by Emma Vikes
“I know you hate him. I know you’re absolutely seething right now at the idea of having to sit down and talk to him about this whole situation. But may I remind you, Audrey, that this company is your birth right and although this is unfair on your part, you’re going to fight for what’s yours. So you swallow that freaking pride of yours and show that Dick what’s yours to begin with.”
God, if only it was that easy.
3
Julian
The boys were all staring at me with a blank expression on their faces as they stared at the feast that I’d prepared for them the following day. No one came home early when I got back from the meeting yesterday and everyone seemed to be too tired earlier this morning. They weren’t in the right state to take in the bomb that I was meant to drop on them at the moment, but I didn’t think there was such a thing as the right time for me break the news to them.
“As much as I love your cooking,” Carlos began, eyeing the food with an invisible drool on his chin and I knew how he was struggling with keeping himself together to ask the question, “you never cook unless something’s up.”
“Yea and you rarely call for an emergency meeting,” Dylan said, stuffing himself with the shepherd’s pie I had made.
José wasn’t commenting. He was simply staring at the food in front of him and I knew that his alcohol clouded brain was trying to piece together everything despite how hard it was for him to do so. Slowly, José looked at me with hard eyes. “What’s going on, Julian?”
I rubbed my palms together, trying to come up with the right words to lay the news on them so that they would be able to take it gently. Milo always told me that you should be sensitive when it comes to breaking bad news to other people but how does one even start on telling his peers that I’d basically brought us back to zero and unemployed?
“Wayland and Ross had a meeting with me yesterday. They wanted to drop the band and sign me as a solo artist. I told them to fuck off,” I started, deciding to go with the truth as their eyes widened as they stared at me in shock, “and now I think we don’t have a label to go with, so I guess we’re unemployed.”
I sounded extremely nonchalant and I made a show of reaching for a piece of Shepherd’s pie and then taking a bite. None of the boys said a word for a good of five minutes until the fork that Carlos was holding clattered loudly against his plate. “You did what?”
Wiping my mouth, I met Carlos’ dark eyes. “I told Wayland and Ross to fuck off. We’re unemployed because of that, and oh, they also said something about owning the copyright of our music so I guess that means we can’t have any gigs, tours, or concerts or even sing any of our songs on the channel.”
Milo always said I had a knack for being so tactless and insensitive and I was aware Leo and Everett echoed the same sentiments. I didn’t see anything wrong with being direct. José slammed his fist against the glass table. “What the fuck, Julian?”
I closed my eyes and willed myself to stay calm because this was a reaction I anticipated. “Relax, guys, it’s not the end of the world.”
Dylan scoffed. “You just turned your back on our label, Julian. Hell, does Pete even know what you did?”
At the mention of our manager, I gritted my teeth. “We also don’t have a manager now because I’m firing him.”
“Will you stop calling the shots?” Carlos demanded, glaring at me. “You act so nonchalantly but you put our career on the line without even bothering to think of what we would feel, Julian!”
I let out a shaky breath and set down my fork and then brought my hands together as I regarded my bandmates. “Don’t make me the villain in this story because all I did was protect our band. Wayland and Ross wanted me to sign a solo career with them which meant dropping you guys and losing Born from Ashes.
“I put my whole heart into making sure that our band reaches height so don’t you dare tell me that I wasn’t bothered to think about the band when it was the only thing in my mind.” My voice sounded harsh and cold when the words left my mouth as I stood up and looked at the boys that made up Born from Ashes.
They seemed to sober down from their shock and anger. Dylan was the first one to fully recover. “But what now, Julian? We don’t have a label. You want to fire our manager. Where does that leave us?”
The bubbling anger within me simmered down when I heard the fear in Dylan’s question and I let out a shaky breath, flopping back down on my chair as I looked at them wearily. “I’ve been thinking of a game plan last night. I’m confident there would be other bands that are willing to sign us with them.”
