Anna turned to find herself facing Eden’s manager, Stella Pascual, and her own manager, David Rukundo. What in the world was he doing here? Then Stella was ushering Anna and Kyrie back inside the studio.
“Wasn’t expecting that,” Kyrie said once the door had closed behind them.
Stella chuckled. “Eden’s been rehearsing here all week, and word has gotten out.”
“I didn’t know you were here,” Anna said to David.
He grinned, looking dapper as ever in a pale-blue suit that beautifully offset his mahogany skin. “Surprise. I stopped by to meet with Stella. We were discussing how best to promote your Grammy performance, but we didn’t realize you and Eden would finish before we did.”
“Oh,” Anna said, not quite following. “Was there something you wanted to go over with us before we left?”
“More like we didn’t want you and Eden to be photographed together just yet,” Stella said. She looked tiny next to David’s towering presence, and yet it was clear she was in control of the conversation. “We’d like to drum up as much hype as possible for this performance by teasing a surprise guest on Eden’s social media.”
“So I shouldn’t mention it at all?” Anna’s stomach dropped. That sounded like a good strategy for Eden, but why couldn’t Anna use this opportunity to generate some hype for herself too?
“You’re going to give a few coded hints on your social media,” David said. “Stella and I drafted up some ideas, but we’re open to your input as well. I’ve sent you an email.”
“Okay,” Anna said. That made sense, but she still wished she’d gotten to be part of the decision-making process.
“Sometimes a bit of secrecy can go a long way toward building buzz,” Stella said, and if she said so, it must be true, because Stella Pascual was a legend in this business.
“Some of your fans may put two and two together between your hints and Eden saying she’ll have a special guest for her Grammy performance, and that’s okay. It adds to the buzz,” David said. “We’ll play coy, keep teasing, and hopefully your fans will all tune in on Sunday to see if they guessed correctly.”
“They’ll be salivating to know whether they got it right, whether two of their favorite pop stars will be taking the stage together for the first time,” Stella said with a slightly devilish twinkle in her eye. “It will be amazing publicity for you both.”
“Well, okay.” Anna wasn’t used to this kind of thing, but she was starting to warm to the idea. Plus, David was on board, and she trusted his judgment implicitly.
“So we couldn’t blow the surprise by letting them snap photos of you leaving Eden’s rehearsal space today,” Stella said.
“Right,” Anna agreed. “How will I leave, then?”
Stella waved a hand toward the door. “Oh, just give it another five minutes or so. As soon as Eden leaves, the fans will clear out. No reason to hang around since they have no idea there’s another celebrity in here.”
Anna nodded her agreement, but she was vaguely disappointed she couldn’t greet the fans herself or share photos from her day on social media. She wanted to own this moment the way Eden had. It would all be worth it when she stepped onto the Grammy stage on Sunday, though.
Soon, she and Kyrie were on their way home. They made a quick stop to pick up burgers and shakes from Honeybee, Anna’s favorite vegan burger place. She ordered herself a classic burger with extra pickles, then added burgers for Kyrie and Zoe. Three chocolate shakes and an extra order of fries completed the order.
Sure enough, Zoe was waiting on their shared back patio with a beer in hand when they arrived, her dark hair pulled up in a high ponytail. Anna waved at her through the window as she unlocked her front door, revealing a gray striped cat on the welcome mat, glaring at her.
“Hey, Nelle,” Anna said as she stepped around her cat.
“I come in peace,” Kyrie said jokingly, giving Nelle a wide berth. Nelle’s razor-sharp claws were the stuff of legend in Anna’s house. No one messed with her cat. Nelle swiped at Kyrie’s leg, and she yelped, jumping sideways.
“Be nice,” Anna chastised, not that it did any good. Nelle did as she pleased, which usually involved terrorizing Anna’s guests for her own entertainment. Anna walked through the living room and opened the door to the patio. She and Kyrie stepped outside, leaving Nelle in the house.
Zoe pointed at Anna with her beer. “I need to hear absolutely everything about your day.”
“That’s good, because I definitely need to share.” Anna sprawled in the chair beside her and handed her a Honeybee bag and a shake.
“Ugh, you realize these aren’t as good as real burgers, right?” Zoe asked as she accepted the bag. “But they’re still pretty good. Thanks.”
“I think they’re as good as real burgers.” Kyrie shrugged as she settled into a chair and pulled out her burger.
“Okay, tell me everything,” Zoe said. “Did Eden live up to your wildly inflated expectations?”
And then some ...“Yes,” Anna said as she unwrapped her burger. Her stomach growled as its savory scent reached her. “She’s ... intimidating, for sure, but she was polite. And myGod, hearing her sing in such close quarters totally gave me chills.”
Kyrie smiled wickedly. “And then you—in one of the ballsiest moves I’ve ever seen—told her you had a better idea for the performance and challenged her to throw out practically everything she’d been working on.”
