Finding Us Read online

  Finding Us

  A Nucci Securities Novel

  © Copyright 2015 by Debra Presley

  Cover Design by: Cover Me, Darling

  Edited by: Scriptease Editing

  Contributing Editor: Andi Marquette

  Formatting: Brenda Wright – Formatting Done Wright

  Published by: Debra Presley

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, printed, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without the express permission of the author. Please do not participate or encourage piracy in any capacity of copyrighted material in violation of the author’s rights.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events, occurrences, places, or business establishments is purely coincidental. The characters and story line are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Acknowledgements

  Contact Debra Presley:

  http://authordebrapresley.com

  http://facebook.com/authordebrapresley

  http://facebook.com/thebookenthsuast

  Disclaimer:

  This book is not suitable for young readers. There is strong language, adult situations and some violence.

  Dedicated to:

  Genna, Vincent and Vanessa. Always follow your dreams.

  The house lights went on, and Abby Murphy took in the full stadium. They were cheering for her to give them one more song. Some held signs that read “I love you, Abby!” Others tried to hold on to the memories of the night by taking pictures and recording the show with their phones.

  She’d spent the last two hours entertaining her fans with an elaborate show that included dancers, pyrotechnics, jugglers, acrobats, and circus animals. She wasn’t a fan of all the glitz and glamour, but she wasn’t the ringmaster of this show.

  As much as she disliked the politics of her career, she hated disappointing her fans even more. “You want more?” She smiled and waved, and the audience roared. The noise gave her goose bumps up and down her arms. She signaled to the drummer, and he pounded out the intro to her next single “Beg Me.” It seemed appropriate since the audience was doing exactly that. Her dancers jumped out from the openings in the stage floor. They flanked Abby, and she gave her fans a performance they’d never forget. Sweat dripped from her face and poured down her body as she sang her last few notes. Finally, fireworks exploded around her.

  The show was over.

  “Thank you, Vegas!” she shouted. “I love you. Good night.”

  They cheered, and with one last wave, Abby moved downstage. She stopped by her guitarist, Sean Haken, and gave him a quick kiss and then ran behind the curtain to her security detail. They whisked her off to her dressing room.

  Once there, Abby sighed. The room was packed with staff, media, and random groupies, all vying for her attention. She hated this part of the night, and the high she got from the stage was lost as soon as she glanced around the room. The only thing she wanted after hours under the spotlights was a private area where she could recover. Looked like that wasn’t going to happen. Again.

  Her request for quiet never seemed to register with her mother, Vivien. All Abby needed was four walls, a door, and maybe a humidifier to keep her vocal folds healthy. But, no. Her mother insisted on a “pop star life,” so Abby was met at every venue with a private, over-the-top suite filled with unnecessary things and unnecessary people.

  This one had lavender walls and soft lighting to help “set the mood.” The floors were cappuccino-colored hardwood, and an area rug that matched the walls was placed in the center of the room. A deep-purple sofa with accent pillows took up most of the space, and two cream-colored chairs with brown piping were on either side. A square, glass coffee table held freshly cut roses in various shades of pink. A humidifier was placed discreetly behind the furniture because Abby’s mother thought such things were ugly and didn’t match the décor. No matter that it was the only necessary thing in the room for Abby.

  Her mother also insisted that lavender-scented candles in various sizes be lit at least one hour prior to their arrival, and a high-speed wireless Internet connection had to be available in the room. They were all things Abby didn’t care about, but she’d stopped trying to change her mother’s mind. Some days, though, it all made her want to run away.

  Abby scanned the room and found her assistant Sophie Corradetti. Once she made it to Sophie, she’d be in the clear from all the people and noise.

  “You killed it tonight.” Sophie gave her a quick hug and handed her a bottle of water.

  “Thanks, where’s my mom?” Abby asked as she took a quick sip. Vivien Murphy was not only Abby’s mother but also her manager.

  “Your mother bailed as usual.” Sophie gave Abby’s arm a light squeeze to take a bit of the sting out of the statement.

  “Thank God. I needed a reprieve.” That was Abby’s standard response. Logically, she should stop expecting anything different, but part of her was still a little girl seeking her mother’s approval. She took another sip of water and saw Sophie’s expression change.

  “Don’t get too excited. We might’ve dodged one annoyance, but there’s another one waiting for you. Stephanie’s heading our way. Don’t worry; I’ll save you.” She patted Abby on the back.

  “Ugh, what does that lady want from me? She’s always in my fuckin’ business.” She groaned, knowing there’s no way she could get out of talking to her.

  “Well, she is a gossip columnist. It’s kinda her job to be nosy.” Sophie laughed.

  “Not funny. You were my favorite assistant five minutes ago. Now you’re just mean.” She stuck her tongue out at Sophie.

  “What if I promise to rescue your ass in about five minutes?” She poked Abby in the arm.

  “I’d say you’ll quickly become the best assistant in the world again.”

