I’m sure when I had paperwork delivered to their house requesting this meeting, they got happy, thinking I’d gotten some sort of contract with a payout that they’d be able to put their hands in.
“Are you ready?” Jenna, one of my lawyers asks as she comes in, taking a seat beside me.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been so ready for anything in my life.”
There’s a low-level buzz of excitement mixed with the fear. I’ve never stood up for myself before when it comes to them, and what I’m about to do?
It will completely change their lives forever.
And if I’m being honest, mine too.
She grabs hold of her iced coffee, taking a drink while she flips through some of the papers she has in front of her. “Looks like they got the paperwork yesterday, but they haven’t logged onto the portal yet, so they probably haven’t even read it. We’ll just tell them all about it when we all log on together.” She gives me a grin.
“There’s no way they can fight this, right? Just because they have an expectation that I should take care of them doesn’t mean I have to?”
Jenna’s blue eyes are wide as she looks at me again. “The information you’ve given to the judge was more than enough for him to nullify the contract your parents made you sign as a minor. They haven’t ever been your management and there’s no reason they should be paid as your management. It’s stealing.”
I’ve always thought the same thing but have never been able to break free from the chains they had around me.
She checks her watch. “It’s time, let’s see if they even show up.”
Lots of things happen in a short amount of time. There’s someone in here helping with the technical side of things, which is nice because I’m basically good with FaceTime and that’s about it.
After a lot of messing around with the laptop on the table in front of me, the faces of my parents show up. I can’t remember the last time I saw them in person - was it before I left on the tour where I eventually ended up meeting EJ? That night me and Madison went out for my birthday was one of the first weekends I’d had off.
Trying to remember back then is like looking at someone else’s life. Before EJ, mine had been so bleak, so focused on what my parents wanted me to do for them. Which is why I know this will shock them.
“Brianna!”
My mother’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard as she squawks my name.
“What is going on here?”
There’s good old Dad, completely oblivious to what’s really happening under his nose.
“Hello.” Jenna leans forward, a smile on her face. “My name is Jenna Saling, and I’m the counsel for Brianna Thompson.”
“Her last name is Jenkins,” Dad interrupts.
“It’s Thompson,” I argue. “I got it changed when I got married.”
Having his last name replace the one I’d hated so much was one of the best days of my life.
“Why is an attorney here?” Mom hurries to ask.
“As I said,”- Jenna keeps her poise, which is why I’m paying her so much money - “I’m Jenna Saling and I’m the counsel for Brianna Thompson. I trust you received the packet we had delivered to you?”
“We haven’t read it yet.”
That’s my dad, always quick to admit when he hasn’t done something he probably already should’ve.
“The note on the outside indicated you should have had your own counsel read it,” Jenna slowly explains. “Are you telling me you didn’t have anyone interpret it for you?”
“That’s what we’re saying.”
As I look into the computer screen, it’s as if it dawns on my mom what this could possibly be. She grabs the paperwork out of his hands, starting to flip through it. I know the minute she sees the wording which cuts her and him out of my financial life for good.
“No, no, no, no, no…”
“Yes.” Jenna adjusts herself in her seat, looking at them straight on. “As you will see, Brianna filed an injunction to keep you from stealing more money from her, which she was awarded. It’s iron-clad and if you try to bypass it, I promise we’ll go to the tabloids with the things you’ve done to your daughter and we’ll tell them exactly how much money you’ve stolen from her over the years. The judge who signed this wanted to come after you for reimbursement, but Brianna and I agreed that would be more trouble than it was worth.”
They’re dumbfounded. “How dare you?”
I lean forward. “Excuse me, Mom, but my husband and I are fighting for our professional lives right now, and one thing I didn’t need to worry about was paying for your Botox treatments every month. I’ve worked hard for what I have and I’ve been generous - all I ever wanted was for you to love me. I would have given you everything for that.”
I do my best to keep the tears out of both my eyes and my voice, but it’s hard when these are your parents. “It wasn’t until someone actually loved me that I realized how abusive the two of you have been for most of my life. For my mental health and for the health of my marriage, I have to let you go.”
They’re making noises, saying unspeakable things, but I let them. I let them get it all out. To them I’m the ungrateful child, the one who caused their world to implode.
But I’m not taking responsibility for it any longer.
“If you’ll excuse me.” I reach down to grab my purse. “I just wanted to make sure the two of you knew you can’t get your hands on my money anymore. If you have questions, you can talk to Jenna about them, but I have to get a family cookout.”
“A family cookout?”
“Yeah.” I grin. “Down here, there’s a whole group of people who love me just for who I am. I used to wonder why you couldn’t, but now I don’t. Now I realize I don’t need you and I never needed you. I’m going home to my family.”
Walking out with my head high, I feel like a million bucks and I can’t wait to thank EJ for the strength he unknowingly gave me to cut ties with my parents.
Now…it’s time to go after a record company.
