* * *
The deal arrived in our inboxes a few days after the party.
Molly and Trinity called us from the office, their faces appearing on the video chat. This week, Molly had spent a lot more time there given that her photo duties with us were put on hold. In the evening, when she returned home, we pounced on each other as if she’d been gone for months instead of only a few hours. I wondered if the excitement of being together would ever fade, or if this is just the way it was when you finally found your soulmates?
Yeah. Saying things like that didn’t seem like an exaggeration as far as her and Kaz were concerned.
“You’re inching into the top ten on Spotify, and Twitter is still blowing up with commentary on the promotional images.” Trinity wore a smirk, as if to say I told you so. Her call regarding Theo had paid off. The images were provocative and hot as hell, which appeared to be just what we’d needed to get a shit ton of attention.
“The deal is good,” she said. “But we can make it better. Errol is joining the call in a few minutes to walk you through the details. After that, we’ll convene with our legal team and decide what we want to push back on and what we’re fine with taking as offered.”
“Fine by me,” Kaz said, putting his elbows on the edge of the table. “I scanned it quickly just now. The royalty rates are aggressive, especially when it comes to merchandising rights.”
“He’ll try to justify those by claiming their in-house expertise will help you market the merchandise, but I agree it’s something we need to negotiate. Labels always overestimate their abilities for everything besides getting a great record out.”
“The Flea Biters signed away twenty five percent of their rights,” Molly said, looking down at a notebook before her. “And WMI is asking us for forty.”
Trinity’s brow spiked up. “How do you know that?”
Molly shifted in her seat. “I asked their manager. My sister is connected to him.”
“Good work,” Trinity said. “It’s always good to have an extra data point for comparison.”
A smile tugged at my lips. Mol was damn good at her job, and she better get rewarded for the incredible work she’d done with us. If not, Kaz and I would need to have a talk with Trinity.
Our computer made a noise to announce Errol’s arrival, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Congratulations, gentlemen,” he said, tipping his coffee cup at the screen. “Signing an artist is always exciting, but this feels doubly so. I see a lot of promise in you two.”
“Thank you, we’re excited,” I said.
“That’s great to hear, but I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
“Yes,” Trinity jumped in. “We’ll save them for the end of the call.”
“Great. I’ll walk you through what we’re thinking.”
Errol began to talk us through the terms, all of which made sense until we got to the part about touring.
“You’ll have a dedicated team assigned to you, including the road crew, a touring manager, and an assistant to help you with the day-to-day.”
“We don’t need another assistant,” I said, thinking nothing of it. “We already have Molly helping us.”
Trinity laughed, as if I’d said something ridiculous. “Molly won’t be going on tour with you. She’ll continue to support you from LA as needed, but her focus will shift to another artist in my roster.”
It was as if a record had scratched to a stop.
I shot Kaz an alarmed glance. He was looking at me with furrowed brows. I had taken it for granted she’d keep working closely with us, and based on his expression, he’d thought the same. Is this why Molly’s expression turned a little tense whenever there was any mention of a tour?
“Having a strong team while you’re on the road for the first time will be really important,” Trinity continued. “In fact, Errol, I’d prefer to add a line in here that specifies—"
“Hold on,” I interrupted. There was a way to address this without exposing our relationship with Molly, but I needed to be careful. “How much of a say do we have when it comes to hiring this team?”
“You’re free to meet them ahead of time, but we have a trusted network of folks that we work with, and we like to stick to it. A bad crew member can majorly screw things up in a high-pressure environment,” Errol said.
Why wasn’t Molly saying anything? She was on camera, her face an expressionless mask, while I felt panic rising inside my chest.
“Could you excuse us for a moment?” I asked.
