Ravensong (3 page)

“
Well, good morning
Hiawatha, couldn’t find your way out of the tipi on
time?”

Elena’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Ravensong turned from the table and glared at Julian. He started to
say something, but David interrupted him.

“
That’s enough,
Julian.”

“
These meetings start at
eight. I expect you to buy an alarm clock,” Julian
continued.

Ravensong took three strides forward.
“You can take your meetings and shove them up your...”

“
All right,” interrupted
David again, shooting a quick glance in Elena’s direction. “Take a
seat, Joshua. We were just discussing the cover.”

Ravensong glowered at
Julian a moment more. Elena could feel the tension between the two
men. This certainly wasn’t the first time they’d conflicted before.
Finally Julian broke the stare and Ravensong moved to his chair,
slipping into it.

Elliot leaned over the table and
whispered something to him, which Elena didn’t catch. He nodded
once and then his gaze shifted to Elena. Their eyes locked for a
moment. Elena felt a thrill course up her spine. Lord, he had
beautiful eyes.

“
Well,” demanded Julian,
“what do you think of the cover?”

Elena tore her gaze from Ravensong and
regarded the cover once more. Truth, she must tell the truth no
matter what the outcome.

“
I think it’s
awful.”

Ralph burst into laughter beside her
and Julian’s eyes widened in surprise. The rest of the band members
seemed equally stunned and for a moment she wondered if she hadn’t
made a fatal error. She felt Ravensong’s eyes on her again and
glanced at him. He was studying her with interest.

“
Why is it awful?” asked
David, leaning back in his chair and steepling his hands before
him.

Elena lifted the cover and held it
away from her, trying to view it at every angle. “It’s childish and
obvious,” she said. “These cartoon figures make it look like the
album is a joke, that not even the band members take it seriously.
And how many times can you draw a picture of an avalanche? It’s
getting old. Everyone knows the name of the band, you don’t have to
keep promoting it, your music does that.”

“
Well, which of the covers
do you think suit it better?” said Julian.

“
None,” said Elena
truthfully. “They’re all awful.”

“
We spent a lot of money on
these covers...”

“
Let her finish,” said
Ravensong.

Elena glanced at him again and he
nodded.

She drew a deep breath. This might be
her last day at her new job, but at least she’d leave knowing she’d
been true to them and herself. “I think a simple photo of the band
on a white background would say a lot more. Have the name of the
album stenciled above the photo and the name of the band beneath.
Simple, clean, and precise.”

Silence met her suggestion.

Finally Julian broke it. “And how much
experience do you have designing covers?”

Elena started to answer, but Ravensong
preempted her. “You asked her opinion. The least you could do is
listen to it.”

Julian rose to his feet and Ravensong
lifted his head as if challenging him to make a move. Again tension
snaked through the room. David put a restraining hand on Julian’s
arm.

“
Sit down, Julian,” he said
and gave Ravensong an equally dissatisfied look.

“
Aw, come on, David, I’d
personally like to see Julian defend his honor,” said Ralph. “If he
can shoot off his mouth, he ought to be willing to defend the
idiocy that comes out.”

“
Why don’t you
shut
your
mouth?”
snapped Julian.

“
Oh, hold me back, hold me
back,” cried Ralph, holding his arms out for Elena to
take.

Elena glanced down at the table,
feeling guilty that she’d caused this uproar.

“
Knock it off, both of
you,” said David.

“
I can’t do anything about
you, but I sure as hell can do something about him,” Julian said,
pointing his finger at Ravensong.

“
What?” demanded Ralph.
“Ground him?”

“
You stupid son of a
bitch,” said Julian, drowning out David’s repeated protests. “I’ll
fire him for insubordination.”

Elliot and Robert laughed derisively.
Ralph dramatically closed his mouth and Michael bowed his
head.

“
What would you stupid
bastards do then, eh? Can’t do a damn thing without him, can you?
Hell, you’ve become so dependent on one lousy drug addict that you
can’t even shit by yourselves!”

Ravensong came to his feet in one
swift motion. Elena caught her breath and silence descended in the
room again.

“
Do it, you coward,” said
Ravensong in a terribly still voice. “Fire me if you’ve got the
balls.”

“
Oh, believe me, I’d like
to. You parade around here like a friggin’ god, but we all know
that sooner or later, we’ll find you passed out somewhere with a
needle stickin’ out of your arm.”

“
Julian...” gasped
David.

Elena couldn’t take anymore. She was
on her feet before she knew what she was doing. “I can’t believe
this,” she said, her voice trembling with fury. “I thought I was
coming to work for a professional organization, but this is
ridiculous. It may cost me my job, but I’m sorry, I can’t sit here
and listen to you anymore. Since this man entered the room, you’ve
done nothing but bait him. If you’re angry that he was late for the
meeting, that’s one thing, but your insults are out of line and
unprofessional. I don’t know how he’s kept from knocking you on
your uptight ass because I sure know I would if I were
him.”

Backing away from the table, she
glanced around at all of their stunned faces. Ravensong was staring
at her in amazement, but she thought she read approval in his look.
Lifting her head, she turned her back on them and went for the
door.

It was only once she was in the hall
that her knees began to shake. She leaned against the door and took
a deep breath. Behind her the room erupted in a chaos of yelling
voices.

Lord, what have I
done
, she thought, then remembered the look
on Ravensong’s face and decided it was worth it in the end. She
couldn’t work for an organization that allowed such abuse. Drawing
a deep breath she headed down the hall for her office. She
definitely wouldn’t add this job to her resume - shortest job in
history.

She heard the door open behind her and
the roar of angry voice grew louder for a moment before it was
muffled again. She stopped walking, sure it was either David or
Julian to relieve her of her duties, but as she turned, she was
surprised to see Ravensong strolling after her.

