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Chapter 1
Thalia
Clearly,Ihadcompletelyforgotten how the music industry worked because this was a culture shock for me. Had it been that long now? I was pretty sure it wasn’t quite this unhinged a couple of years ago.
I was anxious, a little apprehensive this morning about working at Blue Guitar Records. It was still fresh in my mind…being fired from my last job after dealing with that absolute garbage of a person who just happened to be a customer. But making the leap from a fast-food joint to one of the biggest record companies in the country was unfathomable. This was all a pipe dream. It was way too good to be true.
And as a tornado of panicked activity raced through the office floor that had just seconds before been calm, I was swept up. The person who had brought me here started to move frantically from one office to the next.
“He wasn’t supposed to be here until after lunch!” Sadie cried into her phone, distraught, as she power walked to her office. Barely a second later, she was walking out after grabbing a couple of files from her desk. It wasn’t nearly long enough to check out the glimpse of a boho-chic office I caught in the whirlwind. But I was pretty sure I saw a water feature in the corner before we were moving again.
It was apparent how difficult it was for me to keep up with how quickly she was moving. I could barely comprehend how she moved so fast in four-inch heels.
“Sadie, wait up!” I called out, a little embarrassed by how winded I sounded, as her lead widened from me in no time.
Sadie’s eyes relaxed slightly and shot a look of apology as she remembered I was here.
“Thalia! Sorry about that.” She thankfully slowed down until I could catch up. “It’s just that… he isn’t supposed to be here until…”
“Until after lunch. I heard.” I pointed back toward her office.
Sadie gave me a small smile before she was sprinting again. I was prepared this time and did my best to keep up with her long strides as we raced through the open office. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by the general sense of chaos and panic that whirled around the space. I tried to give myself a few seconds to take some deep breaths, but that was impossible walking so fast.
We passed a small group of employees who all wore the same panicked expressions as Sadie and the knot in my stomach was only growing bigger and bigger.
What the hell had I gotten myself into here?
“Is this all really just about one person?” I found myself asking out loud. “I don’t know if I’m really feeling this whole vibe.” My confession to Sadie just slipped past my lips. But once it was out there, I realized there had been no point in trying to hide my unease, anyway. I knew Sadie. I knew she’d understand what I meant.
Suddenly, Sadie came to an abrupt stop, and I almost plowed right into her before I noticed. She turned to look at me with a sigh, like she’d been expecting my confession this whole time.
“Look, Thalia, you won’t be in the office all the time, so don’t worry too much about this.” She turned again and headed toward the elevators at a pace that was at least slower than an Olympic sprinter. “You’ll be in the studios. I haven’t even had a chance to give you the tour yet.”
Stopped, waiting for the elevator, I was the one to blow out a sigh.
“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. Seeing everyone so…so panicky, I guess I got a little panicked, too.” I could feel my heart beating rapidly, betraying the calmness I was trying to show Sadie. “But, really, is this all for one person? Who are you all even getting ready for? The president or something?”
Sadie tapped her foot as we waited for the elevator. We watched the number on top climb higher to meet us on the top floor. She didn’t answer my question, just stared at the elevator, tapping anxiously. I was about to ask her if she was okay when the elevator dinged and slid open. All curiosity left my body and was replaced by a strange mix of awe and overwhelming repulsion.
“I’m confused,” he immediately barked at Sadie. “Why is it so hard to adjust my schedule for the day when I suddenly feel like going to myownrecord label?”
Damian Apollo.
He was probably the biggest music superstar–and businessman–in the world. He stepped out of the elevator, practically throwing his car keys and designer sunglasses at Sadie without even bothering to look at her while he continued to interrogate and berate her, expecting her to follow. Which she did. And I did as well.
“Am I being unreasonable for wanting to be here?”
“No, of course not, sir. It’s just–,“ Sadie’s voice had a slight waver to it as Damian cut her off.
I felt intense irritation toward Damian. I realized I should have just stayed in the elevator lobby and played dumb. After all, I didn’t even know if I should be following them in the first place. Or, better yet, I should have bolted. But I needed this job. And Sadie had been my way into this place.
“It’s just what? Huh? Speak up. If it’s not a problem, I’d like to see your words be actual actions.” Damian interjected rather aggressively, aggravating my negative emotions toward him more. It didn’t help that he was acting like this when he literally didn’t even look up to see that his ex-girlfriend was practically standing right next to him.
“And who’s this?” Damian caught me off-guard as he turned around to look at me. I wasn’t even sure I heard him right.
Who was I?
“Are you fucking serious?” My words came out before I could stop them. Sadie’s eyes were silently begging–pleading–me to shut up and not make a scene. So I took a deep breath and briefly shut my eyes.
