“Likewise, Mr. St James,” he responds with none other than a fucking Scottish accent. Granted, it’s not as strong or pronounced as the McTavishes, but the irony is not lost on me. Cort had recruited this guy, so I know he’s not connected to them, but still.
“Just Creed,” I correct, releasing his hand.
“Creed, then.” He confirms.
“Shall we?” Cort says, gesturing to the table where he’s got his laptop set up along with several stacks of paper.
“Ayla will be here shortly,” Bear announces with a bit of an edge to his tone as he takes his seat at the far end of the table.“We’ll get her caught up when she arrives, but for now, let’s keep moving forward.”
I nod, not touching that attitude switch up with a ten foot pole.
We move through the legal jargon for Fletcher, who already seems pretty well versed in the world of band management, from scheduling tours to marketing, and even seems to be a step ahead for handling upcoming press releases aboutDark Sins.
After the paperwork is finalized and out of the way, I turn to Cort. “We’ll be using my home sound studio to record, at minimum, mine and Riley’s portions of the upcoming album.”
“Creed, recording from home will take?—“
“Longer, I know. But I’m not going to force Riley out into the spotlight before he’s damn well good and ready. Traveling to and from the studio downtown every day while we record is only going to be a feeding frenzy for the tabloid sharks that linger around the building.
“He and Collins don’t need that type of exposure, on top of the fact that Riley’s going to need physical therapy.” I swipe a hand over my face when a heavy sense of worry crashes into me. “I don’t even know if he’ll be able to play anytime soon. I’m not going to push him. I’d rather he just be at home with me where he feels safe and not like he’s a fucking bug under a microscope the second he steps outside.”
“Do we need a replacement? Even if it’s temporary?”
“No.”The answer comes out harsh all at once from me, Bear, Blair, and Ayla, the second she pops into the room. She sits down next to me, and I notice her eyes are red rimmed and her nose is pink; she’s been crying.
Bear looks like he’s ready to murder someone when he takes in her appearance, too. He’s always been protective over his sister. Their adoptive brother, Scotty, has been protective, too,but he’s always had that familial disconnect since he came into their family in his teens.
Ayla’s eyes meet mine, but she subtly shakes her head and offers a tight-lipped smile before turning away from Bear and faces Fletcher.
“It’s good to meet you again, Mr. McGowan.”
“Fletcher, please,” he insists with a nod, his eyes crinkling in the corner with amusement.
She blushes. Ayla “men are nothing more than an inconvenience” Christiansen blushes.
She shifts in her seat and pulls a giant binder from her bag that she takes with her everywhere. She’s our PR manager, but she’s also always been like an assistant to the manager, always keeping everyone’s shit organized and in check.
She opens her planner and pulls a pen out, ready to get straight to business.
“I wanted to talk to each of you about a few things. First and foremost, the abrupt transition back toAs We Standfrom your takeover has been fairly smooth. Some questions and speculation arose when you had to cancel the St. Louis concert minutes before your opening act, but food poisoning can really knock you down.”
She eyes each of us, indicating that’s the story she spun. Sometimes even I am shocked that the public believes some of these asinine statements. But hey, whatever works.
“Now, the U. S. tour forDark Sinsisn’t supposed to kick off until this fall, and we’re halfway through July. That only gives you about ten weeks, and between studio sessions and concert prep, that’s not a lot of time. Take in the fact that Riley is still in the hospital and will need who knows what kind of therapy, that will cut several weeks out of the deadline.”
“So what do you propose we do if we can’t even temporarily replace Mr. Graves?” Fletcher asks, letting Ayla take the lead.Smart man. She’s always been a fucking boss, and it tells me a lot about McGowan’s character that he’s allowing her to take the reins.
We’d originally brought up the idea that we just hire her to be our manager, but she insisted that she’s happy doing exactly what she’s doing now.
Ayla looks up from her notes and glances around the table before pinning Fletcher beneath her dark eyes. He doesn’t waver and neither does she.
“I think we need to reschedule the tour. Push it back maybe six months from now, or possibly start the tour by late spring or early summer—when the demographic has more availability to see them in concert.”
She’s right, and I couldn’t agree more. That gives me plenty of time to find a good balance and routine between caring for Riley and Collins, recording, and just taking a moment to breathe.
It’s been a fucking nightmare and whirlwind of chaos and insanity lately, so I’m ready to just spend time healing and bonding all over again with the two people who mean more to me than life itself.
Fletcher nods his agreement. Blair and Bear, too, but Cort sits quietly at the end of the table, contemplating. The truth is, while I love working under Cort Records, I’d leave the label in a fucking heartbeat if he weren’t agreeable to this. I understand he’s got deadlines, but that doesn’t mean we won’t walk away if he can’t grant us this much needed break in the wake of total calamity.
