Chapter Eleven
Rick, Ryan, Andy sat on one side of a table speaking quietly to Mark, one of the executives from Empire Records, across from them. They’d all agreed to fly in for the day for support. I sat beside Drew on another side. His hand lightly squeezed my thigh, causing me to look up. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just ready to get this over with.”
He smiled, then grew serious as we heard a noise in the hallway.
The door flung open. Lauren waltzed in with her usual flair. “Hello, everyone,” she sang. She glided across the room. The only evidence that she was surprised to see me was a slight stutter in her steps.
“Lauren. Have a seat.” Mark’s voice lost the friendliness that he had when he met me earlier. The other guys mostly sat back with their arms crossed, staring at her with cold eyes.
Mark got straight to business. “As you know, we’re here because of the unfortunate situation that has evolved regarding Ms. Harrington. We were very dismayed at Empire at the behavior regarding her.”
Lauren looked smug. “Yes, well, it’s been a PR nightmare to handle, let me tell you. I’m sorry, but I feel I need to speak freely.”
Mark waved his hand to continue.
“Despite my best efforts, Emma has always done her best to circumvent my efforts to see the band succeed. She tried to talk them out of touring as a backup band when they first started, then when that didn’t work, she tried to get herself a job as their official photographer. Thank goodness another opportunity came up or who knows how else she might have done to interrupt their recording and tour.” She looked across the table at me. “I’m sorry, Emma, but you really didn’t have your supposed boyfriend’s best interests at heart. And after abandoning them, you show up out of the blue after the accident and take advantage of Drew once again.” She looked back to Mark. “And now she’s using the media to get more attention to further her career. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was her who sold that story to the media to get money.”
Mark clasped his hands and looked to the members of Southern Pleasure. “What do you guys have to say about this?”
Rick uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. Dressed in black jeans, a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a black cowboy hat perched on his head, he looked the epitome of a dark cowboy, not to be crossed. “Speaking for the band, we’re not pleased with what we’ve heard. It’s very disappointing, and we want something done about it immediately.” He shot me a look, which if I didn’t know the situation better, would have had me quaking. As it was, I swallowed hard. I knew Rick wasn’t someone to mess with, but I’d never been on that side of him.
Mark looked around the table. “Anyone else?”
Drew cleared his throat. “We just want to see that the band and its members are protected against anyone who tries to take advantage of us. And Emma gets anything that’s coming to her.” He didn’t look at me, but Lauren did with a wicked, victorious gleam.
“I see. And what do you suggest we at Empire do?”
For the first time, Drew smiled. He paused, then put his arms on the table and leaned forward. “Oh, that’s easy. We think you should fire,” he grinned like the Cheshire cat, “Lauren.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? Why on Earth would you say such a thing?” Her voice grew more and more shrill as she spoke. She pointed at me. “Once again she’s leading you to hate and blame me for everything.” She stood and hit the table with her hand in front of Mark. “This is what she does. She wraps them around her finger and the next thing you know, they’re making stupid suggestions like this.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Mark responded. All of us stared at Mark, worried he was siding with her. Lauren sat back down with a pleased expression. “With the band.” Her smile fell again, and she started to stutter some retort, but Mark put his hand up. “Save your breath. I don’t normally get involved with the personal shit of band members. But this time I’m making an exception. Bands make me money, Ms. Mahoney. And yesterday my time was interrupted constantly having to field calls from each member of one of my top money-making bands. When they threaten to walk away from their contract because of being misrepresented by a manager who works for us, you better believe I’m going to listen. At first, I thought they were just blowing smoke up my ass, but as they presented their case, it appears you’re the one who’s all smoke and mirrors.”
I was stunned. I hadn’t known the extent to which the band was willing to go to support me.
Lauren sat up straight and did her best to look innocent, but on her, it was like a hooker trying to look like a nun. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s very simple,” Mark replied. “You lied and manipulated to push Drew and Emma apart, creating an unsavory work environment for the rest of the band members.”
It was hard not to smile at his diplomatic choice of words. Glancing discreetly, I saw the rest of the guys were biting their lip, too.
“I did not!”
Mark pinned Lauren with an icy glare. “Are you familiar with Paulo Santiago? Because when I spoke to him this morning, he said to thank you for the suggestion that he ask Ms. Harrington to work on an assignment with him. He said she was one of the best he’s ever worked with. However, he’s still waiting for the book contract with the band that you promised him in exchange for hiring her.”
I squirmed in my chair. At least I knew what I’d been traded for. Still, it sucked to confirm I wasn’t hired for my merit alone.
Mark looked at me, his expression amused. “He’s very arrogant, isn’t he? He informed me that he’s the only one good enough to write the band’s biography, and you’re the only one who should be allowed to photograph them.” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at Mark’s bemusement that he had been told what he should do; he was a man obviously used to giving orders.
