The Monkees finished the rest of the set in a daze. They couldn't believe they were going to meet a record company head like Jynger Ritz! When their set was over, the Monkees had to come back and do an encore. Finally, they left the stage to wild applause. Keith was backstage waiting for them. Next to him was a girl holding a tray with more goblets of water.
"Well done, Monkees!" Keith exclaimed, handing them their goblets. "You really rocked the house tonight!"
"Thanks, Keith." Micky said, taking a sip of his water. "The crowd was great!"
"Yeah, they know when they've heard great music." Keith replied.
"We even met with a talent scout for Ritzy records." Mike said to him.
"Really?" He asked, "I didn't know anyone was here tonight."
"We're hopefully gonna meet Ms. Ritz herself." Davy added.
"Groovy!" Keith said, reaching into an inside pocket. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to Mike.
"Here you go. I think you'll find it all there." The club owner said.
Mike pulled out the money and did a quick count. All the money that was promised them was there.
"Thanks, Keith." Mike said.
"Thank you guys for coming on short notice." Keith replied.
"Can we play here again sometime?" Peter asked.
"I'm booked with other acts until the end of November." Keith said, "But I'll keep you guys in mind." He patted Peter on the back. "I got other stuff to attend to. See you guys around!"
"Bye Keith!" Micky replied as Keith walked off, the girl with him following behind.
Mike put the envelope in his front shirt pocket. When they got home, he would take out ten percent and donate it to a charity, then split the rest evenly between the four of them.
"Well fellas," Mike said, "Praise the Lord, this has been a good night for us." The others nodded in agreement.
"Let's tear down our stuff and go home." Peter said and the Monkees did just that.
Little did they know that watching them backstage from a magical compact mirror was Maggie. She curled her lip in derision as she watched them tear down their equipment.
"If you knew you fools what you were getting into, you wouldn't be thanking your God so quickly." She sneered. Suddenly, Keith came up behind her and nuzzled her neck.
"Oh, my sweet little Magnolia..." He whispered.
Maggie turned around and slapped Keith.
"I told you not to call me that...Warlock." She hissed.
"I am a Wizard." Keith replied stiffly, rubbing his cheek. "A Wizard of the fourth order."
"Then I'm sure you can remember my name." Maggie snapped back, then her face softened. "You didn't hurt the group that was supposed to play here tonight too much, did you?" She asked.
"No, they just all came down with a stomach virus for one night. Tomorrow, they'll be back here again."
"That's good." Maggie replied, "My boss thinks they have 'potential' as well." She smiled at Keith. "You did very well tonight. My boss will be pleased."
"How pleased?" Keith replied with a sly smile and holding his hand out.
Maggie smiled and dropped a piece of amber into his hand. Keith picked it up out of his hand and held it up to the light.
"Ooh, very nice, very nice indeed." Keith said in awe. "This will be a wonderful addition to my collection. The more amber from when this planet was still young, the more powerful spells I can do." He placed the amber in his pocket.
"What will you do now?" He asked.
Maggie looked at her compact. The Monkees were just about done tearing down their equipment and were starting to pack it all up.
With a shrug, she shut the compact and placed it in her purse.
"Tomorrow I'll wait for those naive fools to call me and make an appointment to see my boss. Then the rest will be up to her."
"I meant right now." Keith said with a small smile as he brushed some of her hair away from her face.
"Have anything sinful in mind?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I always do." Keith said, and drew Maggie in for a kiss.