She walked in, pushing Draco in his stroller.
“May I help you?” the receptionist asked pleasantly.
“I’m here to see a friend of mine, he’s with the band Labyrinth,” Taylor answered politely.
“And whose girlfriend are you?” a male with a subtle Spanish accent questioned from behind her.
Taylor spun around to find a man who was tall, around five ten or five eleven, built, older–probably mid to late forties, she guessed, with short black hair, dark tan and intense brown eyes, standing there, flashing her a welcoming smile.
“Nobody’s girlfriend...I’m a friend of Landon’s,” she forced herself to speak with a smile.
“I’m Armand Martinez, their producer. And you must be Taylor. Landon speaks of you nonstop. All good things of course,” he extended a hand which Taylor accepted immediately. “And who is this young man?” he turned his attention to the baby in the stroller.
“My son, Draco,” Taylor explained.
“What a unique name. And what a handsome boy on top of it,” he complimented gently. “Come, Taylor. I’ll take you to see Landon.”
“Thank you, Mr. Martinez,” she smiled, going to follow him, pushing the stroller in front of her.
“Please...it’s Armand,” he corrected, smiling back and giving her a wink.
He was absolutely charming. His easy demeanor and voice were more alluring than his physical attractiveness.
He led her into the mixing booth where she could see the guys through a large window as they recorded a track.
“Welcome to the studio...after this take you can see him. Please, have a seat, make yourself at home, Taylor.”
A few minutes later, he flipped a switch on the board and spoke into a microphone, “That was perfect gentlemen. Take a break for lunch. Landon, I have someone here who’d like to see you.”
The boys all nodded a moment or so later, Landon came bounding into the booth.
“Taylor,” he greeted with surprise as Armand and a few other technicians made their way out.
“I know you said you needed your space, but I wanted to give you your birthday present...I can leave if you like,” she answered quickly as she rose from her seat.
“No, stay, stay...Happy Birthday,” Landon smiled.
“Happy Birthday to you,” she smiled back, handing him his gift. “If you don’t like it, I can get you something else...”
Landon tore at the wrapping paper and opened the box.
Inside was a stack of blank music sheets, with a line for a title and beneath that the words ‘Lyrics and Music by Landon J. Turner’, held together by a black ribbon. Also a Sex Pistols tee shirt and an autographed picture of Sid Vicious.
“Ohmygod...thank you sooo much!” he set the gifts down and hugged her tightly. As he pulled away he kissed her quickly. “Taylor, this is amazing, I love it...all of it.”
“I’m glad,” she smiled.
“Now I don’t wanna give you your gift.”
“Shut up...whatever it is, I’m sure it’s perfect.”
“I don’t have it with me now...can I give it to you later?”
“Course,” she nodded. “I was actually hoping you’d like to come out for dinner tonight. My parents treat.”
“I’d love to. When and where?” he agreed instantly.
“We’re all meeting at my parents place at seven. Do you remember where they live?”
“Sure do. It’s good to see you. I know it’s only been, what, two days, but I’ve missed you like crazy.”
“I’ve missed you too. How are things with KC?”
“Still not speaking to him...So....how’s it feel to be twenty?” he sat on the couch and changed the subject with a smile.
“No different than nineteen...how’s it feel to be nineteen?” she sat next to him.
“No different than eighteen,” he winked.
“So you guys sounded amazing on that last track...why are you doing another demo? Don’t you have like, five, already?”
“We aren’t doing a demo...we’re recording an album.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?! Ohmygod, Landon, Congratulations!” Taylor lunged over and hugged him tightly. “Why did you keep this a secret? This is amazing! How did it happen so fast?”
“We’ve been making arrangements with Armand for months...the meeting the other night was just to seal the deal...and we decided to not say anything in case the deal fell through...it happened before, back in England, so we just didn’t want to jump the gun, ya know.”
“I think you’re in the clear...Armand seems very impressed by you guys and eager to work with you.”
“He’s great...I feel really good about the whole thing. Even if this doesn’t turn out to be our huge break, it’s gonna be big, ya know...we’ll get some gigs outside of Pittsburgh, open for a major tour or two.”
“I’m really happy for you. And proud. Just think, I’ll be able to say I knew you when.”
He smiled and rested his hand on her knee.
“I’m sorry for disappearing on you the other morning,” Landon apologized gently.
“No biggie...I understood....I’m just glad you aren’t mad that I came to you first.”
“Not at all...I was gonna call you today anyway....let’s go grab lunch. I’m starving.”
They walked over to a little diner and ordered, burgers, fries, and milkshakes.
“Scott wanted me to tell you he’s sorry for the other night...he was going to come with me today, but his dad called and said he needed to talk to him...but he feels bad, knows he was wrong,” Taylor explained.
“No hard feelings. And I’ll make sure he knows that tonight. It was all a bit over dramatic, really, both on my part and his,” Landon replied. “So...dinner tonight...what would be appropriate attire?”
“I don’t know exactly where we’re going, but it’s safe to say they’ll take us somewhere expensive and overly fancy. So I would suggest looking nice.”
“Suit nice?” he asked with a crinkle of his nose.
“Black pants and a nice shirt if I can’t get you into a suit.”
“Do you want me to wear a suit?”
“I want you to look good, but still be comfortable. You don’t have to wear a suit if you don’t want to just...drab up. Okay?”
“Okay.”