Love Evolution Read online

  Love Evolution

  By

  Michelle Mankin

  Copyright © 2012 by Michelle Mankin

  Cover design by Larry Hill

  Cover photo by Rhonda Robbins

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including informational storage and retrieval systems-except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews-without permission in writing from the author.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Dedication: To all the rock ‘n roll musicians whose creative talents give depth, color, and volume to our lives…

  Evolution (ev’e-loo’shen) n. Gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.

  Prologue

  Avery tucked her well-worn journal back into the front pocket of her low slung skinny jeans. Once painted on, they were noticeably loose now. She opened her hand, and the fistful of dirt she held trickled through her fingers, falling like a macabre drizzle onto the wooden coffin below. She stared with unseeing eyes down into the grave, deadly still, as images of Justin drifted through her mind like a movie reel.

  She was a haunting vision on that windy fall day. Her striking, long, copper- streaked hair swirled around her shoulders like gossamer tendrils around a ghostly apparition. Her head was bowed, chin almost touching her chest. Tears streamed down her pale freckled cheeks, over her full lips, and down her chin, landing silently on the front of her gray t-shirt. She wondered what she was going to do without him. Squeezing her eyes shut in agony, she turned, a solitary figure leaving behind the graveside of her twin brother.

  CHAPTER 1

  Justin’s death devastated Avery, for with him went not only the person she loved most in the world, but also her plans for the future. Everything revolved around their music. She had no other marketable skills. She didn’t even have a high school diploma. The two of them had left home together before they could graduate. Without Justin there was no band and no way forward that she could see.

  Since the funeral, Avery had been down the same worn path in her head too many times to count. She couldn’t make money appear out of thin air, no matter how much she wanted to. All but a meager portion of her savings had been used up on memorial expenses for her brother. She had no regrets, though, needing the closure the small private service had provided.

  Avery would never forget the day Campanella’s guy came to visit. She had been at Club Indigo warming up. Justin was late. That wasn’t like him. Justin was a lot of things but he was never late to rehearsal and that worried her.

  “Avery Jones?”

  She looked up with a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Yes, what’s going on?” Nervously, she twisted her shirt cuff in her hand. She didn’t know this guy. He gave her the creeps with his dark ball cap shadowing his face and a black trench coat concealing who knows what.

  The man glanced around the room. Satisfied that they were alone, he said indifferently, “Mr. Campanella sent me to tell you your brother’s dead.”

  Avery felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. Her head swam. She felt like she couldn’t catch her breath. “What?” she managed to ask. “No! He can’t be dead! I just saw him this morning. I don’t believe you.”

  He shrugged. “What did he think was going to happen when he started fooling around with the boss’ girl?”

  “Show me! Take me to him!”

  He shook his head. “What do I look like, I’m stupid or something? Where he is, no one’s going to find him. Not you, not anybody. The best thing you can do is forget about him. By the way, Mr. Campanella expects you to make good on your brother’s debt to him. He expects to have his money in three weeks. We’ll be in touch.”

  As he exited the club, Avery sank to her knees, her body wracked with sobs. She was rocking back and forth on the floor, practically incoherent, when the owner of Club Indigo found her. Frank immediately called her roommate, Jeff, who came and took her home.

  As the days passed the grim reality of Justin’s death began to set in, and Avery sank deeper and deeper into a quagmire of despair. It was a hopeless situation without any remedy. Campanella’s thug had been right, they would probably never find Justin’s body, and she would probably never know the exact details of his murder. The police didn’t care about missing drug addicts and because Campanella’s influence was rumored to extend all the way to the NYPD, Avery couldn’t go to them to press charges. Jeff eventually convinced her to go with a suicide cover story. “Avery,” he cautioned, “you can’t go around telling people your brother got knocked off by the mob. It’s just too dangerous.”

  The memories made her head pound like a bass drum. It always did when she dwelled too long on the difficult spot she was in. Inevitably, she careened into an emotional tailspin. Unable to focus, she pulled out her guitar, taking another musical time out from the harsh reality her life had become.

  *****

  As he climbed the last flight of stairs to Avery’s fourth floor walk-up apartment, Trevor Barnes brushed aside the unruly lock of hair that always fell into his eyes. With his wire rimmed glasses, he looked a lot like a middle-aged absent minded college professor. As Avery’s agent he’d been negotiating with Seattle’s RDA Records on the twins’ behalf when he heard the unfortunate news of Justin’s death. Just like that, the deal memo had been withdrawn. ‘Such wasted potential,’ he thought. Because of his fondness for Avery, he had worked tirelessly to curtail his long list of appointments so he could head back to New York ahead of schedule.

  Trevor knocked on the door. One of her roommates, the tall skinny one named Jeff, opened the door to let him in. “How is she?” Trevor asked.

  “Better than she has been, I think. She was a total basket case at first. Now she’ll at least come out and eat something when we bug her. She spends almost every day back there in her room. All we hear is the wailing of the guitar or the slapping of her jump rope against the floor. It’s starting to freak me out.”

