Chapter 15 #2
“I already know everything I need to about Rush,” Ned interrupts.
“I have my own connections, from the client side of the table. I know your CEO is legit and she runs a decent company, though her managers aren’t always as client friendly as she claims.” Ned’s heard tales about the heavy hand of Arthur, no doubt.
“I also know you aren’t quite the manager you’ve made yourself out to be. At least not yet.”
The bottom drops out of my stomach and the single sip of beer I’ve had threatens to make a reappearance.
“I’ve been working for Rush since I moved to Brisbane over a year and a half ago, but I really have collaborated with teams in Sydney and Melbourne.
Plus, I have references to attest to the quality of my work. ”
An eyebrow quirks upwards. “But?”
I try to keep the heaviness from my exhale. “Technically, Fifth Circle would be the first client I would manage on my own.” I hold his gaze as I continue. “Ned, your band has the potential to be legendary. I want to be a part of that. I’m ready for this.” All I need is a chance.
“How old are you?” he asks.
I refrain from sighing. “Twenty-three.” Younger than Ned himself, probably, though not by much.
Instead of being upset about my relative youth, Ned gives an easy shrug. “Your lack of age and experience doesn’t bother me. If anything, it works in your favour.”
I frown. “How so?”
“Let’s just say, it puts us on equal footing.”
That’s what this is about. It’s why he chose me. He wants a balance of power, a sense of control. All the things his partnership with the much older Zac would have lacked.
Ned needs to know I won’t hurt him.
“Perhaps it will help if I tell you how I ended up in this business to begin with.”
His second shrug is less relaxed. “Let’s give it a shot.”
I take a long swallow of my beer, plonk it back down on the table and announce with a generous eye roll, “It’s all my sister’s fault.”
Ned snorts a laugh. “That’s not what I expected.”
“Yeah, me neither,” I reply with a grin. “I learned guitar as a teenager. Nothing serious. I messed about with the classics. Pretended to be Kurt Cobain. You know the deal.”
Nodding, he lifts his glass. “Hell, yeah, I know it.”
“So, Hannah was fourteen the day I came home and found her curled up on my bed with my guitar in her lap. The look on her face…” I’d literally watched the blood drain from her cheeks as she gaped at me.
“She thought I was going to skin her alive.” I can’t help but laugh, and Ned grins in response.
“I showed her a few chords. She picked it up so fast, way faster than me. I gave her the guitar. By then it was collecting dust anyway.”
“You’d quit playing?” he asks.
My stomach tightens. I keep the smile attached to my face.
“I worked a lot. Didn’t have much in the way of spare time.
” Ned watches me closely, and I clear my throat again before skipping ahead in the story.
“It didn’t take me long to realise Hannah was going to be a better musician than I’d ever be.
Within months she started to write her own music, and it was so unbelievably good. ”
It wasn’t only the way her fingers danced over the strings. She had the voice of an angel and the soul of a poet – complete with an ingrained sadness bordering on melancholy.
“She decided she wanted a career in music. I decided it would be a crime not to ensure her dream came true. But I was terrified of what could happen to her. She was still only fifteen.”
Shadows cloud Ned’s face. “You wanted to protect her.”
“Yeah,” I reply with a nod. “That’s how it started.
I learned everything I could about music management.
University wasn’t an option, but I studied books, read online interviews, anything I could get my hands on.
The thought of being a part of the music industry, someone who helps artists like Hannah get their music out into the world, fired me up in a way playing the music itself never had.
” It felt like fate, for me and Hannah to be able to work together to give her a bright future.
Ned wears a baffled expression. “What happened?”
“The better she got, the more she closed up. I encouraged her to put some of her music on social media, start building an audience. I saved money to get her time in a recording studio, bought her a better guitar. But the more I prepared to move forwards, the further she pulled back.
“I think the idea of being criticised and rejected by strangers is too much for her. Which she will be, if she steps into that spotlight.” It’s inevitable.
She’ll be loved, but she’ll also be hated.
She’ll be praised, and she’ll be told her music is shit.
That’s the way it works. “I can’t protect her from that. ”
“It’s tough,” Ned agrees. “Putting your heart out there for people to stomp on. It can hurt.” Then his smile slips its leash, and I glimpse the other half of him. “When people do connect, though,” he says in a low, sultry voice, “it’s addictive as all hell.”
A laugh bubbles up my throat. “I can tell.”
“Do you think your sister will ever be ready to take that step?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” I shake my head. “But that’s why I fought for a job at Rush when we moved up here. So, if she does decide to take the chance, I’ll be ready.”
Ned nods his head, slow and easy. His body is relaxed. His beer half gone. If I’m ever going to make this deal, now is the time.
“Too many managers forget the artists in their care are more than products to be packaged and sold,” I tell him.
“Musicians are people first. If you don’t take care of the people, they start to fall, and before long the band is lost. The product ceases to exist. The way I see it, the best business decision I can make is to take care of you, Gavin, Oz, and J-Johnny.
” I trip over the last name in my effort to make it sound like the rest. “I will work every day to further your career in the ways you want it to progress, and I will never betray your trust. That is my promise to you.”
Ned considers my words for a long moment.
“If we do this,” he says in a low voice, “Fifth Circle signs with you. Only you. Rush will not have the option of slotting someone else into your spot if you leave or they decide to ditch you. Not unless the four of us agree on it unanimously. It will be in the contract, or we don’t sign. Understand?”
Genevieve won’t like it, but she’ll accept it. I’ve seen it happen before, but always with experienced managers. Never with a newbie like me. “We can make that work.”
“I also want those references you mentioned,” he adds, as an afterthought.
I grin, while also trying not to faint with relief. “Done. Anything else?”
Ned’s mouth twists, as if he’s trying to choose his words wisely. “I don’t know if you’ve been in contact with any of the others.”
“You’re the only one who called me about my offer.
” The half-lie is sour on my tongue. We haven’t even started working together, and I’m already jumping through loopholes in the promise I’ve made.
But life isn’t black and white, and in this case honesty would do too much damage.
It’s not just about keeping my job, although that would be enough.
I refuse to out Johnny to one of his best friends.
This is a hit my ethics can take. I’ll still sleep easy tonight.
“Okay,” Ned says, releasing a breath. “Let’s do it.
” He tells me about the weekly rehearsal the band has scheduled for tomorrow night.
I agree to meet him there with copies of the contract.
“If anyone does reach out before then, I’d appreciate it if you could keep our conversation to yourself. I’d like to be the one to tell them.”
“Of course,” I assure him as we get up to leave. “This is your news to share. I won’t say a word.” At least this is one promise I can keep. Ned will tell the band before I meet with them tomorrow night, which will give Johnny time to cover any reaction he might have to seeing me again.
After that, all we have to do is keep our distance and remain professional. Johnny will get to be a rock star. I’ll get my promotion.
It might not be everything we want, but the most important parts are covered. That will have to be enough.