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I hang my head, fighting back the tears stinging my eyes. That guitar apparently meant more to me than I thought it did. Or maybe it’s the pictures that are now gone that bother me so much. Either way, the loss is only now really hitting me.
Remy leans in, trying to grab my attention. “You gonna be alright, dude?”
After a minute, I take a deep breath and straighten up. “Let’s just get this fucking meeting over with.”
We head back to the conference room. Nyx hasn’t moved from her seat, still looking bored. It takes every ounce of restraint I have not to lunge across the table at her again.
While everyone gets settled, I take a minute to study her, looking for any sign she might give away that could prove her guilt. Her hair is as bright red as ever, and her confidence is way bigger than it should be, but there are dark shadows under her eyes, and she’s lost a lot of weight. She’s almost unrecognizable from the girl we all knew just months ago in Vegas.
If she hadn’t caused us so much trouble and heartache, I might care that she looks like she’s having a hard time. But knowing how much she’s hurt Jake in the past, and me now selling her bullshit stories, has removed that wire from my circuit board.
I could’t give a shit what she says about me or does to me. Nyx could tell twenty lies about me or kick me in the head every single day for the rest of my life, and I would not give a fuck. But she has hurt the people I care about and dragged the Foundation into the mud she created now, too, which is unforgivable.
She smiles with a hubris only built by hate, and we all glare at her. There is no love lost in this room. I notice Jake and Remy slide their chairs away from her ever so slightly as if to either get further away from her for their own good, or perhaps for hers.
Cassidy finally starts going over the terms of the NDA. I try to pay attention, but I’m seething the whole time. “Thanks for agreeing to come today, Nyx. We appreciate it. And while I can’t give you legal advice as that would be a conflict of interest, I want to reiterate my concern that you don’t have representation in this meeting.”
Nyx shrugs as if this isn’t a big deal, and she knows exactly what she’s doing. “I’m fine on my own, thanks.”
Cassidy nods and continues. “Then you won’t mind if we record this conversation?”
“Nope. I have nothing to hide.”
I can’t help but shift uncomfortably in my seat and see a few others do the same. It’s not that we have anything to hide either, but we know how the slightest truth can be blown out of proportion and twisted and turned into something hideous. We’ve all seen it and specifically seen Nyx do it to us. And now, I’ve got my recent outburst to worry about.
I wonder which tabloid will buy this story from her.
Eliza starts the recording, and Cassidy continues.
“Right, well, we asked you here to discuss arranging a potential settlement with you in an attempt to cease the inflammatory stories being bandied about in the press. We are aware that a large portion of the stories quote you as a source, and as you can expect, we need a way to halt spreading rumors on the internet as much as possible.”
“I don’t tell anyone anything that isn’t true.”
I can feel all of us inhale as if we’re about to start arguing the point, but Cassidy quickly holds up a hand to stop us before we can utter a syllable. Surprisingly, I don’t jump over the table.
“We understand that’s your position, and as I said, we are looking to keep the press items focused on the band’s music as much as possible. We would like to limit and control the personal information released, as we believe there is an individual right to privacy.”
She has the audacity to scoff at this. “Privacy? You guys are celebrities now. You don’t get privacy. You’ve all obviously changed and let your fame go to your heads.” Her words are edged with anger or jealousy, I can’t tell which, or maybe it’s both, but it makes it obvious why she’s doing this.
Mackenzie must notice it, too, because she leans closer and says, “You are the one that quit. You are the one who left without saying a word. You gave up on this band at the slightest sign of a problem, so for you to say anything about these guys just shows me what kind of person you really are.”
“Mackenzie...” Eliza warns, trying to rein her in, but once Mac gets started, there is no stopping her.
“No, I don’t know if I’ll get this chance again to tell this bitch what I really think.” She looks around at us, and none of us in the band have a single thing to say about it. We are silently cheering her on. Turning back to Nyx, she says, “You saw what Jake was going through after the accident. You were even there with me cleaning their house before he came home from the hospital, so it would be a little bit easier for him. You were the one who picked him up from the hospital, for Christ’s sake, and saw how devastated he was about Andy’s death. You saw firsthand how much these guys grieved for losing their friend. And for you to take any of that grief and use it for your own monetary gain is the absolute lowest thing a human being can do. No, you know what? You’re not even human. You’re fucking scum.”
Nyx doesn’t react at all. She doesn’t flinch a muscle. It’s almost as if she expected this from us. And I guess it is predictable. After all this time, we get her in a room; of course, we’ll give her a piece of our mind. I don’t know if she expected Mackenzie to be the one to do it, but it’s out there all the same.
I don’t have anything to add, and as I glance around at the other guys, especially Jake, it doesn’t look like they do either. Mackenzie pretty much summed up how we’re all feeling right now. Jake does look incredibly uncomfortable, and I know he’s going through a lot sitting near her like he is. Being in close proximity with someone who attempts to ruin your life isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do.
“Okay…We’re offering you a monetary settlement in exchange for your silence and your continued silence going forward.” Cassidy pushes some papers across the table toward her. “I have prepared this non-disclosure agreement for us to sign, which protects all of us from any future issues that might arise.”
Nyx raises her bloodshot eyes to Cassidy. “You want to buy my silence?” The laugh that comes out of her causes the tiny hairs on the back of my neck to rise. It’s then I see the pure evil inside of her. There’s no longer a question of whether or not she’s just morally gray. That laugh is the only proof I need that evil exists in this world and can manifest itself in a person. “You think you can shut me up by throwing me a little cash?” The papers are slid back.
“We think this agreement is beneficial for all parties involved.” Cassidy pushes the papers back towards her. “You can take your time with the contract. Read it over, or have an attorney look at it for you. There is no pressure for you to sign anything today. We ask you to consider our offer seriously, as this will be the only one not involving litigation.”
That last part gets Nyx’s undivided attention, and her head snaps up. “Litigation? Really? You think you stand a chance in court against me for these stories?” She looks around the table at us individually, and none of us look away. We all meet her gaze head-on. We are a united front against her. “Like I said, I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. What people do with that truth has nothing to do with me.”
Cassidy doesn’t back down, either. “This settlement offer does not reflect our confidence level of success in court. We are merely trying to save everyone’s time by getting to the part where you remain quiet, and the band can get on with making music.” The determination on Cassidy’s face is impressive, and I would hate to face her as an opposing party. I can only hope Nyx feels a fraction of that.
