Crazy in Love. Crystal B. Bright

shoulders tightened. Her neck felt stiff. If she felt this wound up this early in the production, she would be a complete mess by the end.

      Truman attempted to show her who would be head dog in this process. He probably thought she should have been happy that he obliged her on one point. Nope. Not having it. She wanted it done the right way, her way.

      At the end of the song, Shauna turned on her microphone again. “Thanks for staying close to the mic this time. You can hear the difference.”

      You catch more flies with honey.

      Before speaking again, she took a breath first. “But I would still like you to try the song with the alternate line. If it doesn’t work, you can tell me ‘I told you so’ and I’ll agree.”

      Truman moved close to the mic. “No. Every word I’ve written means something to me. I don’t want to change anything.”

      She found the passion in his eyes. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t press forward to get her point across. She had a stake in this. “Let’s take a break.” Shauna clicked off the microphone.

      “Good.” Hank lumbered to his feet. “I need a smoke.”

      She stood. Before Craig or anyone else could criticize her performance, she slipped on her shoes and made her way to the roof. It had always been her favorite spot in the studio. She used to go there to sing if she had a hard time getting over a difficult passage. She especially liked to think up there. Right now she needed breathing room.

      She burst through the door and found her familiar spot on the edge of the roof. She looked over and watched the waves crash against the beach.

      The waves. They always put her life in perspective. She would have to learn to go with the flow, which didn’t fit her nature.

      She needed to learn to flow with Truman. Learn to ride his waves. However, he needed to bend and for more than where to position his mouth.

      Shauna gazed at the full moon. “Hey, Mom. I know it’s been a while since we’ve talked. I had to get myself together after you—” She couldn’t muster the strength to say the word. “I need help. I wish you were here. You made everything better, even when I took for granted that you would make my life easier.” She wrapped her arms around her body when a strong breeze came off the ocean. “You know this guy I’m working with now. You signed him. Did he give you this much trouble? If not, what am I doing wrong?”

      Stars twinkled as though giving her a silent response. Like with everything else, she would need to figure this out on her own.

      She stood, wiped off her backside, and made her way back downstairs. As soon as she hit the bottom landing she glanced toward the back door and saw Hank. He coughed and sputtered when he made eye contact with her. He pulled the cloudy pipe from his mouth and turned his back.

      Shauna didn’t need to ask him what he had. Truman and his band didn’t deserve to be a part of someone else’s shortcomings. Shauna had been through that, and didn’t want to see anyone else suffer like she had.

      The matter needed to be dealt with, but couldn’t right now. Shauna made her way to the studio and reclaimed her position. Hank arrived about ten minutes later smelling of soap, Lysol, and potpourri. He must have rolled in the crushed, dried flower products until he thought the stench had been covered. It didn’t matter. Not to Shauna.

      After the band had played the song at least ten more times, the last time being the slowest and the sloppiest of the set, she called it a day. Truman never changed the line in any of the dozen times. Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn.

      “I’d say this went well, huh?” Craig nudged Shauna’s shoulder.

      “Yeah, sure.” She gathered her things together. She wanted to go home, take a long bath, and crawl into bed. “Can’t wait to do this again in a few hours.”

      “That’s the spirit.” Craig patted her back.

      Shauna took a CD copy of the many takes. She would listen to them in her sleep.

      “Did you make a copy of that for me?” Craig pointed to the jewel case she held. “I’ll need that for the meeting with the studio heads in New York.”

      She smiled. “Let me find a really good version of the song and record that on a single disc for you.” She patted her manager on the shoulder like he’d done to her earlier. Craig stared at her for a moment as though he didn’t believe her. That might be a good reaction to have. For what Shauna had planned for her day today would surely piss him off.

      “I want a copy by tonight, okay?”

      She nodded. He would get his copy. If she had luck on her side, she would be bringing him back a lot more.

      When Craig walked away from her, Shauna looked over at Hank. She had one thing to do before they left. She didn’t need to leave any loose ends.

      “Hank, don’t leave yet. We need to talk.”