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When I bang on the door to Ty’s room, it opens almost immediately.
He stands there, a smirk on his stupid face. “Glad you came. I have a couple of guys from our label here who would love to speak with you, Lo.”
I walk in past him, staring daggers at the other men in the room. “Well, I have a lot I want to say too, starting with how the media got information on people they should never have had access to.”
One of the men extends his hand, the scent of his expensive cologne stinging my nostrils. “Lo, good to finally meet you, man. I’m Jerry, one of the members of your team.”
“My team?” I ask, staring at his hand that I will not shake. “I didn’t know I had a team.”
I look at Ty who’s moved in behind me. “Care to explain what the fuck is going on here? Why is my daughter’s name and picture on the fucking media?”
“She’s a part of you, and your fans want to know all about you, Lo.” He gestures to the chair nearest me. “Why don’t you relax, have a seat, and we will explain everything to you?”
I am not about to just sit down and let these assholes think I’m okay with anything they have done. “I don’t care to relax. Right now, I’m pissed. You should have come to me and asked if it would be okay to put my kid out there for the whole world to see. She’s not of age to consent. I’m pretty sure what you did is illegal.”
“It’s not,” the other man in the room quickly informs me. “The contract you signed when you joined the band gave the label full permission to use anything and anyone, we want that has anything to do with you. That’s how we’ve been able to publish pictures of you with the many women you have been with. If they’re with you, they’re fair game. Get it now, Lo?”
His smirk makes me want to knock it right off his smug face. “You were with Lucy Bennet and the daughter you two share, Aurora Bennet, and that makes it okay to take pictures and videos of them.”
“And what is your name?” I want to know the name of every stupid motherfucker I am dealing with, so I know who to tell my lawyers to go after.
“Stan Strouse. I’m on your team too, Lo. There are three of us, in all. Three new men to help you on your way to becoming a solo artist. Doesn’t that sound like great news?”
“What the fuck?”
This is the way it has always been. But before, I blamed the alcohol for why I couldn’t remember hearing about what the label was doing.
They think they can stand safely behind the contracts I have signed over the years.
They are wrong.
“First of all, Aurora doesn’t have me listed as father, so legally, I have no connection to her, and she and Lucy, the legal guardian, haven’t consented to having their identities splashed on the papers, so it doesn’t matter if I signed a contract or not, they have a say too. The girls over the years were more than happy to have their faces all over the news outlets, but this is a different ballgame you decided to play. And we will sue you for this, just FYI.”
As they try to open their mouths to argue, I raise my hand and add, “Second of all, when did I ever say I wanted to become a solo artist?”
Because I don’t. I never did.
It was always me and my brother. The other guys just came with the label, and if they want to go their own way, fine, but I’ll never leave my brother behind.
Other than Lucy and Aurora, he is the only family I have left.
Ty takes a step back, gesturing to Jerry. “I’m going to let these guys fill you in on all that. I’m not really going to be a part of your team once you sign over to the solo artists thing.”
“I don’t want you in my team at all. All you want me to do is make a fool out of myself as I drink myself to death, preferably alone and hated by my family. Good riddance.”
That being said, there is no way I’m leaving my bandmates behind.
“Just so you guys know, until this mess is dealt with and unless it involves me staying with the band and having this guy—” I tilt my head indicating Ty “—out of our ‘team’ as you call it, whatever you guys have cooked up for me, not interested.”
I look Jerry squarely in the eyes. “I didn’t come here to talk about business. I came here to put an end to the idea that you can expose my private life for the world to see and think I’m okay with that.”
Looking at all three men in the room with me, I add, “So, you have two options. Forget about this solo artist shit and get Lucy and her daughter off the internet for good, I don’t care how or I will find a way to end my association with the label and sue you for compensation for the damages done to my health and my image over the past four years. I guess that will give me quite a nice little settlement, don’t you?”
Ty gets on my face. “You can’t do that. You signed a contract.”
I push back. “I can. And I will. You should have thought twice before going after the people I love. This little stunt of yours could cost me my family. My future. So unless you fix this, there is no way I’m sitting back and letting you destroy my life.”
Stan gets up and comes to us. “That’s enough, Ty.”
