Hey, I'm updating! :D I can't believe the amount of writer's block I've had. But hey, whatever. I've been able to edit, at least. Anyway, comment, vote, etc.! God Bless and Happy Reading!
Darryl Reddock scanned the library, his eyes dancing across the blurred titles and over the rustic wooden shelves. Dust floated in motes around his head.
He moved on to the next shelf, this one marginally less dusty. Time ticked away slowly. Darryl sighed. There were still several hours before his job interview was to take place: the first interview he had been called for since he had been fired from his last job.
Four employers had given him the boot thus far in his career, the first being that hot shot Hunter Hayes. Darryl laughed to himself, thinking of that rat again. Oh, yes, he had seen the news. Hunter had proposed; Bethany had denied him. It was a very fitting denouement to the tale, should one ask Darryl. Hunter had, after all, stolen his only chance with that Bethany, a fact to which Darryl did not take kindly.
Hunter had not been the first one to steal his thunder. Oh, no. The first had been an employer of a different kind. It was a part of Darryl's life that he had veiled behind a four-inch tapestry. No one knew he had even done it, and he was less proud of it than he could bear to admit.
Yet, it had happened, and, in the process, it had led to his loving - or at least, lusting powerfully - after Bethany Moira Franklin-James.
He could not think about that right now. He had to put on a smile for his interview.
He checked his watch and groaned. Why had he wandered into a library, of all places? There were hundreds of places that he could have visited to waste time.
A blonde head bobbing on the other side of the bookcase caught his eye, and he stopped to peer through the cracked, crusty stacks. The head was a good foot below his own, and was turned away. He squinted. It was not him, though. The hair was different: styled in smoother fashion, whereas the person Darryl remembered favored spikes.
Darryl shrugged, and was preparing to let the issue go and leave the ghost town, a tenor chuckle pulling at his memory, and he crossed into the aisle with the blonde man instead.
"Well, I'll be," Darryl said, a haughty look sliding onto his face.
Amanda's gaze shot up to see a man laughing, his arms crossed and his shoulder leaning against the World Series Encyclopedias. His crystal green eyes sparkled with an irony she did not comprehend, and his unfamiliar black brows were raised in amusement.
She gave him a once-over, hoping that some part of his nicely shaped body would give away the key to how he knew her. No such luck. She had never seen him before; if she had, she had no memory of it. His short, curly hair and handsome brown skin would have been difficult not to remember.
Amanda closed the book she had been perusing and turned fully toward him.
"I'm sorry," she said politely, "Do I know you?"
Darryl snorted. The answer to that question was apparent. He shifted his weight to his other foot and extended his hand.
"I'm Darryl. Darryl Reddock. I used to work for Hunter."
The petit woman's face lit with recognition, and she pushed a short lock of hair behind her pretty ear. Darryl caught himself thinking how odd it was for such a beautiful woman to have such a mannish haircut. Before she had turned around, he had mistaken her for the Hunter Hayes himself!
"Oh, cool! You must have worked backstage or something."
He nodded coolly. "Yeah, I worked the ropes in the back. Don't worry about it. It's not a place the girlfriend of a superstar would usually frequent."
Unless your name is Bethany James, he added silently.
Amanda smiled kindly. "Well, it's good to meet you anyway."
Darryl nodded again. "So, how's he doing? Hunter, I mean?"
"Oh, he's well. Yeah. I actually just got to see him the other week. I fly out to different places to see his shows."
"So, you were in Nevada last week, huh?"
She paused. "Wait...were you there?"
He shrugged. "Nope. I just keep up with some of the guys who worked with me backstage." It was an easy lie, and he could tell it went over perfectly. There was no need to scare Ms. Amanda Felton away when she could be his only way to get back in touch with Bethany.
"So, you see Hunter a lot, huh?" he asked, leaning against the bookshelf again.
"Yeah," she replied. She wanted to add something else, but there was something weird about the way he was looking at her: he was far too intent on keeping Hunter in the conversation.
"Look, I don't mean to be weird, but, is there any way you could maybe give me a number for Hunter?"
She tilted her head at his question, and backed away a tiny step.
