Angela's Salvation Read online

  He wondered if he were capable of that type of dedication, the longest relationship he'd ever had was with Tracy and it was only because she wasn't truly available. "I just couldn't hurt her that way." It didn't matter what he wanted, he thought to himself, she was already a fragile little angel and he couldn't cause her more pain than she'd already suffered.

  "I know this is going to sound crazy, but you have no idea if she even wants a forever with a man, I mean she is young." Tracy couldn't believe how much he obviously cared about this woman already. "Have you ever considered that even if the two of you were together only a short time, she might be able to move on with her life again?"

  He hadn't considered that, she had kissed him back, he reminded himself. It had been obvious even in that small amount of affection that she desired something more. Was it possible he could help her and not hurt her by teaching her to find passion again? She was twenty-two and had the chance for fortune and fame right now, what if she didn't even care about a long term relationship at the moment? The wheels were definitely turning in his head now.

  Tracy smiled as her suggestion seemed to sink in, and hoped he would truly consider what he had to offer this woman. There wasn't a jealous bone in her body when it came to Nolan, his happiness made her happy. He'd given her so much in the last five years, that all she truly wanted was for him to get the things he deserved. There were few men that could deal with the crazy relationship she had with her husband, but he had never judged her.

  "It's something to consider," he smiled, and for the first time tonight he felt a sense of relief. Pulling her impulsively into his arms, he hugged her tightly. "Thank you Rachel, you always know just the right things to say." It wasn't a light compliment, she was one of the most intelligent women he knew.

  She smiled again, and finished her water. "Are you staying tonight?"

  "Can I take a rain check?" His mind was so full of the possibilities with Angela, that he didn't think it was fair to stay with her while he was thinking of someone else.

  "Absolutely," winking, she stood up and walked over to put her glass on the bar.

  He stood as she did, and walked over to place his glass next to hers. Leaning down her gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to call it a night then Tracy."

  She hugged him once more and smiled as he walked out the door more content than when he walked in. Tracy hoped that the woman knew just how lucky she was to have caught his eye. There was no doubt in her mind that if she gave herself into his care she would discover a world of passion waiting in his arms.

  7 Raising the Odds

  Angela ran into Lizzie as she made it into the hotel lobby, and was glad to have her bubbly attitude to take away the earlier feeling of longing and confusion that kissing Nolan had left her with. They joined Devon and the rest of the group and made plans to go out to one of the karaoke bars. After going back upstairs to dress in a pair of comfortable jeans and a silky tank top, she joined back up with her group. With ten people in their little gang, she felt comfortable enough as they finally walked into the smoky club.

  It had only taken a few performances and drinks before everyone in the bar knew they were the latest contests on Overnight Sensation. The press showing up was definitely not what any of them intended when they made their plans. The owner was ecstatic at all the extra business and publicity, and gave them drinks on the house.

  All the fanfare made Angela nervous and she allowed herself a few shots of tequila with her friends, before she knew it she was beyond tipsy. She, Lizzy, and Nolan sang an upbeat country song together, and Angela was amazed that she wasn't nervous at all. That was all it took to make her join in the next round of shots and the five or six later ones that came.

  Nolan got the phone call a little past midnight that his stars were out doing the town and was furious at their behavior. Sure, their little party would give them tons of publicity for the show, but if anything negative happened it could force the television network to fine his company. With a barely controlled temper he made his way down to the infamous bar with Sanders and a company van, intending on hauling them all back to the hotel without a scene. When he arrived and saw how drunk Angela was, all his good intentions went straight to hell.

  Walking over to her table he glared at her like she had grown two heads, and raised his voice to be heard above the music. "Do any of you have any idea how this is going to look on tomorrow's front page," he kept his eyes on Angela but spoke to all of them.

  Angela giggled, way past the point of reasonable thought and shook her head. "Nope, but I have a feeling you're going to tell us Nolan." Tipping back another shot, she plopped her elbows up on the table unsteadily, and rested her head in her hands, smiling at him.

  The fact that she looked sexy as hell in her inebriated state did little to cool down his raging temper. "If any of you plan on being on this show, I'd advise you to walk out to the van and get back to the hotel, NOW!" The reporters heard the commotion and aimed their cameras at the scene unfolding.

  "Just fucking great," he mumbled under his breath as his performers staggered out the front door to drunken applause from the patrons. All of them except Angela, who tried to stand up but fell back in her chair giggling hysterically. Without any hesitation, he moved over, lifted her in his arms, and walked her back out to his car, sitting her safely inside before going back to make sure Sanders had the rest of the group.

  "Make sure they all get to their rooms, and inform security that no press is allowed to talk with any of them before morning." This was going to be a public relations nightmare, he thought as he walked back to his car. Angela had passed out in his front seat, and luckily for her she did because at the moment he was pissed as hell. He'd have little problem taking her over his knee to make up for the trouble that little group had caused him tonight.

