“She will be a pain in your ass, but you’ll probably like it. Lois.”
Nadine’s eyebrows lifted.
“I figure that’s what the rocker calls you when you’re banging.”
Smoothly, Nadine reached into a handbag the size of a semi, pulled out a compact, and checked her face. “When you’re banged well, it doesn’t matter what they call you. However, I’m just seeing Jake casually. Now and again.”
“Right.”
“He’s busy, I’m busy. And he travels quite a bit. Our lifestyles are very different, though he’s certainly more stable and steady than most expect from a rocker.”
Eve said nothing for a moment. Then blew out a breath. “Jesus, you’re serious about him.”
“I don’t know that I am. Or he is. We are.” Nadine tossed her compact back in the enormous bowels of her bag. “We only started seeing each other a few weeks ago, and I’m not looking for serious anyway. We’re not even exclusive. Not that I’m seeing anybody else right now, because I’m busy. God, I really like him. I need coffee, since you won’t have any booze in here.”
Eve turned to the AutoChef, and Nadine dropped down in the desk chair.
“You know, I have my own show, and Now’s ratings are solid. They’re rock solid. I have the desk at Seventy-Five. I have one bestseller under my belt, and I’m up for a goddamn Oscar for the screenplay adaptation. I’ve written another book, and it’s damn well going to be a bestseller. I have an amazing new apartment, and I’m actually thinking about buying a vacation home in Aruba or somewhere, though when the hell am I going to actually use it for more than a blink of time because I’m busy.”
“Yeah, you said.” Eve handed Nadine coffee.
“So why did I get it into my head to take on this teenager?”
“I think you said something about mentoring and molding.”
“Yeah, yeah, and I wasn’t even drunk at the time. I’m taking on this smart, sly kid because I lost my mind. Why the hell am I getting tangled up on the personal side with a rock star?”
“He bangs right?”
“Funny. And that would be one thing, that’s the okay, this is fun, no worries. But there are so many aspects to him. The music, and that’s core to him. The audience, and they matter to him. His bandmates, they’re like family. And he’s interesting and aware. He’s not an asshole.”
“Not being an asshole’s important.”
“It is!”
“Who’s arguing?”
Nadine sighed. “I am.”
“Do we have to go have ice cream now or something?”
&nb
sp; Nadine’s sigh turned into the gimlet eye. “No.”
“Are you going to give me the brownie you’ve got stashed in that blimp you haul around?”
“How do you know I have a brownie in my purse?”
“I can smell it. Give.”
Nadine took it out, held it out. Eve unwrapped it, bit in.
“Do you want to know the actual reason you’re here?”
“Yes.” Nadine swiped her hands in the air, made a shoving motion. “The other is now outside the door.” She gestured to the board. “And, as I’m telling my young apprentice, reporters observe. You’ve got a suspect. Two. Working together?”
“Observe more closely.”