Chapter 9

Darek

Sadie hadn’t come to my bed the night before, and though she said things were all right, I couldn’t help but feel something had happened. She’d never said who’d called, but it might have had something to do with her sudden preoccupation. Perhaps it was her mother, and guilt had crept in, but then again, it might have been her ex or another man. She could have been interested in someone else for all I knew.

I sat in my office looking over some of my dates which were months away. I’d have no problems making them, but I wanted to see if there was any room I might be able to double up, to make up for the locations I’d missed during my recovery time.

I was nearly done, with a splitting headache ruining my mood when I looked up and saw Sadie in the doorway. She had dressed in pink scrubs and had her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, and even though I was used to the high maintenance women down at Club Expose, she turned me on more than any one of them on their best day.

“Is it time for my medicine?” She’d been dosing me like clockwork, and I only had a couple more days to go. With my follow-up in a couple of days, I’m sure the doctor would take me off of them. No one liked to prescribe pain pills long enough anymore, at least not to those who really needed them, it seemed.

“No. I just thought I’d see what you were up to?” She walked in and sat across from me, her eyes fixed on the calendar on my desk.

“Is something on your mind?” There was something strange in her mannerisms as if something was on the tip of her tongue and if she opened her mouth, it would jump right off.

Finally, after a moment of quiet awkwardness, I went back to work. That’s when she leaned in and rested against my desk. “How many shows do you have coming up?”

“None anytime soon. I’ve canceled for two months total. Why, do you want tickets?” I gave her the side eye, and she looked away.

“Are you sure you don’t have anything left on the books? You can tell me if you’re trying to appease that asshole manager of yours. I won’t like it, but—

My mind blanked out a moment while I tried to process what she’d said. “What are you talking about? I’m not appeasing anyone but my doctor at this point and losing money by the week at that.” Something wasn’t right. Her wide-eyed accusing stare, had me shaken.

“Shit. You really don’t know, do you? I don’t think you’re going to like what I have to tell you.” She seemed almost afraid to say what was on her mind.

“Stop fucking with me and spill it, Sadie.”

“Fine. You’re tickets for the Vegas seminar, they’re still being sold. That call last night was my best friend, who told me she has tickets to your next appearance. Worse than that, she just bought them two days earlier.”

“Fuck. Are you kidding me? I don’t know how he could have let that slip through the cracks. Las Vegas is one of my biggest shows during the year. It’s the one show I hated to miss, but after my complications in surgery, I had no choice. I almost lost my fucking leg.”

“It’s six days away. What are you going to do?”

“Fuck, I have to give that venue notice. They won’t like this and the likelihood they’ll reschedule; that’s not going to happen. Let me make sure the cancellation wasn’t just delayed. Sometimes the venue gets these things and doesn't act fast enough. Maybe your friend didn’t get her notification yet.” I picked up my phone and dialed Jack. There was no answer, so I decided to try and buy a ticket to my show and see what happened.

“This is insane,” said Sadie, as I hit the ‘buy now’ button. “I can’t believe you have a manager who doesn’t even answer his phone.

“In all fairness, we’re not exactly busy right now.”

“In fairness? Are you serious? The guy is out somewhere getting cracked out of his mind while your fans are buying tickets and making plans for Vegas. My friend said her boyfriend bought non-refundable tickets to fly down. This affects more than your show and your pocketbook. Even if you refund, you’re still going to piss people off.”

She had a good point, and I hadn’t considered the other side of it. I tried to dial Jack again, and this time it went to voicemail. I was halfway through leaving a message and planning a follow-up text when he beeped in.

“It’s Jack. I saw where you called, but I was busy making a few calls.”

“Was one of them to the Vegas venue, by any chance?”

“Vegas? Mm…no.” His voice cracked as he hesitated. “Was I supposed to call Vegas?”

“Please tell me you canceled the fucking Vegas show.”

The silence stretched out on the other end. “It’s Vegas, man. It’s one of our biggest shows. You expect me to lose that kind of money? Besides, it’s a week out; you’ll be better by then, right? Your surgery was almost a month ago.”

“The initial surgery, yes. But the one after the infection spread, that was just two weeks ago. Why the fuck did you think we are canceling all these other shows? Are you fucking mental? I need you to stop sticking shit in your fucking nose and work for me. I can’t be in Vegas.”

“You have no choice, my friend. It’s too late to cancel.” His tone was smug, and it made me wonder if he even cared about my well-being at all.

“It’s not too late. You know I can’t walk.”

“So, sit. You’ll explain your problem, and they’ll still eat up all that bullshit you’re spoon-feeding them, for fuck’s sake. Some of us have bills to pay, you know?”

“You’re still getting a salary.”

“I’m getting peanuts to what I usually get, and you know it.”

“Manage your fucking money and stop buying coke and you’ll be fine. No one else on my staff is complaining. Cancel. The. Show.”

“Fine, I’ll call you back.” The phone went dead, and I slammed it down on my desk hard enough to make Sadie jump.

“Is he going to cancel it?”

“He said he’d call me back. I swear that guy’s going to be the death of me.”

“I don’t see why you don’t get rid of him. He’s toxic. Don’t you preach about getting rid of toxic people in your life.” I hated when someone tried to use my own advice against me, especially when they didn’t know the whole reason why I didn’t follow it.

“Jack and I have been friends for a while. He’s one of the best managers, and when he’s on his game, he’s unstoppable. My break is making him testy, but he’s usually a good guy, and he doesn’t miss a beat.”

“A good guy with an increasing drug problem, from the sound of it. How long before that really fucks you up? If it already hasn’t.” She folded her arms and shook her head. “I’m really shocked you’re not more upset.”

“What I am, is trying to figure out what I’m going to do. If he can’t cancel, and I have to run to Vegas, then I need to be ready. I have to figure out how I’m going to motivate people from a sitting position and without my usual impactful routine. The whole show is like a dance; it’s choreographed. Every fist in my palm, every lean in, it’s all part of the routine.” I let loose a breath that didn’t cleanse near as much as I’d have liked. “I’ve got more to do than to sit around fucking worrying about it.”

“You know he’s not going to cancel, don’t you? You’re just going to let him get away with this?”

“I realize you’re still learning, but it’s the nature of the business, Sadie. It’s something you better get used to. Now, are you going to Las Vegas with me?” I leaned forward across my desk, but she stood and went around behind her chair.

“I’ll go. But only as your assistant. What happened was great, but I don’t think it should happen again. I’m sorry. I hope this doesn’t change our working relationship.” She sucked in a breath as if the words had taken the wind out of her.

“I understand and no if that’s the way you want it. We’ll just pretend it didn’t happen.” I glanced at my watch. “It’s almost time for my medicine. I’d like a sandwich with that, and an ice-cold glass of milk please.” I needed something to wash down the bitter taste she’d left in my mouth.