  When the flash of a camera went off at his passenger door, he knew that bad had just gone straight to hell because of having her in the car with him. They would be the top story in the morning, he didn't doubt, and wasn't that just going to open up a whole new world of shit for both of them. Knowing going back to the hotel was not an option now, he drove her back to his house, and checked several times in his rear-view mirror to be sure they weren't being followed.

  Driving back to the mansion, his thoughts were on a hundred different possibilities for PR salvation. He called Sanders on his cell and told him to get the team together when none of his ideas seemed to cover the enormity of the situation. He informed him that he had Angela with him and couldn't risk any more catastrophes by showing up at the hotel where the reporters were probably waiting.

  He knew firsthand what type of piranhas the press could be, and isolating Angela in his car would give them a field day to explode the fact that if she made it through the next rounds of competition it would be because of personal favoritism. Her chances of doing well in this competition had just dwindled down considerably because of his stupidity he thought, feeling a headache coming on.

  Knowing he would have to depend on his team to see if they could come up with a solution, he turned off the car and walked around to the passenger side lifting her into his arms again. She weighed nearly nothing as he carried her inside, and he shook his head as he looked down into her sleeping face wishing he could do something to protect her from what would be happening in the next few days. All his earlier anger vanished at the thought of what this event would cause her personally.

  She didn't stir as he carried her up to the guest bedroom and laid her gently down on the silken comforter. He removed her tennis shoes and socks carefully, not wanting to wake her, then impersonally pulled off her jeans. She only murmured under her breath at the action, and he knew she was well beyond her alcohol limit. Covering her up quickly, he didn't need the temptation of her sexy legs at that moment, and decided leaving her to sleep this off was the best scenario. Shaking his head at the disaster looming before them, he walked out of the room with his head hung.

 
Within the hour his public relations team was sitting in his home study and throwing out numerous ideas on how to resolve the crisis that would arise from the night. It mattered little what actually happened as far as he and Angela were concerned, the tabloids rarely cared to know the truth when it came to sensationalized gossip. Since he never gave the press the juicy gossip they wanted against him, this was the opportunity for a breaking story about the elusive Nolan Fitzgerald. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could come up with anything to fix this nightmare.

  "Someone better start earning their pay here and giving me better ideas than this bullshit!" None of the solutions they were offering put Angela in the best light and he damn sure expected them to consider her first.

  "Hell Nolan, it doesn't matter what we come up with and you know it, they are still going to believe she's screwing you." Sanders hated bringing up the truth, but reality couldn't be denied here.

  Knowing he was right and wanting it to be different, didn't change anything, she was going to be hurt by this no matter which way he turned. "What's the best possible scenario for her then?" He didn't give a damn about his own reputation, but she was a different story.

  "Milk the shit for all it's worth?" Kayla, one of the twins on his team, offered with a shrug. Her sister Kaitlin gave a vehement nod of her head. The twins were known worldwide for their promotional accomplishments, and any other time he would trust their judgment, but this Angela they were discussing.

  "Tell the world we're sleeping together and let them categorize her as slut who would do anything for fame?" The idea of tainting her image that way pissed him off, even though he knew the story would catapult her to fame faster than anything else they could do.

  "I have to agree with the twins on this one Nolan," Jon, the senior VP of the label shrugged, wondering what the big deal was anyway. "Pull her from the show, give her a recording contract, and feed the damn story for all it's worth."

  "She's not a damn whore Jon!" What the hell is wrong with these people, he thought to himself, couldn't they understand she was too good to be labeled this way.

  "We're not selling bibles Nolan, the added sensationalism will make her an overnight star." Sanders was floored that he was trying to protect the image of the woman when he could give her the elusive dream of stardom without even really trying. This business was known for using sex to sell albums, it happened every day.

  "So this is the best you guys can come up with?" He knew his team was the best money could buy and discovering that the only way to give Angela her chance to shine was to label her his lover, infuriated him. Not his lover, he reconsidered, they would label her as a woman that slept with him to make it to the top. It was so damn cliché that the press would eat it up.

  "It doesn't matter what story we spin off Nolan, they're going to come up with that same conclusion." Jon replied, agreeing with Sanders earlier comments. The sooner Nolan accepted the gist of the situation the better. He wanted to end this session so he could get some rest. "Her appearing on the show now is just a waste of time and money, we can't allow her to place."

  Defeated by his team of professionals, he knew they were all right. It didn't matter what the truth was here, only what the tabloids would decide to print. "We're going to play this out, but I want her displayed in the best possible scenario. I fell head over heels in love with this woman and couldn't stop myself from admitting my feelings. That's the story you're giving to the press, she was a beautiful innocent young woman and I seduced her, are we clear?"

  All eyes stared at him as he made his demand, and he knew they were shocked at the spin he was adding. If he couldn't stop them from printing the lies, he could at least make it appear that she was overwhelmed by his power. This he could live with, he decided, maybe it would even draw some sympathy from people by encouraging the thought that he'd taken advantage of her naivety.