“Yes, he is, but he’s also probably right about the writing.”
“And the pictures,” Drew said, smiling at me.
Lauren sniffed, and I suspected she was trying not to stomp her feet in a tantrum. “Well, you certainly can’t hold me responsible for Paulo’s decision.”
Andy frowned. “But the band can. You negotiated something about us without our permission. That was in violation of your contract.”
“Ha! Managers make decisions every day without having to notify the band.”
“In some aspects,” Rick countered, “but not when it comes to our personal lives. You drove a dear friend away from us, promised confidential information about us to someone without our permission, and made false promises to a third party. You’ll be lucky if this Paulo guy doesn’t sue your ass.”
“You’ll be lucky if we don’t sue your ass,” Drew stated.
Lauren started to speak, but once again Mark stopped her. “I’d advise you not to say anything further since they’re right.” She snapped her mouth closed, her eyes shooting daggers at each of us. “And there’s the manner of stealing from one of the band members. You have the right to press charges for that, too, Drew, if you chose. The label will back you up.”
“What are you talking about?” Lauren shrieked.
Drew linked his fingers with mine, then lifted our joined hands to the table surface. His other played with the bracelet I’d given him that was finally back in its proper place. “I thought I’d lost this. I spent days turning everything upside down trying to find it. It’s extremely precious to me. I searched everywhere, the bus, my apartment, my car, my friend’s homes. But it never occurred to me to look for it in an envelope, sealed and addressed to Emma.”
“I found it. I knew it was something Emma had given to you, so I was returning it to her.”
“Save it, Lauren. If that were true, you could’ve just returned it to me. Playing stupid doesn’t suit you after all the conniving we’ve uncovered, including assaulting me with a kiss. We’ve already figured you saw Emma and used the opportunity to try to drive her away.”
Lauren let out an ugly laugh. “Oh, you liked it. Enough that you were more than willing to sleep with me.” She cast a satisfied look my way, obviously hoping to rattle me with new information.
I squeezed Drew’s hand. I knew how guilty and terrible he felt over that, so I answered for him. “Some places might consider crawling into a man’s bed while he’s drunk and taking advantage of him, especially if you were the one pouring him drinks all night, might be another form of assault. Taking all the facts together, I don’t think you have much of a defense.”
“We’ll just see about all of this,” she snapped. “Everything is purely circumstantial, and anything I have or have not done has been with the band’s best chances at success.”
“Mark?” Drew lifted an eyebrow.
“Ms. Mahoney, I’ve already consulted with the Board of Directors. We no longer feel that you represent the best interests of either Southern Pleasure or Empire Records. You are to clear out your things immediately upon returning to New York. In cooperation with this, Southern Pleasure and Ms. Harrington have agreed not to pursue charges against you.”
Lauren stood, her eyes snapping at everyone seated at the table before she whirled around and stormed out the door.
“Well, that’s over,” Mark said, smiling for the first time since the conversation began.
All of the band members stood, also smiling. Ryan came around and grabbed me out of my chair, whirling me around, making me squeal.
As he put me down, he gently cuffed my cheek. “I hope this means you’ll be around more often.”
“She will be,” Drew answered, almost growling as he pulled me back into the circle of his arms.
“For what it’s worth, Emma,” Mark said, dropping all formality, “if this group doesn’t hire you as their official photographer, I’d be interested in giving your name to some of our other accounts.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Andy said. “We have some thoughts on that as well.” All of them grinned at me.
Drew stepped in front of me. “Emma, would you consider it? We understand that other opportunities might come up, and none of us want to hold you back or ask you to put us first. We’ll support you in every way we can. But we agree with Paulo, and there’s no one we trust more to capture Southern Pleasure on film.”
I didn’t even have to think about it. I knew what it was like to be separated from Drew and the rest of my friends, and it wasn’t an experience I wanted to repeat. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” I was instantly swallowed up by eight arms and massive masculine bodies. “Help!” I squeaked, and I was eventually released to just one set of very familiar arms.
Mark quietly snuck out, leaving the rest of us to celebrate. One by one, the guys left, too, anxious to fly back home.
“Let’s go home, too,” I said to Drew.
“Okay. I’ve got a need to get you into your bedroom.” His eyes and bulge under his zipper made it clear just what his need was.
“Well, then we’ll need some help finding it.”
He stared quizzically at me. “What do you mean?”
I clasped my arms around his waist. “When I said home, I meant home home. And I think it should be our bedroom, don’t you?”
He stared at me in disbelief, and my heart melted at the absolute joy that spread across his face. “Then absolutely yes, let’s go home.”