Chapter 2

She span around at the mention of her name only to come face to face with Richie Sambora, who was looking down at her. She stood star struck, staring at her favorite member of her favorite band, unable to do anything but practically drool at the vision in front of her. The first thing she focused on was the chocolaty smooth brown eyes bearing down on her, almost as if they were trying to see into her soul. Next was the long dark mane of shiny but messy hair that framed those eyes on his smiling face. She took in his smile, and found it impossible not to smile back. His arms were the next thing she noticed; they were inked on both sides and the tattoos stood out even more thanks to the finely toned muscles they were covering. Playing guitar and working out had made his arms dangerously strong and shapely and Jasmine felt the urge to give them a squeeze. She resisted that temptation and finally she was able to pull herself together and give him a nod of her head.

“Alrighty then, let’s get going,” he said taking her hand, then opening the door and escorting her inside.

At his touch, Jasmine felt a tingling sensation run the length of her arm, unaware that Richie was feeling the exact same thing. His grip on her hand tightened as he soaked in every inch of the gorgeous blonde in front of him, practically eating her up with his eyes. His gaze moved slowly from the silky creamy long blonde hair, down her slim neck and over her shapely, toned shoulders. Her skin looked sun kissed and as soft as a baby’s, and he felt the pull in his groin as he wondered just how soft it would feel on his lips. He moved his eyes further south, along the lines of her curvaceous waist and hips, across her obviously taut stomach and down her long legs that were encased in dark blue denim skinny jeans with black heels poking out underneath. Her red and black t shirt hugged her in all the right places and Richie felt his desire increase. He looked deep into her eyes as he spoke, the blueness reminding him of Jon’s yet there was something beyond the sharpness of the color that had his interest peaked. He tore his eyes away from her and opened the door of the studio.

Despite trying to stay professional, Jasmine tensed and held back as Richie led her into the studio. She was in a room with her idols and one of them had hold of her hand. Richie felt her tense and saw the look of abject terror in her eyes,

“You ok darlin’?” he asked, looking concerned.

She nodded, and took a deep breath, “I’m fine, everything’s ok. Thanks for asking though. I guess I should introduce myself properly, I’m Jasmine Moore. I assume Pete told you I was coming?”

“He did, but he neglected to say that you were a stunner when he described you as the best engineer he has met in a while.”

Jasmine blushed an embarrassing shade of crimson, which almost matched the red in her shirt. Her discomfort did not go unnoticed by Richie, or Jon.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Richie apologized, looking anywhere but at her face, scared he’d lose himself in her eyes again.

“It’s not a problem, I’m flattered. Had you said that Pete hadn’t mentioned what a troll I was, then I would have been pissed. As it is, I’ll accept your compliment and offer one of my own, you’re not half bad yourself Mr. Sambora.”

Jasmine cringed as she heard her words come out of her mouth, what on earth was she thinking flirting with Richie Sambora? ‘Very professional Jas, get a fucking grip she admonished herself.

Richie, however, cracked a laugh so deep and raw that Tico stopped hammering his drums and David cocked an eyebrow in Richie’s direction,

“Jasmine darlin’, You’re gonna fit right in with us” he said, ushering her towards the rest of the guys, who had stopped work and were watching Jasmine approach, with Richie’s hand guiding her and the tingling going through him and straight through to her insides.

Richie began to introduce her but before he could finish his first introduction, Jon jumped up from where he was sitting, reached out a hand and said, 

“You must be Jasmine, nice to meet you.  I’m Jon” 

She nodded her head saying,

“Nice to meet you Jon. Yeah, I’m Jasmine, Jasmine Moore,” she reached out her hand to shake his.

The other guys laughed at her directness and nodded their approval. They all got up from where they were sitting and greeted Jasmine, shaking her hand as they introduced themselves but each time they did so, Jasmine’s legs got increasingly more jelly-like. She tried to shake off the wobbly feeling that had come over her and tried to make her voice less shaky than it had become. She couldn’t understand why she was reacting in this way, after all she had worked with big acts before, just as famous as Bon Jovi too, but something, somehow was making her react like a star struck teenager. 

