A/N: Warning: there are several crass/cuss words in this fic starting with this part because that it the way Bella's character is, so if that really bothers you, you have been warned.
Also, the titles of the songs that are Bella's in this story are all made up by me, so if there are actual songs with the same titles out there, I apologize in advance and will change them if I'm notified about it.
Last, but not least, I've included the outfit Bella wears to rehearsal at the bottom of this chapter.
Now, on with the show! ;-D
Bella jerked awake to the pounding on her bedroom door. She cursed under her breath as she reached out for the warmth she was sure was nearby. Her eyes flew open when she encountered nothing but space next to her. Lifting her head with a scowl, she wondered where her toy had gotten off to when another pounding came on the door.
“Isabella Marie Swan, get your gorgeous, lazy butt out of that bed immediately!” came Michael’s sharp voice. “You know we have a bus to catch! If you’re not out here in ten minutes you can forget about eating any of this scrumptious breakfast!”
She groaned as she sat up and looked around the room. All traces of the incredibly, hunky male she’d enjoyed last night were completely gone. She pushed her tangled mess of hair from her face.
“All right, Mike! I’m hurrying!” she called as she dragged her pleasantly sore body out of bed.
When she raised her arms over her head and stretched her body, trying to get the kinks out, she knew she was going to have to do some exercises before her concert that night. In the meantime, she had to make do with a quick, hot shower before donning some comfortable sweats, wolfing down her breakfast then hightailing it to her tour bus as quickly as she could. They had to be in West Palm Beach in time for the concert that night, so she didn’t have time to mess around.
As she showered, she wondered just when her guest had left. Obviously she had been sleeping hard since she hadn’t felt him leave the bed, nor heard him moving around. She was amazed he had even left before she had woken up. Those kinds of incidents were extremely rare because usually it was up to her or Michael to push her overnights out the door.
Still, she was glad that she didn’t have to deal with that awkward situation, but at the same time she found herself wishing she’d had that beautiful sight to wake up to. Oh well, no time to dwell on that or Michael would never let her live it down.
As usual, she was packed onto her tour bus just in time to get rolling on to the next city. As soon as the bus was on the road, Bella moved to the section near the middle of the bus that housed her exercise gym. She peeled off her sweats to reveal the workout bra and shorts she normally wore when she did her workout routine.
A naturally slender woman, Bella mostly worked out to keep her body limber and capable of great stamina since she endured several hours a night dancing around on her feet. Occasionally she had her trainer joining her, but it was mostly to check on her progress and to keep her exercise routine fresh so she wouldn’t get bored of it. Mostly though, Bella was on her own and that was the way she liked it. That way, she was able to concentrate and get things done quicker.
That alone time also provided Bella with some peaceful moments to let her brain either rest or concentrate on things that she needed to figure out. Today, as she got on the treadmill after warming up a bit, she couldn’t help but let her mind wander back to the night before. The sex she’d had was some of the best she had enjoyed in a long time and that was saying something. It wasn’t like she had a different man in her bed every night, but when the need came upon her, she knew she could easily find one.
Those few times she had found a warm body to share her bed with, had not always been disappointing but they hadn’t always blown her mind either. And none of them…none…had ever come close to the mind-blowing, sexual-high marathon she had endured the night before. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had actually fucked a man twice in one night. However, it was a fact that she had never gone as many rounds as she had last night…a record for her.
For a brief moment, she wondered if it had been the same for him, but when her thoughts turned to wondering just who he was and if she would ever see him again she quickly shook her head and directed her thoughts to something else. No way was she gonna dwell on a man for more than the time it took to screw his brains out. She’d learned her lesson long ago, plus she didn’t have time for anything else, so why the hell would she waste her time dwelling on her latest one night stand?
She finished on the treadmill, did a few sets of dance moves to loosen her muscles, then went to get a fresh bottle of water from the kitchen near the front of the bus before going further up to where Michael was sitting near the driver. Her bus had been custom made to Bella’s specifications for those long drives between cities during her tours. This was her bus, hers alone, but she often had others joining her when she wanted company. Michael was the only one who seemed to be a permanent fixture, but most of Bella’s band and select entourage didn’t mind. She’d made sure to order another custom bus just for the band and entourage after she’d gotten their input on what they liked.