"That depends. Why do you want it?"
Darryl sighed. "I feel that I owe him an apology for the way I acted when I worked with him. I have been trying to get my buddies back on set to give me his number, but since they're all still working for him, they aren't allowed to divulge personal information. You know, under contract and all." He rolled his eyes for effect. "Anyway, I used to have his number myself, but he changed it shortly after I got fired."
This lie was less well received. One of Amanda's eyebrows had risen steadily as he had spoken, and now was joined with the other.
"How do I know you are who you say you are?" Amanda asked. Darryl almost laughed. She was smart! It was a good thing that he had kept a few pictures of the set on his phone, otherwise this could be a total bust.
"Here," he showed her, "There's Bethany, the backstage director, winding up microphone chords. And here's Hunter and the band on stage. And here's a picture of me working the ropes."
Amanda believed him now. Those pictures could not have been fabricated. She knew he must have really worked with Hunter. Whether or not he was really intent on making amends was unclear.
"Look, Darryl, I believe you are who you say you are, but I'll need to call Hunter to see if he's okay with me giving you his number."
Darryl held out his hand. "Please do."
She nodded again. "All right. Um, just let me check out this book and I'll go outside and call him." She began to walk away, but turned back abruptly. "Do you live here in Nashville, Darryl?"
"Of course," he replied emphatically. "I've lived here for ten years, if you don't count the months I spent touring with Hunter, of course." He laughed wryly.
She smiled and turned back towards the counter. He watched as she got the book, then took a seat on one of the red leather benches where he would have a good view of her call with Hunter.
Outside, Amanda deliberated. Hunter had never mentioned Darryl before, had expressed no desire to see or speak to him again, and had certainly never authorized her to give random strangers his phone number. Either way, she could feel Darryl's eyes on her, so she had to make the call.
The phone rang twice before she heard Hunter's voice.
"Hello," Hunter answered, putting too much emphasis on the 'e' and the 'o'. Amanda laughed, as she always did when he said that.
"Ah, must be Amanda, then," Hunter continued. She could hear a chuckle in his voice as well. "What can I do you for?"
"Well, for one thing, you sound chipper today," she commented.
"Yes, indeed. We are re-imagining the entire show. The fun ensues!"
Amanda laughed again. "Well, I'm glad to hear you so excited!"
"Oh, I am! It kind of sucks that we only have a few more weeks left of tour, but hey, I'll be back in Nashville before you know it!"
"Good, good! You owe me dinner when you get there. Don't forget it!"
He chuckled loudly. "I swear I won't forget!" A moment passed in which Amanda heard the noise on Hunter's side of the phone drift away and what could only be the hum of a coffee maker powering up. "So, was there a specific reason for your call?"
Usually Amanda would have replied sarcastically, but just now she wanted to get this conversation over with. She turned her back to the library window, just in case Darryl Reddock could read lips.
"Actually, there is."
"...Color me intrigued."
"Well, I've just run into a man at the library who says he used to work for you."
"Mhmm?"
"He wants your phone number. Something about wanting to apologize to you for how he left things?"
"Huh," Hunter mused. "What's his name?"
"Darryl Reddock."
Hunter sucked in a breath. "Oh, goodness."
"What? What is it?"
"I fired that jerk for a good reason," he growled. Amanda winced at his angry tone. Hunter so rarely sounded this mad.
"So, I'm guessing you don't want me to give him your number?"
A moment of silence passed, then a huge sigh drifted into Amanda's ear.
"Go ahead and give it to him, Mandy. I'm a little curious to see what he has to say."
"Okay, if you're sure."
His voice disappeared again. "This should be interesting."
"All right, well, sorry to disturb your excitement, Hunt."
"It's fine, Amanda. It's always good to hear from you. I'll see you in a few weeks, okay?"
"Okay, Hunt. I'll see you!"
Amanda returned inside, spoke a few words to Darryl, punched Hunter's number into his phone, and left the library as quickly as possible.
Darryl followed her into the street, grinning as he slid his phone back into his pocket. He was suddenly glad he had stopped.
$|TNͬ