The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

Walking to the bus, she looked at Lynn and Becca who were talking with Justin about their next destination before they turned and looked at her. There was something in Becca’s eyes that was cautionary, warning her of what was going to happen. It was too late, she couldn’t figure it out by the time Lynn turned around and faced Lucy.

“Hey Lucy, we’ve got some seating assignments updated,” Lynn said with a sort of strange, crooked smile. “Now that Violet’s brothers are going to be traveling with us, we’ve got to free up two more seats in the front bus, so I’m bumping you and Tyler back to the crew wagon. Don’t worry, it’s just as comfortable back there.”

Lucy couldn’t believe it, there was no ending to this woman’s power and her reach. She had talked to Lynn in the dining area and she had literally convinced her to move Lucy out. This was baffling and she didn’t understand it in the least. Why didn’t she move out Becca? Becca clearly had the hots for James as well, but there was clearly something making Violet focus in on Lucy. She wondered if there was something that happened since Lucy started working for the company that specifically alerted Violet to the fact that James was wandering?

“Okay,” Lucy said, glancing at Becca who was clearly not pleased by this at all. That was okay, it wasn’t like there was anything that she could do to fight it right now. “I’ll just go grab my stuff,” Lucy said, taking a step toward the bus.

“I had Tyler take it back for you,” Lynn said with a smile, clearly unaware that she was being manipulated into helping Violet get whatever kind of revenge she wanted to toward Lucy. “Also, there’s a new set up in the venues that we’re attending. The security is going to be fairly minimal and I’m worried that people are going to try to sneak backstage more and more as we progress. I’m going to need extra eyes back with the trucks.”

“During the show?” Lucy didn’t understand.

“Yeah, it’s when we all get a little lax and I don’t want people getting their hands on props and I don’t want paparazzi getting photos that we don’t want them getting,” Lynn said with a smile.

This was absolute crap, but Lucy wasn’t in a position to argue. She simply nodded to Lynn and glanced over at Justin and Becca who were clearly under the influence of something, too. They were being awkward around her and it didn’t make sense. What was happening here? What kind of power did Violet have? She was one of the stars of the show, that was for certain, but she had completely gotten to them.

As she turned and headed back toward the other bus, she felt Becca’s hand brush against her arm.

“Sorry,” Becca whispered as Lucy nodded to her, ignoring the sad eyes that Becca gave her before she headed to the bus where the grunts of the crew were riding.

This bus was nothing close to the kind of luxury and comfort that the band and the managing staff were riding in. Lucy sat down in her seat next to Tyler, who worked with the merchandise staff, and stared out the window. It was a beautiful day and that was what made it all the more depressing.

Checking into the hotel and going to the new venue was a depressing affair, too. She didn’t know people in the crew wagon as well and they weren’t too keen on getting to know her. There was a division between those that worked and those that were in charge of making sure that everything worked. She just kind of tagged along and tried her hardest not to get in anyone’s way. By the time she caught a ride to the venue on the crew wagon, she was there too early for any use. She just stood around pretending like her job was more than just keeping out of the way of Violet and James. It was all that she was meant to do.

When it finally was time for the concert to start, it was no surprise that there was no one back with her at the trucks except for the workers who were in charge of breaking down everything. All day, she had wandered around the stadium, helping out wherever she could, but she felt ostracized by the community she had once been a part of. While wardrobe and make up got all the dancers and extras into their proper attire, the light and sound team made sure everything was working. The sound checks were finished and when the show began, she was alone with an empty truck. There were no paparazzi and there were no security concerns. She was abandoned back here.

She stayed with the truck through the entire concert, having memorized most of the songs by now and she was used to all of it. All she did was make sure that she crossed off the boxes on her list one by one while the crews loaded up the truck. It was a slow, painful process compared to the walking through and ticking things off rapidly at the end of the night. She made sure that she stuck around and made sure that every box was full and that every truck was packed perfectly before she stood alone in the giant stadium. There were probably a few people cleaning out there somewhere, but she felt the loneliest she’d ever been. There was no point to her being here anymore. Becca could do her job. It was all on the tablet. It wasn’t like there was a point for her to be here.

She had lost her respect, her position, and she was getting blocked at any turn she made to find the man that she was in love with. It was the worst feeling in the world and there was no one that she could turn to. There was no one that could help her and there was no one who was even going to be interested in helping her. Everyone cared about Violet and she was all that mattered.

Catching a ride back to her hotel, she emailed the completed list to Lynn and trudged up the stairs to her room. She wasn’t going to the lounge to see if anyone was there, she wasn’t going to check any of the texts that she’d received to see where the party was or what bars they were occupying for their victory celebration. She didn’t care about Becca or Justin, or anyone else for that matter. She didn’t waste any time going to the front desk to see if James had left her a note or a message. He would have been an idiot if he’d done anything like that. No, she was content with going up the stairs and making her way straight into her room. So, that was what she did.