I had to meet with Matt from the record company to fill him on the recording sessions. He grabbed me a coffee and we got settled.
“Everything’s on track,” I said. “It’s coming together like magic.”
“That’s good,” he said. “We’ve got a few things in the pipeline, radio interviews and the like. My PA will email you the details.”
He talked on, I listened but I had something on my mind. I had to speak
up.
“There is one thing…”
He paused.
“It’s about ‘Fifteen Minutes of Sunshine’.”
“Awesome. We’re getting a good reaction to the preliminary cut. People just can’t get enough of that song.”
“Well, the thing, it’s not my song.” I didn’t look up from my coffee mug. It was so much not my song.
“But that doesn’t matter. Just let us know the holder of the rights and we’ll run it through legal. It’ll just be a formality really. Although, it might hold up the release. We’ve got everything ready to go with that song.”
“Is it possible to switch it out with something else? It’s a bit different to our usual sound anyway. We don’t want people getting the wrong idea.”
“Ha, yeah, if only that was possible. We’ve already invested a great deal of money in that track. If we pulled it now, it’s going to screw up all our plans. Like I told you, the higher-ups want that as the first release. Alex, I’ll tell you something just between the two of us. I don’t want to put pressure on you or anything, but pretty much if ‘Fifteen Minutes’ doesn’t get a stellar reaction, the money will stop. Personally, I’d love to support you, give you time to develop, but this is a business. The guys upstairs need to see profits.”
Hell, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
“So, there’s no room for negotiation?”
“Not in this. Look, I’ll get you Jenny in Legal’s phone number. Just give her all the details and she’ll iron it out for you. It’s her job, she does it all the time.”
I wondered if Jenny in Legal dealt with people like Dee all the time because I was certain that some snotty corporate bitch contacting her about Jake’s song wouldn’t go down well.
As I walked out to the car, I realised it wasn’t about the song. If I just wanted the song, I was sure I could get Dee and her parents to agree. Everyone has their price and I’d be prepared to pay it. But, in the process, I’d slip even further away from Dee.
I beeped the doors unlocked.
What did I want more? A music career or Dee? The way things were going, I’d have neither.
Dee
“I’ve got us a new rehearsal place,” I told Pete.
Pete had his back to me, making toast for his breakfast but I could tell by the set of his shoulders, he’d argue against it.
“What’s wrong with the place we have?”
“You know as well as I do. We can’t live off Alex. I’m not accepting his handouts anymore.”
“You’re a fool, Dee. Just take it. It’s better than us having to pay out a fortune to do things on our own.”
“You think?”
“Yes, I do.” He turned to face me. “And it’s not like you’re above living in the apartment he gave us.”
Then his gaze fell to the bag at my feet.
“Actually, I’m moving out. I can’t live here anymore. It was a stupid idea, accepting all this. Sally has a spare room and I’m heading over there after work.”