His request pushed Shauna to the edge. She waved her hands in the air to prevent anyone from getting too close to her. “Get out.” She pointed to the door.
Craig bolted to his feet. Before saying anything, he put his hand on Shauna’s shoulder as though to remind her to remain silent, preserve her tool.
“Okay, you all heard her. Everyone, get out.” Craig nodded to the door. “Come get her when it’s time for her to get on stage.”
Shauna shook her head. “No.” Now that she found her voice, she didn’t want to stop.
Craig silenced her with a raised hand and waited until the room emptied before he spoke to her. “I know you’re feeling a little shaken up right now. Raheem—”
The mention of her ex-boyfriend had her head throbbing. Shauna balled her hands into fists before she bolted to her feet. The dangly sequins on her dress clinked together like a wind chime, creating a soothing melody for her. Something had to be on her side.
Craig powered through his speech. “I know the breakup was rough, especially how he did it.”
She started to pace in her spindly heels. To say Raheem broke up with her in a grand and humiliating way would be a severe understatement. He crushed her spirit. Everything else that happened to her crushed her soul.
“I made sure he wouldn’t be anywhere close to you. According to his recent tweets, he’s in California right now.” This time Craig held up both hands. “Universe Records has asked that you keep this obligation.”
Of course the record label would want her to continue performing no matter what. They needed money to line their pockets. It didn’t matter how Shauna felt.
When Shauna worked, which seemed to be all the time now, Craig remained business-minded. It seemed so easy for him to switch from business to personal mode in a matter of milliseconds, a trait Shauna never acquired.
All the laughing and joking stopped with the involvement of money. Shauna ached for a friend right now, someone to commiserate over recent events. Even with Madison Square Garden being packed full of people, she felt so alone.
Craig tried giving Shauna the most sincere look he could muster. “Fatima would want you here doing what you’re doing.”
Shauna doubted that. The mention of her mother stilled her in her position. She held on to the back of a chair as she regarded her manager. When she brushed her thumb over the wood, she brought her gaze down to it and the rest of the room.
What happened to her large throne-like white velvet chair that felt like a hug when she sat in it? She’d done shows at the Garden before and had had that piece with her when she performed there.
She scanned the room and noticed that the normal all-white furniture she always requested didn’t make it to her dressing room. The drab battleship-gray walls brought her mood down even more than the burnt burgundy-colored carpeting with stains in various spots. Where was the expensive Oriental rug that came along with her for every show?
Shauna glanced over to the area where the venue normally had her specialty drinks and snacks. Nothing. No. Not nothing. Bottled water. Generic bottled water. She turned to Craig.
As though reading her thoughts, he answered what had been running through her mind. “I’ve asked them to scale back on some of your perks.”
She felt her eyebrows furrow. On a day like today, having overpriced water, bouquets of daisies, and an assortment of Now and Later candies didn’t seem like it would be too much to get. Then she noticed how much Craig fidgeted in his spot.
“We need to talk.” He took a step closer to her. “About a lot of things. In the morning, we’ll see the lawyer about your mother’s will.” He ran his meaty hand over his shaved head. “Hopefully, she left you something.”
The way Craig’s voice dipped, it seemed like he didn’t want her to hear the last part of his statement.
Shauna’s heart raced. Forget preserving her voice. She needed to say something.
When she opened her mouth, a knock sounded at the door before the person came inside.
A young woman wearing a headset glanced at Shauna before dropping her gaze, avoiding eye contact like she had been instructed to do so. “Your stage is set. The second opening act is finishing their last song. You’re up.”
“Thanks.” This time, Craig waved her away. He held Shauna’s shoulders as he gazed at her.
The way Craig stared made her feel like a commodity, an art piece he wanted to buy, or a horse he had put his life savings on for a race. She tried taking a step back, not to run but because she needed some space.
Craig must have thought the motion meant she didn’t want to be there. He gripped her arms tighter.
“You can do this.” He turned to the door. “You have thousands of fans out there cheering for you. They paid a lot of money to see you. Fatima’s death was a setback.”
Shauna blinked. Did he actually call her mother’s death a setback? Losing her mother had been more than an inconvenience. What the hell was she doing there?
“I can see you looking a little unsure.” Craig shook his head. “I don’t need Chantel Evans right now. I need you to be Shauna Stellar.”
The mention of her real name gave Shauna another reminder of how disconnected she had become from her family, her mother. She turned her head and caught her reflection in the mirror, and had to drop her gaze just as fast. She couldn’t take staring at a stranger.
Although she understood Craig’s hard-nose attitude, she wished he would drop being Craig George, the business manager, and be the nice man who vowed to protect her and her interests when she, at fifteen years of age, and Fatima sought him out to represent her in the music industry. She could be Shauna if Craig would just hug her before she went on stage.
“Don’t let the fans down.” He pointed to her chest. “You can do it. You’re a pro. Always have been. Always will be.”
No hug. Not even a pat on her back.
Right now, Shauna didn’t feel like a professional. She wanted to rip off her designer gown, take off the skyscraper heels that hurt her toes and probably cost as much as the house she grew up in, throw on a well-worn T-shirt, crawl in bed, and not come out for years.
Craig swiftly moved behind her and pushed her to the door. Like he had to, he guided her through the long hallway, up several flights of stairs, and to the backstage area. Shauna knew the path, although the place now appeared blurry all the sudden.
She couldn’t get her eyes to focus, and her head remained cloudy. She had been that way ever since she placed her hand on her mother’s coffin before they lowered it into the ground only a few hours ago.
A young man in a dark suit approached her. He looked familiar. Maybe he worked at the funeral home. Even with his blond hair and blue eyes, he looked sinister, like he had an agenda. The dark lighting in the backstage area might have had something to do with it.
“Good evening, Ms. Stellar.” He stood in front of her. “I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Laz Kyson. I work at your label. We, at Universe, want to thank you for your bravery. You’re going to put on a great show.” It looked like he had to choke out the last part of his statement before he plastered a fake smile on his face and nodded.
Shauna didn’t acknowledge him. She swiftly moved around him to get into her position. Someone placed an earpiece in her ear and covered it with her long, flowing chestnut colored hair that had pieces of fake hair mixed in it. Craig placed a white microphone in her hands and had to wrap her fingers around it for her to hold it. Her dancers ran by her to go to their marks on the stage.
“We