Chapter 18 - Carter
We called up some room service and spent the evening eating, talking, making love, and laughing. After a couple hours, the clarity in Veronica’s eyes had come back and she looked like herself again.
“I’m going to call my lawyer,” I said.
Her face fell, and she nodded. “I should probably call Morgan.”
“Just hold off. We may be able to take care of this without anyone knowing. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”
“What, are you worried she’ll fire me?”
“I don’t want you taken away from me before we even start our tour.”
I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. “Fine. But once we get back to LA, I’m going to tell her what happened.”
“Deal.”
When I called my lawyer, Bill, he seemed relieved to hear from me.
“Carter! I thought you’d forgotten about me.”
“No, just avoiding you,” I grinned. I explained the situation, and he said he’d look into it. With the witnesses at the hotel, we’d have enough for a restraining order.
“This’ll be tough to keep quiet, though.”
“Do your best,” I said.
“And Carter, you never answered my last emails. Your ex is demanding even more of your assets, and we need to formulate a response—”
“I know. I’ll deal with it when I get back.”
“Carter, she wants the rights to your songs.”
“What?”
Bill sighed. “There may be some legal grounds for it. Since she supported you and Maddox when you first moved to LA, she’s arguing that she has the right to whatever you created during your marriage.”
“That’s fucking bullshit!”
“We’ll fight it, Carter. But if this thing in New York blows up, it won’t look good for the divorce settlement.”
“I didn’t even do anything here.”
“You know how the press is.”
We were quiet for a few seconds and Bill finally sighed. “I’ll let you a know in a day or two as soon as I know what’s going on.”
“Alright,” I said, and I hung up the phone. Veronica was looking at me with wide eyes.
“What’s going on?”
“Just my ex being an awful person,” I said, staring out the window and tossing my phone to the side.
“I know what that’s like,” Veronica said with a grin. She got up off the bed and wrapped her arms around me. “It’ll be okay.”
“I know.”
“Is the thing with my ex going to affect your divorce settlement?”
“No,” I said, almost too quickly. “No, that won’t matter.”
“Are you sure? If you get screwed over because of me…”
I turned around and wrapped my arms around her. “I won’t.”
Veronica stayed close to me the whole time we were in New York. Every time my phone rang, she looked at me with concern in her eyes. I’d shake my head, and she’d nod.
No, it’s not my lawyer. Everything is fine.
I was worried too, though. If that little scuffle at the hotel put my divorce settlement in jeopardy, I was looking at an absolute mess. Angela already wanted everything I had, and now she was demanding my music, too? Even income from this tour, if it went well, would go to her. I’d be left with nothing.
“Just trust your lawyer,” Veronica said. “Tell him not to worry about the restraining order. If Seth comes around again, I’ll call the police and I won’t involve you.”
I nodded, kissing her temple and squeezing her shoulder.
We were busy in New York, going from interview to interview, from morning shows to late night TV, radio and magazines. Morgan had us doing promotions and shows morning, noon, and night. It was all leading up to the Grammys. On Saturday, we’d be playing on the biggest stage of the year as we launched our latest album.
At night, Veronica would come to the Ritz with me. I thought I saw a glimpse of Maddox with Lacie, and I grinned. All three of us kept to ourselves.
Even Garrett was quieter than usual. All our other trips to New York had been full of booze and parties and girls, but this time we just worked, came back to the hotel, and had quiet evenings.
Well, not so quiet, if you count Vee’s screams and my moans. But there was little to no partying. It was like all three of us had an understanding, and that we’d all shifted away from our partying ways at the same time.
This PR team really had been incredibly effective in reforming our image.
On the second day in New York, Veronica heard back from the hotel staff at her hotel that Seth had been arrested. She went down to the police station to discuss her options. I wanted to come with her, but she shook her head and said she’d go alone.
“If you’re there, there could be reporters and this whole thing will be all over the papers. Morgan will probably fire me, and your divorce will be a disaster. I’ll go alone.”
I bit my nails and paced the floor until she came back. She was quiet, sighing and shaking her head.
“They asked me if I wanted to press chargers. They said the evidence was shaky, and a conviction wasn’t certain, so I said I wouldn’t do it.”
“The evidence was shaky?” I roared, the anger boiling inside me. “He followed you across the fucking country!”
She smiled grimly. “I know.”
But she shook her head and I just wrapped my arms around her. As hard as this was for me, I knew it was harder for her. I kissed her, and then I made love to her.
When she fell asleep in my arms, I brushed my lips across her forehead and ran my finger along her cheek. My whole world had shifted, and I didn’t know what to do about it. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.