As she approached Michael, he looked up at her and grinned. “Well, looks like you’re wide awake now.”
Bella set her water down in a cupholder with a shrug before she lifted a leg onto a seat to do a few stretches. “I’m awake, but not for long. I intend to catch a nap in a few, but wanted to check in with you first.”
Michael looked down at his ever present iPad. “There’s nothing new to report. Everything’s running on schedule, so we’ll be in West Palm Beach in about two hours then your first appearance isn’t for another two hours. After that it’s rehearsal, another appearance, then time to get ready for the show.”
Bella nodded. “Okay then I’m going to go take that nap. Don’t wake me until it’s time to get ready for the appearance.”
Michael smirked at her. “Oh my! Sounds like somebody didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Bella picked up her water and winked at Michael. “I didn’t get any sleep, but it was worth it. Why do you think I just had to exercise?”
Michael mock fanned his face. “Now why didn’t I get to see this hotness before you threw him out? Don’t you think it would have been fair for me to see this god who satisfied the one and only Ms. Bella Swan?”
Bella laughed. “Sorry Mike, but you probably would have made him run screaming. Sometimes you’re a little grabby, you know?”
He tsked. “Keep it up, Ms. Diva! Oh and speaking of…I had been trying to get you to go find Paul last night! He was there and wanted to introduce you to the new techie he hired. He was rather piqued that you ran off.”
Bella waved her hand. “I’ll make it up to him, but honestly, I just couldn’t let that fine piece of meat escape…or become someone else’s late night snack.”
Michael narrowed his eyes at her. “More like a late night meal…better watch those hips sweetheart!” He snapped, the underlying meaning wasn’t lost on her. “And you’ll make it up to Paul…at the rehearsal! They’ll both be there working and so will you. And I don’t want to hear one word of protest about it!”
Bella sighed. “Yes sir, master, sir!”
Michael made to swat at her, but she scurried away, laughing as she did so. She could hear Michael’s own laughter echoing down the bus as she continued on her way to the very back of it where her private bedroom was. She changed into an old, off the shoulder tee-shirt that was so large that it reached to mid-thigh, then she got comfortable in her bed.
She reached to the wall next to the bed where there was a stereo built into it and flipped it on. Muted classical music began to fill the room. Sighing in contentment, she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, letting the soft music and the gentle motion of the bus lull her to sleep.
*********************************************
Nearly six hours later Bella stepped out of her tour bus, having changed into a brown two-piece outfit consisting of a hooded, zipped jacket and matching drawstring pants and her favorite pair of tennis shoes. This was the usual outfit she wore when she rehearsed, meaning she had several other copies of it in different colors, materials or styles.
Sam and Jared, who had been waiting outside of the bus for her, now took their places besides her as they walked the short distance from the bus to the stadium doors where a stadium guard stood waiting to admit them. Thankfully the fans hadn’t descended yet, so it was relatively quiet at the moment which allowed Emmett and Tyler a break.
Bella was greeted by a somber Michael just inside of the doors. “Okay hon, the stage is set and everyone’s ready to go except for Eric…who is absent…again.”
Bella frowned. “This is the second time! Where the hell is he?”
Michael sighed. “Emily said she tried to rouse him from his bunk and he seemed to be up when she left, but chances are he’s still there. Collin claims Eric managed to pocket something extra from the party back in Orlando and has been enjoying it ever since.”
She shook her head. “Not good Mike! Tell me you sent someone to deal with him!”
Michael glanced at Sam, who nodded to Jared. But before Jared could leave, Bella grabbed his arm and looked at him. “If he’s out of his mind, you get him sober ASAP and tell him he better be at the show completely clean! I don’t want to see him before then! And let him know he has one more strike before his ass is out of here for good!”
Jared nodded before walking out of the stadium to deal with Bella’s back-up singer as Bella continued to scowl. Eric knew better than that! Everyone involved with Bella’s life knew she ran a tight ship. No one was allowed to waste her time and Bella kept score of how many times someone fucked up things. This wasn’t the first time that had happened, but it was the first time it wasn’t one of the behind the scenes people.
