be returning to any kind of schedule.”

      Lisa’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean that. You can’t.”

      Claire wanted to ask if she remembered what had happened the last time she’d gone on stage. How she’d collapsed and humiliated herself. How the panic had won. But she was too aware of Nicole listening and too ashamed to tell her sister the truth.

      “There are people depending on you,” Lisa continued. “You are an industry. People’s livelihoods are at stake.”

      Another line Claire had heard dozens of times. Couldn’t Lisa get some new material?

      “Mostly yours,” she snapped. “If you want to resign as my manager, I don’t have a problem with that.”

      Lisa took a step back. “No. That’s not what I mean.” She cleared her throat. “Claire, dear. I had no idea you were so upset. Of course you must have time with your family. I shouldn’t push you.”

      It was amazing how Lisa could play both sides of good cop, bad cop and never miss a step.

      Claire hated this. Hated having to disappoint people, hating not being able to play. But that’s where she was right now—trapped with a talent she couldn’t use. She was bone tired and not willing to get back onto the treadmill that was her life. She was tired of making decisions based on what everyone else wanted. What about what she wanted?

      An excellent question, if only she had an answer.

      “It doesn’t matter if you push me,” she said. “I’m not changing my mind. I’m here until Nicole is better. I might stay longer, I don’t know. I’m not willing to make any commitments for the fall or any other time. I won’t be pushed. So you need to just back the hell off.”

      Lisa stared at her for a long time. “All right. I can see you’re not ready to come home. That’s fine. I’ll wait. You know how to find me.”

      Claire СКАЧАТЬ