Dreams

1

Karen.

"Karen, I don't see why I can't just take the same damn opener for every show. That one girl you showed me last week - her. I will not waste my time coordinating all these acts," Stevie shakes her head and crosses her legs like she's the one who will have to lift a finger to do any of this.

"Live Nation thinks it'll be easier to draw crowds if we go with local acts in each city," Karen stands over her boss, trying to stay calm. They have argued about this so many times this week - she's about to lose it.

Stevie bites down on her lip as she relaxes into the plush, white couch in her living room. "I don't care what live nation thinks. Have I ever cared what any of those executives think? How long have you been my assistant?"

Great. She's being defiant - and it's only four in the afternoon. Karen still has hours of this mood to endure. She was hoping Stevie would by some miracle wake up not grumpy, but that does not seem to be the case. "Fine," she sighs and throws her hands up in defeat, "we'll get Carolina. Do you want her on every date?"

Stevie flashes her eyes up at Karen as she pulls her chin down, looking at her like she might be the worst imbecile she's ever met. "No, just throw her on sporadically. Tours don't need a sense of order and planning ahead. She can show up when she feels like it. Otherwise I'll put on a wig an open for myself."

"Would you like another cup of coffee?" Karen does her best to smile and not roll her eyes. If she hadn't been with her for decades she might be prone to thinking Stevie doesn't like her, but experience has taught her she's really just a bitch for the first two hours she's awake. She means no harm, she just for the life of her cannot control her mouth. Karen escapes to the kitchen before Stevie can answer her, thankful for a moment of respite. It must be Lindsey; she's only this grouchy for this long when Lindsey is sniffing around again. She'll put a stop to that before it even gets started.

Karen replays the morning in her head as she waits for the old Bunn coffee machine to eek out a cup. She wishes Stevie would allow her to replace it, but she is inexplicably attached to this damn coffee maker. She laughs to herself and rolls her eyes back in her head. Carolina Sheppard might not even be available, but of course Stevie will not care about that. She wants this girl, so she'll have this girl. Regardless of the hoops Karen and her management team have to go through to get her. It must be fascinating to wield that kind of power - to say "I want this" and then an entire team devoted to saying yes to you makes it happen out of thin air like some illusionist's best party trick.

She doesn't resent Stevie for it. She loves her dearly; she would do anything for her. She cannot fathom, though, what it is like to be on the other side of this relationship. Being the one who is told yes endlessly, instead of the one doing all the talking and the negotiating and the grueling hours of back and forth with the rest of the world.

Her thoughts are interrupted as her cell phone buzzes in her pocket. "Hi Sheryl," she says pleasantly as she grabs for Stevie's favorite mug and balances the phone between her ear and her shoulder.

"Did she go for it?" Of course Sheryl would cut right to the point. Who needs pleasantries when there's money on the line?

"Not in the least," Karen doctors the cup of coffee while she speaks, knowing she's about to get it from this side too.

"You really need to talk some sense into her," Sheryl sighs and Karen can picture her with her Louboutin clad feet on her desk like she's in an episode of Mad Men.

"I wouldn't push," Karen warns her as she walks the coffee to Stevie on the couch, and then quickly disappears into the office. "She wants Carolina, or she wants no one. These are her terms for taking an opener. Otherwise, forget the whole thing."

Sheryl stays silent for a moment as she thinks about her next move. It would be excellent exposure for Caro, and Stevie could use the ticket sales. "Fine. I'll send Caro over for a meeting, see if they get along. Send me her availability."

Karen starts to agree, but the call drops. She'll never get used to the way Sheryl hangs up without saying goodbye. It drives her insane.

"She's getting Carolina Sheppard for you," Karen pokes her head out the office door to let Stevie know, "meeting at the end of the week."

Karen watches as Stevie takes a sip of coffee and shuts her eyes. Maybe this girl will be another Vanessa. Maybe they'll get close and she won't make her entire team regret this. Maybe.

Carolina.

The phone rings at least four times before Carolina answers it. Cracking one eye open and feeling around on her night stand, she finds the offending piece of technology and settles back under the covers.

"Hello?" She groans into the phone. She didn't bother to see who it was.

"Carolina, it's Sheryl," the older woman does her best to keep her temper. Carolina was supposed to be doing interviews all morning, but obviously those will have to be rescheduled. "Number one, how many times have I told you don't flake on journalists? You're going to get yourself black listed. Number two, I have a booking for you."

"Oh shit -" Carolina sits straight up in bed and looks at the clock. She can still make the last two of the four. "Fuck. Ok. I will get on the other two, and I'll personally call the ones I missed and apologize. I'm so sorry, we were just up super late writing, I must have forgotten to set my alarm this morning. Where's the booking?"

Sheryl softens a little when she hears the panic in her voice. "Thank you. And uh - well. Stevie Nicks wants you for sixty dates. She's turning sixty this year and wants to celebrate with her fans across the world."

Carolina's heart sinks. She rubs her eye with one knuckle and sighs. "Opening for some hippie is not the tour you promised me, Sheryl. I don't want to go follow this lady around. Her music is depressing."

"That lady made history so you could sit in your underwear in bed missing your obligations and complaining about being a rock star," Sheryl snaps at her. She can't help it; Carolina is her most frustrating client. She'd be world famous if she got her act together. Instead, she's an undeserving diva, someone who wants all the perks without paying her dues. "I know that some of her music is not your style, but a lot of it is. I told you it would take time to build a tour. This is a huge opportunity."

"I don't have an option, do I?" Carolina crawls out of bed and stretches her arms above her head, the phone still on speaker on her nightstand.

"Not if you want to remain a client of this agency, no," Sheryl says seriously. That's not entirely true, but Carolina doesn't need to know that. She won't drop her. She's too good to drop her, but she needs her to get it together and take this seriously.

"Fuck. Fine," Carolina rolls her eyes, accepting her fate as she pulls on a pair of sweats and wanders her apartment in search of coffee. "I have to hop on these two interviews. Just... I don't know, email me what I have to do for her or where I have to go."

"Thank you," Sheryl smiles as she rests her forehead on her desk. One problem solved.

Carolina hangs up the phone and opens her laptop, looking for the email with instructions for her next interview. This is going to be a very, very long year.