18
Jordan
There wasa knock on the door and Jordan heard Lucky groan before wiping at her teary eyes with the backs of her hands. She couldn't believe Jude's nerve. Jordan just told him to leave and he was back already? Lucky stood up to head to the door, but Jordan stopped her and answered the doorinstead.
"I already told you to go away," Jordan said as she opened the door and saw Richard. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else," she said before turning back towards the room. "Lucky, it's thatlabelguy."
"Let him in,"Luckysaid.
As Jordan opened the door, Richard stepped inside and unbuttoned his suitjacket.
"Did you hear from Ian?" heasked.
"Huh? How do you know about that?" Jordan said, keeping hervoicelow.
"Jordan, I take my job very seriously. When Lucky said she was bringing a friend on tour, I needed to make sure you wouldn't become a liability. I had my people dig up what little they could findaboutyou."
"So?"
"So I take care of my people. You can learn a lot from him. Ian has an uncanny ability to see things in people others don't. I know Ian and based on what I learned about you, I thought it was aperfectfit."
"Oh. Well then, thank you. I don't know why you did thatthough."
"Have you toldLucky?"
"No. I didn't want to take anything away from her. She needs this. I know she'll be excited for me, but all of that can wait until afterthetour."
"Okay then, it's our secret," Richard said. "I need to talk to her about the tour. Some things havechanged."
Curled up on the couch wearing her pajamas, Lucky looked suspiciously at Richard. She wiped her nose with a tissue and breathed in as she tried to braceherself.
"Let me guess," Lucky said. "The show must go on. You want me to perform inanhour."
"No. You have a few days. I cancelled the Phoenix show like I said, but based on feedback I've been getting, I also cancelled the San Diego and Chicagoshows."
"Is itthatbad?"
"Nothing's bad," he said with a smile. "The rest of your tour will only be two shows, one in LA and the other in New York. And not at the little clubs and theaters you've been playing at. We'regoingbig."
"Big?"
"My sources told me the photo is going viral, which is what we suspected. What we didn't expect is that people love you. They're clamoring for more. All the interviews you did weeks ago are being pushed up forpublication,too."
"Why? I don'tunderstand."
"Because you're normal, Lucky. People identify with you. That picture of you and Jude kissing is every woman's dream come true. They're noticing you because you're not some twig thin model, you're the girl next door. You're pretty, you have meat on your bones, you're talented, and you got to kiss the one guy who has always been out ofreach."
"That's crazy," she said, shakingherhead.
"But it's true. Here's the deal though. Bigger shows mean longer shows. Your music is selling like wildfire now. We need to show them you're not some one-trick pony. You need to add a few new songs to the tour, then get back into the studio and cut a new album. Take advantage of yourmomentum."
"But I don't have any songs ready," she said, lookingworried.
"You have two days to get them ready. Once you're in LA, the band will be going to SIR Studios to learn those new songs. Jude canhelpyou."
"No, he's the last person I wanthelpfrom."
"You don't have a choice. You need him. He's been through this before, and he's a songwriter.Usehim."
