Page 57 of Love on Tour
“Could you design a resume and reference letter, say all of that, and send it to Matt? Please,” Christine said.
“I’d do all that and more if it would make you happy.”
“Love you.”
“Love you,” Julianna said.
CHAPTER NINE
“The first week of November is exhausting,” Julianna said. “The general public has no idea.” She and Christine were in the conference room, having just finished a meeting about the employee schedule for awards week. Since Julianna was Rick’s executive assistant, she kept the master calendar. Christine enjoyed watching Julianna run the meeting. This was when her brilliance shined. It wasn’t easy keeping everyone on track with multiple events and schedules. Julianna had a natural knack for organization, which tended to be in short supply in a creative industry.
“I know. They see the CMA Awards on TV and assume that’s it. But the songwriter awards are every night leading up to it. BMI, ASCAP, SESAC,” Christine said.
“Fun, but sucks the energy right out of ya,” Julianna said.
“And this year is even more nerve-racking. ‘Promises to Me’ qualified for every awards show. It’s nominated for three awards. It could go home with three trophies or zero trophies. The stress is in the not knowing. If only they told us in advance.”
“Think of all the people who weren’t nominated at all. They may not be stressing, but they didn’t get the honor of being a finalist either,” Julianna said.
“So true. I’m not complaining. I just want it to win so badly. It was a risk for Austin and me. And it paid off in so many ways. An award would be icing on the proverbial cake.”
“You up for going to the mall and looking for dresses? If it does win, you’ll want to have an award-winning look to go with that award-winning song. I figured we could make a day of it with mani-pedis,” Julianna said.
“Why not? I assume Phoebe’s going?” Christine’s lip curled up in a snarl.
“She is. I wish you two would get along.”
“She doesn’t like me. She thinks I’m not good enough,” Christine said.
“She envies you.”
Christine guffawed so loud she snorted.
Julianna held up a finger. “First, you and I became close, making her feel there was a threat to hers and my friendship,” she said. Then she held up another finger. “Second, you scored a friendship with Austin. He adores you. And she knows it. Hence, she’s jealous.”
“Phoebe doesn’t have an insecure bone in her body,” Christine said, arms crossed, lips pursed.
“You know, Christine, you weren’t the only one with a rough childhood. Phoebe may not have been bullied like you were, but she had some tough teen years. Her parents were a train wreck and it affected her badly.”
“At least I didn’t become a mean girl,” Christine said, but her voice was quieter, less emphatic.
“People handle things differently. You have your way, which is to be way more insecure than you should be. She handled it by becoming a block of ice that nobody can break down.”
“You know, growing up, I used to pray for the cool kids to have a reason to be jealous of me. It’s not as fun as I thought it’d be.”
“Watch what you pray for. Let’s focus on pretty dresses and getting our nails done. It always makes me happy.”
“If only a pretty dress could cure the world of problems.”
“It probably can. It’s just that nobody has proved it yet.” Julianna gave Christine a winning smile.
CHRISTINE, JULIANNA, AND PHOEBEmet at the mall after work. Christine stood in the store in awe of the dresses her friends were buying—dresses that were formfitting, short, and had cutouts that gave glimpses of bare skin that would otherwise be covered. She hadn’t tried on a single dress yet when Julianna rounded the corner with an armful.
“Your turn, Christine,” she said.
“I’m good. I have a couple of dresses from the last few years.”
“No offense, but I saw last year’s dresses. You’re trying these on,” Julianna said.
