Jacob's Ladder:Gabe(31)

"Hmm, I think both visual and physical contact would be necessary for me to do a thorough investigation."

"I see. I'd be happy to oblige."

Grinning, I said, "I'm sure you would."

Just as Gabe dipped his head to kiss me, his phone dinged. When he glanced at it, he took my hand. "Come on, we gotta hurry. Eli is asking where we are."

"Great. Not only am I going to be crashing your session with the label, I'm also the reason you're late," I protested as Gabe dragged me over to the elevators.

"Once again, I don't give a shit."

"You've really got to work on your professional attitude."

Gabe laughed as he punched the up button. "Trust me, the minute they hear the songs I've brought them, they'll forget all about me being a little late."

"And bringing some random chick."

"You're not a random chick to me. You're Reagan Hart, miracle muse."

I grinned at his summation. "Let's just see if the record execs think the same thing."

The elevator dinged on our floor, and we stepped out into the lobby.

A beautiful blonde practically leapt at us. "There you are. We thought you might be stuck in traffic since the Falcons are playing today."

"Sorry. It took a little longer to pack up and get here than I thought." Gabe glanced over at me. "I'd like to introduce you to someone. Abby, this is Reagan Hart."

When Abby turned away from her brother to focus her curious gaze, I could see the questions rolling in her blue eyes. Since my name didn't seem completely foreign to her, I assumed Gabe had mentioned me, but from the extreme surprise on her face, I didn't think she'd expected to see me in person. After recovering from what I imagined was intense shock at my presence, Abby extended her hand. "It's so nice to meet you, Reagan."

"Actually, it's Rae, but thank you. It's very nice to meet you, too. Gabe has told me a lot about you."

"Oh he has?"

"Yes."

Abby grinned while eyeing her brother. "I hope it was all good."

I laughed. "Yes. It was all very complimentary."

"Phew, that's a load off my mind. I've heard very good things about you as well. Gabe told us how wonderful you've been for him creatively."

"Although I still don't quite understand his process, I'm really glad I could help."

Motioning with his hand, Gabe said, "We better go. From his text, Eli's inside keeping the execs company, and God knows what he's saying to them left to his own devices."
                       
       
           



       
I followed Abby and Gabe through the lobby's heavy oak door, and a long hallway stretched out in front of us with different rooms on the left side. When I peered inside, I could see a small sound booth in each one. "This is where a lot of voiceover work is done," Gabe explained.

"This is amazing," I murmured. Even though I wanted to play it cool like I hung around recording studios every day, I was sure the mesmerized look on my face told the truth.

Gabe opened the door to a large office. When we walked inside, I saw three men and a woman sitting around a glass-top table. At our appearance, they rose from their chairs, and it took less than a second for me to spot Eli. As he strode over to us, it was like looking straight at Gabe.

"Glad to see you could finally bless us with your presence, bro," Eli said teasingly.

"Why don't you get off my dick?" Gabe shot back with a grin.

While the two of them hugged, I oh so eloquently remarked, "Wow, you two really are twins."

"Didn't Gabe tell you we're identical?" Eli asked.

"He mentioned it." I shook my head. "But it's not the same as seeing the two of you side by side."

"There are some small differences between us when you look really hard," Gabe said.

Eli winked at me. "Don't tell her that. If she looks too hard, she'll realize I'm the better-looking twin."

While I laughed, Gabe gave his brother a playful smack on the arm. "Keep dreaming, bro."

One of the men cleared his throat. "If you guys are ready, we'd love to hear what you have for us."

With a forceful nod of his head, Gabe replied, "We're ready, Pierce."

"Should I wait out in the lobby?" I whispered.

"If you went back to the lobby, you wouldn't be able to hear the songs." He stared intently into my eyes. "I want you to hear what you inspired."

His words sent my heartbeat accelerating, and I found myself unable to respond with anything other than, "Okay."

Taking my hand in his, Gabe led me over to a smaller room. Inside was what I assumed was the sound booth. The record execs had already taken a seat on the couches and chairs to the side. Instead of steering me over to them, Gabe took the extra chair and pulled it up beside the guy manning the soundboard. "Hey Johnny, how are you?"

"Doing pretty good. How about you?"

"Pretty good. This is Rae."

As I waved, Johnny said, "I'll take good care of her while I'm making you guys sound good."

Gabe laughed. "You do that."

After I sat down, Gabe kissed my cheek. "I'll see you in a bit."

I nodded. Since I didn't know exactly what to say to wish good luck to musicians, I said, "Break a leg."

With a grin, Gabe replied, "If I do that, I can't play the drums, and we're screwed."

"Whatever. You know what I mean."

"I do, and I appreciate it."

He then hurried out of the room and into the recording booth to join Eli and Abby. Since they weren't actually recording, he would be playing guitar instead of his usual drums. He handed the sheets of music to his bandmates, and they spent the next few minutes warming up and harmonizing a bit. Apparently, over the last week, he'd faxed them the songs he had been writing, and they'd even rehearsed once over FaceTime.

When their voices and instruments were once again silent, Gabe glanced through the soundproof glass to the execs. "I think this is the single we should lead with on the album."

He and Eli began strumming the opening of a slow song. During the time we'd spent together, Gabe had educated me enough about music that I knew to call it a ballad. Abby's beautiful voice filled the booth, and as her hand gripped the lyric sheet in front of her, her expression changed to reflect the emotions she was emitting through the song.

Trapped inside these walls,

I made a prison all my own

As I listened to the words, it amazed me how differently they sounded coming from Abby and not Gabe. Although his sister had a much better vocal range, I still preferred Gabe's singing. Maybe it was the rough, masculine quality of his voice that spoke to me both emotionally and physically.

Closing my eyes, I imagined myself back in that room with Gabe … the way the sunlight streamed in through the windows, basking him in an almost angelic light … the way his voice delivered the range of emotions the lyrics contained.

When the song ended, I popped my eyelids. My thought process immediately went from listening to the song to wondering what the execs thought. Glancing over my shoulder, I surveyed their expressions. When I saw that they appeared to be very satisfied, I exhaled the breath I'd been holding.                       
       
           



       

A tall, lanky man, who was the definition of California cool, stood up and came over to the soundboard. After holding down a button, he said, "I know we still have a lot to hear from you guys, but I'm really feeling that one as the first single, too. I should know by now to trust your judgement."

Gabe grinned. "Glad to hear it." Turning to his siblings, he said, "I'd really love to call the album Ray of Light."

"Works for me," Eli replied. He then gazed out of the sound booth at me and winked. I couldn't help smiling back at him.

"Abs?" Gabe asked.

Abby bobbed her head enthusiastically. "Not only do I love the song, I love the message the title would convey for the album."

A pleased expression came over Gabe's face before he glanced out at Pierce. "Then Ray of Light it is."

Pierce nodded. "I agree with Abby on liking the message." After the other execs murmured in agreement, Pierce said, "All right. What else do you have for us?"

"Two more ballads and then three upbeats."

"Okay. Take it away again."

As Gabe and his siblings played through the rest of the songs, I remained on the edge of my seat. I knew I was witnessing something special. I mean, how many people could say they'd seen the inception of a band's new album? I couldn't help feeling honored considering what an intimate moment it seemed to be for the band. Sure, they had an audience of execs, but there was something very pure about the process. It was three artists uniting to weave together the many pieces of a song.

After they played each song, I held my breath for Pierce's opinion. It felt like I was watching an episode of American Idol and waiting for the yes or no from each judge. Maybe it was because Pierce's British accent made me think of Simon Cowell.