Page 130 of Never Forget

“Why would he do that?”

“His letter said that he took full responsibility for Francis’ ability to infiltrate the secure platform that he’d set up. When the label told him to give the new employees access, he didn’t think to question it or confirm it with me, which I probably would have signed off on, too.”

“That wasn’t his fault. He was instructed to do something by his superiors. He couldn’t have known that would become a problem.”

“I know. I’ve been trying to reach him to reason with him, but I’ve been unable to get in touch with him. I have a hunch he’s in LA, but I haven’t been able to confirm.”

“He’s also blaming himself for the listening device,” I add. “He texted me and set me up to talk with Kathy, the IT employee who was instructed to bug the cell booster. He said it was his fault. I tried to text him back and called to let him know how much his information helped, but he didn’t answer.”

“If Emmy is in LA, why aren’t you?” Jesse asks Blake.

“Because I’ve been busy finding out if he’ll have a job to come home to.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“That’s the other part of what I need to discuss with you. With the help of Sunni and a trip to the owner’s office, I’ve confirmed that a major acquisition is taking place. The label has been sold to X Media Corp. If you don’t know, this is the same company that owns ConX Media, a known conservative media channel.”

“Don’t they run Hoax News?” Ari asks.

“They also produce that dickbag Zach Lawson’s bullshit Keep It Real show,” Will says, getting his hackles up. “Why the fuck would they buy a music label?”

“Because they can, I guess,” I say. “And because Francis and his buddy Curtis Howard convinced them it would be a good way to shut us down.”

“I’d be willing to bet they have a long list of familiar investors,” Will says.

“What does this mean for us?” Jesse asks Blake.

“It’s hard to say this early in the game. Unfortunately, we’ll be going in at a disadvantage. No matter who was responsible for the turmoil you’ve all gone through, the fact remains that we’ve been effectively derailed for the time being. On top of that, it’s likely the new ownership will have a different set of rules and will take control of the band’s branding. Including what kind of music you put out, or if you release any new material at all.”

“So, not only are venues unlikely to book us due to the bomb threat and violence at our last concerts, but we could also be blocked from releasing new music,”Ari says worriedly.

“How long is your contract?” Luc asks.

“It doesn’t work that way,” Jesse explains. “The contract is based on albums. We still have one more album to deliver before we can leave.”

“You’ve been working on a lot of new stuff, do you have enough for a new album?”

“It doesn’t really matter if they take creative control,” I add. “If they don’t like what we deliver them, they can stall the contract by refusing to accept or release what we give them.”

“They can really do that?”

“More or less. I’m hoping that the terms I wrote into your new contract when I took over will help protect your better interests, but it is possible that they could stall the contract for quite a few years. Disputes themselves cause delays, which they could use to their advantage.”

“So our music and our mission is at stake here,” Will says.

“What can we do?” Ari asks.

“I am working to pull together some options for you, pulling specific language from your contracts that you could use to protect yourselves, and setting you up with outside counsel I trust.”

“You’ll be there, though, right?” Ari asks.

Considering Ari was the one who fought back against Francis the most, only to be met with retaliation and ridicule, it took him a long time to come around to trusting Blake. I think it took all of us a long time. Sometimes I think we might judge him harshly just because we’ve had a bad experience with previous management, but he’s always done his best to advocate for us and represent us, rather than only protecting the label’s bottom dollar.

Blake’s expression softens. “I expect my position to be terminated the moment the acquisition is finalized. In fact, I’d expect your entire team to change, from legal to security, in order to enact the changes they want to make.”

“He’s right,” Scott says. “Francis told me as much. They plan to keep a tight leash on you and keep you down once Francis succeeded in getting you there.”

“Can’t something be done about that?” Will asks. “We have evidence that Francis was the one behind everything, and he was working for them. Surely they’re liable as well, or at the very least in breach of some kind of contract.”