  “Here she comes,” Sophie warned.

  “Don’t go far.”

  “I’ll be over here, keeping close watch. Five minutes, and you’ll be able to get some quiet.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Abby, sweetie! Wonderful show tonight.” Stephanie placed her hands on Abby’s arms and gave her an air kiss on either side of her face.

  “Stephanie, lovely to see you,” Abby greeted her.

  “You and Sean looked cozy up on stage. Things going well?” She asked, obviously fishing for something.

  “Yes, perfect. Sean’s amazing. I’m very lucky to have him.” Her prepared answer rolled off her tongue. If the world only knew how it really was between them.

  “Oh, that’s so good to hear.” Stephanie’s smile was cold and calculating, and it morphed into a wicked smirk in a matter of seconds. “Rumor is he was seen in a very compromising posit
ion with both a redhead and a blonde…not at the same time, of course.” Stephanie paused, and Abby knew she was waiting for her to take the bait. “I’m glad to know the rumors are wrong.”

  Abby knew exactly who the redhead was, and she knew they were just friends. Kelly West had introduced Abby to Sean. She was a New York socialite who was famous for partying. She loved seeing her name in the spotlight, but no matter how much she flirted, there was no way she was having an affair with Sean. Kelly wouldn’t betray her that way, and even Sean wouldn’t stoop that low.

  On the other hand, she had no idea about the blonde but couldn’t be bothered to react. There was always some rumor about Sean with another woman. She’d accepted long ago that some of them were probably real, whether she wanted them to be or not. This was simply another blonde, and while it added to Abby’s growing suspicion and discontent, it certainly wasn’t a rumor worth a response. She wouldn’t add her broken-hearted rage to Stephanie’s tabloid fodder.

  “Well, you can’t believe everything you hear, can you?” Abby scratched her arm and hoped Sophie caught her signal. She was done talking to Stephanie.

  “I suppose.” Stephanie gave Abby a “yeah right” look.

  “Excuse me, ladies,” Sophie interrupted. “Abby, you need to get ready for your meet and greet. Stephanie, if you’d like to do a formal interview with Abby, give me a call and I’ll set it up.”

  “Sorry, Stephanie, gotta go meet my fans.” Abby gave Stephanie a quick hug and air kiss before Sophie ushered her away.

  “Thank God that’s over.” Abby sighed. “She’s relentless about Sean.”

  “I’m sorry.” Sophie squeezed her arm and guided her through the mass of people, deftly avoiding anyone who might have wanted Abby’s attention. She loved Sophie for that.

  “By the way, you look hot, girl,” Abby said, returning their conversation to a safe-for-public topic. Since Sophie always looked hot, it was an easy segue. She scanned Sophie’s outfit to confirm it was true yet again. She wore a black shift dress with a thick white band down the middle and a square-cut neckline. To set it off, she’d selected a pair of black, sparkly four-inch platform shoes and pulled her reddish-brown hair into a bun. She was totally rocking the hot-for-teacher look. “That’s the other reason I hired you. Your fashionista sensibilities.”

  “Learned it from you. Now come on. The inner sanctum awaits.”

  Abby followed her into the private part of the dressing area and sank onto a sofa. She closed her eyes, savoring the quiet.

  Always efficient, Sophie retrieved her binder from the coffee table and took the seat opposite.

  “Okay, tonight we have a meet and greet. It starts in about an hour and a half. We also promised you’d stick around to sign autographs and take pictures. I have an outfit set aside, and Amy and John stayed behind to help you get ready. Oh, and Ms. Sohm called.”

  “She did?” Abby smiled without intending to do so. Ms. Sohm was her former teacher and de facto parental figure. She’d traveled with Abby for years and taught her everything her mother neglected. Abby loved her to bits. “Remind me to call her tomorrow.”

  “You got it.”

  Abby stood. She wanted to talk to Sean before she had to get ready for the rest of the night. She worked her way around the room, smiled, and greeted people as appropriate. Finally, she found Sean tucked in a corner, pressed up against a scantily dressed blonde with her tits hanging halfway out. Not again. The blonde giggled inanely at whatever Sean said as he ran his fingers up and down her arm.

  Abby stared; she was shocked that he’d be so blatant. Stephanie was here, for Christ’s sake. The woman lived to gossip about their love life. When she recovered enough to move, she ignored everyone else in the room and made her way toward them. She approached the pair from behind so Sean couldn’t see her.

  “Am I interrupting anything here?” she asked.

  Sean moved away from the blonde. “Baby, I was talking to…”

  “Brandi,” the blonde snapped.

  “Yeah, Brandi.” He ran his hand through his hair. “She was telling me about a club we should check out.”

  “Oh, really?” Did he know Abby at all? She was all for a night out once in awhile, but with all that was required of her, she didn’t do it often. Especially not after a show. “Too bad we don’t have time. Can I talk with you for a moment, baby?” She tried to keep her tone even, doing her best to not attract any more attention from the small group of onlookers that had inched closer. She wrapped her arm around his waist and guided him to her private dressing area.

