Allie Kowalski was their hot-shot booking agent friend from Toronto. Tyler had met her at Canadian Music Week, and she knew they would be friends immediately. Allie hated the high school drama of the Toronto music scene. She was all business. A shark with sharper teeth.
“What about your legacy acts?” Kim asked. “Can’t you dust them off? Resurrect them from their crypts or something?”
SDM’s old bands were super high-maintenance and a million times worse than any new artist. Sebastien needed them on their roster to cover his expenses when Cary wasn’t on tour, so Tyler spent most of her time explaining why they couldn’t play Coachella and Glastonbury while trying to keep their egos intact.
“Everyone’s writing or in the studio,” Tyler said.
“Ew. Why?”
“Honestly? I can’t explain.”
“What about Afternoon Delight? They’re pretty good for a local band.”
“Are you joking? That singer has zero charisma, and no one wants to fuck him.”
Kim bounced her hands in a steeple. “What about Yestown?”
“Yeah, they’re killer, but they don’t have enough songs for a full set. And they can’t afford a TM as an unsigned band.”
“I know.” Kim uncrossed her legs and kicked a tennis ball from underneath her chair. Rory chased after it like a ball kid at Wimbledon. “Vancouver just sucks sometimes—”
“Especially your hockey team,” Tyler heckled. “If I had fuck-you money I’d buy season tickets and cheer for the away team.” She stared at Kim, smirking. “What a bunch of sore losers. Remember when they lost the cup and people rioted in the streets?”
“How could I forget.”
“It’s why we can’t have nice things.” Tyler’s computer dinged again and she rolled her eyes dismissively. “The city shut down everything after that happened.”
“‘No fun city.’” Kim shook her head. “I’ve got a love-hate relationship with Vancouver, being born here, but I’d rather die than live in Toronto. Fuck ‘We the North.’”
“‘Wearethe North’ is grammatically correct.”
“The French are saying, ‘Oui the North.’”
“Of course they are.” Tyler sighed deeply, frustrated with where her life was heading: nowhere in a hurry. She’d already stayed at SDM for ten years longer than expected. “I wish I could move back to Winnipeg.”
“Oh, I caught that band you like.” Kim snapped her fingers. “The chick band you found on TikTok.”
“The Oh Claires?” Her voice increased an octave. “How were they?”
“Dude, straight fire.”
“I haven’t given up.” Tyler had listened to Peter Gabriel’s record too many times for that to happen.Sowas one of her dad’s favorite albums and “Don’t Give Up” gave her all the feels every time she listened to it. “I’m dying to work with them.”
“So do it.”
“I’d have to leave SDM to manage them.”
“Even more of a reason, if you ask me.” Kim scrolled through her Apple Watch. “What time is your flight?”
Tyler pulled up the e-ticket on her phone as it didn’t hurt to check twice. “Noon.”
“Sebastard’s going to be there, I assume?”
Tyler shuddered and closed her eyes. She’d rather get a root canal than hang out with her boss. But at least the trip to Winnipeg offered a silver lining—he knew people there, which meant less time glued to her side. When they traveled, he insisted on dinner together, which was bad enough. But the real torture? He chewed with his mouth open, talked while doing it, and didn’t believe in napkins. It was like dining with a toddler who had a corporate credit card.
“He wouldn’t miss it,” Tyler said with certainty.
Kim sat in her seat like a petulant child. “Dude, I hate that you’re leaving me alone here.”
