| Chapter 10: Victory is Mine Parc Studios, Orlando, Florida Bianca was at the controls while Lauralee and Elizabeth were in the recording booth. This was it; the last song was being recorded that day. They had spent the past week in the recording studio, pushing 10-hour shifts. They had a deadline to meet, and they were cutting it close. The last master tape had to be sent to Sony that night. The song was called “Break Away,” and it was a song the girls had written together. It was very personal, for it was about letting go of grief and moving on with their lives. They had written it when they first went to the Bahamas to begin recording in March. They had to clean it up, and wanted it to be the strongest song on the album. Lauralee and Elizabeth had finished the last note, as Bianca called them in to the mixing room. “Looks like it’s done,” Bianca said as she rewound the tape. “Think it came out alright? I felt I had lost something in the second part,” Lauralee leaned on the board. “Always the perfectionist,” Elizabeth laughed. “It came out great.” “Alright girls, let’s finish this puppy up,” Laura sat at the board. A few hours later, the last note was edited. “So is that it?” Elizabeth asked. “That’s it,” Lauralee sighed. She looked at the others. A collectable scream was shared. “Done! Finally!” Bianca jumped into the air. “I know,” Laura smiled. “This calls for a toast.” Laura went into her bag and pulled out a bottle of champagne with four glasses. “Where did you get that?” Lauralee smiled. Laura popped open the champagne and poured it into the glasses. “Brought it in today just for the occasion.” She passed out the glasses. “So who shall toast?” “Go ahead Lau,” Elizabeth said as she took her glass. “OK,” Lauralee sighed. “Well,” she looked at the girls, “I guess this shows how friendship can overcome anything. A year ago, I didn’t think that this group would stay together. But I was wrong. We managed to overcome sorrow, and replaced it with joy. We overcame boundaries and replaced it with unity. We overcame fear and replaced it with triumph. Veronica wouldn’t be prouder of us. So to victory and Veronica!” “Victory and Veronica!” the girls cheered tearfully as they touched glasses. They shared a group hug as the tears began to flow even more. ~*~ Lauralee sat at the lounge chair by her pool, petting Angel’s belly with one hand, a glass of lemonade in the other, as she tried to bask in the Florida sunlight. Now that the album was finished, she had some downtime for a few weeks until Laura and Kevin’s wedding. She spent the morning at the Vera Wang boutique in downtown Orlando, getting fitted for their dresses. Lauralee was the maid of honor; Bianca and Elizabeth were bridesmaids as well as some other friends of Laura’s. The dresses turned out to be stunning—light periwinkle in brushed silk with a fitted bodice, straight skirt with a slit up the back. Laura’s dress was gorgeous. She tried it on and gave the girls an exclusive fashion show. Lauralee was relaxing in the warmth of the sun when she heard the telephone rang. She bent down and picked it up. “Hello?” “Miss Deverson?” “Yes?” “This is Chad Robson.” Lauralee sat up in the chair. “Hello Chad.” “I’m calling to give you progress on your case. It turns out I will be flying into Florida tonight for a convention. Would you like to have a meeting tomorrow morning?” “Of course. Why don’t you meet me at my nightclub, Club Passaro? It’s on Main Avenue in Orlando.” “Around 10?” “I’ll be waiting.” “See you then.” “Goodbye.” Just as Lauralee hung up the phone, she heard it ring again. She picked it up. “Hello?” “Hi sweetie!” “Hi Mom! How are you?” “I’m doing fine. How does it feel to finish the album?” “One major event done, one to go. How’s Grandma? Aunt Charlene?” “Grandma’s active as ever. Charlene and Dominic are absolutely excited about coming to Florida to see you. That’s all Dom can talk about.” Lauralee laughed. She was excited to see them too. They were coming down the week before the wedding so that they could do some sightseeing. She was making good on a promise Lauralee made to Dominic last year about taking him to Disneyworld. “Well, tell him to keep some of his energy for here,” Lauralee laughed. “Jerry says hi by the way,” Sandy said. Lauralee winced. “Yeah, tell him I said hi back. How are things going with you two?” “I don’t know how to say this… but… we’re in love!” Lauralee felt as if she had been slapped