Chp 2
"Honey, you have a good voice, your style is good, and your face is cute, but these tapes suck. These aren't hits. Come back when you have a hit and we'll talk more"
Rose shook her head slowly and got up. She thanked him for his time and left. As soon as she hit the elevator, the profanities came out.
"Dumb ass motherfucker. Cock sucker, that's what he is. How the fuck can I afford better quality if I don't have a record deal." She said aloud to herself. Frustrated with the days events, she got out to the street and headed towards the nearest Wendy's. That was the 20th rejection in weeks. True, all she had was a homemade tape of herself singing, but how did everyone else start out? She got to Wendys and ordered a frosty and fries. She looked at her watch and realized she was going to be late for work. She ran to the end of the block and surveyed for the quickest route to work. She decided to just run and took off.
She reached Lefney Int. in 10 minutes. She went and clocked in and ended up being only a minute late. She tried to straighten herself up after her marathon run and headed towards her desk. She sat down without catching site of the boss. She shared a cubicle with 3 other people, all crammed in a 2 person space.
"You're late, Rose" Steve said not looking up from his computer.
"Is Kim around?" Rose asked everyone. She ignored Steve because he was just bitter she wouldn't go out with him.
"Yeah, Kim is around. You're lucky. She checked in 15 minutes ago." Amy said.
"Did you run here? You're all sweaty." Maurice asked.
"Yes, I ran. I had a meeting with the head of Ultra records. It went a little later then I expected." She responded.
"How'd it go?" Rachel asked.
"I'm here, aren't I? I mean, they're always telling me the same thing. How am I supposed to do better if I don't have better equipment?" she grumbled as she strapped on her headphone. Lefney Int. was a telemarketer and she worked their full time. She had lived in LA for awhile, but boredom had brought her to Orlando. In LA, everyone dressed like her, but in Orlando, her blue hair and outrageous clothes made her more unique. The record companies around Orlando weren't responding so she figured it was almost time to move on.
"Rose, dammnit." Rachel's annoyed whisper shook her from her thoughts.
"Huh?" she asked.
"Do you want to go on a double date with me tomorrow night?" Rose looked at her as if shed grown and second and then a third head. Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, Rose! Please! This guy is really sweet and he says his friend is really down in the dumps. He just broke up with his girlfriend."
"A rebound? Rachel, really."
"Please Rose! I'll owe you anything." Rachel pleaded. She pouted and started sniffling. Rose huffed.
"Fine, but you owe me big"
"Thank you!" Rachel squealed. The phones started ringing and they got back to work.
"How'd I let you talk me in to this" Howie yelled across the apartment. He could hear Ryan's laugh come back towards him.
"Howie, all I did was ask" Ryan responding, standing in the doorway of Howie's bedroom. Howie shot him a look as he continued to pick through his shirts. Ryan was one of his head contractors and they'd become good friends. He owed him a favor and he figured one measly evening would pay it back.
"You're worse then a chick. Pick a damn shirt and let's hit the road. Rachel said her friend was cute. If she's anything like Rachel, she'll be a stunner." Ryan commented, walking over and pointing to a black shirt. Howie grabbed it and they went out to Ryan's truck. They were meeting the girls at a Mexican restaurant called "La Tolteca". He followed Ryan into the restaurant and stopped as he waved across the room. He followed the wave and saw a tall brunette wave back. She was dressed in a trim navy blue blazer and matching knee length skirt. Her long brown hair hung loosely, pulled away from her face by barrettes. He looked her over appreciatively then shifted his gaze to the girl standing next to her. The first thing he noticed was bright blue hair piled loosely on top of her head, several pieces falling around her face. The next thing he noticed was bright crimson lips. Pouty little cupid lips painted harshly. Almond shaped deep set eyes covered in sparkles. Her small buttonish nose made her look like a small child. Her high defined cheekbones showed she wasn't a child, but a woman. She had on a long sleeve silver shirt that just draped her curves, a long gray skirt, and big chunky black boots. She looked extremely bored. Their eyes met and half of her lips came up in a smile. He felt something in his stomach he hadn't felt in a long time. Nervousness. He scolded himself, this girl was weird, not his type at all. The kind of girl AJ screwed on tour. When there had been tours. Next thing he knew, Ryan was walking away, towards the girls.