I said this because I was certain that we were at the peak of our success. Even before this incident, I was aware that there had been labels contacting Pete, wanting him to breach the contract with W&R and have us sign with another company. The music industry wasn’t such a big community when you had the right connections and I knew it wouldn’t take long for word to get out.
“As for our songs, well, we can’t sing them anymore and I say that with a heavy heart,” my voice cracked as I said that. Most of our songs were ones I’d written and they were like my babies. I may have played it cool with Wayland and Ross when they told me that we didn’t have rights to it but it sincerely broke my heart.
“What then?” José asked quietly and he stared at me, waiting for me to say something that would ease our situation. All of them actually stared at me with the same hopeful eyes and I felt myself falter for a moment.
I licked my lips and looked at them with a small smile, the same way I had looked at them when I first suggested we start a YouTube channel because things weren’t going our way with labels at that time. “We make music the way we always do whether or not we have a label that’ll sign us or not.”
The doorbell echoed all over the house right after I said that and we all looked at each other until Carlos made a move to head to the door. “Babe!”
“Bonnie, now’s not really a good time,” Carlos began and I could still hear the slight edge in his voice as he tried to ask his girlfriend to leave because he wanted to be alone. Well, she didn’t really catch us at the best time.
“Babe, you see, I’m sort of not alone…” Bonnie said and her voice drowned out and another male voice came in.
“Hi. I’m Theo Coleman. By any chance, are the rest of your bandmates home? My boss would really like to meet with them.”
Curiously, I walked to where they were and hid behind a plant so they wouldn’t be able to see me. “Your boss? Look dude, I don’t know you and now’s not really a good time and even if the rest of the boys are here, I doubt they would want to meet you or your boss.”
Theo cleared his throat and pulled out a business card out of his pocket. I squinted my eyes but I didn’t have 20/20 vision so I couldn’t see. “I really hope you reconsider that thought.”
Carlos took the business card from his hand and then read it. “Finch Records?”
My heart soared when Carlos said that. I knew it. It wouldn’t take long for everyone else in the industry to know about what happened with our band and W&R. And here was one now, ready to offer us a deal.
I watched as someone seemed to walk up from behind Theo. She was wearing tall black heels yet she couldn’t even tower behind Theo and Bonnie. Her hair was tied in a high and tight ponytail and she was wearing a tailored suit and a plain black shirt tucked in her pants. Theo stepped aside so we could see her and I felt my mouth drop on the floor when I recognized her.
I could recognize those fiery brown eyes anywhere and I didn’t give a damn if she looked irresistible in that red lipstick. The sight of her still made my blood boil. “Audrey Finch of Finch Records, CEO, chairman, owner of the company. However, you want to see it, that’s me.”
Audrey Finch of Finch Records.
What. The. Fuck.
Carlos seemed to be in a daze as Audrey stood in front of him, flashing him a tight-lipped smile that barely reached her eyes. “Oh, I, umm, Carlos Alvarez and it’s an honor to me
et you.”
He shook her hand and Audrey kept that fake smile plastered on her face. My eyes narrowed at the sight of her. Learning that she was the new CEO of Finch Company changed the entire thing for me. If she was to make an offer to us, there was no way she expected me to say yes knowing the relationship that we had with each other.
“Carlos,” her voice sounded rich and steady, confident because she knew exactly why she was here, “is the rest of your band home? There’s something I’d like to discuss with all of you. A business proposal.”
Carlos took a step aside and I knew that he was going to invite her in. I stepped out of my hiding place until they could see me. I noticed Theo seemed surprised when he saw me. “Sure. I’ll call everyone. You can wait for us in the living room Miss Finch-,”
I placed a hand on Carlos’ shoulder and stopped him mid-sentence. “No. She’s not coming in here, Carlos. Whatever business proposal you have, it’s a no Miss Finch. You can leave.”
