One Hundred Thirty-Nine

The next week zipped by in a flurry of activity for Allegra.  Upon the band’s return to London, the families began descending and the four Bongiovi children – well, really the two small Bongiovi children – were enough to keep anyone on their toes.  Toss a small herd of Bryan teenagers and a sweet little Cubano into the mix and there was non-stop chaos in the hotel.

Somehow amidst the hub of activity, she managed to still make significant progress on her coursework as well as testing out her new role as Bon Jovi’s “Social Networking Director”.  It was a fancy title for someone who was doing no more than posting an occasional status update and reading some of the fan responses, but every time someone used it, the guys all beamed at her with pride.  She personally felt it was an achievement that ranked right up there with not dripping marinara sauce on her white blouse.  Since it seemed to make them happy, she adopted the ‘grin and bear it’ attitude. 

The guys had been cranking out some amazing shows, with at least a couple of surprises for the crowd each night.  Her favorites were the acoustic numbers out on the circle, particularly ‘Love for Sale’.  With Richie growling out “I got some love for sale” and Tico getting his chance at the mic, it made her giggle with delight.

That wasn’t the only thing about the shows that was making her giggle.  The shows had been sold out for some time, but Matt had found her an inconspicuous spot on Richie’s side where she could sit and watch the show.  The fanatics inside the circle were beyond ecstatic to be that close to Richie and she could swear she heard them screaming something about sex faces.

Intrigued, she consciously paid more attention to what the fans were saying, only to discover they really had been talking about sex faces – Richie’s sex faces!  She was shocked – and a little amused – that they were brazen enough to voice those kinds of remarks. 

Then she also became a little smug. 

The fans were right.  Richie did make some of the same faces on stage that he made in the bedroom – just not the ones they thought.  They assumed that the scrunchy, almost painful expression he made during an intense solo was his ‘sex face’.  In actuality, it was during his more mellow fretwork, when his head was thrown back in pure enjoyment of the music sweeping through him.

Goosebumps had danced up and down her arms at the visual.  If nothing else, she was grateful to those fans for giving her the most amazing idea on how to present Richie with his birthday gift.  Allegra had spoken to Takumi, as Jon suggested, and he very graciously provided her the insight she’d been seeking as well as making the arrangements to get the guitar for her.

She smiled at Richie across the small table that separated them.  It was the day of the fashion show and she had stolen him away for a quiet lunch before the madness began.  She wasn’t sure whose brainchild it was to schedule this thing just mere hours before a Bon Jovi show, but she could certainly hazard a guess.   The tight schedule was making Richie antsy, and that was compounded by the models being particularly bitchy at this morning’s run through.

Taking his phone away from him, she had put it in the night stand drawer and dragged him to a small, out of the way restaurant.  If something major happened, Allegra had her phone.  Everyone important had her number – except Nikki.  And she wasn’t getting it.  He needed this brief escape.

“Honey?”  She curled her fingers over his fretfully tapping ones as they bounced up and down on the tabletop.  “You’ve got to relax.”

He grimaced as he realized his nervous energy had become annoying.  “I feel like I should be doing something.  There’s not enough hours in today.  What if the models walk out?  They were about to kill each other and Nikki earlier.”  Richie checked his watch for at least the tenth time.

Smiling patiently, she laced her fingers into his and squeezed, thinking it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea if the models staged a mass suicide.  She hadn’t met them but, from what she’d heard, a bigger bunch of prima donnas didn’t exist.

“Everything will be fine.  You have extra time since Jon cancelled sound check today.  All you have to do is show up at the hotel – looking devastatingly handsome as always – smile, schmooze and enjoy the compliments on your clothing line.  Then hop over to the O2, pick up your guitar and do what you do best.  It’s gonna be a great day.”

A dimple appeared in his left cheek and the next thing she knew he was kissing her hand.  “I love you.  I can’t thank you enough for keeping me sane this last week.”

“You take care of me and I take care of you,” she told him with a smile.  “It’s what we do.”

The dimple disappeared and his face became solemn at the same time the buzzing started in her pocket.  As much as she wanted to ignore the phone in favor of whatever he was about to say, she knew she couldn’t.  The family and band all knew where they were and why.  If someone was calling it was a big deal.

Slipping her hand free, she retrieved the offensive device and frowned when she saw Dot’s name.  “Hey Dot, what’s up?”

She could barely make Dorothea’s low voice out in the din that came through the phone line.  “You’ve got to get over here.  Nikki called another rehearsal, so I had to bring Steph back.  The models are pitching royal bitch fits and Nikki can’t do a thing with them.  I think she’s about to cry and it’s sure as hell not my place to step in.”

WHY would she do that??  Making them stay there together isn’t going to turn them into a band of happy Hare Krishnas.  They need a break from each other!

Silently panicking, Allegra did her best to hide it from Richie and plastered a smile across her face.  “That sounds great!  So Jon will be in your suite waiting for Richie?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“No, that’s okay.  We were finished anyway.  I think it’s sweet that Jon wants to put something special for Steph in the set list.  Richie will be happy to come and rehearse it with him.”  She tucked the phone under her chin.  “Is that okay, Sweetie?”

He couldn’t mask the confusion at what was going on, but agreed readily enough.  “Yeah, sure.  ‘I Got the Girl’, I’m assuming?  It’s been awhile on that one.  It’s a good idea to run it at least once.”

“Is that the song, Dot?  ‘I Got the Girl’?”

“Ohhh, you’re gooood,” Dot lauded, impressed with her quick subterfuge.  “Yeah, that’s Steph’s song.  I’ll call Jon and tell him to be in the suite.  You get over here!”