Chapter Five
EJ
I can’t stop my eyes from going to the empty spot in the driveway every five minutes as I wait for Bri to come back from her meeting.
“Would you stop?” RJ throws a bottle of water at my face.
“Fuck you man, this is the face of your band.”
The two of us look at each other and belly laugh.
“Yeah,” he says, wiping at his face. “Okay.”
“You know I’m the cutest between us.”
“Whatever.” He rolls his eyes. “She’s going to be fine, Bri can handle herself. She’s handled you for almost six months now.”
Six months since we got married. I don’t know how time could have gone by so fast, I hadn’t even recognized it. We’re a few weeks from Halloween and we haven’t decorated. yet Not like you can tell it’s almost Halloween in the South, temps are still hot as hell. Which is why we’re having a cookout at our house, celebrating a new heated pool we just had put in. Unheated today. Because it’s so hot.
“I know, it’s just that I wanted to go with her, but she said she’d feel better if she did this on her own. You know you would have wanted to be with Montgomery if she were doing something like this.”
Mentioning her name makes RJ’s eyes light up. The two of them have been doing well from what I can tell. At least he’s staying on the straight and narrow - all she’s ever asked him to do.
“I would, but I’d respect the woman she is, and not be waiting by the door like a dog when she shows up.”
Flipping him a finger, I turn to where Dad is manning the grill. “You need help with that?” I yell.
“Stand back and let the master work.”
RJ and I look at one another before we laugh loudly again. “Remember that time he caught the deck on fire?” RJ snorts.
I snort too. “Mom was so fuckin’ pissed.”
“What are you two over here cackling about?” Mom asks,
having a seat between us.
“Dad catching the deck on fire.”
She laughs too. “The firefighter who came was so against metal music. He made so many jokes about hell and damnation, and how his stage name is Reaper, so he probably deserved a little fire.”
“You were mad, though,” I remind her.
“Only because I’d told him he was using too much lighter fluid and he told me to stand back and let the master work.”
“That’s what he just said a few minutes ago. Should I go ahead and get my phone ready in case we need to call the fire department again?”
“I hope not, you’ve only had that deck for a few months.”
“Yeah,” I lean back winking at RJ. “I haven’t even broken it in properly yet.”
“Everett James,” Mom throws a wet towel toward me.
“Why is everybody throwing shit at me today?”
“Because you don’t know how to keep your damn mouth shut?” RJ stands, taking his shirt off. “I’m gonna go give this pool you spent way too much money on a try. It better massage my body.”
“It’s not a prostitute.” I pick up his shirt, throwing it in the pool, before pushing him in along with it.
“You’re a fucker,” he yells when he comes up sputtering water.
It’s then that I hear a car door shut. The only person we’re waiting on is Bri, and my head turns so fast I might as well have snapped my neck. She looks amazing in her business casual outfit she’d put on this morning. A tight white shirt that makes me desperately want to get her out of it and a pencil skirt that gives me teacher/student vibes. If only my family wasn’t here right now.
I jog over to where she stands, grabbing a few things out of her back seat. “Hey,” I reach in, putting my arms around her waist.
She turns into my embrace with trust I never imagined she would have for me. Every time she gives me a little piece of herself, I save it for later. One day this woman will give me everything and I’ll show her exactly how special she is.
“How’d it go?”
Her eyes are slightly cloudy as she looks up at me. “As good as could be expected. They’re pissed because I refuse to bankroll their lives anymore. I mean I’d be pissed too.”
“No you wouldn’t, you don’t expect handouts, so you’d be making your own money. Ya know, like you are now.”
“I know,” she sighs. “I just wish I had a family like yours.”
“You do.” I lean in, kissing her softly on the neck. “My family is your family, and when the time is right we’ll make our own family.”
“I like the sound of that.” She grins.
We’ve not talked about it much yet, but both of us have hinted that we wouldn’t be opposed to it. Being a younger parent suits me in ways I never dreamed of. So I guess what Dad always said - knowing when you meet the right woman - wasn’t just a bunch of horse shit.
She squeezes my hand. “I’m gonna go change so I can join y’all in the pool.”
“Listen to you, saying y’all.” I tilt her chin up with my forefinger. “We’ll make a Southerner out of you yet.”
“Wouldn’t be too hard,” she giggles, leaning in to kiss me before waving at everyone and heading into our house.
“How did it go for her?” Mom asks as I have a seat back on the deck.
“It went good for her, shitty for her parents, and that makes it rough for her at the same time. I don’t say it often enough,” -I rub my fingernails through my hair. “-but you and Dad are the shit, and I’m super lucky to have the two of you on my side, no matter what.”
“I was just waiting on you to grow up and realize that,” she deadpans.
“Mom that hurts.” I grab at my chest.
“Not as much as seeing such a sweet girl have to deal with parents like hers.” She looks back at the house.
“I should probably go check on her. I thought she might want some time alone, but now I’m feeling like that might be a bad decision.”
