Neglected Desires

Chapter 18

That day was my first taste of what being a part of his "real life" would be like and to say I wasn't quite ready for that was the understatement of a lifetime. After we had been unceremoniously interrupted by Tony that morning, Prince seemed dead set on placing some boundaries on his home.  He had somewhat hurried through what I knew to be his morning routine before heading off to begin tour rehearsal. I on the other hand took my time, enjoying the peace and quiet his rush had left me with. After an hour or so I headed to the kitchen with the intent of having a quick breakfast.

"Good morning!" I was completely caught off guard by the warm female voice that greeted me as I rounded the corner into the kitchen. I came face to face with a woman of average height and average build standing at the counter chopping vegetables.

"Good morning?" My voice laced with questions as I looked her over, finally taking note of the crisp white chefs jacket she wore.

"Sorry," she began with a wide smile, "I'm Alison, his personal chef." Putting her knife down and wiping her hands on a towel before offering her hand to me. We shared a quick shake as I gave her an earnest smile.

"Alexa."

"He told me you'd be down." Heading over to the sink she washed her hands. "Is there something I can make you for breakfast?"

"Oh no, no, um..." I knew there was a strange look on my face and I was trying my best to make it go away, "I'm sorry, this is odd to me that's all. I've never been around when his chef was here, it's strange." She smiled at me knowingly.

"I'm sure it is actually." Her words came with a little laugh.

"I'm just gonna grab a bowl of cereal, if that's alright." She nodded with a smile before returning to her chopping. "So what are you working on?" 

"Just some prep work for lunch. When he came through this morning he told me he wanted salads and a light vegetable pasta dish to be the lunch options for the crew."

"Hm" I nodded with a mouth full of captain crunch.

"His assistant usually calls between 11 and 2 to let me know when lunch will be. I'm expecting it to be a later time today since he was late this morning." Her words casual as she never looks away from her task at hand.

"Ah, so he was late to rehearsal this morning." Finally she looks up to me with a smile.

"Yeah, no one could find him, so Tony went looking around the complex."

"Well Tony found him alright." My laugh ringing heavy in the kitchen as I placed my empty bowl in the sink. Alison laughed quietly, making me wonder if word had already gotten around the complex, but nothing else was said about the situation. "Thanks for breakfast Alison."

A few hours later I found my way down to the large venue space they were using for rehearsal. Based on what Alison had said earlier I figured they would be fairly close to breaking for lunch, so it seemed like a natural time to stop by. Entering the large space I could hear the music running through the speakers, but I quickly took notice of the missing band and the fact that only three men were on large stage going through a dance routine. Damon, Kirk, and Tony, Ive met each of them before at different times, and right this moment they all appeared to be busting their asses. At first I didn't think Prince was even in the room since I didn't see him anywhere. As I came up to the front of the stage Tony's eyes caught mine and he gave me a friendly wave.

"Damn it Tony!" That deep voice rang over the playback causing all three men to stop and watch as Prince stalked out from the left side of the stage, "what the hell are you doing?" Even from s distance I could see that he was fuming, standing there in his black pants that extended up over his shoulder on one side over the wide neck yellow shirt. The playback had stopped and the closer I got the louder the sound of his tapping foot became as he stared down Tony. Finally he looked out to see me, smiling awkwardly as I walked up the access stairs at the front of the stage.