Chapter 6 #2
Unfortunately for Juliet, she hadn’t realized she was on Harrison’s marionette until years after she’d already been his puppet. The only thing she could do now was keep as much distance between them as she possibly could.
“What do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected meeting?” She asked, slipping her well-practiced smile on.
Okay, so she could also do things like that – start off a meeting before Harrison could say something. She knew he hated it, and that made this plastic grin a degree more authentic.
Thomas nodded at her. “Well, first things first – congrats on the tour so far. You know I’ve been keeping up on it but given that we haven’t had a face-to-face in a while: you’re killing it.”
Juliet hummed. “Thank you.”
She intentionally kept the distance between herself and Thomas, having a lot less face time with him than she knew was typical.
But it was easy to maintain their working relationship through emails, texts, and calls – and mostly through Laura – when she always kept in the back of her mind that Harrison would hear anything they discussed.
Deliberately, she didn’t let her gaze slide to Harrison; she stayed focused on Thomas. He was her manager, and power moves like that were the only ones she had in her arsenal.
Thomas cleared his throat and shifted forward. “I know you’re on a short break right now, so we can keep this brief. You’re aware of Shelby Linwood’s anniversary album.”
He didn’t phrase it like a question, which Juliet appreciated.
“Yes. I am,” she managed to say back without snapping at him.
Shelby Linwood was a legend in country music.
No, she was the legend as far as Juliet was concerned.
She’d released her first album with Copper Canyon fifty years ago, and the label had internally announced at the beginning of the year that they’d be making a fiftieth anniversary tribute album.
Over a dozen of Shelby’s biggest hits covered by the genre’s current heavy hitters.
She’d reached out to Thomas to express a fervent interest as soon as she’d heard.
Even though it still wasn’t yet public knowledge who would be on the album, the buzz had worked its way through town. Especially given that Copper Canyon was producing it, she’d been able to verify all of the information that came her way.
And the information was: she wasn’t asked to participate.
So, yes, she was aware.
Thomas lightly drummed his fingertips on the table. “How would you feel about being featured for a song?”
Shock shot through her, and she snapped to attention. The dread and trepidation washed away, replaced with awed delight. “Really? I mean – I thought it had already been recorded?”
In fact, she knew it had been because she’d kept careful tabs on it. The album was going to drop in November, so everything had been recorded over the summer. Given that it was now October, it was really late in the game.
“It was. Is,” Thomas corrected himself. “It is already recorded. But the powers that be want one more song on it, now. Hence the locale today.”
He gestured around as the small conference room they sat in, located on one of the top floors of the label. Thomas did love symbolism.
“I’m in. You know I’m in.” It was rare that her genuine excitement bubbled over when she was in the same room as Thomas or Harrison, but the odds were shot today, apparently.
She wondered if she had any choice in the song. Frankly, she didn’t care; she’d do anything. She needed to get out of here and back home, start working over her arrangement; she assumed it would have to be recorded as soon as possible, to be appropriately mastered along with the others.
She shook her head, drawing a hand through her hair. Without meaning to, she darted her eyes toward Harrison.
Which was a huge mistake.
Because Harrison looked far too satisfied. And she’d long learned that Harrison didn’t take satisfaction in her happiness.
She dragged her gaze back to Thomas, her hands falling back into her lap.
Thomas tilted his head. “I’m glad you’re excited. There’s just one caveat.”
Of course there were strings. There were always strings.
Juliet kept her chin jutted out, though, refusing to let herself deflate. She’d do just about anything to be on Shelby’s album. Literally, anything.
Did they want her and Robbie to get publicly engaged to drum up publicity? She’d been side-stepping that for years, but for this opportunity? She could probably make it work.
“What is it?”
She wracked her brain, trying to figure out what could be big enough to put a damper on this. The way Thomas was acting, it had to be something he knew she wouldn’t like.
“They want you to record ‘Porchlight,’” he began.
And just like that, this beacon was glowing even brighter.
“Porchlight” was inarguably one of Shelby’s best songs. An angry, heartbroken powerhouse ballad about a woman leaving her porchlight on every night for her husband, only to discover his infidelity. A true country anthem. A dream to be able to re-record.
She did her best to tamp down the thrill that bounded through her, but she was basically already salivating over this.