In my peripheral view, I could see the shock spread across Carlos’ face when I blatantly rejected Audrey Finch. “Julian…”
But my gaze remained fixed on Audrey, waiting for her to move and leave. Instead, she let out a scoff and then fixed me with a glare. “I think you know why I’m here, Julian, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to ask me to leave.”
“I think it’s the best idea I’ve had all day.”
Just as Audrey was about to retaliate, José and Dylan appeared. “What’s going on here?”
Audrey fixed her attention on the two of them and introduced herself. “Hello, I’m Audrey Finch from Finch Records. I’m here to discuss a proposition for your band.”
“Dude, when you said that there would be companies lining up for us, I didn’t expect it to happen so soon!” Dylan’s excitement was palpable and whatever he felt earlier seemed to have disappeared in an instant.
I pursed my lips as Audrey smiled triumphantly. “There would be other companies wanting to make an offer with us. We can reject this one.”
Dylan looked confused but José looked like he was trying to figure out who Audrey was. He turned to me and then back at Audrey. “I think I want to hear what she wants from us.”
There was no denying that José figured out who she was but she had allowed herself to come inside by stepping forward and Dylan pulling me along with them despite my protests. Audrey grinned triumphantly and walked inside, the guy following closely behind her while Bonnie disappeared somewhere in the house.
Audrey stopped in the living room and then held out her hand as the guy handed her some documents and a pen. “I heard about what happened between you and W&R and I’m here to be your band’s saving grace. W&R only wanted to sign Julian with them but here I am, wanting to sign your band as a whole.”
She said it so simply, without any conditions or preambles and she looked at us, expecting us to take the pen and sign the papers that easily. “Did you honestly think that you could just come in here and tell us that and expect us to sign with you in a heartbeat?”
“Julian,” Carlos said my name with a harsh warning but I didn’t heed it.
Audrey scoffed and crossed her arms. “Are you honestly letting an opportunity pass you by? I’m already here, Mr. Hudson, and offering you a deal that your previous label did not. Did it not even occur to you that the other labels might do the same thing as your previous one did?”
I cocked my head to the side, crossing my arms against my chest too. “Won’t you?”
She moved her head to the side and rolled her eyes. “Our company clearly stated that we wanted your band, Born from Ashes. We want your band as a whole and we can even sign an agreement that we will never ask to have Julian Hudson signed with us as a solo artist if that’s enough to keep you guys at peace.”
My eyes narrowed as I stared at Audrey. Granted, she was in the music industry and word could travel fast but it hadn’t even been 24 hours yet. She came in here with a contract already done, expecting that she could sign us in a heartbeat without even having many discussions.
There was simply something that wasn’t right about this whole situation because it was too good to be true.
Before I could ask her what her agenda was, my phone began to ring and the ringtone echoed throughout the living room, the number was unknown and I held up a finger and excused myself from everyone.
“Hello?”
“Julian Hudson?” The voice sounded muffled and I had to step out to hear them better.
“Yes, this is he.”
“Mr. Hudson, this is Olivia Harvey from Little Lights Entertainment. We were hoping to schedule a meeting with you to discuss a proposition we wanted to make with your band.”
I swear I could hear the angels rejoicing as I listened in to what Olivia had to say and I gave her my email address so she could properly send me an email regarding this meeting her company wanted to make with us. The self-satisfactory smirk made its way on my lips as I sauntered back inside, even more confident to turn down Audrey Finch and her company.
All eyes were on me when I came back in and it was only then that I realized I left three members with Audrey to discuss with. My eyes narrowed slightly but I continued to walk with confidence. In the end, my decision was what mattered.
“Little Lights Entertainment called,” I said, my voice oozing with silky confidence as I watched Audrey falter ever so slightly at the name of the record label, “and said they wanted to meet with us. I think they’re going to make their own proposal for Born from Ashes.”