"Hey Rachel." Ryan greeted hugging her briefly.
"We already put the names in. I hope non-smoking is all right." Rachel smiled politely. " Anyway, this is Rose. We work together."
"And this is Howie. He's my boss." Ryan said grinning. The hostess called their name and they all went to the table. Howie grabbed his menu and looked over at Rose who was seated on his left. He decided she would have looked snooty if not for her hair and makeup. Rachel said something and Rose went into that half smile again. She looked over at Howie and caught him looking. He looked back at his menu quickly, feeling foolish.
"So, Howie, what business are you in?" Rose asked, putting down her menu. He cleared his throat and set down his menu as well.
"I own a company that basically is a construction company. I finance the building of condos, offices, that sort of thing. Ryan is my head contractor."
"Very nice. What does the head contractor do exactly?" she directed her attention towards Ryan. Howie was glad her gaze was off him. The gray eyes of hers seemed to take in everything at once. They weren't outstanding or an unusual color, but they observed everything in a fatal glance.
"I basically boss everyone around." Ryan responded, smiling.
"Are you the kind of construction worker that hoots and hollers at every woman passing the site?"
"How do you think I got Rachel's attention?" Ryan retorted. Rachel blushed as Rose laughed. She had a loud and very infectious laugh.
"What about you? Are you the cat call type?" Those eyes penetrated into Howies'.
"No, I don't really go onto the sites." He responded. She raised an arched eyebrow.
"Like you should talk Rose. You holler at guys from the car, across streets..." Rachel teased. Roses face went red.
"Just because I appreciate a good looking man and am not afraid too show my appreciation, doesn't make me any worse then you guys" Rose responded indignantly.
"You should see her! She's a trip. One second she's singing along in the car, the next she's hanging out the window trying to get a number." Rachel continued.
"You're just upset because you don't have the balls to do it too."
"You have balls?" Ryan asked.
"Not literally." Rose sighed. Howie was enjoying their friendly exchange of words. He was almost upset the mini fight was broken up by the waiter coming to retrieve their orders.
"So, where do you guys work?" Howie asked as the waiter walked away.
"Lefney Int. A telemarketer firm. Then I work at Rockos on Market." Rose said.
"Rockos? How long have you been working there? That's my favorite record store" Howie responded.
"About 2 months." She said softening slightly.
"I'm surprised I haven't seen you."
"Yeah. It's a fun place to work. I've met so many cool people"
"What do you think of Rocko?"
"Well, I met him in LA awhile ago. He's great. I didn't even realize he was here until I walked by his place and knew it was his." They continued to talk about people they knew in common. After dinner, Ryan said he'd drive Rachel home so Howie was left the truck to take Rose home. They got into the truck and he started it.
"So, where are we going."
"Do you know where Fairfield Green apartments are?"
"Yes" He put the car in gear and they drove in silence for a minute.
"Can I turn on the radio?" she asked.
"Go ahead."
She leaned towards him to reach the radio better. Her scent drifted towards him slowly and engulfed him. A mixed smell of sweet flowers and a deep musk. Again, he scolded himself for the thoughts in his head. She was definitely not his type. She was weird and loud and slightly immature. He liked his women normal, and blond, and old.
"Turn right. I live right there." Rose said, pointing across him. He pulled in front of the run down stucco building.
"Well, thanks for the ride." She gathered her purse and opened the door. "It was nice to meet you." She said as she hopped out. She ran to the door and waved before entering the building. All Howie could do was stare after her. She hadn't left her number, not that he wanted it. It was definitely better to totally remove the strange girl from his mind.
Chp 3
Chp 1
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