I try to think about what it would be like seeing her onstage almost every night. I used to dream of us playing together. Now all I know is it would be a nightmare.
“Who’s in agreement?” Jeremy asks.
Everyone raises their hand but me. “Fuck.”
“You made your bed, G,” Liam says. “It’s time to lie in it.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. How in the hell is this happening? What choice do I have? We can’t come up with the money, and I can’t compromise the label when things are going so well. “Do it.”
We go over some details before letting Reece and her lawyer back in.
“We have an alternative proposal for you,” Joe says. “Since Ms. Mancini co-wrote the song, they are willing to let her sing it at every one of the tour venues.”
Reece looks at Mike, clearly excited. Mike holds up a finger to make us wait, and he and Reece whisper back and forth.
“Who would be playing guitar?” Mike asks.
“I would,” Liam says. “It’s non-negotiable.”
More whispers. Minutes and minutes of whispers.
“Ms. Mancini agrees to that with a few alterations.”
“Which are?” Joe asks.
“You will re-record the song with Ms. Mancini singing. She will be billed on the album as co-author of the song. She will be entitled to royalties from the single at the same rate members of Reckless Alibi are entitled to them. Finally, we’re asking Ms. Mancini be the opening act for four tour appearances.”
“Is that fucking all?” I say then get up and leave the room.
Everyone follows me. “Garrett, we can work with this,” Crew says.
“Everything is negotiable,” Joe adds. “This isn’t the final deal.”
“No opening acts,” Liam says. “We haven’t heard anything else she’s done.”
I thumb at him. “What he said.”
“I really don’t want to re-record the single,” Crew says. “Bria killed it.”
“I’d rather not either,” she says.
“But you’re good with everything else?” Joe asks.
Everyone looks at me. “Do I have a fucking choice?”
Crew pats my back. “Doesn’t look like it.”
We rejoin Mike and Reece. Joe says, “They have agreed on all points with the exception of re-recording the song and the opening acts. Remove those two, and you have a deal.”
More whispers between them. Mike counters, “Ms. Mancini will capitulate on not re-recording the song. That’s not as important to her as being seen as a performer. We stand firm on four opening act appearances.”
“Do you have a band?” Jeremy asks.
“I’ll find one,” she says. “Won’t be hard, given the circumstances.”
“We haven’t heard anything else she’s written,” Liam says. “We need assurances she and her cronies won’t embarrass us.”
“We’ll play for you before the tour begins,” Reece says. “You’ll see I can put together a band as good as any other opening act.”
“What if we hate you?” I say.
She looks me in the eye. “You won’t.”
I laugh. She thinks I was talking about her band. “Where will you stay on tour?”
“As Ms. Mancini will be touring with you, we expect her to have the same accommodations afforded to Reckless Alibi.”
“We tour by bus and sleep in hotels,” Bria says.
“Then that’s where she’ll be.”
“Hell, no.” I slap a hand on the table. “I’m not riding on a bus with her for ten weeks.”
“As Ms. Mancini has agreed to forgo any cash settlement, you understand she’s not in a position to pay for her own travel arrangements and accommodations. Would you like to revisit the cash settlement?”
Liam leans over and whispers, “She’s got you by the balls, man.”
“Two opening acts,” I say.
Mike and Reece share some words, then he says, “Three. Are we agreed then?”
Everyone else nods. Joe looks at me.
“Whatever.” But what I really want to do is crawl into a fucking hole and die.
Chapter Six
Reece
I walk into my apartment, throw down my things, and sit on the couch, still in shock. Maddox appears in his bedroom doorway. “How’d it go?”
I don’t know whether to smile or cry, because I feel like doing both. “You won’t believe it.”
He drops on the couch next to me. “How much did you get?”
“I didn’t get any money. Well, I’ll get some royalties—”
“That piece of shit. How in the hell did he get away with it?”
I give him a hard stare. “Let me finish. I haven’t gotten to the good part.”
“What’s the good part?”
My stomach churns, and I feel sick thinking about what’s going to happen to me in six weeks. “I’m going on tour.”
He narrows his eyes. “What am I missing?”
“Mike asked for six million. They countered with much less. When Mike and I were talking in the hallway, I told him it wasn’t about the money. I just wanted recognition. So we came up with a backup plan to get them to hire me as their opening act. They didn’t want to do it, so they said I could sing the song at every concert and open for them three times.”
“Holy shit, Reece. Are you serious? You’re going on tour? When?”
“End of March.” I tell him every detail about the meeting, then hug him. “Thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, this never would have happened.”
“I’m so happy for you. Finally the world will know what I’ve known for two years—that you’re a star. Think of how many people will see you, Reece. Maybe ten thousand a night. When you’re out there, opening for them, it will be you everyone is seeing. All eyes will be on you. Damn, girl. Your life is about to change in a big way.”
I feel sick and start to shake uncontrollably. Maddox pulls me close. “Hey, I didn’t mean to scare you. This is what you’ve dreamed about, right?”
“Of course it is, but for most people it happens gradually. I’ve done what, played at some weddings and had a few gigs in dive bars?” I sink into him, suddenly terrified. “What if I can’t do this? I have to find a band for those three shows. We have to practice. If Reckless Alibi doesn’t like us, they won’t let us play. We have to be good. I have to be good. And Garrett hates me. He hated me six years ago, but I thought maybe after all this time—”
“Reece, you’re suing him. It shouldn’t come as a shock that he’s not jumping up and down over seeing you again.”
“But it’s not my fault. He stole my song.”
“He did, but in a way, it might have been the best thing that’s ever happened to you. Why don’t you look at it that way?”
“I’ll have to see him every day for months. What if his bandmates hate me too? What am I saying? Of course they’ll be on his side.” I rub my temples, feeling a headache coming on. “I’ll have to ride on the tour bus with them. Sleep at the same hotels. I think I might be in way over my head, Mad.”