  "Are you sure you want to go that route Nolan," Sanders knew they already labeled him a cold-hearted bastard and this would take his reputation a huge leap above that. Seducing some young woman and using her dreams to get his needs filled, that was going to be a tabloid dream come true.

  "The discussion is over, that is exactly what I want to portray." He only hoped when all this was over, Angela would forgive him for what he was going to do to salvage her career.

  "If that's how you want this to play out then you need to give the press a statement." Kaitlin knew that to pull this off he was going to need a personal appearance, even though he'd refused to give any statements about his personal life in the past.

  "Get me on the phone now with Music Today," he demanded, he wanted this story told his way and needed to get it out before they decided to print anything else.

  Kayla took her cell out of her purse, and found the contact they needed. Even at this time of the morning, they would take a call about Nolan, she knew. She gave the reporter the story, and promised first chance of reporting if she made herself available now. Within five minutes she had the interview secured. "She's on her way over."

  "We'd better notify the local television station as well and let them know you're giving a statement," Kaitlin decided, and began making phone calls.

  "The one positive here is this will take away the limelight from the other contestants," Sanders was more than pleased at that scenario, because the last thing the network wanted was a drunken group of performers casting a bad light on the show. "I think we need to meet with all the singers this morning to make sure this type of development doesn't happen again."

  "I agree, from now on no contestant is allowed in any situation that involves drinking in public or other situations that could cast them in a negative light," Jon thought this was now an afterthought but they wouldn't be dealing with another disaster like this if he could help it. "Well make it part of their contract."

  Nolan didn't give a damn about the show at that moment, his mind was filled with how he was going to break all this to Angela. She didn't deserve what was about to happen to her, and he'd make damn sure he pulled off his end to keep from causing her more grief than what he was forced to. He was thankful at the moment she was still sleeping and could get a good night sleep before he turned her life into a living hell. "Whatever you decide there just let me know and I'll go along with it."

  The reporter for Music Today was escorted through security gate half an hour later and Nolan gave the best performance of his life, in his opinion. He explained how he had fallen in love with Angela the moment he'd first began working with her for the show and how he just couldn't wait until she finished the competition to declare his feelings.

  He gave a brief outline of how he was pulling her from Overnight Sensation to give her an early start on what he knew would be a brilliant music career. Explaining eagerly how he planned to have her in the recording studio before the show even aired, he also informed her that she would be travelling with one of the studios hottest bands on a concert series as their opening act.

  Steering away questions about how a new performer was going to be given such a huge opportunity, he quickly let the reporter know that he was so dedicated to Angela that he refused to allow her to be picked up by some other label. Laying it on thick, he gushed over how just being in the same room with her filled his heart with love and he couldn't stand the idea of being away from her for even the briefest time.

  He knew from the shock on the reporters face that having the ice king, Fitzgerald, gush poetically about love was a going to be an instant career boost for Angela. The press had tried unsuccessfully for years to get any personal information about him, and he was offering them the story of a lifetime. He was the only person, besides his lawyer that knew the real reason they couldn't dig up dirt on him was because he had non-disclosure agreements signed by every woman he dated.

  By the time the reporter had left, he had no doubt that he'd just painted a picture of romance that would have the press lining up for interviews in the coming week. Even if he couldn't stop the negativity tha
t could possible arise from his decision, he could offer Angela more publicity than he could have ever thought up without this horrible situation they found themselves in. He just hoped one day she'd forgive him.

  Dismissing the rest of his team, he knew they'd do their part to make sure things ran smoothly on their end. In a few hours, Angela was going to wake up and discover her entire life had changed, and he needed some time to get his head together before they talked. He knew that sleeping was out of the question, so he made his way to his home studio and tried to escape into the peaceful world of music.

  8 Waking up Famous

  Her head was aching so bad she barely managed to raise it from the bed without groaning. When her vision focused better, she noted a glass of water and bottle of aspirin on the nightstand and quickly took advantage of them. It took another few minutes to understand she wasn't at her hotel, and the strange room she found herself in was completely unfamiliar. Panic set in as she tried to remember what happened the night before, and her heart almost stopped as those memories flooded back in.

  Nolan was going to be furious with her, she thought with a pang of regret. Sliding gingerly off the full-sized bed, she noted she wasn't wearing her pants and had a moment of panic again. Attempting to wrap her thoughts around anything else she might have missed about last night, she relaxed when she decided she'd remember if anything of the nature that required her undressing had occurred.

  Sliding her jeans back on and forgoing her sneakers, she slowly walked downstairs, not sure she was ready for the confrontation that was definitely going to happen. She found Nolan in his studio, asleep at the baby grand. He looked so peaceful and nothing like the angry man who'd confronted her at the club last night. His fingers were still splayed upon the keys, and a strand of dark thick hair fell across his face, making him seem almost boyish at that moment.