The opening night of the Triple Threat Tour was an event like no other. The Toyota Center in Houston was a compete sellout as Beyonce', Rhianna & Tigress rocked the house. Chris and I were furnished with special badges and uniforms that clearly made us standout from everyone else on the staff. Chuck was in all his glory.
The tour now made its way to Dallas, and Rhianna was as sexy as ever. She had a new band that gave her a much tougher sound, and she had thrown several classic rock songs into her show like Free's "All Right Now" the Rolling Stones "If You Can't Rock Me" and "Street Fighting Man", cleverly changing the words to "..'cause in sleepy Dallas town there's just no place for a street fighting man." getting a rousing response from the crowd. I was snapping my pictures as usual but really enjoying the show. I couldn't help but think of all the shows I'd been to long ago where I wished I'd had a camera and carte' blanche' photo privileges like we did now. Especially when Rhianna shot several glances at me during the show when she sang "All Right Now" and changed the words to "baby, he's alright now" looking directly at me with the requisite smile she was famous for. Or in "If You Can't Rock Me" saying that "he's got a hard-on and it hurts like hell, if HE can't rock me, somebody else will." The crowd thought she was smiling at them, and in a way, she was. But I knew who those smiles were really for!
Backstage was like an exclusive club. There were more celebs there than we'd ever seen. Not just from the music world, but the sports world as well. Members of the Dallas Cowboys showed up, among them Tony Romo and his girlfriend, Jessica Simpson. Jessica was stunningly beautiful, I'd obviously seen her photos elsewhere but they really didn't do her justice. She had thick cascading blonde hair that was accented by her dark eyes and curves both top and bottom. That night she had on a tan suede jacket, tight jeans and cowboy boots. She looked fabulous. Tony, on the other hand looked like he wanted to be anywhere but this show. He had a generally grumpy attitude the whole time, and Jess was clearly aggravated by it. I could see her pulling him aside and trying to get him to lighten up. But he wanted none of it. He gravitated toward his teammates who seemed eager to go party on their own. Finally, she looked around and he was gone.
"That son of a bitch! He left! He fuckin' left me here!" she screamed.
Jessica didn't seem to have any assistants with her. It seemed like she and I were the only ones in the room.
She whipped out her cellphone and immediately started dialing numbers, but none seemed to work given the reception.
"You! Do you work here?" she angrily said to me.
"Uh, I'm with the tour staff, but I.." I started.
"Fine! I need a ride home, that sonofabitch left me here!"
"Uh, I'm not sure how I can help, I don't have a car here...uh, wait a minute. Wait right here." I quickly said.
I ran out of the backstage reception room and desperately looked for Chuck. Luckily he was popping champagne with Amy Adamson, Rhianna's record company contact. With them was a well dressed man I didn't recognize.
"Chuck! I need a huge favor right now!" I said breathlessly.
"Hey, hey, chill, dude. What's up?" he asked.
"I need a car to drive someone home. Didn't you say Mercedes keeps some on call at events like this?" I said.
"We do. Why? Do you need one?" said the well dressed man in a clipped accent that clearly showed he wasn't from Texas.
"Yes, um, would you believe me if I said Jessica Simpson needs a ride home?" I asked sheepishly, I knew I was setting myself up for failure here.
"Yes, I would. Considering the fact she's standing right beside you." Said the well dressed man.
I turned and there she was.
"Hey, Mike! I'm glad to see you here. Think you can help me out? Tony dumped me here." Jessica explained.
"Of course! Come with me." He said.
We followed "Mike, the well dressed man" to a private underground garage where 3 Mercedes sedans sat. Mike handed me a set of keys.
"Deliver the car to the address on the key ring in the morning. Take good care of your passenger, she's one of our best customers." He said in a business-like tone of voice.
Just like that, Mike walked away, leaving me in a vast garage with the keys to a shimmering Mercedes.
"Uh, don't you want to know who you're giving this car to?" I asked, dumbfounded, my voice echoing off the walls.
"I know who you are. You were at my party in Houston." Mike said calmly.
"Let's go!" Jessica said sternly as she got into the passenger seat and slammed the door.
I quickly got behind the wheel and started the big Benz up. It came to life with a quiet whir. The silence inside was deafening as we drove out of the garage and away from the Arena. Jessica looked out the window as we entered traffic.
"Um, could I ask where we're supposed to go? I've never been here before." I said hesitantly.
"Just keep going straight, the highway's up ahead." She said without looking at me.
"Okay, um, I guess you know that Mike guy?" I asked, still unsure of myself.
"Yeah, he's like a regional director or something in Houston." She answered.
"For Mercedes?"
"Right, he bought that house that looks like the one on 'Dallas'."
Oh yes, I knew that place quite well!
"Oh, right. I read about that place." I said.
The Benz smoothly entered the highway.
"What's your name anyway?" she asked while gazing out the window.
"Jim."
"Where are you from?" she quietly asked.
"Oh, Connecticut originally, but I live in LA now. My friend runs the company doing the tour photos."
"You've never been here before?" she asked.
"No, never had the pleasure." I replied.
"Take the exit here." She quietly directed.
The Benz exited onto a darkened side road with a few houses here and there.
"My place is up the road." She said.
I was still trying to compute how this evening had suddenly changed. We soon came upon the entrance to a gated housing area.
"Turn in here." She said.
There was a guard booth at the entrance with a uniformed man inside. He poked his head out the door.
"Hi, Billy, I'm just coming home." Jessica said from the passenger seat.
"Billy" nodded and the gate opened.
"Keep going straight." Jessica directed.
The houses were quite extravagant, some were lit up, but most were dark. Jessica told me to turn into one particular house hidden by thick bushes. At the top of a curving driveway I could see a white Mercedes convertible and a Ford pickup.