  She double-checked to make sure the room was empty before saying, “What the fuck was that? I can’t leave you alone for more than five minutes without you trying to get into some random skank’s pants? Really?” She kept her voice low.

  “I was being nice. She came up to me and wanted to talk. What was I supposed to do? Be rude?” He ran his finger across Abby’s collarbone and looked into her eyes.

  She always had a hard time resisting his touch, because no matter what else, Sean was great with his hands. She ran her fingers through his shoulder-length, brown hair and enjoyed the way the unruly curls caught against her fingertips enough to ignore the sweat left over from being on stage.

  “Mmm. There, we’re cool, right?”

  “Fuck you, Sean. I’ve reached my limit with you. I’m sick of being made to look like a fool.”

  Sean stared at her. “I really am sorry.”

  Abby searched his face. He looked sincere, but she had no way of actually knowing. There was a time, in the beginning of their relationship, when she would’ve believed his apology, but he’d burned her too many times. When they first got together, they really were in love and not just faking it for appearances. When Kelly introduced them, they hit it off immediately. Sean was everything she thought she wanted in a man—attentive, loving, and he listened to her. They talked a lot. He was charming and persuasive. He even managed to change her mom’s mind a couple of times. In Abby’s experience, that was something that never happened.

  Now, though, his suave ways had begun to wear old, and the truth never matched up with his version of events. Lately, she was starting to think the Sean she fell in love with was never real in the first place. And everything she believed back then was a lie just like everything he said to her now. The worst part by far was, along with the loss of trust for him, she also lost trust in herself. She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to trust blindly again like she had with him.

  When he claimed the blonde was a friend and all she wanted was to tell him about a club, she knew it was bullshit, but what did that knowledge get her? She knew he was lying, and he knew she knew he was lying. Everything else was just the costumes they wore in public. She could push the issue and start an argument, but with so many people within earshot, it wasn’t worth it. Nothing would change anyway.

  “Fine,” she said, annoyed with life right now. “I have to get ready.”

  He shifted out of her way, but grabbed her hand before she could pass. “Where are you going?”

  “I have an event that my mother set up.”

  “You can’t get out of it?”

  Abby rubbed her temple and sighed, letting go of some of her anger. “I wish I could.” It wasn’t the complete truth since she liked her fans more than her boyfriend at the moment, but she said it as a gesture of forgiveness. She was stuck with Sean, so she might as well make it as pleasant as possible.

  “Um, sorry to break things up here, but you have to change now if you want to get back at a decent time.” Sophie smiled, apologetic, and Abby wondered how much she’d heard.

  “I’ll wait up. Want me to have a bath ready for you?” Sean asked.

  “That sounds nice.” Abby gave him a small smile.

  “How long are you gonna be?”

  “A couple of hours, I guess.” She looked over at Sophie.

  “I have you scheduled for two hours, but the sooner we leave, the sooner you can get bac
k to your room.”

  Abby smiled. “All right. See you later.” She headed for the bathroom.

  * * *

  Abby sagged against the elevator wall, completely exhausted from her long day. All she wanted now was the hot bath Sean had promised, followed by blissful sleep. Sophie, along with her personal security detail, Danny Nucci and Ron Miller, stepped into the elevator with her.

  “That wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been,” Sophie said.

  “Danny was lucky enough to get cornered by that woman.” Ron chuckled and pressed the buttons for their floors. “Left me to hold back all the squealing teenagers.”

  Abby fought the urge to roll her eyes. The woman was gross. She was dressed like a cheap whore. And, she was there with her daughter, not at some nightclub. She wouldn’t leave Danny alone.

  “You could’ve given me some help. She was disgusting.” He shook his head exaggeratedly.

  “She was quite fond of you.” Abby laughed to mask her real feelings.

  “Not one of you tried to intervene. I’m gonna need to shower for a week in order to get her perfume out of my nose. She reeked.”

  “Yeah, you do smell pretty,” Abby goaded.

  “I’ll remember this. Just wait,” Danny warned as the elevator door opened to Sophie’s floor.

  “Night.” Sophie gave Abby a quick peck on the cheek before she stepped off the elevator.

  “Night.” Abby waited inside the elevator with Danny. He held the door open while Ron walked Sophie to her room.

  “So, what are your plans for the rest of the night? A late night rendezvous with the smelly cougar?” Abby teased.

  “Aren’t you the funny one this evening. Well, baby doll, it’s two-thirty in the morning, so I’m thinking sleep. Why? Did you have something in mind?”

  She got lost for a minute in his deep-brown eyes that sparkled with mischief. She’d always thought he was hot, but she was caught off guard by the desire to touch his cheek, to smooth her fingertips over his dimples. This visceral reaction to Danny kept happening more and more frequently, no matter how much she tried to suppress it.