and calm me down. I headed inside to check my bags, got my boarding pass reasonably quickly, and after a short wait at the gate, everyone boarded the plane and it took off. So much was riding on the outcomes of this trip!
The flight was long, and although being in first class helped immensely, I was still stiff and tired when the plane touched down at LAX. I checked the time on my phone while waiting to disembark, and saw we were running behind schedule. I would have less than an hour at the hotel before another driver was scheduled to take me to the meeting.
A man in a suit held up a sign with my name when I got to the baggage claim section. He had a short, but polite conversation with me as he whisked me away in his limo. I could barely focus on what he was saying. I was in Los Angeles and had a date with destiny! The driver got me to my hotel and I checked in. I needed all the time I could get, to be ready for this face-to-face meeting. I headed up the elevator to the fourteenth floor to find my room.
I gasped when I stepped into my suite. It was expansive and brightly lit, with elegant, contemporary furniture and a sweeping view of downtown LA. One thing instantly took my breath away. There was a gorgeous flower arrangement sitting on the night table beside the king-size bed when I walked into the bedroom. The card inside it said, “ Welcome to LA, Amanda. From JQV .” They had to be for this Johnny guy I was meeting. Only my manager knew I was here, and I knew no one else with those initials. The flowers were wrapped as if they had come from a shop, not just placed there by the hotel staff as part of any welcome package. They seemed more personal somehow, and had my favorites sprinkled throughout—white hydrangea.
I set down my bags and walked over to the flowers to breathe in the scents. I wished I had more time to appreciate them. Taking one more whiff, I went to the bathroom to touch up my makeup and refasten my ponytail. I had barely finished when the room phone rang. It was the front desk, calling to let me know my ride was waiting. Where did the time go? I hurried downstairs and met yet another driver, this one just as formal and polite as the last.
I was relieved he had the radio on. I focused on the scenery outside and the music, instead of the anxiety flooding my veins. I mentally rehearsed my pitch. We were getting closer. I looked out the window as we turned onto a winding uphill road. I caught my first glimpse of the massive houses that speckled the hillside, and reminded myself to breathe. That nervous pit in my stomach grew by the second.
When the car came to a stop, I couldn’t see a house. There was just a gate and a long driveway. The driver rolled down his window and tapped his entry code into a small black console I hadn’t seen at first. The gate opened slowly. The nervousness was spreading through my body now, and traveled down to my feet, which tapped the floorboard underneath me.
“Get it together, Baker,” I whispered to myself.
When the house at the end of the quarter-mile long driveway came into view, I was hypnotized. It was gigantic. A massive, beautiful mansion, and strangely, not the type of house I imagined a single, young, hip rock star would live in. I had pictured something more contemporary and edgy. This home had the classic feel of a sprawling Italian estate, complete with lush landscaping, a striking fountain at the front, and a brick treatment on the driveway that felt smooth under the car, but looked identical to cobblestone.
The car came to a stop at the wide front steps. The driver hopped out and opened my door. I thanked him as I stepped out, and when I looked back toward the house, a man was standing at the top of the steps. I climbed the stairs with my bags, smiling as I approached him.
“Hello, Ms. Baker,” the man said. “I’m Kevin Willis. We spoke on the phone.” He extending his arm and we shook hands.
“Hello Mr. Willis. Please, call me