The Gift Read Free Page A

again. And how that was even possible through silence he wasn't going to try and figure out. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
    "Which part? The Sunday or the travel?"
    He laughed, a high-pitched, nervous sound. "I guess both?"
    Diana replied in kind, her chuckles bouncing over the phone line like a little rubber ball. "I'm playing with you, August. You got the job!"
    August didn't even try to find a chair. He sat down on the floor. Hard. "I—I did? Thanks. I guess …"
    Another laugh. "You guess? Come on, August! I was expecting a little more drama at least."
    "Sorry," he struggled to speak through a throat that was suddenly dry, "I'm not much of a drama person."
    "Good. Seriously. I can't even tell you how grateful I am for that fact," Diana said. "Congratulations, August. I look forward to working with you. But to get back to my previous question, Doren really does need you to travel on Sunday if you're interested in the job. Is that going to be too soon for you? Will you be able to pull it off?"
    August had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Sorry, he thought, I'll have to try and fit it around my really busy schedule of doing … oh, that's right, nothing. I have no life. "I think I'll be okay. But, you mean he really does expect me to travel with him? Doesn't it make more sense to be working from the office?"
    "Nope." Diana's voice was firm. "That's not the kind of assistant Doren is looking for. We already have lots of office staff. Doren wants someone to be there when he needs something, kind of a go-boy, if you know what I mean. He runs into a lot of issues on the road and he needs someone there to respond, review, and correct things immediately. He needs someone to be there for him and him alone. Not planning the tour or arranging marketing, or whatever people seem to get sucked into doing when they're here at the office. Which is one of the reasons why, as we discussed at the interview, that you will be working for Doren directly and not for the label. Are you comfortable with that, August? Because if you're not, you need to tell me now, before you start. I don't need to be stuck trying to make arrangements home for a suddenly unimpressed assistant around everything else we'll be trying to do."
    August blinked hard, and then frowned. "Yes, that's fine. Shall I meet you at the studio on Sunday or what?"
    "We'll send the bus for you. I have your address here and it looks pretty simple to find. Can you be out front of the building around seven?"
    "Absolutely," August nodded pointlessly. "See you Sunday."
    "Wait!" Diana laughed, and August had to bring the phone back to his ear. "Don't you want to know how long you're going for? Or what your salary will be?"
    Oh, God, August frowned at himself, keeping the moan of self-disgust inside his head. What was wrong with him? What had happened to his calm level-headedness? His self-control? He took another breath and forced himself to act his age. "Of course. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little frazzled at the good news. Please, go ahead."
    There were too many details for August to remember them all. A comfortable salary, that would help, and they'd be gone for a while—at least six weeks, maybe twelve. But the more things Diana told him, the more things he tried to cram into his skull, the more they seemed to slip out of his ears and fall to the floor, lost forever. At the end of the call August wasn't convinced he'd be able to tell his own mother when his first payday was. Or even what their first stop was, for that matter.
    "Oh, and August?" Diana said finally. "I was asked by Doren to tell you something of the utmost importance."
    Just the mention of Doren's name brought new swirls of panic to August's stomach. He gripped the receiver, anxious to hear the words that had come directly from Doren's lips and for him alone. "Yes?"
    "He said, and I quote 'Tell him to dress casual. This is rock and roll, not accounting. Get rid of that cursed suit.'" Diana paused, gauging