If she had to find a replacement back-up singer in the middle of the tour, she was going to make sure Eric’s mistake would haunt him for a long, long time. How dare he bring that stuff with him, endangering the jobs and lives of those around him! The stupid ass! He knew how Bella felt about drugs and drinking! It was one thing to enjoy them as a party favor, but it was a totally different thing to imbibe them otherwise.
Her temper just kept rising as she stomped her way towards the stage area with Sam and Michael in tow. Michael managed to catch up to her, blocking her way and putting his hands on her arms.
“Now, now Bella. You need to calm down, sweetheart or you’ll have a bad rehearsal and we can’t have that, can we?”
Bella gritted her teeth as she glared at Michael. “If he messes this up, I’m gonna crucify him!”
Michael sighed. “Believe me, when Rose finds out about this, he’ll be begging for mercy. Let us worry about him okay, hon? You just go out there and have a good rehearsal.”
Bella closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to find the calm she needed to be able to concentrate on the tasks ahead. After several moments, she finally opened her eyes and nodded.
“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s get this over with!”
Michael gave her a grateful smile as he resumed walking with her into the stage area where everyone else was already waiting to begin. As soon as Leah caught sight of Bella climbing the stairs, she alerted everyone else.
“Okay folks, boss lady is here! Let’s take our places!”
Bella nodded to each band member in acknowledgement as she made her way to the front of the stage where her microphone stand was. At the base of the stage stood Paul, her lead roadie slash stage manager, wearing the headset mic he always wore during sound checks and concerts.
Like Sam, Paul always looked rather intimidating with the serious face and the wide stance he took when working. The short-cropped, dark hair and arms folded over his black tee-shirt covered chest only added to the menacing look. It was obvious the man meant business and Bella was always glad to have him with her on her tours because he kept all of the people who worked under him in line.
He had actually started out as a regular roadie back on her first tour, but had soon caught the eye of Tony, the lead roadie back then. By the time she was on her second tour, Paul had become Tony’s assistant and Tony had recommended Paul as his replacement when he had to retire because of health issues before she could start her third one. Needless to say, Paul had been a godsend and neither he nor Bella had looked back since then.
Bella knew she could depend on him to look after his side of things without having to consult her often, which was why she wasn’t really in a hurry to meet the new roadie he had hired. Even though the guy was a friend of Paul’s, Bella trusted his judgment and knew he wouldn’t have hired the guy if he wasn’t qualified to do the job. Sure she had sounded like she was being a hard-ass the morning Michael had told her about the new roadie, but everyone knew that was just the way she was.
She leaned down to take the ear monitor from Paul which she always wore when performing, thanking him before clipping the box on her pants and putting the tiny earpiece in her right ear. When she was ready, she spoke into the microphone.
“Okay Paul, your guys…they’re ready?”
Paul gave her a thumbs up before putting his arms back over his chest, never once breaking into a smile, but Bella was used to that.
She took the mic off of the stand and turned to her band, doing her best to ignore the lone microphone stand next to Emily. Everyone knew better than to ask about it. They would perform as if no one was missing.
“All right guys, let’s make this short and sweet.”
She pointed to Brady, who raised his drumsticks over his head and counted. “One, two, three!”
The band launched into the opening of “I’m a Woman” which was a fan favorite because of the empowering lyrics Bella had written. Bella turned around to face the front of the stage, waiting until it was time to sing, then her voice rang loud and clear throughout the stadium. The uplifting words lent a lightness to her voice, making her sound strong, yet joyful.
They went through two more songs after that, but as they started the fourth one, Bella waved her hands in the air. The song lyrics called for her voice to sound a bit on the smoky side, but she wasn’t satisfied with what she was hearing in her earpiece. As the band stopped playing, she looked down at Paul and put her hands on her hips.
“It’s not smoky enough, Paul.”
He knew what she was saying. It wasn’t the first time they’d had trouble with that particular song. He spoke into the mic attached to his headset.
“Jake, adjust the bass on her mic will you? Make it more prominent.”
He waited until he got a reply back before looking at Bella. “Try it now.”
She sang a few lines then motioned with her thumb upwards.
“More Jake,” said Paul into his mic as Bella continued to sing.
When she finally nodded, Paul spoke into his mic again. “Okay, mark it, Jacob.”
Bella spoke into the mic. “Let’s take it from the top again…Jasper?”
