Read Online Everything by Melissa Pearl - Free Book Online Page A

receptive and listened intently. From what I could tell, she’d been following through on everything. I hadn’t had to chase her up and I knew this, because I hadn’t seen her in over a week.
    I’d been stuck at my piano while inspiration flowed through me like water. It struck the day I saw her singing in the kitchen, her arms spread wide with that blissful expression on her face. She was my nightingale, my muse, and that one image of her singing about starting over and taking a leap sparked an idea so potent I hadn’t been able to escape it. Because of her, I had the start to my musical. Lyrics and compositions had been pouring out of me as I worked through Act I, confident I was onto something good.
    I cleared my throat and sang the first line of “I Want The World,” my voice dipping and rising over the notes. The melody was like a roller-coaster ride, but it suited the piece. The main character’s emotions were all over the place as fear and trepidation battled it out with an excitement so strong and liberating she felt like she could fly.
    My nose wrinkled as I played the next note.
    “That’s not going to work, mate,” I mumbled to myself, leaning forward with my eraser and rubbing out my messy notes on the upper staff. Yes, I was old school. I liked to compose Mozart style and transfer my work to digital after it was done. It took longer, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let technology hamper my creative flow.
    I fiddled with the melody until I found that sweet note, matched with the perfect minor chord to let it really soar. Whoever sang that line would hold it steady, drawing in the audience with a sound that would hopefully make their spirits rise.
    I could picture Jody on the stage, a yellow spotlight surrounding her as she sang about chasing down every single one of her dreams.
    I played the line again, trying not to let the image force me into a mistake. It was pretty bloody distracting, that’s for sure. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Clearing my throat yet again, I went for it.
    My long note was cut short by the ringing phone.
    I swore and stood from the stool, hating the interruption. But when I saw the number, I couldn’t help a grin. Godfather Bobby.
    “Hey, mate, how’s it going?”
    “Pretty good, son. I was just ringing to check in on your new employee.”
    “She’s doing great.” I shrugged, hoping I was right. This conversation was reminding me that Bobby had asked me to do weekly check-ins during the trial period. I’d been too distracted and totally forgotten. No tenants had complained, so I figured everything was running smoothly.
    “How’d her last check-in go?”
    “Really well,” I lied. “She’s a good little cleaner. Ms. Thornby hasn’t complained at all.”
    “Wow! That’s impressive.”
    I chuckled. “Tell me about it.”
    “She remembering to record any financial stuff and keep a written record of everything?”
    “You betchya.” Another lie. I really had no idea and needed to follow-up on that.
    “And she’s coping okay with looking after her baby and staying on top of the workload?”
    “Seems to be doing just fine.”
    “Well, that’s good news. I’m gonna swing by next week and have a chat with her, make sure she’s still enjoying the job.”
    “She is, mate. You don’t need to worry.”
    “Okay. That’s cool. Listen, before you go, I’ve had something come up and I thought of you.”
    “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
    “A friend of mine is selling off an old, run-down theater close to you guys. It’s been out of action for over a decade, and I want to help him out, so I’ve offered to buy it. I was wondering if you’d be interested in resurrecting it for me.”
    My eyebrows rose.
    “I mean, it’d be no Broadway or anything, more like a cute little local theater. You could put on a couple of productions a year, draw a small a crowd. Heck, you could even use students who are studying acting so you wouldn’t have to pay them