Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Sister Golden Hair
Living each day as the reigning prince of pop came at a price. Occasionally Duke had to do things he didn’t understand, and this meeting with Crystal was one of them. And he had to suck it up by going to, of all places, the Paradise Café. So far, none of this was how he planned his day.
“Duke!” came the familiar voice behind him. Tanya, Bryon’s assistant was running toward him. Well, she wasn’t exactly running. Tanya tended to swing and glide in a way Duke always took notice of. And spotting her neon hairdo of the week was never a problem.
Duke stopped and spun. Tanya was a welcome sight in more ways than one.
“Okay, okay,” she muttered as she passed a small manila folder to him. “This is everything they had on Crystal. You look nice.” She leaned in and sniffed the air around him. “Ooh, Gazelle. Is that the cologne I gave you…?”
“What’s this exactly?”
“Okay, like, they had all these files in the basement or something, and the guy like, he just printed them.”
“And what am I supposed to do with ‘em?”
“Well, Byron wants you to read up on Crystal so you know how to, you know, like talk to her about the album you two are gonna do.”
“Album?”
“Yeee-ah,” snickered Tanya, as she brushed her hand down Duke’s sleeve.
Duke stared at her for a second. There was something about Tanya he could never wrap his brain around.
“So what’s this color? This new one? Looks kinda…”
“Passion Fruit Dazzle,” she said as she ran her fingers through a few of the stray, curly locks dancing about her face. “Whatchoo think?”
“I’m doing an album with Crystal?”
“Yeee-ah.”
“Passion Fruit, huh?”
“With dazzle.”
Duke switched the packet into his other hand and then ran a few fingers through Tanya’s dazzling locks.
“Thanks for this.”
He turned and headed toward the Paradise. Tanya kept her eyes on Duke’s cute butt as it bobbed in his tight jeans across the street.
The Paradise was Duke’s old haunt, and many ghosts of hookups past still filled the room. He’d barely opened the door when…
“DUKE!” came the squeal from the hostess stand. It was Candy. Before he even had time to think about leaving she bolted toward him like a tidal wave.
“They said you were coming in. Byron did. I took the call. He called about fifteen minutes ago. I knew it was him right away. How are you?”
Duke attempted to appear distracted and barely made eye contact.
“Candy. You, uh… still work here.”
She smacked him playfully with a stack of menus.
“Duh, silly. Why wouldn’t I work here? I texted you. You never texted back. I know you and Nicolette are…”
“Yeah, we are,” he half-answered, his eyes scanning the room.
“Maybe when you’ve got some time, you and I could…”
“Hey, I gotta meet these people, this person…” Duke replied, “…and I don’t really…”
“Oh. Yeah. Right. I know. I just… it’s good to see you. We need to get together,” Candy beamed in a seriously desperate attempt for his attention.
“I’ll call you,” Duke heard himself say as he brushed past her, toward the back of the restaurant. Heads turned as he passed. He heard the whispers but had learned to block them out: All part of the game.
Sitting in the back, all alone in a large, circular booth surrounded by dark mirrors, was a woman who appeared to be anxious. Duke made his move.
“Hi. I’m looking for…”
“She left,” the woman said. “She wasn’t, um… I’m Amber,” and stuck out her hand to shake his, nearly knocking over her drink. Duke nervously shook hands with her.
“Is she, um, is she here?”
“Have a seat, okay,” Amber said, patting the cushion next to her. Duke stood awkwardly for a moment, then sat a comfortable distance from her.
“You wanna drink or something? The mai-tai’s here are awesome,” she said, then took another drink.
“Not really, you know. Not yet. Early.”
“Right,” replied Amber, sipping more of her drink.
“So you’re with Crystal, right? This is the meeting I’m supposed to…”
“Yeah. She’s with me. Well, not, you know. I mean we’re not. We’re family. Sisters really. I’m Amber. Her half-sister actually. And her publicist. And gopher. And chauffer, and…”
“Is she in the bathroom or something?” Duke asked, growing increasingly uncomfortable.
Amber took another sip of liquid courage and slid a little closer to Duke.
“She left. She got up and left when I was, uh… when I was…”
“Was what? What’s going on? I’m supposed to be here to meet Crystal.”
“I know, I know,” replied Amber, “but she’s just so on-edge lately, ya know? This whole renewed fame thing, it’s just… uh…” Amber seemed unable or unwilling to finish her sentence, then took another sip and finished her drink. Duke watched as she wiped her mouth and just smiled at him.
“I think your music is nice. I do. It’s catchy. People like that.”
“Thanks,” replied Duke, glancing around the room, helplessly looking for a lifeline.
“But Crystal doesn’t, and so she left. Said something about there being no way she was going through with this, what did she call it, um… charade.”
Duke’s attention zeroed in on Amber.
“She said, uh, what exactly?”
“She said she can’t do it, that she’s gonna do this album on her own. That she doesn’t need any help from, and these were her words, ‘some teenie-bopper poser.‘ Yeah, that was it.”
“Teenie-bopper poser?” Duke responded.
“And she mentioned something about your image, too, something about your over-stuffed male ego, but I think she’s lashing out now. She’s been through a lot,” Amber replied in a wasted attempt to reassure him.
“Uh-huh, yeah,” Duke sort of said.
“So I was wondering,” Amber continued, “are you happy with your management situation? You know, publicity, things like that?”
“I’m pretty good right now actually,” responded Duke.
“Because, you know, that’s what I do,” Amber kept after it, “I make more publicity, and I really think with what you do, and what I do, that we could, you know… really do some good work together.”
“Tell ya what, Amber,” Duke piped in, “I’ll talk to Byron and we’ll see, okay?”
“That’s what I mean,” Amber almost slurred as her hand dropped down onto Duke’s thigh, “we could just… I dunno, really take a good look at your image.”
“Okay. Okay, got it. We’re done here, Amber,” Duke steamed as he pushed himself out of the booth, and lit straight for the front door.
“She’s really very nice! Crystal is,” Amber shouted after him, then quickly flagged her waitress for another drink.
The sun drove straight into Duke’s eyes as he emerged back on the sidewalk in front of the Paradise. The heat steaming from his bruised ego rivaled the glaring sunlight beating down on him, but he didn’t have time enough to process it before his phone vibrated in his pocket.
“What?!” he blasted, without even looking at the screen.
“I don’t like bland restaurants, and I don’t like glaring light much either,” whispered the sweet voice against his ear.
“That’s nice,” Duke fumed, “who is this?”
There was a slight pause: A delicate one.
“Meet me in the parking deck on the corner: Level 5, away from the street. There’s an elevator.”
“Right. And I’m just supposed to…”
The phone went silent. Duke looked at the display: Nothing but a flashing ‘Restricted Number’.
He knew it had to be Crystal.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone