“Hang on a minute. Why is it private? What is he talking to them about that he can’t say in front of us?” The lawyer sneers, probably thinking he’s intimidating me if the way he puffs up his chest is any indication.
“How about you sit your ass down? We should have an answer for you shortly, but there is more than one person involved in this decision, so it’s only fair that they get a chance to talk about what they want too.” I eye Cash, noting that he has this whole arrogant demeanor to him, like his shit doesn't stink and he thinks the whole thing is a joke. I cannot wait to see him get booted out on his ass.
“But, but, but,” Giselle stammers oh so elegantly. “Shouldn't I be in the meeting because I’m their manager?” I laugh out loud at the comment.
“Oh honey, looks to me like you’ve already picked a side. Doesn't seem to me that you have all of their best interests at heart. Don't worry, you’ll get a chance to speak to Holden too. Probably. Maybe.”
Giselle sits back down, and Cash takes her hand, whispering to her. I’m not sure what he said to her since it was too quiet, but the reappearance of her smug smile makes it seem like they have something up their sleeves.
Leaving them in the conference room, I lead the rest of the band members back to the office. My heart goes out to the guys, seeing a sad and subdued demeanor that’s so different from anything I’ve ever seen on tv or in videos of them. It can’t be easy to have a member of what should be your family decide they want to leave you behind. Actually, I know that’s not easy. Story of my fucking life.
“Hey, guys, come in and take a seat.” Holden smiles at them reassuringly and gestures to the couches. He pulls over the two chairs that were in front of his desk, sitting in one while Hope settles in the other. I awkwardly stand to the side before he waves me over and plonks me down on his lap. What the fuck? I struggle, trying to get up, but he holds me still.
“Guys, have you met my girlfriend Harlow?” he starts off. “This is Jessie, Sacha, Tristan, and Kyan.” He points to one after the other, and although they smile politely, Kyan looks confused.
“Didn’t you say she was your sister?” I stiffen up, but Hope and Holden both laugh.
He squeezes me, returning some of the calm I helped him find a few minutes earlier. “Don’t panic. We’re going to get this question a lot.”
“The rest of my siblings and I are adopted and were raised by Brad Summers. Harlow is Brad’s biological daughter, but they only just found each other recently. So there’s no blood relation. If we’re being technical, I guess you could call us her adopted siblings, but we’re only just getting to know each other. And, well, what I feel for her is nothing like what I feel for most of my siblings.”
Kyan’s confusion clears from his face.
“But we’re not here to talk about us. I just wanted to touch base with the four of you and ask how you feel about all this.”
They exchange glances, and I get the feeling they really don't want to rock any boats.
I climb off of Holden's lap, get his chair from behind his desk, and pull it over. He pouts, which makes the guys laugh, but I just don't feel comfortable there while we’re discussing something business related.
“Look, did you just want to talk to me about it? Holden and Hope are your bosses, and I get that you may be worried that you’re jeopardizing your careers even though I can assure you you’re not.”
Holden and Hope look at me with surprise, but right at the end they exchange some kind of smirk. Idiots. I just know how it feels to be the underdog, and at the moment these guys are most definitely that. I bet they think their bandmate is fucking everything up for them all, and they’re worried about whether they’re going to have careers once this meeting is finished.
Jessie, who seems to be the spokesman for the four of them, shakes his head. “No, it’s alright. What we need to say can be said to all of you.”
“Okay then, great. So tell us.”
“It’s no secret that Cash has never been that easy to get along with. When you put us together, we were all strangers, but the four of us were stoked just to be given the chance. Cash has always been a little bitter. He thought he was good enough for a solo career,” Jessie explains, and I can see this is news to Holden and Hope. “He’s good at appearing as a team player, but the reality of that is far from the truth.”
“Yeah, and although he has a great voice, he hasn't got a single bit of musical creativity in his bones. He hasn't once been involved in writing any of the songs. He’s happy to sit back, letting the four of us do that, then reap the rewards once it’s done,” Tristan chimes in angrily, and I watch as Sacha reaches out and grabs his hand, squeezing it. They’re pretty quick to drop their hold when they realize I saw, but I don’t care what they do or how close they are. I try to convey all of that with a wink, but with the tense topic of discussion, I can’t tell if it makes them feel any better.
“He and Jessie have always clashed, and Giselle didn't help things either. We tried to warn both of them not to get involved with her, but they didn't listen. Thankfully, this dickhead came to his senses quickly, but Cash keeps throwing it in his face that he won the girl.” Sacha sounds defeated, and my heart goes out to him.
“So I get the feeling none of you would be sad to see him go?” Hope asks, and they all shake their heads.
“To be honest, it would be a relief, but we also don't want to give up the group. We love what we do.” There’s an earnestness in Kyan’s voice that borders right on the edge of desperation. He means every word he’s saying, and he doesn’t have his pride getting in the way of showing that.
“Okay, so what I’m hearing from you is that it would be a relief to get rid of him. Well, I guess that’s what we’ll do.” They look shocked at hearing him say that and worried as well. What kind of reputation does Holden have? So far, he’s seemed nothing but kind and understanding. How in the world has their manager tortured them to make them so afraid of speaking up for themselves and what they want?
“Don't worry, Holden has no plans to get rid of all of you, do you?” I turn to him, raising my eyebrows in that universal ‘dude, say something’ face that hopefully jolts him into action.
He emphatically shakes his head. “Fuck no. We’ll happily get rid of the baggage, aka Giselle and Cash, and I have a feeling they’ll regret their newfound freedom pretty fast. He had no part in writing the songs, so he has no claim to any of them. We’ll give him some kind of settlement and make him sign a non-disclosure so he can’t talk about the circumstances of him leaving the band. If he does, we’ll sue. That manager of yours might have convinced him that he’s the top dog, but he’s fighting against Neighpalm Records, not just you guys. He’ll learn his place soon enough. Speaking of managers, we’ll be getting you a new one. In fact...” He stops and looks at Hope, the two of them communicating without words. They've been friends for so long they can do that. After her nod, he continues. “Now that Hope has decided to become my right hand woman, I might personally take on the management of the band.”
“So you’re not going to offer him a solo contract?” Tristan sounds both curious and hopeful, but I can’t blame him. If my bandmate had treated me like shit then tried to launch his own career, I’d be a little salty about his future success too.
“Fuck no!” Holden exclaims once again, and everyone laughs, breaking the tension in the room. “He’s proven he has no loyalty to you guys, and he’s difficult to deal with. No one at Neighpalm will touch him with a ten-foot pole.”
“But because we won’t be able to talk about what happened either, we’re going to have to do something to appease the masses,” he says thoughtfully, pausing like he’s trying to run scenarios through his mind as we speak.