“You’ll never know until you try it, we’ll be out here waiting. Take all the time you need.”
This is the part of being married I’m never sure about. I’ve never stuck around with the girl long enough to go into the deep and meaningful parts of a relationship. We’ve never had to navigate feelings and dealing with things that didn’t directly concern us. Which describes how superficial my life was before I met Bri. But with her I want to be here, every single time she needs me. Even if it’s hard and uncomfortable. Even if she pushes me away. I’m going to stand firm and be the man she needs in her life.
“Babe.” I come through the bedroom door, seeing her sitting on the bed. Her face is in her hands and her shoulders are shaking. “Awww, babe, come here.”
She runs for me, wrapping her body around mine as I carry her back to the bed and lay down with her, rubbing my hands all along her back and arms, doing my best to soothe her. “I love you,” I whisper, wanting her to know how much she’s changed my life. “You shouldn’t have been in here crying on your own, you shoulda came and got me. We’re in this together, Bri. You hurt, I hurt. I’m so sorry they aren’t the people you want them to be, but you have me. You have our friends, and my family is your family. We’ll get through this together.”
“I know.” She sniffles before finally lifting her head out of the crook of my neck. “It’s just always felt like I did something wrong, something to make them be the way they are toward me, and I realized today it’s not me. It’s them, and all they’ve ever cared about is the money.”
“There are bad people everywhere, Bri.”
“But our parents should love us.”
“They should,” I agree with her, again feeling extremely lucky to have the mom and dad I do.
“It’s going to be different when we have kids.” Her bottom lip trembles. “They will know how loved they are, they will know they aren’t a meal ticket.”
“They, huh?” I grin slightly. “How many are you planning?”
“At least two,” she grins back at me, it’s watery, but I’ll take it.
“At least?”
“Well, I mean I don’t want my own basketball team or anything, but we’ll need to have a tie-breaker if we have a boy and a girl first.”
Chuckling, I tuck her head under my chin and hold her to me tightly. “We’ll talk about all of that later. Right now I think you need to go change into one of your hot-as-hell bikinis and come on down to the pool.”
“That sounds like a really good idea. Your dad is grilling, right?”
“He’s got a well-done hamburger with your name on it, you weirdo.”
“Just because I like my meat completely done doesn’t mean I’m a weirdo,” she argues.
Seeing an opportunity, I reach down, cupping my package. “I got your completely done meat right here.”
She snorts, giggling in a way I haven’t seen in a few weeks. “I love you.” She leans forward, kissing me softly.
“Love you too, Mrs. Thompson. Love you, too.”
Chapter Six
Bri
“Thank God we didn’t give the record company access to your social media.” Madison breathes a sigh of relief as we sit in the basement of the house EJ and I share. His band and management are upstairs putting together a plan on how to release music and get the ball rolling on getting themselves out of their contract while Madison and I sit downstairs, doing the same thing.
“Yeah. From what I heard EJ and the rest of the band have their own personal accounts, but the Grey Skies one is run by the record company. Their name is trademarked too, but I’m unsure if they applied for the trademark or if the record company did.”
Madison makes a noise in her throat before speaking. “At least we were smart enough to keep your name and likeness.”
“People thought we were crazy.” I grin at her. “Paying as much as we did to get to keep it when they wanted it.”
“Maybe in the back of our minds, we knew,” she laughs. “We knew we were going to h
ave a fight on our hands at some point in your career.”
“Just like Shell and I did.”
My head whips up as I hear the voice of my mother-in-law. It’s still so absolutely insane I’ve married into the family of Harmony Stewart. There are times when I’m still star-struck.
Madison nods. “You and Shell set the trail for the rest of us. Luckily for us, we know how to take care of so many things because of what the two of you did.”
She has a seat. “I hope I’m not interrupting. Garrett came by to talk with the boys, and I thought it’d be nice to talk with the girls.”
“No, please, hang out with us.” I make room for her, moving aside our notebooks, papers, and pens.
“Shell and I didn’t realize that’s what we were doing when we did it, I hope you know that. All we wanted to do, was what was right. We had no idea younger female artists would be looking to us in the future. That’s a lot of pressure and we probably would’ve been way too self-conscious to be the trailblazers of that kind of movement.”
“But you were,” I remind her. “I remember when people found out the two of you were your company. Everybody had always assumed you had a man running the show. It was unheard of for women to be that successful on their own.”
“We showed them, didn’t we?”
“You sure did.” I grin. “Thanks to you, we can now do things we weren’t ever allowed to do before.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asks, having a seat.
Madison pulls out her notebook. “Is there something we’re missing? When we go after what we want, are we forgetting anything?”
“Make sure you go after the masters. If you don’t, you’re putting money in their pocket.”
“What if they don’t let me keep my masters?” I’m already nervous. Even though I’ve written these songs and worked like hell to make them successful, they can still take this from me.
Breach of Contract: A Rocker Romance (The Nashvegas Series Book 2) Page 3