Jasper began playing the keyboard intro and once more they went through the song, but this time they didn’t stop until it was over. Pleased with the way it had sounded, Bella prompted the band into one more song before declaring everything ready for the night. She set her mic back on the stand and pulled off her ear monitor to hand back to Paul as she addressed the band.
“You guys all set?”
Everyone nodded, except Leah. “I’m not satisfied with the way my guitar sounds…something’s a bit off.”
Paul spoke up. “I thought Nick already worked on it with you?”
Leah nodded. “Yeah, but it still doesn’t sound right.”
Paul frowned as he tilted his head, apparently listening to someone on his headset. He finally nodded and looked back at Leah.
“If you don’t mind hanging around for a few minutes, Jake can take a look at it. He says there’s a few things he can try.”
“Okay, cool! Thanks Jake,” Leah called into the darkness of the stadium where they knew the sound board was set up.
“All right then, I’ll see you all in a few hours,” said Bella as she handed the monitor to Paul, then made her way to the back of the stage where Michael and Sam where waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.
She noticed Jared hadn’t returned, which told her that he was still dealing with Eric. She tried not to scowl as she reached Michael’s side.
“Before you go get ready for your next appearance, you need to meet Mr. Black,” said Michael.
Bella sighed, which prompted Michael to tsk at her. “Now, now sweetheart. We talked about this.”
“I know Mike, but honestly, you know I trust Paul! Why do I have to waste my time meeting somebody that I know Paul is handling! All I gotta do is deal with Paul and let him deal with everyone else!”
“Because chick-a-dee,” came Paul’s voice from behind her, “you’re still the big boss lady and that means if you don’t okay this, Rose isn’t gonna write our checks…and you know I want my checks.”
Bella turned to see the smirk on his face as he approached her. Of course he would be joking now that he wasn’t working.
She huffed. “Fine, fine Mr. I-Want-My-Checks! Let’s meet this new member of your crew.”
Paul’s smirk grew as he spoke into his headset. “Jake? Meet me behind the stage ASAP.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “You gonna roll out the red carpet before he gets here, Paul?”
Paul chuckled. “Nah, I’ll leave that for you, darling.”
She was about to retort when someone rounded the corner of the stage behind Paul. Glancing in that direction, Bella’s jaw almost dropped.
No! It couldn’t be!
Paul looked over his shoulder with a smile. “Ah and here’s the man of the hour!”
He waited until the new roadie stood besides him before saying, “Bella, this is your new sound board technician, Jacob Black. Jake…her royal highness, Ms. Bella Swan.”
Bella ignored the jibe as she stared at the man before her. She would recognize that face and body anywhere. It was the same man who’d been in her thoughts and in her bed since the night before, yet here he stood in a fresh pair of black jeans with another black tee-shirt. That outfit should have tipped her off last night, but when had a roadie ever looked that good?
Looking into his eyes, she knew he recognized her but all he said as he held his hand out to her was, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Swan.”
Wait…did he just put more emphasis on the word pleasure?
And then he grinned…the same grin he’d given her when she’d pushed him onto the bed the night before.
Shit! She was in trouble!
“Bella?” came Michael’s voice, jarring her out of her shock.
Quickly putting her haughty mask on, she took Jacob’s hand in hers and shook it, ignoring the delicious heat his skin seemed to produce.
“Hello, Mr. Black. You come highly recommended. I look forward to seeing if you live up to those…expectations.”
Paul laughed as he nudged his friend. “Told you she was a hard-ass!”
Bella nodded towards Paul. “Yes, I am Mr. Meraz, which means your ass is on the line too if your boy doesn’t cut it…but you know that, don’t you?”
Paul threw his hands up in mock surrender even as he still wore his smile. “Yes, ma’am!”
Everyone chuckled at their banter until Bella nodded to them. “All right then, keep up the good work Mr. Black. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go get ready for my next interview.”
With that, Bella turned and tried not to appear too anxious to flee through the building away from the reminder of the best night she’d ever had.
She was never so glad to see her tour bus as she climbed on board and made her way towards the back of it. Michael followed her into the study area just before her private bedroom, but Bella kept on walking to her bedroom. He was just about to ask why she was going in there when they were expecting Alice and Jessica in a few moments, but she quickly spun around to face him.
“I need a few moments,” she snapped, before closing the door and locking it.
