Jenny's Choice (Apple Creek Dreams #3) (30 page)

Richard started looking for some dates on his desk calendar as he held the phone between his shoulder and his ear.

“What about the guys in the group? I thought they wanted to write their own songs.”

Sam grunted on the other end of the line. “Yeah, well, it’s one thing to say and another to do. The new girl singer we got has a few interesting things going on, but nothing like your songs, Ricky.”

“Sam, don’t call me Ricky, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever,
Richaaard
.”

“Thanks, Sam. Appreciate it.”

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Do you have some songs for us so can we get back in the studio?”

“Okay, Sam. I’ve got one.”

“Yeah! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. Can I bring Gary over this afternoon?”

“Sure, but why don’t you bring the girl, too…what’s her name?”

“Nadine. Nadine Carbone. Why should I bring her?”

“Look, Sam. Here’s the deal. If I write all the songs for you guys, I make all the money. Your guys get performance royalties and gig money. That’s it. The big money is in publishing. If I’m providing the songs, you, as manager, are seeing bubkes, nothing, nada. Someone in the group needs to start writing the songs, or you stay a high-level cover band for the rest of your life. You get my drift?”

There was a momentary silence at the other end of the line.

“How much did you make off ‘Crown of Thorns,’ Richard?”

“I’m not going to tell you the exact number, Sam, but it’s in six figures. You go ahead and figure out what twenty percent of that is.”

There was a whistle on the other end of the line. “Okay, Mister Sandbridge, I get your drift. I’m bringing the girl too.”

“Around four, Sam.”

“You got it.”

Richard Sandbridge hung up the phone. He sighed and looked around. Several gold and platinum records hung on the walls of his upscale penthouse office. Each record on the wall represented lots of money and prestige. His songs had been recorded by big-name artists—country, rock, R&B—and now by a big-name Christian rock group.

Christian rock! Now there’s an oxymoron.

When Richard became a Christian, he was already a highly successful songwriter. Three gold records were on his wall, and his two biggest hits,
Tonight
and
Anna
, had gone multi-platinum, recorded by the R&B group Soul Circle in 1981. Now, a decade later, he had three more platinum hits, the latest with the crossover Christian group Cross & Crowne. Billy Cross and Gary Crowne had played on the combination of their names to find a modicum of success in the Christian market. But it wasn’t until Richard gave them
Turn to Me
and
Crown of Thorns
that they achieved their greatest success.

Richard picked up his guitar again, smiled to himself, and thought,
I guess I’ll see if I can write another big hit before they get here.

At four o’clock, Sam, Gary, and the new girl walked into Richard’s office. He had just finished putting the final touches on the elusive new song. Gary Crowne looked around Richard’s office the way he did every time he came by, obviously in awe of the symbols of Richard’s success. The girl singer looked like she was all flash and no content. She had the band-girl look and a prominent tattoo on her shoulder.

“Hi, Richard.”

“Hey, Gary. How’s it going?”

“Great, Richard, just great—thanks to you. This is our new singer, Nadine Carbone.”

She reached out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Sandbridge. I’m a big fan.”

“You can call me Richard if I can call you Nadine.”

“Okay, Richard. But my friends call me Deeny.”

She smiled, and Richard caught just a hint from her eyes that there might be something in there besides a vacuum.

Gary nodded at his manager. “Sam says you might have something for us to record. Can’t wait to hear it.”

“Yeah, I just finished something you guys might like. But I thought you were going to start writing some of your own stuff.”

“I’ve been trying, but I haven’t really come up with anything.”

The girl piped up. “I have a couple of songs, Mr. Sandbridge…I mean, Richard. I’d like to show them to you.”

Richard heard something in her voice that got his attention—ambition, a flash of intelligence.

Sam and Gary both scowled.

“Let’s hear something.”

“Sure,” Deeny said. “Do you have a keyboard?”

Richard pointed to a corner where his mini-studio and a nice little Yamaha electric piano were set up.

“Help yourself.”

Deeny sat down at the keyboard and started to play. She was nervous and flubbed the first chord. She stopped, looked up, smiled, and started again. This time she started smoothly.

Your love is wonderful

So pure and clean

Flowing down from Calvary

To a sinner like me

And Your blood is wonderful

So pure and clean

Flowing down from Calvary

To a sinner like me

And now I am free

Thank You, Jesus, thank You, Jesus

For all You are to me

You’re my life, my hope

You’re my one desire

Thank You, Lord, for dying for me

Deeny’s voice was clear and sweet, and once she got into the song, it was apparent to everyone that she was singing from her heart. Richard’s first impression of her went out the window as he listened to the song. When she finished there was a quiet moment. Then Sam jumped in.

“Yeah, great voice, kid, but it’s a little too religious for me. Got anything like
You Light Up My Life
? You know, something that people could put in their boyfriend’s name in place of Jesus?”

Deeny scowled. “Right! Like “You Light Up My Life, Elmer”?

“I think Deeny’s got a great song,” Richard said. “I don’t know if it would be the single from the album, but any real Christian would end up listening to it over and over. And by the way, Sam, you guys are signed to a Christian record company, remember? If you want to do secular music, maybe you should go hit up Warner Brothers.”

