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“I know it’s going to be hard work. Whether you work on the awards or not, things around here are about to get crazy, so I wanted to start by saying thank you. I wouldn’t be here without you all. With that said, this is for you.” I handed Freddie a pile of envelopes and he took one and passed it on. Waiting for them all to get one, I nodded and watched as they opened them.
“Lea, this is a check for 10K,” Freddie gasped.
“Yes.”
“How much did you say they are paying you?”
“Enough that I can give you all a bonus.” While everyone chatted excitedly among themselves, I handed Freddie a larger envelope. “This one is just for you.”
He opened it slowly, reading the document inside. “I had my lawyer draw it up last night, so it’s all above board.”
“You’re giving me shares in the business and you want me to run this place?” he whispered, his brown eyes lifting from the contract to lock on mine.
“If I’m going to focus on the corporate side, then I need someone I trust to take the reins here. If you don’t want to—”
Leaping up, he closed the space between us, dragging me up from the seat. “Of course I want to, Queen Bee. Oh, my God. Are you sure?”
I hugged him tighter. “I’m sure.”
Excitedly, he took his seat again, and so did I, feeling everyone’s eyes on me. “We’re going to have twenty new staff joining us...” Freddie looked around our small space. “Where are we going to put more people?”
“Ah, that’s the other thing. I’m moving the new team to the Gods of Melody building. The label has a floor free, and they have offered it to us to use for a while.”
“You’re leaving me?” Freddie cried.
“Leaving you so you can take over my office and hire some new staff.”
“Ah, when you put it like that, Queen Bee,” he laughed.
“Right, let’s get back to work and I will put everything in an email so you can all see the full details before you decide if you want to come join the new team or stay here… and I’ll give Freddie the company credit card; dinner tonight is on me.”
He looked around the room before he spoke again. “I’m so proud of you. You did us all proud.” He clapped his hands dramatically. “But you heard the lady. Let’s get back to work and plan some parties.”
He blew me a kiss before following everyone from the meeting room, glancing over his shoulder. “Does that mean I get someone to get me coffee now?”
“Not until you’ve signed that contract, you don’t.”
I spent the rest of the day reading the event spec for my biggest job ever, but I couldn’t fully concentrate because my conversation with Fern echoed around my head, forcing me to admit that I needed to talk to Fox and I needed to talk to him today.
Dawson
“Hey.”Ilookedupfrom my laptop, as a familiar voice sounded from my open office door. We'd spent so much time on the road that it felt strange to come into the office every day, although I couldn’t deny that my stress levels were lower when I could create a little routine in my life.
“Boys. No Archer today?” Charlie and Fox, two thirds of Alchemy Myth, stood in the doorway. Charlie was wide, dark haired, and the troublemaker of the three, while Fox looked like the love child of a Viking and a Greek god who'd been raised by surfers.
“No,” Charlie sighed, pointing to the chairs across from my desk, and walking toward them when I nodded. “It’s why we’re here. He’s a mess and nothing we do seems to help. He’s drinking himself to death.”
I closed my laptop and leaned back in my leather chair, giving them my full attention. “Tell me who he really cared about before Ionee came along.”
“That’s easy—us and his sisters; they mean the world to him.”
“Okay, there’s your solution. You all need to talk to him.”
“We’ve tried.”
“Not hard enough. Get together and go see him in person. Be honest about how you’re feeling. Tell him that he won’t find Ionee at the bottom of a bottle.”
Archer had gotten engaged and then, a couple of days later, Ionee vanished, sending him a shitty break up text, telling him she couldn’t do their relationship anymore. He was the reason I was in the office more. We’d canceled any PR or gigs until he sorted his shit out because that boy was a wreck.
