AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The last message is from the band’s manager. Tony is nothing if not abrupt. His demand for a meeting with the entire band in an hour is the only message he sent. Nogood morningorhello. Not even a singleI’m glad you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere.
“Perfect,” I mutter as I drop my phone on the bed and head for the shower. “Just what I need this morning.”
As I walk into the conference room at White Hot Records, my hands start to shake. I stuff them in the pockets of my faux leather pants and hold my head high. With each step, I kick out the flare at the bottom of the pants, trying to distract myself from whatever I’m about to walk into.
I’m sure that Tony and the rest of the management team want to talk about Tyler. They’re likely going to demand that he gets his act together before we go on tour. If he even shows up for the meeting.
Ben and Matt sit on one side of the massive wooden table, glancing up with strained smiles. I take a seat across from them, careful to avoid Tony who sits near the head of the table. Risking his wrath right now is not on my agenda.
Tony is a great manager, but his temper is short. He has a view for the future and if you step outside that view, you’re probably going to get your ass handed to you. It’s why we’ve been so successful.
If Tony hadn’t found Gilded Cage performing at a bar late one night, we would still be bar hopping and hoping to catch our big break.
“Where’s Tyler?” Tony asks. He shuffles through the stack of papers in front of him. “We have a lot to go over and there isn’t the time to waste on his stupid games right now.”
The door to the conference room swings open and Tyler walks in. His gray shirt is rumpled, and his dark hair stands up in every direction. There’s a lipstick stain at the corner of his mouth and the stench of cheap vodka radiates from him.
He should have just rammed a knife through my back. It would have been easier than this.
I don’t know where he’s been, nor do I want to. We should have been able to talk about what happened last night like two grown adults, but clearly that isn’t the way that Tyler wants to handle things.
I should have known better.
With a sigh, I cross my arms and twist slightly in the chair to turn my back to him. Ben looks between the two of us, his eyes narrowing. I blink slowly, looking up at the bright lights that shine overhead. All I want to do is get out of this room as fast as possible.
“All right,” Tony says, glaring at Tyler as he takes a seat at the other end of the table. “Now that we’re all here, it’s time to discuss some business. First things first — Tyler, you need to pull your head out of your ass. You come to another one of these meetings drunk and it will be the last thing you do.”
“It’s fine.” The table shakes as Tyler kicks his feet up. “I’m fine.”
“Do what you want in public. This bad boy in a self-destruction spiral thing has the women going wild for you. They all thinkthat they can fix you. It works. But when you come to these meetings to speak with me, you will have your act together.”
Tony glares at him. He crosses his arms, waiting for Tyler to say something back to him. We all know it’s coming. Tyler has never been able to keep his mouth shut.
Except, to my surprise, Tyler says nothing. All he does is grunt.
Tony leans back in his chair and flips through the papers again before pulling one out. “With the European tour coming up, White Hot wants to look at restructuring a couple different aspects of the band. I’ve been in talks with them all week and I’m on the same page.”
My pulse pounds as Tony slides a piece of paper to me before passing out the other three. “What is this? I thought our contracts were still active for another three years.”
“Theirs are.” Tony gives me a sympathetic smile and taps the top of my contract before taking his seat again. “White Hot has decided to let you go, Cassie. This is the contract outlining the terms of breaking your previous contract and the severance you will get.”
“I’m being dropped from the label?” My mouth drops open as my heart plummets to my feet.
There is no way that this is happening. This entire morning is one bad nightmare. That’s all it is. I’m going to wake up soon and realize that I didn’t sleep with Tyler last night. I’ll wake up and I won’t be getting dropped from the label.
Tony nods. “You and Tyler both front the band. While your image is good, his is better. The public love him. They can’t get enough of him.”
Tears spring to my eyes but I’m not going to cry. Not here. “I’ve been with Gilded Cage since the beginning. Me and Tyler started the band and now I’m just being kicked out of it?”
Ben and Matt don’t look surprised. Instead, both stare down at the new contracts in front of them, doing everything they can not to look at me. I glare at them before glancing over my shoulder at Tyler.
He sits with his feet on the table and his arms crossed over his chest. His gaze flits to mine for a second before he looks out the window.
Those fuckers. They knew about this. They came into this meeting knowing that I was going to be kicked out of the band.
My entire world comes crashing down around me. I can feel my dream slipping through my fingers and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. The people I thought were my friends are nothing more than traitors.
“The label and the band both agree that it’s for the best.” Tony’s voice is soft, but there’s no remorse in the look he gives me.