By the time Hugh took her hand and kissed it gently, Jasmine was sure she was visibly shaking and that they must think she was a jibbering wreck. She watched the men as they crowded around her, waiting for Hugh to finish so that they could get on with some work and talk Jasmine through their thinking for the record and the work they needed her to do.

Richie watched her battle with herself and smiled. He appreciated her will to stay professional but it was obvious to him that they were more than just clients to her, and he made a note to ask her about it later on. 

Jasmine pulled herself together and looked around her at the men who were looking like they were waiting for her to speak. Standing tall she looked at each of them in turn then asked,

“So, what were you guys doing before I got here? I heard some tunes coming from this direction as I came down the corridor.

David smiled and draped his arm over her shoulders. Using his other hand to point to Jon, he said, 

“Well, Boss man here was tuning up that tired voice box of his, trying to remember how to sing, Hughy was plucking a few strings on that guitar over there, and Teek was making a whole load of noise. Sambora was on the hunt for food, and I, well, I was showing off just how talented I am and showing these guys up as amateurs.” He grinned at the others who were rolling their eyes and tutting their displeasure at his antics.

“You wouldn’t know talent if it jumped up and started playing your keys, you ass” Richie shot back, winking at his friend, then back at Jasmine, who wasn’t sure whether to laugh or avoid eye contact with them all.

“Ok children, stop bickering. You’re all as devoid of talent as each other. Now give me access to this beautiful and talented young lady. After all, it IS me she’ll be working for.” Obie spoke up from behind them and held his hand out in a greeting to Jasmine.

“Hi Jasmine, I’m Obie, the only one around here with a mental age above 7. Nice to meet you, I’ve heard good things about you. You want to come and have a look at the set up at the board while these jokers set up their shit in here?”

“Hi Obie, it’s nice to meet you too. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Before Obie could drag Jasmine off to the sound board Jon walked over to them, slapped Obie on the back and said to everyone,

“Guys, since we have already stopped, why don’t we go ahead and take a break and we can all get to know Jasmine better and she can get to know us too.”

Everyone nodded and migrated towards the sofas that were arranged in a cozy corner of the room. They all found their seats, Richie making sure that he got the seat next to Jasmine, and grinned at Tico when he huffed and made a comment about getting the short straw again.

“What was that Teek? Wishing you were taller again?” he chuckled, ducking when a cushion came hurtling towards him. 

When they were all settled and the bantering had died down, Jasmine felt all eyes on her and could feel her face redden again. Richie could feel the heat emanating from her and realized that she was feeling on edge again. Feeling sorry for her and thinking it would be best to get her talking and forgetting who she was talking to he spoke up.

“Are you from here Jasmine? You don’t sound like you’re a New Yorker and you sure as hell ain’t Joisey” he said, in the strongest Jersey accent he could muster. Jasmine giggled quietly. 

She replied, “No. I’ve only recently moved here. I’m from Nashville.”

Jon’s eyes widened, “What brings you here? Nashville has a great music scene. Are you mad?”

Jasmine laughed out loud this time and shook her head. Nashville certainly did have a great music scene but it just wasn’t her type of music. She turned to Jon and smiled.

“You’re right, Nashville is brilliant for music and I’m so lucky to have had a great start there. The thing is though that country just isn’t what floats my boat. I’m a rock chick at heart and the country stuff just wasn’t doing it for me. I was happy in my job and had some fantastic experiences but I wanted to get my teeth into something more meaty. Then this job came up and I went for it.”

Richie and David smirked at each other at Jasmine’s choice of words and it wasn’t missed by Tico, who rolled his eyes at them in despair. They both responded with a gesture that Tico knew was a jibe at his height.

After a few more questions from the guys, which Jasmine happily answered and responded with a few questions of her own, Tico got up and asked,

“Who wants coffee?”

