The Billionaire Band Director

Chapter 15

    Martha woke up to a text from Landry.  She liked that.  She knew most guys waited to contact a girl after a date, if they contacted her at all.  Martha thought that was stupid and she was glad Landry did not adhere to that practice.

    “Just wanted to make sure you’re ok,” he wrote.

    Martha smacked herself in the head.  It was not the kind of text she wanted, but what could she expect with the way she acted?  Everything was going well until she panicked and fell out of his car.  It was not exactly the image she wanted to leave him with.

    “I’m fine,” wrote Martha.  “Thank you for a lovely evening.”

    That’ll work, she thought.  It refocused the conversation back on the rest of the night, which really had been lovely in Martha’s opinion.  It also had a slight hint of finality in it.  It did not hint at any expectation of a repeat engagement.  That way, if her rushed tumble from his car had changed his mind about any sort of future dates, it wouldn’t seem like she’d expected anything.

    Martha looked at the time on her phone.  9 am.  Later than she usually woke up, but still plenty of time to get ready for brunch with Betsy.

    Betsy had been asking Martha to meet up since the day Martha got the job, but Martha had felt too busy.  She had classes to plan and a teenager to prepare for the first day of high school.  Plus, she was still not sure how she felt about Betsy.  Betsy had been nothing but kind to her since she arrived, in that semi-artificial New England country club way, but that didn’t erase 25 years of silence.  Why was Betsy so desperate to spend time together now?

    When Martha kept putting off Betsy, Betsy called Josie.  Martha had not realized that they had exchanged numbers on the shopping trip, and she was not thrilled about it.  Josie, who did not harbor a lifetime of resentment towards Betsy, arranged the brunch.  That left Martha with two options: leave Josie to get close to Betsy alone, or go to brunch.  Martha chose brunch.

    After a quick shower, Martha looked in her closet for something brunch appropriate.  She knew she should wear something Betsy had bought her, and she quickly settled on a pink chiffon dress.  Coming downstairs, she saw that Josie had also dressed in a Betsy special, a light blue dress with cap sleeves.

    Betsy’s town car pulled in to the driveway promptly at 10:45, as scheduled.  Martha and Josie got in and the car pulled away from the house.

    “Oh my darlings, you both look stunning!  Absolutely stunning!” cried Betsy.

    Josie spent the whole drive to brunch chattering about how much she loved her new clothes.  It wasn’t meant as flattery- Josie really did love her new clothes from Betsy.  She had spread them out in her closet and left the closet door open so she could look at them when she was falling asleep.  Betsy seemed very pleased by Josie’s appreciation for fashion.

    The town car brought them a quaint bistro in the town.  The hostess recognized Betsy before they had even reached the podium and immediately escorted them to their table.  Josie was still talking, but by now she had moved on to talking about school.

    “And of course,” said Josie, “I’m most excited for band.  I’d really been planning to focus on choir but Mr. LeBlanc gave me a bell set and…”

    “But of course, darling!” interrupted Betsy.  “You have Mr. LeBlanc!  How wonderful!”

    This caught Martha’s attention.

    “You know Mr. LeBlanc?” asked Martha.

    “Darling,” said Betsy, “everyone knows of Mr. LeBlanc.  That is, I don’t know him all too well personally, but everyone knows of him.  Why, my dear Mary, over at the academy, she tells me how lucky they are to have Mr. LeBlanc on a regular basis.  He’s a treasure, she tells me, an absolute treasure.”

    Martha was intrigued.  Josie, who had decided that the sun rose and set on Mr. LeBlanc after he gave her a bell set, seemed to think it was only natural that the rest of the world saw him as an “absolute treasure.”

    “I know!” squealed Josie.  “He’s just the best, isn’t he?  And I’m going to learn to play the timpani and…”

    “Why does everyone know of Mr. LeBlanc?” asked Martha.  She hated to interrupt Josie, but she knew that once Josie got going about music there would be no stop, and she really wanted to hear the gossip about the sexy teacher who had gotten her all hot and bothered then refused to kiss her.

    Betsy delicately tapped her manicured finger on her chin.

    “Well, darling,” she started, “everyone knows that he is talented.  Incredibly talented, Mary tells me.  Of course, I’m not one for music, so I don’t know that I would notice even if I heard him.  But my dear Mary tells me that he is extraordinarily talented as a musician and a teacher.  She says that with his talent, she has no idea how they keep him there.  Why, he could be conducting orchestras all over the world or performing himself in any music hall, but he chooses to stay hidden away at the academy.”

    That’s it? Martha thought.  That was hardly juicy gossip.  She had already decided that he must be a good music teacher.  He had not seemed the least bit cocky last night, which made her reassess his perceived arrogance in the rehearsal room as confidence borne of indisputable skill.  Still, being a talented music teacher did not seem like a sufficient basis for Landry LeBlanc to have caught the attention of someone like Betsy James.

    “And of course, that’s the real mystery,” said Betsy.

    “What is?” Martha asked.

    “That he’s so set on staying hidden away,” answered Betsy.  “Even if he wanted to stay at the academy, there is no reason for him to be so… reclusive.  He is invited to every party, every event, but he never attends.  Everyone wants the famously talented Mr. LeBlanc to come to their soiree, but he has no interest.  Around here, not wanting attention gets you a lot of attention.”

    Betsy smiled slyly.  “You’d think he was the Phantom of the Opera if he weren’t so attractive.  Of course, I may not have an ear for his music, but I have eyes.”

    “Oh yes,” said Josie.  “Martha has eyes too.”

    Martha slammed her foot down on to Josie’s foot, but it was too late.  Betsy turned a shrewd eye towards Martha.

    “Ah, so you’ve noticed Mr. LeBlanc, have you darling?  But of course, who wouldn’t?  I’ve only seen him a few times myself and I certainly took notice.”

    Martha ground her foot harder into Josie’s under the table to keep her quiet.  Josie scowled at Martha, but she kept her mouth shut.

    “Yes,” continued Betsy, “he’s quite attractive.  Anyone would take notice, don’t you think, dear?  But of course, he’s off limits.”

    “Oh?” Martha asked before she could stop herself.

    “Why yes, dear.  Why, I would have set you up with him myself, if I would have thought of it, were you not both teachers at the academy.  Teachers at the academy cannot be romantically involved with each other.  It’s forbidden- absolutely forbidden. Everyone knows that.  Now come, dear, shall we start with some scones for the table?  I am famished, absolutely famished.”