  Trevor shook his head, brow furrowing with worry. “Ok. I’ll try to talk to her.” Clapping Jeff on the shoulder, he headed back to the bedroom she and Justin had shared. He couldn’t even see her at first because the light was so dim. He switched on the overhead light and entered the small windowless room. “Hey kid, how are you?”

  She sat cross legged on the unmade bed, blinking her eyes to adjust to the light. Glancing up at him, she looked nothing at all like the Avery he knew. She’d haphazardly pulled back her hair with one of those scrunchy things girls use, and it appeared as if she hadn’t washed it in days. Her pale face was blotchy from crying, and she had dark circles under her expressive emerald eyes.

  Avery reminded Trevor of her twin. She had the exact same green eyes. The facial features were similar, too. Only in her, the overall lines were softer and more feminine. Together they had been a dynamic musical team with Justin’s deep and melodic voice a perfect foil to Avery’s sweet and sultry one. His steady acoustic rhythm work had provided a perfect contrast to Avery’s chaotic electric guitar riffs.

  Trevor deeply regretted being absent when Avery had needed him most. He had gone on this trip thinking everything was going so well for them. Sure, he had been worried about Justin’s drug use, but it wasn’t something he hadn’t seen before. In retrospect, he kicked himself for minimizing it, wishing he’d insisted on Justin’s getting help.

  Even though he successfully represented other groups, the two of them had always been the ones closest to his heart. He loved the way Justin had protected and
looked out for his sister. Avery’s vulnerability brought out that kind of protective instinct in everyone who knew her, including Trevor. He planned to use every resource at his management company as well as his contacts in the industry to help her, but first he had to get her out of this room.

  Trevor carefully moved aside all the pictures of Justin that were scattered on the bed. Sitting down, he put his arm around her and drew her to his side. He wanted to reassure her with his presence, as well as with his words. Her body felt so fragile and defenseless. “Come on, Avery. You need to get some fresh air. Justin wouldn’t have wanted you to fall apart like this. We’re going out to get you something to eat. Then we are going to start making plans for you- plans that would have made your brother proud.”

  *****

  Later that week, after an exhaustive search, Trevor finally had a lead for Avery with Stephen Adams, a friend from his Sony days. Stephen currently managed Brutal Strength, a mega rock group with multiple hit singles and several platinum records already under their belt. They were going through a rebuilding phase following the recent rehab of their lead singer, Marcus Anthony, and the subsequent departure of their longtime guitarist, Keith Smith. Word was they were having a difficult time replacing Keith because he’d told everyone Marcus was impossible to work with. Trevor hoped to pull some strings to get Avery a tryout with them.

  “Stephen, hey, yeah, it’s Trevor Barnes. Long time, I know. How are things in Vancouver? Great. We need to get together and catch up. Yeah, I heard about that. That’s why I was calling. I think we might be able to help each other out. I have a client who I think might be a real good fit for your group. She…what? Hey, you're breaking up. Where are you? Lion’s Gate Bridge, that figures. The kid’s name is Avery. She... shit! You’re breaking up again. I said Avery Jones... huh? Nineteen, I know that’s a little younger than you’re looking for. It could be a good fit for the band- expand their appeal to a younger fan base. I can’t hear you again. Sorry. It might be my cell phone. I hate the reception on this thing. OK, I’ll send over a demo. See you Wednesday at Black Cat Records.”

  Trevor booked the flight as soon as he got off the phone with Stephen.

  CHAPTER 2

  Marcus Anthony was trying very hard to keep his cool. ‘Ok, ok. Remember. This is the new and improved me,’ he reminded himself, gritting his teeth. He’d done a lot of soul searching during his thirty days of inpatient drug rehab. His therapist had warned him he needed to learn how to deal with his obsessive compulsive tendencies. Plus, his inability to control his temper had cost him his lead guitarist. He kept repeating the mantra, ‘I am in control of me.’ It didn't really work. He hated this kind of crap.

  Luckily, Stephen ran interference for him, or he would have added a lot more fuel to the rumors that he was difficult to work with. Black Cat Records’ CEO Mary Timmons was trying to pressure him into filling the lead guitarist position with a woman. Going toe to toe on the issue with that militant feminist had him near the boiling point.

  ‘Come on,’ he thought. For one thing, had there really been a serious female guitar player since Nancy Wilson of Heart? Besides that, a girl just wouldn’t bring the right dynamic to his group. Brutal Strength was a real band for effing sake. Yeah, he might be a bit of a chauvinist pig because to him female guitarists just weren’t as good as their male counterparts. In his experience, they usually flaunted their looks to compensate for an overall lack of talent. He wanted nothing to do with women. Any of them. Especially since Veronica.

  Throughout the whole excruciating day, Marcus had reluctantly endured listening to chicks audition. If Brutal Strength had still been with Time Warner, he would have had to do this their way, but after Keith left, the group had broken off from the big conglomerate that had represented them over the past ten years. He had been tired of the pressure they put on him and had finally built up enough professional clout to call his own shots, for the most part. That’s why these auditions chafed him. With Black Cat, a much smaller independent label, he had final veto power over decisions directly effecting the group. It had been one of the terms he had insisted upon when he signed with them. Marcus just hoped they didn’t force him to play that card right from the start.

