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I shuffledmy feet as I walked into the glass conference room of Harrison’s twenty-eighth story office. Being inside and so high up made me uncomfortable. I was much more in my element on the move, out on the waves or on stage. Having to sit in a conference room was my own personal hell. I gripped the leather chair in front of me and pulled it out, scraping it along the floor. I plopped down into the chair, crossing one of my ankles over my knee and shaking my foot. The sooner we got this over with, the better.
Zen lowered himself into the chair next to me, pulling out his phone and breaking out into a smile while he looked down at the screen. I was sure he and Kennedy were texting each other. The two of them were hardly ever apart. I used to be a little jealous of their relationship if I was honest. I hoped I could have that kind of love, too. Now it looked like I might get my chance.
Jericho walked in next, tossing a quick wave our way before plopping down into the chair across from me. He twirled a drumstick between his fingers, his eyes following every movement carefully. Harrison came next, stopping at the head of the wide conference table. “We’re just waiting on Maddox if he ever decides to grace us with his presence,” he said.
“Speak of the devil,” I muttered as Maddox strolled into the room with dark sunglasses still covering his eyes.
“This better be good,” Maddox snapped.
“Like you have anything better to do,” I taunted.
“You don’t know shit, True, so just shut the fuck up.” Maddox was always an asshole, but he seemed even more cranky than usual.
“Guess it’s that time of the month,” Zen chimed in, snickering next to me. I chuckled. “Guess so.”
Maddox took his sunglasses off and slammed them down on the table, glaring at all four of us. Jericho hadn’t done shit, but he wasn’t spared the death glare Maddox was hitting us all with and Jericho shot one right back. The only difference was he looked like he might actually kill Mad.
“Jesus, Mad. Calm down,” I said. I turned to Harrison. “What’s up?”
Harrison cleared his throat. “Right. Well, the last album was your best yet, but it’s time to figure out the strategy for where you want to go next as a group. We need to start working on it now.”
Zen put his phone away. “I hoped we could take a year off from recording or touring. I know we’ve got all this momentum right now, but fuck, I need a break. Kennedy just opened her store, and I want to try to convince her to let me knock her up.” He had a shit-eating grin on his face. “So, I agreed last year I wouldn’t walk away from the band, but I need a break. Give me a year, and I’ll be ready. I’ll write this year, and if you want to sell some of the songs I come up with to keep us relevant or whatever the fuck you need to do, that’s fine.”
Jericho chimed in. “Z’s right. Last year was stressful, and a break actually sounds nice. I have some non-musical projects I’m working on, and having the freedom to pursue them is exactly what I want right now. I second the break.”
Maddox’s jaw was clenched, and he still glared at us. “Fuck that. I’m ready to start another tour now. Sitting around for a year, wasting time during the peak of our careers, is a waste. I think you both are making a mistake.”
“Doesn’t really matter if you don’t want the break, Mad. I’m saying I’m taking the break. You won’t convince me to change my mind,” Zen said.
I exhaled and decided now was a good time to bring up something that’d been in the back of my mind for a couple of years. “I’ve been thinking about recording some solo stuff, so I guess this is a sign I should take the leap. What do you think, Harrison?”
He leaned back in his chair, examining me with his eyes. “It could work. We’d need to do some extreme marketing to get your name out as a solo artist, but I can work my magic.”
“Are you sure now’s the best time to take this on, T?” Zen asked me, his eyes boring into me. I knew he was talking about the fact I was about to be a dad, but he was trying to keep it between us.
Maddox perked up like a goddamn dog with a bone. “What’s that supposed to mean, Z? What does he know that we don’t?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t know if I should be telling anyone about the baby. I hadn’t been able to discuss it with Amara yet. “I’ve just got some shit going on in my personal life that will be taking up more of my time.”
Maddox’s lips curled up into an evil grin. “Like what exactly?”
I could see he wasn’t about to let this go. Zen winced and shrugged his shoulder. He’d tried to be discrete, but he’d failed. I sighed again. “I just found out I’m gonna be a dad.”
Maddox’s eyebrows shot up. “What the fuck, T? You knocked up some groupie chick? Good going.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not some groupie chick, and this is the best news I’ve ever gotten, so if you’re gonna talk shit, you can just shut the fuck up.”
Jericho sat in silence, his expression unreadable. Finally, he spoke up. “A fucking baby. If you’re happy about it then I guess I’m happy for you.”
I grinned at him. “Thanks, buddy. That means a lot.” He got up and came over to clap me on the back before going to sit back down with a small wistful smile on his face. When he noticed me watching, it dropped off his face and his usual indifferent expression slipped back into place.
Harrison cleared his throat again to bring our attention back to him. “So it’s settled then? The three of you will take a year off to work on your own projects, and True’s going solo. That sound about right?”
We all nodded except Maddox, who just scowled.
“Okay, Z, if you write anything you want to sell the rights to, let me know. Otherwise, my focus this year will be dealing with any of the shit you lot get up to in the papers and True’s upcoming album.”
He turned to me. “Let’s meet up next week to go over details about promoting your new venture. I’ll come up with a plan, and we can go over it then.”
