Broken Record

Chapter 6: Stevie

Strings of lights hung delicately between the trees, like hand-placed stars. Stevie's hair was back to her natural pale blonde, glowing brightly underneath the outdoor night sky. She had a glass of champagne between her delicate fingers, already a bit passed tipsy. She fidgeted slightly in her dress, far more used to wearing pants or jeans than chiffon.

"I'd like to say a few words," Olivia's fiancé, Derrick, stood from his seat as he clanked a spoon along the side of his champagne flute. His voice was rich and powerful, the kind of voice that you expect to hear when you hear a speech. His presence was stately. The image briefly reminded Stevie of Mr. Benton West. Derrick wasn't as tall or as striking as Benton but he was well-built and handsome, boyish but manly features that made it easy to understand why her older sister Olivia had first fallen in love with him back in high school. As Derrick talked, his words faded into the background as she imagined Benton giving a speech to a massive audience, calm and unaffected under the lights of a stage. The glint in Benton's eyes would always be hard, while Derrick was currently swooning with softness and emotion. The thought made Stevie want to roll her eyes, even though deep down she was incredibly happy for her sister.

After Derrick's resounding toast, Olivia leapt up into his arms and kissed him like her life depended on it. Which Stevie supposed Olivia really felt that it did. She downed the rest of her champagne and signaled to a server to bring her another. Tonight was the rehearsal dinner. The event before the big event. Stevie hoped there wouldn't be any last minute bridezilla breakdowns between now and Olivia walking down the aisle.

"You look lovely, sweetheart." Stevie's mother came to sit beside her after making the rounds. Her father was still shaking hands with members of Derrick's family, his aged but handsome face nearly glowing with joy. He couldn't be happier at the thought of finally having a son. And to have it be a strapping young man like Derrick? Cherry on top.

"Thanks, mom."

"Hello, you two." Stevie's dad kissed the top of her head and he finally sat down beside them as the waiters started serving the first course.

"So, Stevie, what have you been up to these days?" Her father looked up from his salad. His tone was friendly, but wary. He never understood Stevie's less than traditional ways but his ineptness with confrontation just left an awkward, rather than tense, void between the two of them over the years.

"Um, I actually got a pretty big gig," Stevie pushed her lettuce around her porcelain plate. She'd always hated the stuff. "I got a contract position as a producer at Pacific Records. They are moving me out to Los Angeles." She knew she was omitting a few details. Some very big details. But the glimmer of surprise and admiration in her parents' eyes egged her on. "I was hired directly by the Chief Legal Officer and CEO of the label." She withheld the, so that they don't send me to federal prison for the rest of my life, part.

"Oh my goodness, Stevie!" Her mother brought her hand to her chest, a luminous smile spreading across her aging but pretty face, "this is fantastic news! I can't say I know much at all about the music industry, but I've even heard of Pacific Records! My friends will be so impressed."

"You are always full of surprises, Stevie. This is a very positive one." Her dad's voice was quiet and contained an element of reverence even though his compliment was a bit backhanded. The irony of their reaction had Stevie downing her champagne flute so quickly that even the server gave her a judgemental look.

"When do you start?" Her mother looked back at her with eager eyes.

"On Monday actually," Stevie gave them a curt smile and then stared back at her food. She was ready for the attention to be back on Olivia again. Especially since the twinge of guilt she'd felt was now full on blooming in her chest.

"Well, that's just fantastic. You'll have to tell us all about the CEO, something West, right?. I think I've seen him interviewed a few times on TV before." Her dad gave her a warm smile and Stevie shivered at the mention of Benton West by name. She was rarely intimidated by anyone. She wasn't usually interested enough in people's perception of her to be intimidated. But Benton had made her feel...incredibly self-aware. Like with a single glance he saw everything he needed to know and that the slow and deliberate nature of his mannerisms was really just an act to throw everyone else off-guard. She didn't even know exactly how much she'd actually be working with him. Maybe she wouldn't even see him again until she met his three songs with 1 billion streams dare, disguised as a business agreement. Getting three streams to 1 billion streams each? It bordered on impossible, no doubt by design. She glanced down at her phone in her lap, trying to be discrete as she navigated to the internet since she knew her parents wouldn't approve of her being on her phone during Olivia's rehearsal dinner. She typed in "Benton West" to the search engine and found various links about his career and a few news articles relating to Pacific Records. She navigated to the photos tab and admired images of him at various events, the same look of marble on his face, a stern look in his eye. She also noticed that he always had a beautiful woman on his arm but never the same one. No wife. No ex-wives. No kids. Barely even any mention of family or background on his Wikipedia page which was oddly stark considering how famous he was in the music industry.

"Stevie," She jumped a little and turned her phone over at the sound of her name, as Derrick smiled down at her, his hand on the back of her chair, "you look lovely tonight. Thank you for getting your sister here in one piece. May want to go easy on the phone, I think she'll be making her way over here in a few." Derrick winked at Stevie and she smiled back, appreciating his chill demeanor and how well he really knew her sister. Considering they'd been dating for years, Stevie didn't really know him that well but I guess now he'd technically be her brother.

"Roger that big bro," Stevie flashed him a mock salute and he laughed before making his way to greet and thank the next guest. Stevie resolved to do a little more internet digging tonight when she was back home. She wanted to know everything about the man holding her prison sentence in his hands before her first day.