Kiss in the Dark by Miranda Forbes

Author:Miranda Forbes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Xcite Books
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

After the Show

by Elizabeth Coldwell

‘A kiss in the dark is the sweetest sensation,

That feeling of bliss as your lips meet mine ...’

No matter how many times she heard it, Hayley knew she would never tire of the song. It was the moment when an entire auditorium stilled, as Talia seated herself at the baby grand piano which had been placed centre stage and began to play. With no other accompaniment her voice, sweet as syrup, sensual as a naked caress, wrapped itself around the yearning lyrics. The crowd, almost as one, held up their mobile phones, lit screens blazing like electronic candles, and gave themselves over to the beauty of the words and Talia’s unique interpretation of them. Man and woman alike, they seemed in thrall to the raw yet strangely vulnerable sexuality the singer exuded on stage.

Hayley watched from the side of the stage. Even though she was enjoying the performance, part of her mind was on the timing of the set, as it always was. After Kiss In The Dark, Talia would finish the encore with Farewell Manhattan, then stand for the best part of a minute milking the applause before the lights went down. By the time they came on again, joined by those in the main body of the auditorium to signal to the crowd the concert was most definitely over, Talia would expect Hayley to have wrapped her in a fresh white silk robe and be leading her back to the sanctity of her dressing room.

The robe, perfumed delicately with Chanel No 5, Talia’s signature fragrance, was draped neatly over Hayley’s arm. She ran a mental check, making sure that when the singer returned to her dressing room everything would be to her exact specifications. Mountain spring water at room temperature stood ready to be poured into a glass containing precisely three ice cubes and a slice of lime. A bottle of Moët et Chandon champagne – the rare and increasingly hard to obtain 1984 vintage, naturally – was chilling in an ice bucket. A selection of vegetarian nibbles had been prepared by Talia’s personal chef, though Hayley doubted she would do more than pick at them. After a concert, she usually had other appetites to satisfy; and, as ever, Hayley would be required to help her fulfil them.

If she had known just how much would be demanded in her role as personal assistant, would she have taken the job in the first place? It was a question Hayley often asked herself, and as yet she had never found a satisfactory answer. There was undeniably a certain cachet which came with working for a woman so universally famous she was referred to only by her first name, but all those who envied Hayley for her glamorous position might change their mind if they knew just what her boss regularly demanded of her.

She had been perfectly prepared to accommodate any number of diva-ish demands, whether that was ensuring every hotel bed Talia slept in was made

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