“Whoa, Richard,” Sam said. “We’re very happy right where we are! I mean, we’re all Christians and we all love the Lord, right? I’m just looking for the breakthrough song that’s going to put us on top, that’s all. Just lookin’ out for my guys.”

Deeny stared at him, and he got the message. “Uh, my gal too. So Richard, you said you had a new song?”

Just then the intercom buzzed. Richard flipped the switch. “Yes, Deborah?”

“Jeremy King on line one.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Richard turned to the group. “I have to take this call. Give me five minutes and I’ll be right back.”

Richard left his office and went to the conference room across the hall. The red light on the phone was flashing, and he picked it up.

“Hey, Jeremy. Thanks for getting back to me.”

“Sure, Mr. Sandbridge.”

“It’s Richard. Listen, we’ve been watching Kerusso Publishing, and you folks are really starting to make a mark in the Christian publishing arena. I’d like to get together with you and talk about some ideas we’ve been throwing around over here at Charis Records.”

“Well, I’m flattered that you’ve heard about us, Richard. I’d love to chat. When do you want to meet?”

“How about next Monday? Can you drive over to New York on Sunday? We’ll put you up, and then we could spend Monday together.”

“Sure, that sounds good. Can you tell me what it’s about?”

“We’ll talk about that when you get here. I’ve got to get back to a meeting. In the meantime, I’m going to give you back to Deborah. Give her a timeline that would work for you, and she’ll book the hotel room. See you on Monday.”

“Sure…Richard. See you then.”

Richard hung up the phone with a smile of satisfaction on his face. If everything worked out, the Jeremy King deal could be a blockbuster.

Jeremy leaned back in his chair. The call from Richard Sandbridge had him wondering what was up. Charis Records was a big deal in Christian circles. They had three number one hits on the Christian charts, and one was starting to see action on secular radio stations in the Midwest. Richard Sandbridge was an enigma to everyone. He had literally come out of nowhere with his hit song
Tonight
in 1981. The
song was huge, and Sandbridge had followed it with another monster hit. Along the way he had proven his skills as a musician and had produced a few independent hits for some major labels. Then had come his highly publicized conversion to Christianity and his move to Charis Records. As head of artists and repertoire, he had discovered Cross & Crowne, and the rest was history.

Jeremy walked out to the front office. The move back to Lancaster from Akron five years earlier had taken a toll on his business, but for the past three years sales had headed back up. The offices were a bit run-down, but he was publishing new books almost every month and was satisfied that he had made the right move, especially since interest in everything Amish was growing.

His secretary looked up when he walked out.

“Judy, can you call Charis Records back and coordinate with Deborah there on a hotel? I need to drive to New York on Sunday, and Charis is putting me up.”

“Sure, Jeremy. What’s up?”

Jeremy shook his head. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s big. Charis Records is leading the way in Christian music. It will definitely be an interesting trip.”

When Richard walked back into his office, a heated discussion was going on. It seemed to be Sam and Gary against Deeny.

“I’m a Christian,” Deeny was saying. “I got saved out of a life that was killing me. Now I just want to glorify God and sing His praise. I’m not really interested in going back into secular music. I spent too many nights in bars and dance halls, hanging out with the wrong people. I don’t want to go back.”

“We’re not saying we should go secular, Deeny,” Gary said. “Maybe just lighten up on the real heavy religious stuff. I mean, after all, we don’t want to offend anybody.”

Deeny stiffened. “The gospel
is
an offense. It makes people confront their sin, and most of them don’t want to do that, so they find the whole thing offensive. But if we’re Christians, we have a responsibility to tell them the truth. No apologies, no surrender.”

Sam shook his head. “I don’t know, Deeny. Maybe you’re just a little too radical for Cross & Crowne.”

“I’d rethink that, Sam,” Richard said. “Deeny will add a great sound to Gary and Billy’s voices. Take it from me as your producer, if you want to go all the way, this young lady could be the missing piece.”

Gary and Sam looked skeptical but quieted down. Sam spoke up.

“So…the new song?”

Richard picked up his twelve string. “Right. I’ve been working on it for two weeks and just got the bridge today.”

As Richard began to sing, he could see Deeny’s eyes light up with admiration. Gary and Sam looked at him as if he were some kind of saint. Richard wondered what he was doing in a Christian business that did everything it could to keep its eyes on men and not on Jesus.

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY
-O
NE

Big Business

R
ICHARD
S
ANDBRIDGE WALKED INTO THE
Waldorf Astoria Hotel in uptown Manhattan. The place was definitely five-star all the way. Richard liked the older-style hotels—something in the connection to the past intrigued him. He went to the front desk and asked for Jeremy King. The attractive young woman behind the counter smiled at him.

“Mr. King is waiting for you in the restaurant, Mr. Sandbridge. The table against the wall, right inside the door.”

She smiled again, this time more seductively. Richard noticed that she had a wedding band on her left hand.

“I’m a big fan, Mr. Sandbridge,” she continued. “I think you write the most beautiful songs.”

“Thank you. That’s very encouraging.”