by Kelly Favor
“I need an answer now,” Jake said. “If you can’t give me a better deal, than cut me loose. When this new album hits, my back catalog is going to explode and you’ll probably make more money that way.”
“And we won’t have to worry about you, will we? No more watching after you, cleaning up your messes, making excuses when you inevitably screw up again,” Sander said, his tone acidic.
“That’s right,” Jake agreed, smirking at the phone, but his eyes were full of anger.
“Fine,” Sander said in a clipped tone. “Have the contract drawn up, signed and delivered to me within the next twenty-four hours and you have a deal, Novak. It’s going to be nice to not have to think about you for awhile.”
“The feeling’s mutual, buddy.”
And then Jake hung up the phone.
Raven shivered. “Wow, that was not pleasant.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Jake picked up his phone and held it aloft like a trophy. “But we did it, baby. We’re free and clear and now we can sign with Mack Zee. Twenty million, and that’s just the advance.”
She smiled at him but her heart was beating fast and her stomach felt queasy. “It’s all moving so quickly.”
“It’s going to be a rollercoaster, but at least we’ll be on it together, right?”
“Right,” she said, as he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the air, then dropped her down to the floor and kissed her deeply.
She melted against him, as Jake was instantly able to evaporate all of her worries and concerns when he touched and kissed her.
This time was no different.
The next few days were a whirlwind of activity. Jake had his lawyer draft and look over the contracts pertaining to the deal with Mack Zee and also the back catalogue publishing rights he was giving up to his old label, under the condition that they agree to terminate his old contract and the stipulations it was holding him to.
In effect, Jake was signing away all his old songs, everything he’d done in the past, and betting the farm on his new record and his new songs.
His lawyer didn’t know if it was such a good idea, and he suggested staying with the old label and making amends. But Jake didn’t want to do that and Raven agreed with him.
Jake wanted a fresh start, and he got it.
Before long, the contracts had been signed, sealed and delivered.
Meanwhile, Jake’s video for Too Far From Home had continued to pile on the views, and now had over a hundred million hits on YouTube. Fans were clamoring loudly to hear more from his forthcoming album, and their noise appeared to be wiping out all of the anger and retribution that had come when Jake had cancelled his old tour.
Jake’s Facebook and Twitter and Instagram accounts were gaining fans by the second, not losing them. It was quite obvious that the momentum had shifted.
At the meeting where Jake and Mack Zee officially signed off on their record deal, the entire record label staff of nearly two hundred people stood in the lobby and first floor, while Mack made a lengthy speech about how this was the biggest artist they’d ever signed, and how Jake was about to revolutionize the industry.
Everyone clapped and hollered and then the drinking began in earnest.
“Hey, Jake, Raven—“ Mack Zee said softly, as the party started up around them and the staff of the label began talking and drinking and ignoring them. “Could you two come with me for a second?”
“Of course,” Raven said, as Mack put a soft hand on her shoulder, and his other hand on Jake’s shoulder, and walked them upstairs.
“Something wrong?” Jake asked him, as they got to Mack’s office. Once inside, Mack closed the door, cutting off the noise from the party below.
“Look, we all know how well Too Far From Home is doing on YouTube,” Mack told them. “And I think we should capitalize on that momentum. We were thinking about releasing a digital only single to iTunes immediately, Jake.”
Jake looked to Raven.
“I think that’s a great idea,” she said.
“It’s a demo track,” Jake said uncertainly.
“Taylor Swift’s first album is mostly just the demo tracks she and her producer cut. When they tried to give it the full studio treatment, it sounded like dookie. So they went back and used the demos instead. The Foo Fighters first album was all done by Dave Grohl on his four track or some shit.”
Jake nodded, his brow wrinkled. “Yeah, I get it. I’m just not sure.”
“Jake,” Raven said, putting a hand on his forearm. “You’ve always been nervous about putting this new music out. You were nervous about recording it too.”
“I’m just not sure that track is ready,” Jake said.
“It’s ready. This is the time. People already love it.”
Jake thought about it and then finally nodded. “Okay,” he said. “You have our blessing. Let’s do it.”
Mack Zee gave a fist pump and then high-fived Raven and Jake in turn. “I am so, so happy about our partnership. We are gonna take over the world.”
He threw his arms around them. “Now, about that other thing. The Club we discussed in our last meeting.”
Raven froze and Jake stiffened too. “We shouldn’t ever talk about them again,” Jake said.
Mack looked at him. “I need to tell you that I hear things, Jake. I’m worried about you guys.”
“What’ve you heard?”
“I heard it aint over. I heard they still plan to make a move.”
Jake spun and looked at Mack with eyes that were like cold steel. “Tell me exactly what you heard,” he said through grit teeth.
“All I’m saying is that you need to be careful. Now, I happen to have my intel,” Mack said, his voice still calm. “I know things about these people. And if they do make a move, you let me know, Jake. Just come and tell me—call me, any hour of the day. And I’ll help you.”
Jake was staring at him. “How do I know you’re not with them?”
