Chapter 44

Allegra stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to Richie’s again before going to answer her royal summons.  He laced his fingers through hers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.  “Don’t take any shit from him, Sunshine.”

She chuckled and, with a sly grin, asked,  “Do I ever?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” he agreed with a laugh.  “Go, if you’re going.  We don’t have much time, and I want to see you in that dress.”

Allegra sobered as the thought of something occurred to her.  “Have you told Ava?”

“We talked, and she’s really looking forward to it,” he assured her.  “She understands what’s going on, and she wants me to be happy.”  He stroked her cheek with his thumb, before gently turning her and pushing her toward the door.  “It’s all good, baby.  Now go.”

“I’m going,” she grumbled.  “But if I’m not back in twenty minutes, send in a mediator.”  She heard his laughter as the door clicked shut behind her. 

I really don’t want to spend my afternoon arguing with Jon.  I’m in Las Vegas with my guy and we have important places to be.

Based on the suite number, Allegra guessed that she would find it near the end of the corridor and pointed herself in that direction.  Sure enough, it was the very last door and sat directly on the end of the hallway.  She approached it with small sigh resignation and knocked twice.

Dorothea greeted her with a distracted smile.  “Hey.  Come on in.  They said your luggage would be upstairs in a few minutes.”  She retreated back into the suite, saying, “I hope they bring mine up soon, too.  Apparently we have some type of function to attend that someone didn’t tell me about.”

She heard Jon’s voice come from the bedroom as she stepped into the living area.  “I told you I didn’t know about it until an hour ago.  Some damn corporate demand appearance, and they want me to bring the whole band and the families.  Nobody would tell me anything other than dropping the AEG CEO’s name.  At least Cheryl had time to get a sports coat here for me.”  There was an assortment of sounds drifting out of the bedroom as he opened closet doors and dresser drawers.  “Hey, Dottie, it looks like there’s another garment bag here with a dress in it for you.”  Jon appeared in the doorway holding the mentioned dress for her to see.

“What?  Let me see.”  She took the dress from him.  “This is my dress.  Did Cheryl raid our closet herself? What the hell is going on Jon?”

“I told you I don’t have any idea,” he repeated patiently.  “The limos will be here at two and we’re supposed to be in them.  That’s all I’ve got.  Now, go get dressed so I can talk to Frannie.”

She pinned her husband with harsh look.  “Can I trust you to behave yourself?”

“Just go,” he told her, with a kiss on the cheek and a roll of his eyes.

“Alright, but I’m leaving the door open and I’m warning you:  if there’s any shouting, you’re in trouble.”  She shook her finger menacingly before disappearing into the bedroom.

“Jesus,” he muttered.  “What am I, an ogre?”   He gestured to the sofa.  “Sit.”

“Your manners suck,” Allegra informed him, but obeyed anyway.  “You’d get a lot more accomplished if you would stop ordering people around like a five-star general.”

He shrugged and perched on the couch next to her.  “I doubt it.  People respond to authority.  I’m paying them to do a job, and part of my job is to get it done the way I want.”

“Your employees are not what’s in question here, and you know it.  You shouldn’t be rude to family, even if you don’t like them.”

“Do you really think that?  That I don’t like you?” he asked with a sigh, and slumped back against the cushions.

“I’m sure that you love me.  Like?  Sometimes I wonder.”  Allegra scooted around and tucked her leg up under her.  Now she could see his face.  “So what’s it going to be today, Jon?  I haven’t spoken to you in more than two weeks, so what could I possibly have done that necessitates this little powwow?”

“Yeah, I know we haven’t talked in a while,” he said, scrubbing his hand over his face.  “But there’s a reason for that.”

“Oh?”  Allegra asked, one eyebrow arched.  “You mean besides you being a control freak and not wanting me to date Richie?”

“Would you just listen for a minute?  When Richie came back, he brought something to my attention – something that should be made right between us.  I felt like I should look you in the eye when I apologized.” 

You could have knocked her over with a feather, Allegra was so surprised.  This was definitely not what she’d expected.  “A… apologize?” she stammered.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, lifting his chin and looking her in the eye.  “I’m sorry I made you feel like a… what did you call it?  A dirty, groupie whore?  Yeah, well that thought never crossed my mind.  Not one time, Frannie, swear to God.”  He raised his right hand as though being sworn into a court of law.  “But every time I’d start to tell you that, you were too busy giving me hell to listen.  So it got away from me, and I never did say the words.  Can you forgive me?”

She bobbed her head once slowly, still somewhat stunned at the unexpected turn of events.  He ordered me here to apologize? 

“Richie was very vocal about pointing that out to me,” he told her.  “You know… that I made you feel…  I guess trashy is as good a word as any.  He’s a good guy, Frannie.  The best, really.  He’s soft hearted, kind, sincere, romantic, affectionate and all that shit women look for in a man.” 

He snuck a glance at her from under his lashes, and then continued in a conversational tone.  “He’s been through a lot.  More than he would admit to just about anyone – but I was there.  I lived through it with him every day for what seemed like a hundred years.  Heather just about destroyed him, filing for divorce when she did.  He was totally blindsided when that goddamn reporter told him.” 

Jon shook his head in remembrance, looking out at the bright Las Vegas sky.  “Then that media-whore Denise took him for a little ride.  All she was interested in was the limelight, and she took advantage of his situation, riding his coattails through the tabloids.  He trusted her, and she screwed him over, too.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked quietly, a wave of nausea starting to build. 

