“Morning to you too, Neo,” I snapped, slumping onto the sofa in his office, looking out over the view of the West End of London.
“Make yourself at home, why don’t you, Charlie? Good night?” He cocked his eyebrow. “I can smell the booze from here.”
“Not sure. I can’t remember most of it,” I admitted. “We were partying.”
“Youwere partying,” Fox muttered. “You’vebeen partying a lot lately. Even by your standards.”
“Fox, Archer.” Neo greeted them both with a tone in his voice I didn’t like and they made small talk while I tried not to throw up; the cocktail of drink and drugs I consumed last night threatening to make a reappearance.
“Boys,” he announced, laying his hands flat out on the desk and letting out a long sigh. “I’ll be honest, we have a soft spot for Alchemy Myth and it’s the only reason you’re here today. Anyone else and you’d be gone.”
My ears pricked up at the mention of our band’s name and I felt Fox and Archer sit up straighter next to me, the atmosphere shifting.
“We’re a family run label. While we’re relaxed about the things you want to get up to in your private life, it becomes a problem when that spills over into your public life and onto the front pages every day. Our reputation means a lot to all of us, but you boys seem hell bent on ruining it.” He paused, taking a moment to look at each of us. “Look, you’re a liability. I know you’ve been through a lot—Ionee being gone and your mum dying, Archer—but we gave you time off and you promised us you were ready to come back.”
“I was…” Archer argued. “I am. It’s—”
“The three of you are a band, so I’m not going to point fingers, but you fucked up twenty-one appearances last month. You didn’t show up, were late on stage, didn’t stay for signings you’d committed to. We tried to warn you that you were taking on too much, and this proves it. So, we’re cutting back your promo work—”
“But, we need to do the promo for ticket sales for the tour,” Archer argued. “We’re meant to be back in the US soon.”
“But you’re not doing the promo. You’re just getting a bad name for yourselves.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Neo held up his hand, silencing me and making my blood boil.
“No, don’t argue with me. Why are people going to buy your album or tickets for your gigs if you’re likely to turn up late or not show up at all?”
I pursed my lips. “The stuff we’ve missed wasn’t important.”
Neo’s eyes darkened and his voice dropped an octave. “Everythingyou do is important and right now, you’re not making a good impression. If you were anyone else, we would be dropping you from your contract. Effective immediately.”
“What the hell?” I yelled, feeling Archer’s hand on my thigh, silencing me before I could say anymore.
“You were one of the first bands we signed when we started the label and we love you boys like our own, but… and I mean this, this is your final warning. Any more fuck ups and you’re done. You will start behaving, do as you’re told, and stop embarrassing the label and yourselves.”
Fox dragged his hand down his face. “Might be easier said than done,” he growled, glancing over at me. I knew that my behavior had spiraled out of control over the last few months, but I didn’t want to explain why to Neo.
“Maybe this will make it a little easier.” He pressed a button. “Fern, could you bring in the paperwork for Alchemy Myth, please?”
“On my way,” the disembodied voice replied.
No one spoke until the door to Neo’s office opened and Fern, Addi’s assistant, walked in, handing him a pile of papers.
Dressed in black cropped jeans that were so skinny, they looked as if they had been painted onto her curves and a white sweater with a white suit jacket over the top. Her nude heels added to her already tall height and her wavy silver blond hair hung over the swell of her ample breasts. Black round glasses sat on her face, showing off her ocean-green eyes.
She handed them to Neo, but he shook his head, standing from his seat and walking over to the floor to ceiling windows that ran the length of his office. “I’m going to let you handle this one, Fern. Call it your induction.”
Fern narrowed her eyes, glaring at him, before she sat in his huge black leather chair, looking like she belonged there.
“Fern is our new head of communications, which means that your future fuck ups will be dealt with by her, so you might want to listen to what she has to say. Fern, over to you.”
Straightening her back, she handed us each a pile of papers.
“What’s this?” I asked angrily as I flicked through them. Before she could answer, a knock sounded on the door and Dawson, our manager, stepped into the room and leaned casually against the back wall, his disappointment with us evident without showing one shred of emotion on his face.
“As Neo’s probably told you, the label… we aren’t happy with your behavior. You’re costing us money, but more importantly, you’re ruining your image. You’re in breach of contract. The top document is the clauses in your contract that you’re in breach of, so you’re aware of them all. The second document is notice that we are charging you half a million for those breaches and for lost earnings for the label—”
“Fuck off,” I cried as I leaped from my seat, slamming my hands down onto Neo’s desk, making Fern’s eyes widen for a moment before she shook her head. Taking off her glasses and placing them on the desk, she pointed to my chair.