Allegra rang off and gathered her purse and jacket.  “Jon wanted to do something special for Steph tonight, to remind her how proud he is.”

Richie was immediately behind her, holding her chair and offering his arm.  “That’s cool.  We don’t trot that one out very often, so it’ll be a nice change for the fans too.  God knows I could use the distraction for the next couple hours.”

They slid into the back of the car that was waiting to courier them the short distance to the hotel.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Richie said when they settled in.  “I put a dress in the closet for you to wear tonight.”

She lifted a brow at him.  “Huh?”

“I don’t want you to wear it if you don’t like it, but I thought it would look nice.”  He bent to place a soft, open-mouthed kiss against the pulse in her neck.  “Something a little sexy.”

Heat rushing through her veins, she knew she’d wear it – no matter what it looked like. 

♪ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♪

Allegra stalked into the ballroom that would act as the venue for this evening’s fashion extravaganza to find Nikki in the back row looking completely frazzled.  She could see Dot’s dark head near the runway, where Steph was sitting, dangling her feet over the edge.

“Nikki?  What’s going on?”

The younger woman rose quickly, turning toward Allegra with huge eyes that went from hopeful to disappointed.  “Oh.  Allegra.  Where’s Richie?”

“He had to be someplace else.  Tell me what’s happening.”

“I… I wasn’t comfortable with this morning’s rehearsal, so I called one more.  I figured it couldn’t hurt to be over prepared.” She gestured helplessly toward the back of the stage.  “The models are bitching at each other and started making demands on which pieces they wanted to wear.  Now some of them are threatening to walk off the project if they don’t get their way.”

“And what have you told them?”

“I…Nothing.”  She scraped her fingers through already tangled blonde tresses, scooping it back into a makeshift ponytail before letting it fall around her shoulders.  “I’m a designer.  I’m an entertainer.  I’m nice to people.  I don’t know how to be a bitch and a dictator.”

For the first time, Allegra felt sorry for the girl.  She was still finding her way in this dream world Richie had bestowed upon her and she was doing the best she could. 

“If you’re a nice bitch, they won’t know the difference,” Allegra informed her grimly.  “Fortunately for you, it’s something I’m developing a knack for.”  She snatched the clipboard from the seat Nikki had vacated.  “Let’s go.”

Nikki’s eyes grew big again, but she only nodded and led the way into the dressing area.  She could hear a commotion that grew louder as they approached and, out of the corner of her eye, Allegra saw Dot sneaking in behind them to watch the festivities.

“Ladies!” Allegra greeted loudly with a press-worthy Bongiovi smile, as she entered the room.  There were roughly a dozen of them – not in all shapes or sizes, but in all different color schemes.  Redheads, blondes, and brunettes alike wore brightly hued clothing and dressing gowns as, what she assumed, were the WTB pieces were tossed amongst them.

“Excuse my tardiness, but I’m Mr. Sambora’s personal representative, and I’m here to tell you that he is very unhappy that this show is not shaping up to his expectations.”

An ivory skinned brunette mouthed off with, “This is a piss-poor managed show.  I should be showing that piece, not this one!”  The coveted dress was a slinky red number, which Allegra thought might look nice on her, but it wasn’t her call.

“Excuse me, what’s your name?”

“Nicolette.”

“Nicolette, I’m sorry that you feel that way,” she told the nearly emaciated woman.  “Regardless of how you feel about the management of this particular event, you were hired to do a job.  One that I believe you’re being paid quite well for.”  Allegra darted her eyes to Nikki who nodded.  “Your ability and willingness to do that job are directly related to the quality of this event and reflect on you more than anyone behind the scenes.”

The woman tossed her head, but didn’t offer further argument.  Allegra swept her gaze over the room, taking in each of the women there.

“If you would like to continue enjoying the benefits of employment, both now and in the future, I suggest that you get yourselves together and act like the professionals that I’m sure you are.  White Trash Beautiful is not a flash in the pan clothing line, ladies, and you would be well-advised not to cut your nose off to spite your face.  This will not be the last show we do.  L.A. and London are just starting points on the road to making WTB a household name.  If you would like the opportunity to rejoin us on this journey at a later date, I seriously recommend that you put your big girl panties on and deal.”

She glanced down at the clipboard in her hand, having no idea what would even be on it.  “Nikki, do they all have their assigned pieces and schedule of appearance?”

“Almost.”  The younger woman delicately plucked the red dress that had been in question from the brunette’s hands and passed it to a young blonde.  She then supplied Nicolette with her original ensemble.   “That’s it.”

“Perfect,” Allegra enthused.  “Ladies it has been a very long morning for all of you, I’m sure.  Go relax and enjoy yourself for the next couple of hours.  I’ve spoken to the hotel manager and they’ve made the spa available to you if you’re interested.  Enjoy the sauna, hot tub or a massage, compliments of Mr. Sambora.  Consider it a token of appreciation for your hard work.  I know that you’ll be the consummate professionals tonight making both yourselves and WTB shine like the stars you are.”

The women went quiet for a moment, only beginning to murmur words of gratitude as Allegra stepped out of the room.

Dot and Stephanie both waited in the hallway wearing twin looks of astonishment. 

“Allegra that was awesome!” Stephanie finally spoke, throwing her arms around Allegra’s neck in a hug.  “You were so professional and in charge!”

“Impressive,” Dot concurred.  “Richie is going to owe you something big and sparkly for that one.”

“No,” she said adamantly, passing the clipboard to Nikki as she joined them.  “Nikki had a problem and she took care of it.  I was just hanging out with you and Steph.”