His gaze slid back to her face and rested there.   Whatever he was going to say wasn’t going to be something she wanted to hear, she realized, watching his eyes freeze over with resolve.  She wanted to put her fingers in her ears and refuse to listen to him when the sinking sensation hit the pit of her stomach. 

Unfortunately, she heard him loud and clear when he said, “Because I want you to end this, and I want you to do it now, before he falls in love with you.”

She sucked in a sharp, painful breath at the stabbing sensation in her chest.  You've got to be kidding me.

And Jon wasn’t finished yet.  “I can’t watch him go through it again, Frannie.  I can’t be the one to sweep up the pieces of his heart and help him glue them back together again.  You’re a beautiful woman who could have her choice of men.  Let Richie go, and find somebody else.  For his sake and for my sake.”

Allegra desperately fought for control of her thoughts and her emotions.  Her mind was completely paralyzed, not knowing how to make sense of the words, and she knew her face reflected the lack of brainwaves.  Should she be thankful that he was trying to take care of Richie, or should she succumb to the devastation of what felt a whole lot like betrayal?  What about her feelings?  Didn’t they matter?

“I can’t believe you,” she finally found her voice.  “Here I am, thinking all along that you’re concerned about my lack of experience in comparison to Richie’s colorful past.  Thinking that you might be worried about me.”  Allegra snorted derisively.  “Guess that must mean my ego is as big as yours.”

“Frannie –“

“NO!  You don’t get to ‘Frannie’ me anymore, Jon,” she snapped, standing to loom over him.  “Did you stop to ask yourself if was too late?  Maybe he’s already fallen in love with me!  What then, Jon?  Do you want me to go ahead and dump him anyway, just so you don’t have to worry about what MIGHT happen later?”

“Stop it!” he ordered, rising to stand toe-to-toe with her.  “That’s enough!”

Dorothea emerged from the bedroom, drawn by the sound of raised voices.  “Jon?  What’s going on?”

“NO!”  Allegra exclaimed, stomping her foot.  “It’s NOT enough until you tell me why you aren’t content when the people you love are happy!  It IS possible for that to happen without you directing every step of our lives, you know.  This isn’t some damn game that you always have to be in control of!”

“Allegra…”  Dorothea approached and guided her away from Jon.  “Calm down, and tell me what’s going on,” she instructed, glaring at her husband.

“I’m sorry, Dot,” she apologized, pulling away.  “I have to get out of here.”  Allegra reached for the handle of the door.  “Oh, and Jon?  It’s okay if you don’t like me, because I sure as hell don’t like you right now, either.  Don’t ever expect to order me around again.”


The slamming of the door echoed down the long hallway.

 ♪♫♪♫♪♫

Returning to Richie’s suite wasn’t an option.  She couldn't let him see her until she'd managed to put some of this in perspective, because there was no way she could tell him about what happened.  Until she could act as though everything were normal, her grand plan was to get lost in the crowded casino. 

Allegra checked her reflection in the elevator mirror, amazed that it had been only minutes since the last time she’d seen herself there.  Her cheeks were still flushed, but with anger this time instead of excitement.  Her eyes didn’t twinkle, but sparked with fury.  Her heart wasn’t full of puppy love, it was crushed by mistrust.

I don’t understand.  All along he said he was worried about me, and keeping me safe.  Is this about business, or he is really that concerned about what I'm going to do to Richie? 

Now was not the time to dwell on it, and she shook her head as the elevator doors dinged her arrival in the lobby.  She purposefully melted into the throng of tourists making their way into the busy hub of the casino.  The sounds of all the excited gamblers, slot machines, and coins allowed her to ignore the the confusion in her head.

 ♪♫♪♫♪♫

“What did you say to her?”  Dorothea spun on him the minute Allegra left.  “I told you no arguing.”

“I wasn’t arguing,” he told her belligerently.  “I was talking in a completely normal tone of voice.  She’s the one who started shouting.”

Her response was an open-palmed smack against his shoulder.  “Don’t be juvenile.  Tell me what you said.”

Choosing to lead with the least incriminating information, Jon sat himself in one of the side chairs and said, “I owed her an apology…”

“Okay, let me rephrase the question,” she interrupted with annoyance.  “What did you say that pissed her off?”

“Dot, you’re not going to make this my fault.  I’m not wrong.”

“I wouldn’t go downstairs and make book on that if I were you.”

Checking his watch, he strode to the bathroom, speaking over his shoulder,  “I have to get ready for the goddamn ceremony.  We don’t have time for this shit.”  He shoved a toothbrush in his mouth and started scrubbing at his teeth.

“You should have thought of that before you started shooting your mouth off.”  She appeared directly at his elbow, staring at him in the mirror with her arms crossed.

Jon spat angrily in the sink.  “Fine.  I told her to break it off with Richie before he fell in love with her.”

“Jesus, Jon!”  Dorothea threw her head back and hands in the air.  “Please, please, tell me you didn’t let her know you were doing it to protect Richie.”

The swishing of mouthwash was his only answer.  He spat again and defiantly met her reflected gaze in the mirror.

“Oh my God, you did!  How can such a smart man be so damn stupid?  The only thing worse than that could be if you offered her money to leave him alone.  You didn't do THAT did you? ”  


Without waiting for an answer, she stalked out of the bathroom and returned with his phone.  “Call her and fix this.  I don’t care how.  You’re the one that spins all the media shit every day.  Use your powers for good instead of evil for a change.”