Annie took a sip of her coffee and a bite of her doughnut and laughed when Charley leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

“Really?”

She could almost feel Charley’s anxiety from across table. “So, after the concert, Lizzy, remember her?”

“Uh, yeah. She was in my office. Of course I remember her.”

“Well, she asked me if I would be interested in opening for Bristol for the rest of the tour.” Annie stood up and threw her hands up in the air.

“Shut up!” Charley stood and threw her hands up, too. “Holy shit, Annie. Holy shit!”

“I know, right?” Annie prepared herself for another bone-crushing hug. Charley didn’t disappoint and twirled her in the process. She begged Charley to stop out of embarrassment at the attention.

“What does this mean? You’re going to be on the road with her, with the tour?” Charley asked.

“This means I won’t be here for open-mic night,” Annie said.

“I’m sure once people find out, they’ll be fine. I’ll still have it.” Charley was all smiles, and it was hard for Annie not to soak in Charley’s happiness for her.

“That would be wonderful.”

“If you give me your sign-on info, I can step in as hostess. I mean, it won’t be the same, but at least locals will still get the online presence.”

“That’s even better.” She texted her login information and promised to check in with Charley.

After two more hugs, Annie left the coffee shop and walked three blocks to her lawyer’s office. She’d forwarded the contract the minute she got it. Her lawyer, Dani Grant, had cleared her lunch hour to review the contract and meet with Annie.

“Please have a seat, Annie. I’ll let Dani know you’re here.” The receptionist was attractive and friendly and always kind to Annie. She didn’t frequent her lawyer’s office, but the administrative assistants always knew her name. “Thank you.” She only had to wait a minute before Dani rounded the corner to greet her.

“It’s nice to see you, Annie. Come on back.”

Dani was stunning. Ice-blond hair and no-nonsense professionalism that Annie admired. She was a nervous talker, whereas Dani seemed to calculate the importance of every word. They never discussed personal lives or made small talk. Time was money, and Dani was entirely too busy for unnecessary words. Annie followed her, eager to find out if the contract was good or if Dani red-marked it. Dani pointed to a small table in her office.

“Have a seat.”

Annie obliged. “What do you think of the contract?”

“I had our entertainment lawyer review it, and we think it’s solid. We made only one change. The contract says you can’t record from stage, but they probably don’t realize that you make a living from your online tip jar. Taking that away from you is taking away your livelihood.”