Page 104 of Hard Rock Heat
"Can someone tell me why the guys aren't playing last?" I heard Jen ask. "Shouldn't Darkest Days be theheadliners?"
A blond with wavy hair flopping over his forehead bounced over. A man with long dark hair wearing a fashionable suit and skinny tie followed behind, throwing him an exasperatedlook.
"That's because Kell insisted on playing last," the dark haired mansaid.
The blond threw his arms around the man's shoulders. "And I always get what I want," he said with a cheekygrin.
Skinny Tie laughed at him and pushed him off with ashove.
"You insisted?" I asked with a frown. I thought I recognized the two men as members of the other band, Feral Silence. "I'm surprised Damon's ego allowedthat."
The blond lifted his chin with a smug look and puffed his chest out. "No one out-egos Kell Pierce," he declaredloudly.
"You better get ready, Mr. Ego," the man with dark hair said. "Because their set is almost done. We're onsoon."
"Oh shit." Kell's face dropped. "I haven't done my vocal exercises yet." He bounced off in the opposite direction, an erratic bundle ofenergy.
"And I thought dealing with Damon was tiring," I said. "I can't imagine being around that man for more than a few minutes without wanting to smackhim."
Skinny Tie shook his head ruefully. "It's a daily struggle." He examined me with dark eyes. "You're Faith Briars? The one who planned thisevent?"
Inodded.
His eyes lit up. "I'm Ren. Bassist of Feral Silence. I wanted to thank you. My background is similar to Damon's, so this cause really hits close tohome."
I felt a pang of sympathy. "I'm just glad that so many people have agreed to help out," I said. "The response from the community has been absolutelywonderful."
"We're more than happy to play for this cause. Well," he laughed. "Kell's more than happy to play for any audience for anyreason."
After thanking me one last time, Ren left to get ready himself. I was going to go watch Darkest Days perform myself when I heard my boss call myname.
"Faith! There you are." She appeared through a side door. "Kat told me you had some sort ofemergency?"
"Yes, a family emergency," I said, trying to sound remorseful. "I'm sorry I had toleave."
"Don't worry at all," Martha said. "I understand. Besides, with all the planning and forethought you put into this, everything's running smoothly on itsown."
"Kat did a great job stepping up in my place," I added, making sure to give hercredit.
"You've both done a great job," she said. "I'm going to talk with the Director about thosepromotions."
My insides did a flip and my toes wiggled in myheels.
"It's about time we made you Events Manager, don't you think?" Martha said with asmile.
"That would be amazing," I said, trying not to sound breathless. "Thankyou."
"You deserve it," Marthasaid.
"Can we also talk about Kat?" I made sure to interject. "She's been a wonderful help. I really couldn't have done this without her. Most of it was her idea, to behonest."
"I agree, she's definitely proven herself," Martha said. "She'd be a great fit for that coordinator position we've got coming up. Let's all have a meeting sometime early next week,yes?"
After agreeing on a time, Martha left. I hugged my arms to my chest, grinning madly. I allowed myself a minute to sway back and forth in a little happy dance, before taking a deep breath and calming myself. It didn't stop the ear to ear grin on my face,though.
I wanted to tell Katherine the good news in person, so I wandered around a bit. When I found her, I saw she was speaking with the band Cherry Lips. I was glad to see she was checking up with the bands after their sets, making sure everything wasokay.
But Katherine didn't seem to be the one speaking. Her back was pressed against the wall. Nathan had playfully tangled one finger in her long hair. She was looking up at him, lips parted, cheeksflushed.