Mack’s smile grew wider. “You won’t know it until the time is right, my friend. For now, I suppose you’ll just have to hope you and your lady friend are lucky and not unlucky. Because if I am with the Club, then your life might just have gotten a whole lot more complicated.”
Jake pulled away from him and grabbed Raven’s hand. “Come on,” he told her. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Be careful,” Mack told them as they left.
As they left the building, Raven turned to Jake. “What do you think?” she asked him. “Is he really with Club Alpha?”
Jake shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s just a member of the club like I was. Maybe he’s just fucking with us.”
“I don’t like this,” Raven said, looking around as they walked down the street to where Jake had parked his jeep. She felt anxious, paranoid. She hadn’t felt like this since they’d left the cabin.
“It’s going to fine,” Jake told her, but his voice was tight.
They got in the jeep and drove home.
That night, neither of them said much. Both were lost in thought, lost in their own private worlds.
Raven didn’t like the way Jake had withdrawn from her. He went for a long night swim at the beach, not inviting her, and then came inside and had a beer.
She texted with Skylar and her brother, telling them very little about her own adventures, and instead asking more about what they had been doing. It was nice to get lost in other people’s worlds for a while.
Danny told her that the family was getting tired of staying at the various hotels that Jake had arranged for them. They wanted to go home, but no home existed and the insurance money still hadn’t come in.
Skylar said she was feeling better, but Raven wasn’t certain that it was the truth.
I want to come and see you, Raven texted her.
Don’t be silly. I’m doing fine, there’s no reason for you to come back yet.
Jake was drinking his beer and watching Rocky III on the couch, and Raven didn’t feel comfortable even tr
ying to talk to him, so she went upstairs to the bedroom and read articles about Jake’s music online, finding some new commentary on her as well.
For the first time, she was seeing some positive stuff on the web attached to her name.
Apparently, Mack Zee had called her a producing genius and credited her for bringing Jake’s song Too Far From Home to the public’s attention. Now, instead of seeing people on Twitter and Facebook calling her the new Yoko Ono, there were people defending her and saying that Jake Novak had been nothing but an overhyped Disney product until Raven Hartley had come along and turned him into a true artist.
Obviously, Raven didn’t think she was that responsible for Jake’s newfound critical success. He’d written those songs, he was the musical genius. But it was still nice to know that maybe she did have a place in his story that wasn’t all about undermining and destroying his career.
And even though Mack Zee was an enigma, and potentially a threat, he’d made a public proclamation and stood behind her, if only for the moment. That was worth a lot to her after everything she’d been through.
Drifting off to sleep that night, she hoped that this wasn’t a dream that was about to turn into a nightmare.
When Raven woke up, she was alone in bed. Vaguely, she remembered Jake coming in during the middle of the night and sliding next to her, wrapping her in his warm embrace.
But now the bed was cold and empty, and it looked as if Jake had been gone for some time.
She had a strange feeling of anxiety creep over her, as if perhaps Jake had been taken away—kidnapped, stolen from her.
“Jake?” she called, getting off the mattress and putting on a light robe, closing it around herself as she went hesitantly out to the rest of the house. “Jake!” she yelled.
Where was he? Out at the beach? Swimming?
She walked slowly down the stairs and saw the front door was partway open. And then she was running down and throwing the door the rest of the way open to see who, if anyone, was out there.
And that’s when she saw it.
Jake was standing next to a sleek white car with a big red bow stuck to it, and reading what looked like some sort of card. He was wearing shorts and no shirt, and looked as though he’d just come from a swim.
“What’s that?” she called out, relieved to see him standing there in one piece, with no Club Alpha goons in sight.
Jake waved her over. “It’s a gift from Mack Zee,” he said, shaking his head, amused.
“Maybe he’s trying to make up for scaring us yesterday,” she replied, as she walked closer. “What kind of car is it?” she said.
“A Jaguar XK Convertible,” Jake told her, still reading the card. “These things run right around a hundred thousand dollars a piece.”
“Oh my goodness,” she said. “Well, it’s beautiful.”
“Just like the woman who owns it.”
She stopped in her tracks. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, the car is for you,” he said, handing her the card with a mischievous grin.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She took the card, and now her hand was shaking for altogether different reasons.
Dearest Miss Hartley,
You’ve been a revelation to work with, and my greatest thanks for helping to shepherd Jake Novak’s music through the creative process and bringing both the songs and the man into my life and my world. I’m forever in debt to you, and I anticipate this as the start of a long and prosperous business relationship between you and I.
May this sleek, beautiful and elegant automobile be a symbol of the class that you’ve brought to the making of this fine album.
All The Best,
Mack Zee
Raven read the card at least two more times before looking up at Jake again. “He gave me this as a gift?”
“He did.” Jake folded his arms, seeming to enjoy the bewildered expression on Raven’s face.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” she said, walking around the car and letting her fingers trail the outside. She couldn’t believe how gorgeous it was. “This is the kind of thing they give to LeBron James when he signs with a new team, not to the girlfriend of a rock star when he signs a record deal.”