in the face. She tried to regain her breath. “Oh… you… don’t say.” “He just blurted it out to me. I feel like I’m whole again. He’s the most wonderful man I’ve ever met. I haven’t been this happy in years!” The tears stung Lauralee’s eyes. “Oh… uh… Mom…” “And who knows, maybe you will have to fulfill your duties as maid of honor once again.” The laughter that rang from Sandy’s voice on the phone felt like a knife to Lauralee’s chest. “Yeah, maybe. Listen I have to go. I’ll talk to you soon.” “OK honey. I love you.” “I love you too. Bye.” Lauralee hung up the cordless phone and closed her eyes. The tears that welled up in her eyes now flowed freely. “Let’s just see, Mom. Let’s just see.” ~*~ Lauralee paced the floor, anxiously awaiting Chad Robson to give her any news on Jerry. Promptly at 10, she heard a knock on the double doors. She went to the door and answered it. A man stood there clad in a black suit. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties, about 6’1”, with brown hair and piercing eyes to match. “You must be Lauralee. I recognize you already,” he smiled as he extended his hand. “Chad Robson from Robson and Young.” Lauralee shook the man’s hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Please come in.” Lauralee let Chad inside and led him to her office. “May I offer you a drink? Coffee perhaps?” “That would be nice. Black, please,” Chad settled into the chair as Lauralee poured him and her a cup of coffee. She brought the cups to the desk as she sat behind it. “So, how are you enjoying Florida so far?” “It’s nice, though I enjoy New York City much better. I only come here for work purposes.” “I really appreciate you coming down here, as well as taking this on. Riley said you were one of the best.” Chad took out a thick envelope from his briefcase. “I’ve done a lot of work with him. Keep low and silent; that’s how you get the information. So, this is what I’ve found out.” He took out the contents of the envelope. “Wow,” Lauralee leaned her arms on the desk. “So much information.” “He was pretty easy to track. OK, here’s what I’ve come up with. Jerry Patrick Robbins, born March 22, 1950 in Brooklyn, New York. Middle child of four. He has two brothers and a sister. He attended NYU and graduated with honors, then graduated from John Jay with a degree in law. Passed the bar the first time. Opened his own law practice in 1996, specializing in entertainment cases.” “He told me he did corporate law,” Lauralee said. “So he must do a lot with record companies and such. Has he done anything with Sony Music?” Chad leafed through one of the folders. “Let’s see… yes in fact he has. Dealt with pro-bono work in 1999.” “1999… that’s when we were signed. Do you have a list of things he did there?” “It seemed he wrote a lot of the record contracts. Made sure they were legit.” “So there’s a good chance that he could have written ours?” “Quite possibly.” “OK, what else you got? Personal information I mean.” “He was married in 1979 to Maria Collins, a woman he worked with in his first law firm. They divorced in 1990, due to irreconcilable differences. But here’s the story that I found out.” “Do tell.” “From my findings, that’s not the real reason they broke up. Do you know what he has said?” “From what I understand, he wanted children, but his ex didn’t.” “Hmm, it seems that he had an extra-marital affair with a woman. She was younger, in her mid-twenties. Apparently she was pregnant with his child.” Lauralee’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding? He told my mother that he didn’t have any kids.” “That’s all that I have so far. As of now he’s dating Sandra Deverson.” Lauralee nodded. “That’s my mother. Which is also the reason I had him checked out. OK, is there anything to trace the whereabouts of his child or the woman?” “I can try.” “Great, that’s your angle,” Lauralee took out a check and handed it to Chad. “Here’s for the work so far. Do whatever you can to find out what else happened. And soon.” Chad stood up. “I will do that. It was nice to meet you finally Lauralee.” He shook Lauralee’s hand. “Nice to meet you too,” Lauralee walked him to the back door. “And thank you again.” Chad closed the door behind him as Lauralee headed to her desk. She picked up the file and examined it closely, her eyes turning into stern slits. “Try to get past my mother, huh Jerry? Well, you messed with the wrong daughter.” Chapter 11 Contents Chapter 9 |