AllFreeNovel
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I take the seat next to my girlfriend, hoping to sneak in a little under-the-table finger play and elicit a quick fuck in the loo. “Whoa, why do I feel like this is an intervention?” I comment sarcastically when I see the stern faces.
“Simon, you have been booking a lot of time in the studio. Is there something you want to tell me?” Lenny asks.
I turn to Carl for direction and his face remains unbothered. I have been completely transparent with my plans for this other song we’ll be releasing in a few weeks. So, I have no idea where this is stemming from.
“Other than what we’ve discussed, there isn’t anything else. Why, what have you heard?”
Lenny glances to Myka then back to me, and now I fear they may know about us. I mean how can you keep a good thing hidden long anyway?
“Carl, go ahead and press play,” Lenny commands.
The screen illuminates and when the picture comes into view, I can see me sitting at my piano playing ’Maybe I’m Amazed’. The song I was playing the first time Myka, and I had sex. I think about how this video came about and the only thing that makes sense is that my cameras were hacked. I tap my fingers on the table and my foot at a rapid pace, inhaling deeply as I try to conceal the anger boiling inside of me. I can only hope whoever did this didn’t catch all of what transpired. I look at her and she’s smiling, maybe remembering that night herself.
When she sees the glare on my face, her once happy demeanor quickly vanishes. Her pin clicks incessantly, and she too has joined the toe-tapping club.
“What’s wrong?” she mouths.
I choose not to respond, not in front of the label. “I’m sorry, but how did you get this?”
“It doesn’t matter, Simon. This is a great sound, even in this raw, unmastered form. The question is, why hasn’t Osiris put stuff out like this before? This is exactly what we’ve been angling for. After all, women love a sensitive man. Myka certainly did. That’s why she shared it with us. Insisting we give it a listen.”
Hearing this completely floors me. Myka tries to grab my hand, but I pull away from her, giving her a stern scowl in the process. How can she take something so personal and share it? Did she not understand that the song was for her and her alone? That wasn’t a moment I wanted others to see. I was vulnerable and that was intimate, sacred even. At least it was for me.
“We’re thinking on the next studio album, maybe you could have another track that shows a scaled-back side of Osiris. This can be a game-changer that would keep you going for years ahead. Right, Myka?”
She keeps her eyes lowered, not looking in my direction at all. She must know how upset I am. “Well, to be honest, the statistics do show that a band's survival rate is longer if they adapt to the changing tastes of their fan base. Meaning if they started listening at a younger age, as they mature, they want to see their bands grow with them. Given the age market of the current demographics, a softer song can have longevity and possibly cross over or be rehashed as a cover, which equals more royalties.”
“That’s a winning combination if I ever heard of one.”
“Not interested, Lenny.” I bite out.
The tone shocks those around me.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to get snippy, but the song was something I experienced recently, and I thought it would be just between me and that person.”
“I understand and believe me we are not trying to pry. Just think about it. Now please excuse us, we have lunch planned with another label who wants to merge.” Lenny and the other suits leave, and Carl is not too far behind them with his equipment.
Myka walks by me on her way out of the door, but I pull her arm, stopping her.
“Not yet, my pet.” I close the door and lock it.
Myka takes a seat on the edge of the conference table, still not making eye contact with me.
“You had no right to do that.”
“Simon, that song, the way you sound, the feeling it gives me, I had to share it. The world needs to know this side of you.”
“No, you want the world to see this side of me because of the potential financial cash cow it could bring in.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would feel this way.”
“How else would I feel? Happy? You took a very personal moment and soiled the memory I had of it. You betrayed my trust, and you know that’s the one thing I value the most.”
She reaches her hand up to cup my face, but I push it away.
“I’m not easy to win over, Myka. Thought you’d learn that by now, but I guess the only thing that matters to you is a reputation and sales.” I turn toward the door to exit, only stopping when she calls my name.
“Simon, wait,” she pleads.
