By his thunderous expression for the next week, the others guessed that there had been another unpleasant confrontation between Nick and his bodyguard. He managed to keep his face in public, in conferences and photo shoots, and in concerts, but off the limelight, he brooded. Brian got the biggest shock two days before, when he invited Nick for a basketball challenge, and Nick just gave him a look that said ‘leave me alone’. Now Brian wondered if something seriously amiss was going on.
“I don’t get it,” he bursted out for the fifth time that morning.
“Relax, Brian,” Howie said absently, flicking over a magazine. “He just didn’t want to play. Simple.”
“Since when did Nick didn’t want to play basketball?” Brian demanded.
“You’re just annoyed cos he didn’t play.” Kevin said bluntly.
“Hey, I’m worried! He’s been like this all week!”
“He’s been ticked off since the beginning of this tour,” Howie pointed out. “And he’s in a tight situation. He’s trying to cope with it. Let him be.”
“It could be Rachael,” AJ said thoughtfully. “God knows they hate each other.”
“Who hate each other?” Nick, who had just come into the room after calling his mom, caught the last phrase.
“Oh nothing,” Brian said quickly. “Just saw it on the TV-Whitney Houston dissed uh-uh-” Brian stammered, trying to throw in a name.
“Madonna,” Kevin offered helpfully.
“Yeah! Madonna.” Brian breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Nick grunted. “Since when were they on friendly terms?” he replied, then went out again as his cell phone rang, closing the door after him.
They breathed a sigh of relief.
AJ looked puzzled. “ Whitney Houston hates Madonna?”
Two days later, the situation hasn’t improved. And the tension, stretched to its limit, finally came to a breaking point one afternoon.
It started out in the morning. They were swept off to the local radio station followed by a photo shoot. Problems arose as the photographer told Nick to take off his necklace. “Too ostentatious.” He said.
Nick’s hand went to the chain, then stopped. The beeper. “Look, can’t I just leave it on?”
“No, no!” the photographer practically yelled. “It’s gotta come off. Come on now.”
Nick hesitated, then thought, what the heck. He unclipped the chain and tossed it on the dressing table. It somehow felt weird, taking it off- he had grown used to it being there. Not used to the meaning of it yet, he thought as he joined the others in front of the camera.
After the shoot, they were led into another room for another interview; which was just as grinding. Question after question poured in, and Nick was quite happy to let the others answer.
That did not last long, however. They were reserving him for a special reason. “And now, Nick,” the reporter said, “there’s a wild rumour going around that there’s a stalker following you around. Is that true?”
The others looked at him uneasily. Nick, however, managed to look calm, as if the question didn’t affect him at all. No one knew that sweat was breaking out of his palms or his heart was thumping madly.
“See,” he began, clearing his throat, “the stories that go around about me or the group, ya know, sometimes gets, ya know, way out of hand. Those rumours, ya know, are far fetched from the truth. So we normally hear about those things, ya know- but that’s all it is. A rumour.”
“So there’s no weirdo following you around? Scaring you, making you uncomfortable?” the reporter pressed. Yes, yes, yes, Nick answered silently. Aloud, he said with an indulgent smile, “No.”
Nick lurched out of the interview room, feeling drained.
“You OK, Nick?” Howie asked.
“Yeah.”
“You handled that real fine,” AJ assured. “Just fine.”
Nick smiled weakly.
“My question is,” Kevin started, frowning, “How did it leak out? Nobody knows about it except for a small number of people.”
“I wish I knew,” Nick replied, turning into another hallway. He stopped.
Rachael was waiting, her arms crossed, a shoulder propped on the wall.
“Hello, Rachael,” Howie said with a friendly smile.
Rachael flicked a glance at him, a scarcely recognisable nod of her head, then levered her gaze back on Nick. Oh great, he thought. I did something wrong-again.
“Inside,” she said softly. “I would like a word with you.”
The others took the hint that they were not welcome in the picture. And judging by the set look on Rachael’s face, Nick was in for a bad time. Barely able to hide their grins, they filed past him one by one. AJ patted him on the shoulder before he left, his own shoulders shaking with silent mirth.
Rachael’s hard gaze followed AJ, than back at Nick. Without another word, she lifted herself from the wall and walked into an empty room. Nick had no choice but to follow.
When the door closed, he turned and glared at her. “What is it?” he snapped.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out his necklace. “Amnesia again?” she asked sardonically.
Nick flushed. He had to admit, he hadn’t even thought about the necklace after the shoot. Still, that was no reason to feel guilty about forgetting the beeper. The doors stood wide open, for heaven’s sake. A hundred or more people were inside the same floor. Including the group’s own security team.
“All right,” he said resignedly. “I forgot the rules. I forgot the beeper. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it in an emergency.” She said curtly.
“Since this isn’t an emergency, it will have to,” he slashed back. “ I said I’m sorry. I’m not going to grovel.”
She looked like she might try to make him do just that as she strode forward. The barely leashed anger smouldering in her eyes made him positively wish he were in a place far away from her. Alaska, maybe.
Preferably North Alaska.
“Damnit, Nick, you don’t go anywhere without the beeper. Anywhere!” she ground out.
“All right! I won’t forget it again.”
She drew in a deep breath, as if trying to calm herself. Then she tossed him the chain. “See that you don’t.” she said shortly.
He caught it and glared at her. “Did anyone ever tell you that your client-employer communication needs a little polishing, Harrison?” he grumbled, clipping on the chain.
“Most of my employers,” she replied, opening the door.
“ Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