He stopped in front of her and
scrutinized her with his piercing eyes.

Lord, he is
gorgeous
, she thought, taking in his finely
chiseled features, high cheekbones, strong chin. He wore a pair of
tight jeans that revealed the taut muscles in his thighs and a
loose white shirt. His black hair fell like a curtain around his
shoulders, the front of his hair pulled over his forehead and
braided down his back, ending in a leather tie.

“
Thanks,” he said in a
husky voice.

She swallowed, surprised by the thrill
of excitement that coursed through her. She wasn’t usually moved by
handsome faces and equally attractive male bodies, but there was
something in Ravensong’s look that made her heart beat a little
faster.

Hell, I’m star
struck
, she thought, but it didn’t make
sense. She’d worked with a lot of stars before and no matter how
handsome they were, she’d never been the least bit
interested.

“
No need,” she answered,
clasping her hands to still their trembling. “You know the
direction to unemployment?”

He laughed. The sound was a deep
rumbling in his chest and another chill coursed up Elena’s spine.
She suppressed an urge to place her hand against his chest to feel
the laugh as it left his throat.

“
I don’t think you’ll be
fired,” he said. “David was looking for someone who would stand up
to Julian’s tyranny.”

“
Why does he hate you so
much?”

Ravensong narrowed his eyes in
amusement. “You gathered that this quickly?”

“
It isn’t hard to see,” she
answered, finding it difficult to meet his stare.

“
I don’t know why he hates
me, but he does. Anyway it doesn’t really matter, except I’m sick
of turning the other cheek.”

“
I don’t know how you put
up with it. I couldn’t.”

“
I’m beginning to wonder
the same thing,” he said, never removing his eyes from her. He
smiled slightly, the left corner of his mouth lifting.

Elena became suddenly aware of the
beauty mark resting just above his upper lip. An urge to place her
lips against it nearly staggered her with its power. She shook her
head and forced herself to look down.

“
I understand you’re
engaged,” he said and she looked up quickly, surprised by the
remark.

“
Yes,” she said, drawing a
steadying breath. “Engaged, yes. To a doctor.”

Ravensong nodded with the same crooked
smile. “A doctor.”

“
Yes,” she said once more,
realizing she sounded ridiculous. “He’s a doctor, yes.”

Again the deep, rumbling laugh. “You
don’t say.”

She blushed and lowered her head, but
not before he caught her smile. “I’m sorry.”

“
Don’t be.”

“
Well, I better get back to
my office. I’d rather not run into my boss just yet.”

“
Good idea,” remarked
Ravensong and she looked up at him.

Damn you are
gorgeous
, her thoughts screamed. “See you
later.”

“
Yes, you will,” he said
cryptically and moved past her, his shoulder brushing against hers.
A thrill of pure desire spiraled through her, surprising her in its
intensity and she turned to watch him retreat.

The braid was swinging back and forth
in his hair as he walked, inadvertently directing her attention
lower to the firm outline of his buttocks in his tight jeans. Elena
frowned, troubled by the feelings in her body, but she couldn’t
take her eyes off Ravensong as he strode away. Only when he’d
disappeared from sight did she realize something else. He smelled
fantastic, so male, so clean.

Drawing a shaken breath, Elena brushed
the stray hair from her forehead. What was she thinking? Every
gorgeous inch of Joshua Ravensong was trouble and she was engaged
to another man. Not to mention the fact that he was in a
relationship with a very tall and beautiful model in Hollywood. She
laughed at her foolish reaction to him. He was handsome, all right,
but he did have a drug problem, no matter that he’d been clean for
nine years, an ex-wife who bled him for every penny he had, and an
eight year old daughter. She didn’t need any of that, even if he
was interested in her. And he couldn’t be, not with his beautiful
model waiting for him every weekend down in L.A. Besides she wasn’t
Kate and she wasn’t stupid. She’d never allowed herself to get
involved with a rock star before and she wasn’t going to start
now.

* * *

Joshua looked out the window of his
office, his eyes scanning the bridge, but his mind wasn’t on the
sight. He was thinking about Elena, the assistant manager David had
hired. She was so tiny. Standing with her in the hallway, he’d had
time to study exactly how tiny she was. If he’d taken her in his
arms, her head would barely reach his breastbone.

He shook his head. What was he
thinking? She was engaged to another man, wore his gaudy ring on
her finger. He moved from the window and slumped down in the
leather chair, putting his feet on the desk. He studied the toe of
his leather boots intently, but his thoughts returned to
Elena.

Her hair was brown, stray strands
escaping to curl around her oval face. She seemed to always wear it
up, pinned away, but he knew that if he removed the pins it would
tumble down over his hands, a luxuriant mass that he could wind
around his fingers. He flexed his hands. How he’d wanted to unbind
her hair and sink his fingers in it.

He drew a ragged breath. And the way
she’d sprung to her feet, her throaty voice putting Julian in his
place as he’d never been handled before. Such fire!

Again he shook his head.
She was engaged and he was involved. He thought of Megan, tall,
willowy Megan with her long legs and blond hair. When they lay in
bed together, Megan was so tall she couldn’t lay her head against
his chest, but Elena...

Dropping his feet to the ground, he
placed his elbows on the desk and rested his chin in his hands. He
wanted Elena. Best to admit it. Whenever he’d been passingly
interested in a woman, she always did the work for him. And there’d
never been a woman he remotely wanted that he hadn’t had. He sensed
it would be different with Elena. She didn’t seem to be the type
bowled over by his looks or his bank account. She knew what she
wanted and what she wanted wasn’t a recovering drug addict with a
history of promiscuity.