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“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
Reed looks at the three of us, and when nobody says anything, he rises, obviously assuming we’re done here. But we’re so not done.
“Hold on,” I say. “There’s one more thing.”
Reed settles back into his chair and waits, his face impassive.
I swallow hard, mustering my courage. “When you look at rescheduling our tour, I don’t want our new dates to conflict with any tour you might put together for Alessandra in the future.”
Reed rolls his eyes. “That’s not something I can promise, Fish.”
“It’s nonnegotiable.”
Reed scoffs. “There are too many moving parts for me to promise that. Is this a backhanded way of demanding I put Ally on your next tour, as the opener? Because the problem with that is twofold. One, I’m not sure Alessandra’s music and audience are a perfect fit with 22 Goats. And, two, part of the reason I’ve been wanting to put a rush on Ally’s album is so she can open for Laila later this year.”
I’m floored. Shit. Touring with Laila would be an A-plus result for Alessandra! Both professionally and personally. If Alessandra didn’t love me, there’s no doubt she’d pick touring with Laila—her personal idol!—as her top pick.
I run my hand through my hair, feeling like my heart is crashing violently against my sternum. “Ally should tour with Laila,” I concede on an exhale. “That’s the best possible tour for her.”
Reed looks like the weight of the world is pressing on his broad shoulders. For a long moment, he doesn’t speak, but, rather, looks silently out his office window at the traffic on Sunset Boulevard below. Finally, he returns to the three of us and says, “Would you boys be willing to add a song to your next album for purely marketing purposes—to allow me to cross-promote you in another market?”
We look at each other, and shrug.
Dax says, “Depends on the song. What do you have in mind?”
“What if we added a ‘22 Goats featuring Laila Fitzgerald’ song to your next album? Something with a touch more of a dance vibe than you’re known for—sort of like how Coldplay did that song with Rihanna?”
Coldplay.
The man is smart. He knows the bands and artists we idolize.
“I’d be down to do that,” Dax says. “Assuming the song isn’t trash.”
Colin and I agree with that statement.
Reed’s gears are plainly turning now. “If we do this right,” he says, “this collaboration will be a mega-blockbuster—something we could use to sell a whole lot of tickets to a joint 22 Goats/Laila tour.” He smiles at me. “A tour that would feature the cute and quirky opener, little Miss Alessandra Tennison.”
“That sounds amazing, Reed,” I choke out, barely able to contain my excitement.
“You know,” Reed says. “As long as we’re thinking about cross-marketing . . . Maybe we should double- and triple-down on this idea.” He looks at me. “Do you think Ally would be willing to include a duet with you on her album?”
I’m shocked he’s thinking this way. I’m not an artist in my own right. I’m the bass player and backup singer in 22 Goats. A sidekick. Not to mention, way back when in Maui, Reed said I should consider dropping out of my own fucking band to allow Dax to become a solo artist! While it’s true Ally and I have talked about writing a duet, Reed doesn’t know that! And now, suddenly, he thinks I’m good enough to sing co-lead vocals on a song on his new artist’s debut?
“You slayed it when you sang lead vocals in New York,” Reed says, reacting to whatever he’s seeing on my face. “You made ‘Fireflies’ and ‘People Like Us’ your own. And the crowd absolutely loved it. Plus, you and Ally on a duet would be insanely easy to market. The world already loved you serenading her in New York. When they see the music video, I promise you two are going to become the world’s favorite love story. So, let’s give them an actual duet!”
I can barely breathe through my exhilaration. “As a matter of fact, Ally’s already asked me to record a duet on her album.”
“Perfect! I’ll talk to Laila about maybe doing one with her, too—in addition to the song with 22 Goats.”
My heart leaps and bounds in my chest. If Laila says yes to a duet with Alessandra, I think it’s highly likely my baby will literally pass out at the news.
Reed gets up and strides to his large desk. He slides into his leather chair and starts clacking energetically on his keyboard for a moment, before saying, “I think we could line everything up with Fugitive Summer’s next release, too, so we could include them on this joint tour we’re putting together. Maybe 2Real, as well. Hell, we could expand the entire concept and make this more of a traveling music festival than a conventional tour. The type of thing where people would travel to the show, in select cities, rather than the show traveling to them. That would mean far less time on the road for you guys, more time to relax and recharge. Less overhead expense for me. Plus, we’d have so many avenues for ‘festival merch,’ in addition to merch for each artist, we’d probably make as much, or more, in profit than if we’d arranged a bunch of individual tours.”