  

His answer was a resounding yes from everyone all at once; he chuckled and asked David to help him. David groaned and pouted, “But I want to talk to Jasmine”

“For fuck’s sake Dave, its only making a few damn coffees, suck it up.” Tico said, pulling him along to the coffee machine, still complaining.

They quickly returned with the coffee, not too happy at the quality of it but hoping everyone would drink it without much complaint. The conversation was boosted by the caffeine intake and everyone joined in with anecdotes and questions. They told Jasmine some stories from their childhood and early band days, which set everyone in fits of laughter at the memories and Jasmine because of the way they were told. Whilst the guys were regaling her with a story about the time they had gone to Japan and seen fish being prepared while it was still moving, Jasmine pinched herself on her arm just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Here she was talking to Bon Jovi like she had known them for years and feeling so comfortable with them. She felt something knock into her knee and realized that Richie had rested his leg against hers and had somehow managed to reach his arm around her and had his arm over her shoulder. Although she wasn’t put out by it, she hoped that it didn’t make her look like she was unprofessional. Thinking about returning to the subject of work rather than the fun subject of life on the road she straightened and stood up,

“So guys we should get to work. Obie you can show me the board if you like, and we need to talk about how you need me to help.”

Obie went to get up but Richie and Jon both said at the same time,

“Jasmine, sit. We haven’t finished talking to you.”

Jasmine sat automatically and looked at them. “What else do you want to know?”

“Well darlin’, we know you’re a southern belle and not from round here, so where are you living now? You got a place in the city?”

“No. I’d love to live in Manhattan but the rents are just so expensive. You’ll laugh when I tell you where I lived when I first got here though.” She said looking at Richie.

“Why’s that?” Tico asked in his dangerously deep drawl,

“Island set me up with an apartment in Woodbridge.” 

“No shit?” Richie answered at hearing his hometown mentioned.

“Yeah shit” Jasmine grinned at him, “Funny really because when I first found out, the place sounded familiar. It took me a while to work out it was because I’d heard you were from there.”

“How’d you hear about that?” Jon asked, already knowing the answer.

Jasmine reddened for the third time in less than 2 hours and looked at the floor. Taking a deep breath she said,

“I guess I should confess that I’m a fan of the band, and have been for a long time. I’m not one for reading all about you and knowing the ins and outs of your lives but musically I am a big fan and I guess I’ve just retained some information that I’ve heard over the years. Anyway I don’t live there now, I didn’t like it much so I commute in every day from Middletown, have kinda gotten used to Penn Station now.”

Everyone laughed at her expense and assured her that it was a good thing she was a fan. That way she would be sure to do a good job for them because she’d be working on something she would want to buy. Soon though talk turned back to work and before long Obie and Jasmine had moved towards the sound board and the others had begun tuning up their instruments. 

As she listened to Obie talk and regarded Richie as he tuned up one of his many guitars that adorned one wall of the studio Jasmine felt more relaxed and less star struck about whom she was working with. She watched Richie until he caught her looking and winked at her. Blushing yet again she turned her attention back to Obie and was soon in full work mode.

After a few hours of working on one of the songs for the album, Jon signaled that he was ready to call it quits for the day.

“That’s it guys, my stomach thinks my throat has been cut, let’s go get something to eat and start afresh tomorrow. He walked over to Jasmine and thanked her for her hard work, telling her he was glad she was on board and that they would definitely all get along. 

“Do you have plans tonight?” he asked her.

Jasmine shook her head. The only plans she had was to unpack a few more boxes, have a long hot bubble bath, a microwave meal and an early night to process what had happened today.

“Nothing exciting. I’ll probably just unpack a few more boxes.”

“Aw darlin’ well it looks like you’re sorted then. I guess there’s no point in asking you if you want to come to dinner with us?”

“Well” she smiled, “seeing as you asked so nicely how can I resist? The boxes will be disappointed but they’ll have to wait.”

“Excellent. Be ready to go in 10.” He said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

10 minutes later Richie had his arm over Jasmine’s shoulder again and led her and his friends out of the studio and down the street.