  *****

  Stephen called Trevor early the next morning. “Hey man, you guys get in ok last night?”

  “Yeah, thanks. I always love visiting Vancouver. How are you?”

  “Not so great. Listen, I wanted to give you a heads up before you guys get over here this morning. Marcus had a full day of it yesterday. Mary, being who she is, sent him only women to audition. By the end of the day, he was livid, calling them all ‘no talent eye candy.’ He refuses to even consider a female replacement. Anyway, I’m hoping he will be in a better mood today. I am sure he will be thrilled to have a male guitarist try out. See you guys in a couple of hours.”

  After Stephen hung up, Trevor stared at the phone, dropping down onto the bed. He took off his glasses and started rubbing his forehead with both hands. Crap, crap, crap. He couldn’t believe this. In his mind he went back over the cell phone call with Stephen, remembering the spotty connection. No telling what Stephen had or hadn’t heard. It didn’t matter now anyway. Poor Avery. He’d brought the kid all the way out here to Vancouver, and now she wouldn’t even have a chance to try out.

  Trevor sat in his hotel room in a daze. What was he going to do? On a good day the job pool for a woman guitarist was limited. Equal opportunity did not apply in the music business. He didn’t have anything else lined up for Avery and knew Justin’s death had left her in a financial bind.

  After years in the industry, Trevor had learned to rely on his instincts. He knew deep down this was a good match. Stephen had a history of being a General Manager who ran a tight ship and frowned on drug use in his groups. That was one of probably a myriad of reasons Marcus had switched to him when the group left Time Warner. It also didn’t hurt that they were cousins. Not only that, Brutal Strength’s bassist happened to be Marcus’ older brother. It was a real family affair, a perfect environment in which Avery could thrive.

  He closed his eyes and gave it some more thought. Giving up wasn’t an option. So Stephen thought Avery was a male, did he? All right. Why correct him? A crazy idea popped into his head. What if they disguised Avery as a guy? Hey, it worked in movies like Mulan and Yentl. Sort of.

  Trevor put his glasses back on, got up, and walked down the hall to Avery’s hotel room, hoping to convince her to go along with his idea. They didn’t have much time. The audition was in less than two hours now. “Sit down, Avery,” he told her when she let him in. “There was a mix up when I spoke to Stephen on the cell last week. He got the impression you were a guy.”

  “Really? Ok. What difference does that make?”

  “Because yesterday Marcus rejected every single woman who auditioned. Stephen said he was really on the warpath. He refuses to even consider having a female replacement for Keith.”

  ‘That’s just great,’ Avery thought as she closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands, her long hair forming a flame colored curtain around her. What was she going to do now? Campanella’s deadline was coming up fast.

  “Listen, Avery. This is such a great opportunity for you. It would be a crime to waste it. Chances like this are a once in a lifetime deal, you know?”

  She raised her head. “I realize that. So what? It’s not like I can magically change into a guy, Trevor.”

  He fiddled nervously with the nosepiece on his glasses. “But maybe you can. I know this will sound crazy, but what if we go ahead with the tryout… with you dressed up like a guy?”

  “What?” She looked at him incredulously. “That would never work. Are you nuts?”

  “Possibly. Hear me out, though. Once they realize how talented you are, they won’t care if you’re a dude or a dudette. You’ll get the gig, and you can tell them the truth when the time is right.” When she didn’t stop him immediately, he took that as an encouraging sign
and continued, “It could work Avery. It works in the movies.”

  She rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a movie, Trevor.”

  “Yeah, I know kid. But just say you’ll try and then we’ll see, ok? What do we have to lose?”

  Avery sat down on the edge of the bed and put her hand over her mouth as thoughts ran through her head. What would be the worst that could happen? They would laugh and say, “Nice try, but no.” At least they would know how desperate she was for the chance. It was unlikely she’d be blacklisted over it, and anyway, she had little alternative. She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighed heavily, and glanced up. “Ok, Trevor. I don’t think it will work, but at this point I’m willing to give anything a try.”

  “Ok.” He was afraid to say more. He didn’t want her to change her mind. She still looked uncertain. Avery let him push her toward the bathroom. He instructed her to wash off all her makeup and pull back her hair. When she came out, he held out his Yankee’s ball cap and a plaid shirt for her to wear. “Try these on.”

  Avery stuffed her hair up into the cap and buttoned up the shirt over the one she had on. “How do I look?”

  Trevor crossed his arms and studied her. Although the shirt was long enough to hide the curves of her hips, it did nothing to disguise her breasts. Sheepishly, he motioned to her chest. “Uh, we’ve got a slight problem up top.” Twin spots of color appeared on Avery’s cheeks. After a moment of consideration, he remembered how they’d done it in the movies. “I’m going to the drug store across the street,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Trevor ran across the street to the Rexall. He soon returned with a wide ace bandage. Without making eye contact with Avery, he handed it to her. “Wrap this tightly around your chest. To flatten out, you know…”

  Avery turned completely crimson but went in the bathroom and did as he instructed. When she came back out again, Trevor went very still. He swallowed several times to clear his throat.