I turned to look at my bandmates, grinning. “I told you guys that it wouldn’t be too hard for us. I’m fairly certain that if we don’t sign with anyone just yet, there would be more labels lining up for us and all we get to do is choose who we sign with.”
I expected the three guys to cheer with me but instead, they glanced at each other wearily and pulled me aside, away from hearing distance with Audrey. Carlos cleared his throat. “We were wondering if you would want to reconsider Finch Records.”
“What?” I whispered, staring at them in disbelief. “Did that girl get into your heads? Jesus, guys, they’re not the only company who offered-,”
“But they were the first,” Dylan interjected, looking at me with slightly pleading eyes. “Look, it’s still your call, Julian. We want to make music and we want to make music as a band with or without signing with a record label.”
There was more to Dylan’s words and I waited for it. José was the one who piped in. “I hope you took note of ‘as a band’.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “Guys, I rejected W&R because they wanted to sign me solo. You know I will never leave you guys.”
Carlos nodded in agreement. “We do but that doesn’t mean that other labels won’t make the same offer.”
“And what makes you think that Audrey won’t?”
“She hates you,” José answered simply and glanced aback at Audrey, “and for now, her offer is the best bet we have on producing music professionally. You don’t have to decide now. We can decide when we have more options-,”
“Please just sign with us,” Audrey’s voice sliced through our conversation, we turned to face her. She had listened in on our conversation and I was surprised to see the pleading in her eyes, “I’ll do anything you want to make you guys consider us more than the other labels.”
I regarded Audrey carefully and took note of the slight desperation in her tone that she had tried to hide. The guy moved behind her, like a shadow as she took a cautious step back as I approached. “You hate me. You’d rather dig my grave for me than stand in the same room and breathe the same air and yet you’re here with your offer and seemingly desperate to have us sign. Why?”
Stopping right in front of her, I could see the agitation on her face and I knew I was pressing at the right buttons. The confidence she had when she walked in earlier was gone now. “What do you want, Julian?”
Maybe old habits die hard or maybe there was a part of me that sought for r
evenge for how she easily threw me out of the hospital that time. My eyes flickered to the guy behind her and I smirked. “An assistant. I want an assistant for a month and then maybe I’ll reconsider that proposal you had. And I want it to be you. If you’re capable of pulling it off for a month, then we’ll sign with you.”
I was ready for her to nod her head in agreement to my terms, in the way that we all expected she would, judging from the desperation in her voice earlier when she asked me if I had any terms. But what I didn’t expect was for her hand to collide against my cheek, slapping me so hard that my face was already stinging even before she lifted her palm off of me.
“I’d rather lose than be your slave,” Audrey hissed and without preamble, she turned around and stalked off, her nose in the air as Theo tried to call after her, rushing to follow her out.
Son of a bitch.
4
Audrey
I stared at the open ocean as the waves crashed down against the rocks, outside patio of my home in Santa Monica. I swirled the champagne in the glass and sighed, closing my eyes and running a hand through my now loose hair, feeling the slight sting in my palm from when I slapped Julian when he asked me to be his assistant.
His assistant.
“Good grief, I’d rather die than have to serve that asshole.”
“Careful or you might break that, Aud,” Theo’s voice filled my ears and I closed my eyes, loosening my grip ever so slightly on the glass so I couldn’t break it. Theo followed me out when I walked out on Julian’s offer and had tried to convince me to turn back as I drove us back to my house in Santa Monica which was actually near Julian’s Malibu home.
But I didn’t because I didn’t want to come back to Julian Hudson and say yes on his deal, agree on his terms, and lose my pride and dignity as I did so.
“Why are you still here, T?” I asked, sipping my drink as I watched the sun slowly descend, painting the sky liquid gold with a touch of light pink. God, LA sunsets were always so impeccably beautiful. I’d missed it so much when I studied in New York. “You’re not going to convince me to go back to Julian’s house and agree on his terms. You can’t possibly ask me to give up my pride.”