“Nah, I’m good.”
“Why not? The three songs we co-wrote and the one you wrote were among my biggest hits.”
“I know. But my name better not be anywhere near those liner notes when you’re done with this project.”
Terrence shook his head. “Okay. You’re the only person I know who doesn’t want to take credit for his work. Later.”
“Later.” Donovan didn’t plan to trust Terrence this time—he’d said the same thing nine years ago, and Donovan ended up with credits on at least four songs. He made a mental note to follow up with the art department before that CD hit the shelves.
Donovan and Simona had only had a few brief conversations, due to his schedule and her working extended shifts, and by the weekend Donovan missed Simona more than he’d imagined. He desperately wanted to see her, but had to meet with Brad—who had been out of the office all week—to hammer out the details of Kaleidoscope’s next tour contract. He wasn’t too keen on the promoter’s proposed date changes, which didn’t leave much time for the group to recover between the concerts and attend the additional local promotions, interviews and autograph signings. The back-and-forth had put them behind schedule, and Donovan wanted to lock in the dates as soon as possible. Though the first date was six months away, he wanted the publicity department to get started.
He and Brad spent three hours reworking the contract with the hopes that the changes would be acceptable to the promoter. Donovan’s biggest concern was building in a small cushion of time between tour stops.
Brad left at five-thirty and Donovan toyed with waiting until Monday to add the notations to the contract, but remembered he and Terrence had three consecutive meetings with prospective clients.
Donovan stood, stretched and massaged his neck in an attempt to loosen the muscles. He moved back to his desk to catch his ringing cell. Seeing Simona’s name on the display put a smile on his face.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hi, Donovan. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No. Just taking a quick break before I get back to work.”
“I thought you were only going to be there a short time.”
He blew out a long breath. “So did I. But we had to address some problems with one of the contracts. I should make it out of here by seven, or seven-thirty at the latest. I know you had to work some long hours this week, too. What you do is far more tiring. How are you doing?”
“I took a nap with Yasmine earlier, so I’m okay. I know you have to get back to work. I just wanted to hear your voice and check on you.”
He wanted to sit on the phone and listen to her sweet voice all night, but knew he should hang up. “And hearing your sexy voice made my night. I’m going to try to get out of here at a decent hour. If you’re not busy tomorrow, I’ll come by.”
“That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow if you’re not too tired.”
“Kiss Yasmine for me.”
“I will.”
The fact that Simona had taken time to check on him made Donovan love her more. No matter what it took, he needed to keep her in his life.
* * *
Simona hung up and placed the cordless on the base. She missed hearing Donovan’s voice, seeing his smile, laughing with him. She just missed him. And she wanted to see him...today. An idea popped into her mind, and she smiled. Before she could lose her nerve, she snatched up the phone again and called Eve.
“Hey, Eve. Could you watch Yasmine for a couple of hours?” When her friend agreed, she explained her plan. After disconnecting, she rushed to her room to get ready.
Turning first one way then the other in the mirror, she nodded, pleased with her look. “Donovan, I hope you like surprises,” she mumbled.
Thirty minutes later, Simona made her way down the hallway leading to the administrative offices of RC Productions like a woman on a mission. Several times during the drive she almost changed her mind. She had never done something so bold in all her life, and the closer she came to Donovan’s office, the colder her feet got. She passed the restroom, and another crazy idea crossed her mind.
“Don’t even think about it, Simona,” she told herself. But she had come this far, so why not go for broke?
Like last time, she heard the music as soon as she rounded the corner. She crossed the outer office, stood in the doorway of Donovan’s office and just observed him. His head was down, and his hand moved quickly across the paper. He was seated so she could see only the black T-shirt. After staring at him a good two or three minutes, she decided to make her presence known.