Michael sighed and sat down at the desk, pulling out his iPad to do some work until wardrobe showed up. He’d give Bella that time to do whatever she was doing in there, knowing it was better to let her get whatever it was out of her system. Obviously this wasn’t the first time she’d acted like this, but luckily they had a few minutes to spare to allow her some privacy.
Inside the bedroom, Bella paced along the tiny area at the foot of the bed as she wrung her hands in worry. What the hell was she going to do now? This had never happened before! She had never once broken her own personal rule of getting involved with a member of her tour. She knew better. She’d made it a rule from the beginning because she knew she couldn’t handle seeing the face of someone she’d had a one night stand with every time she went to work. It would have been hard to have other partners when there was always that one reminder who knew about her and if she ever did anything to upset that person…yeah, she could see the headlines now.
Not that the stuff about her in the trash mags wasn’t already bad, but most people knew it was trash.
And now this.
She knew she couldn’t just go to Michael or Paul and tell them to fire him without giving them a good reason, and she certainly couldn’t tell them the real reason why she needed him gone. Michael would flay her alive for that!
Oh why couldn’t she have controlled her libido that night and listened to what Michael had to say, then gone with him to meet Paul’s friend instead of rushing off to bed the guy! If she had, then wouldn’t be in this predicament. Then again, if she had gone with Michael, she wouldn’t have had one of the most memorable nights of her life.
She stopped pacing as she remembered some of the things they’d done. The way he had looked and the way he had made her body feel. She shuddered as her body clearly remembered his touch as well. Suddenly realizing that her thoughts were going back down that road that she swore never to go down again, she shook her head and resumed pacing.
So, firing him outright was out of the question. So was telling Michael or Paul the truth. Again she came to a standstill as panic seized her.
What if he had already told Paul what had happened? After all, it was a known fact that Paul had taken him to the club specifically to meet her. Paul had to have wondered just where his friend had gotten off to once Michael told him that the introduction was a no-go.
Oh no! Was that why Paul had seemed so cheerful a while ago? Was he silently laughing at her? Did he think he had some kind of leverage on her?
No, Paul wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t! If Jacob had told him what had happened, then Paul would have either fired him on the spot or gone to her and told her what he knew because he knew Bella’s rules very well. Everyone who was a long time member of Bella’s tours and entourage knew how she felt about working relationships. For her, it was a no-no, but for everyone else she insisted that they be very discreet about it.
If those relationships got out of hand or interfered with their jobs in any way, Bella would ask at least one of them to find employment elsewhere. So far she had never had to deal with that since most of the people working with her were either single or had a relationship with someone not involved in the business. Although she knew Emily had her eye on Sam, nothing had come of it yet so she wasn’t worried about it.
Unfortunately she now had this to worry about, but what bothered her the most was that she had no idea what had happened on his end. She sighed as she plopped down on the edge of the bed, feeling as if the weight of the world was weighing her down. She knew she had to find out if he had said anything to anyone, until another thought popped into her head.
Sam!
Sam had to know! He and the other bodyguards had been with her when she had taken him to her room. And Emily had pointed him out to her at the club, but she might not have gotten a good look at him. Shit! That left the guards…especially Sam since nothing ever escaped his notice! Plus, he had been there when Paul had introduced them!
Still, if Sam knew, she knew he wouldn’t say anything. It was a bodyguard’s job to keep quiet about their client’s life. It was a part of the contract for a bodyguard to maintain confidentiality and show discretion when dealing with the private life of a client, and Sam had that rule down to a ‘T’. However, he also knew about Bella’s rule of no working relationships, so he had to be wondering what the heck had happened.
Great, there were so many loose ends she had to deal with and she was sure there were probably more she had missed. Well, there didn’t seem to be any other place to start than with the man himself. She had to get him alone to find out if he had talked to anyone and go from there. She would make a decision depending on what he told her. Once she dealt with him, she would talk to Sam and get him to talk to the other guards. Then she would try to find out if Emily knew the truth and hope no one else knew about it.
She had a feeling this was going to be a long week for her and at the end…she was sure she would be wanting to drown her problems in one of her rare ‘pity’ parties.
Oh boy, she could already feel the hangover coming.
Bella's rehearsal outfit...
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