“You’re not just my girlfriend, babe. You’re my manager, remember?”
She looked at him, stunned. “Yes, but—“
“But nothing. This is the kind of gift a big-time manager gets in our industry. You’ve arrived.”
She shook her head and put her hand over her mouth. One hundred thousand dollars. On one car. She couldn’t even imagine driving it. “I’d be scared that I’d crash it. And how will I afford the upkeep?”
Jake laughed. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
“Of course it is. You know how much these specialty parts cost. If I break a tail light it’s going to bankrupt me.”
“Are you sure about that?” Jake’s eyes wrinkled, amused at her continued confusion.
“Jake, stop messing with me.” She felt her cheeks flush as the reality of the whole thing hit her full force.
“I want you to do something now, and promise me you won’t freak out and faint or anything,” Jake said, still smiling.
“I can’t promise that. I already feel weak in the knees.”
“Come on,” he said, grabbing her lightly by the arm and leading her back inside. “Let’s get you out of the bright sun, and inside where you can sit down and have a glass of water.”
She walked in, and actually it was no joke. She needed Jake’s steady arm to support her, because this was all too much. Jake was being real with her—she was actually the manager of the biggest musical act on the planet right now.
“I’m calming down,” she lied, trying to control her breathing as Jake helped her sit at the kitchen table.
“Let me grab you a cup of water,” Jake told her, and returned moments later with a cold glass filled with ice and pure cold liquid.
She guzzled for a long moment, letting it hit her throat, and then she sighed and put it down on the table. Raven closed her eyes and then opened them again. “I think I’m doing better now.”
“Good,” Jake said. He left the room and came back a minute later with his laptop and placed it in front of her. “Mack’s going to be releasing my single on iTunes later today,” he said. “Things are about to get even crazier. You know that, right?”
“I thought you were trying to help me calm down, not make me faint,” she said, keeping her voice steady.
It’s just a car. Okay, an expensive car. But nothing’s changed. I don’t even need to drive it if I don’t want to.
“I want you to log into your bank account,” Jake said softly, but his voice was firm. His eyes were watching her intently.
“Why?” she demanded.
“Because, you need to check your account, Raven.”
“Jake, you better not have done anything crazy. That car is enough.”
“Log in, babe.” He pushed the laptop towards her insistently.
She did as he told her, and now her hands were really shaking. She knew that something big was coming, but as her account popped up, nothing could have prepared her for how big it was going to be.
Raven sat and stared at the screen, dumbfounded. “That’s a mistake,” she said, her voice sounding distant to her own ears.
“That’s your commission on my advance,” Jake said. “It’s standard.”
“It can’t be. I—I can’t accept this, Jake.”
“You don’t really have a choice,” he chuckled. “That’s the manager’s cut. It wouldn’t be right for me to keep that money.”
“But…but…”
“But nothing. You earned that money fair and square. You were the one who kicked that imbecile Hec out of the session and helped me get my head screwed on straight, convinced me to record my songs the right way. You sat there and acted as my ears in the studio, talked me through my own bullshit and got me to let loose and really commit to the w
ork. And you’re the one who made sure that song found the light of day, and that’s the only reason Mack Zee ever contacted me in the first place.”
Even though Raven knew everything Jake said was the truth, she still couldn’t fathom what she was seeing on the laptop screen.
The most recent deposit into her checking account was for the tidy sum of four million dollars.
FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.
It boggled the mind, literally. “I don’t know what to say.” Tears sprang to her eyes as she realized what this meant for her and her family. Not only would she be able to provide for herself into the distant future, but she’d be able to help her mother and father and Danny too.
“You don’t need to say anything,” Jake said, rubbing her back. “I’m the one who needs to say that I love you, and I owe you my life. You helped me to get out from under all of that old baggage—all that crap that was hanging around my neck like a damned albatross. But I put the bags down and I’m free, thanks to you.”
She realized she was crying, and began laughing at her own hysterics. “I don’t even know why I’m crying,” she said.
“Maybe it’s because you’re happy.”
She nodded over and over again, and then they leaned into one another and Jake’s lips were on hers and she could feel his love and his respect and everything that she’d ever dreamed of, and it was as if he was pouring it into her soul, filling her to the brim with nothing but love and acceptance and joy.
It wasn’t the money at all, she realized.
It was him.
Jake was what had happened to her—she’d found the man of her dreams, and he loved her back, every bit as much as she loved him.
The rest of the day was a celebration.
They took her new car and drove it around the island. Mostly Jake drove it, because Raven was too intimidated, but she did take a turn at the wheel for a few minutes towards dusk.
Driving past the white sandy beaches, feeling the wind on her face and in her hair, Jake Novak beside her, and she thought she was going to burst with the emotions that were running through her.
Later, a private chef came to Jake’s house and made them a four-course meal that consisted of an amazing Waldorf salad, a creamy mushroom soup, and then absolutely perfect sirloin steaks and buttery mashed potatoes.