Thomas continued, “As a duet – with Darcy Kincaid.”
Just like that, two freight trains simultaneously slammed into her, the excitement being pummeled with insult.
“Darcy?” The name fell from her lips like acid. Which was exactly what it felt like in the back of her throat. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I didn’t come up with this plan, Juliet,” Thomas said in his patronizing voice – the one that made her twitch – with a shrug. “And I knew you weren’t going to like it.”
She could think of very few things she would like less! “Is there any–”
“There’s no wiggle room,” Thomas swiftly cut in. “I anticipated this would be your response, so I already dug into it on the call.”
Juliet seethed. She wondered if smoke was actually billowing out of her fucking ears, because at this point, she wouldn’t be shocked if she now embodied a cartoon come to life.
Darcy had been in the industry for about two minutes; Juliet had been at this for almost ten goddamn years.
She had four albums with the label; Darcy didn’t even have a single one with Copper Canyon, yet!
We, The Romantics weren’t making their Copper Canyon debut until January – and Juliet despised the fact that she knew their album release date off the top of her head.
“Look, your collab with Darcy became the summer’s biggest hit–” Thomas started.
“It wasn’t exactly a collab,” she shot back, incredulously.
Darcy had basically posted a diss track about her, and she’d responded. A collab?! Her manager should freaking know that.
Thomas shrugged. “Look, if we want to get down to the brass tacks: it’s high time to put this whole feud to bed. You’ve had your fun–”
Juliet arched her eyebrows, a scoff falling from her lips before she could help it. Fun? Did he really just say she’d been having fun?
“But it’s done, now. We have spent years sculpting this image, and the longer this goes on, the pettier it’s going to look.
People have enjoyed it for a little while; they eat shit like this up.
” Thomas waved his hand dismissively through the air.
“That’s why we’ve let it go on for as long as it has.
But enough is enough. At the end of the day, this whole Darcy/We, The Romantics craze is going to burn out soon enough.
But your reputation is still going to matter. ”
Harrison tapped his knuckles against the table, the way he often did before he spoke.
Like he was announcing his own importance, summoning attention before he opened his mouth.
“She’s trash, and she’s going to be out on the curb where all trash ends up.
” He narrowed his eyes sharply at her. “You keep giving her this attention, and all you do is devalue yourself. Who are you, if you lower yourself down to that level? Down to trash?”
In spite of all of Juliet’s own issues with Darcy, every time Harrison hissed the word trash it made her wince inside. Because she knew Harrison really did mean it; when he looked at Darcy, he genuinely thought she was trash.
Leave it to her fucking stepfather to unintentionally drive her to want to defend Darcy for once. Jesus, she was starting to get a headache.
Thomas looped around back to the point, “Look, ‘Porchlight’ is bound to be a hit. With the drama you two have had, there’s been quite a stir. The label wants to take advantage of it; it’s good business. Actually, it’s great business.”
Essentially, by engaging with Darcy in their media battle, she’d dropped this onto her own lap. She hated it when her problems were from her own making.
“Great,” she echoed, mildly.
From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in moments. Was this a record?
“I’ll need your final answer for the label today. Given where the rest of the album is already at, things are going to move at warp speed. If you agree, you’re flying out to Nashville this week.”
Juliet forced a slow, deep inhale, searching for whatever calm she’d experienced earlier today. Not happening.
Because she couldn’t help it; she was still raging inside. How in the world did it make sense that she and Darcy were being put on the same pedestal? All Juliet wanted was for things to make sense, for things to be fair.
But nothing in this industry was “fair.”
Would be great if they could sometimes be a little more fair, though.
Her nails bit so hard into her palms, she wasn’t sure she hadn’t broken the skin. She glanced at Harrison once more, meeting his measuring stare.
The last thing she would do was give him any sort of satisfaction of her having some sort of emotional outburst.
In fact, she had to wonder if that was why he was here today.
Harrison didn’t take such an interest in all of her comings-and-goings, certainly not in her recording a single song on a tribute album.
He’d flown up from Texas to be here for a reason, though.
Perhaps it was because he didn’t want her working with Darcy.
Perhaps it was because he thought it would “devalue” Juliet’s brand.
That was just enough to give her something to hold onto, to allow her to focus.
Not only would Harrison likely dislike her doing this, but… it was Shelby Linwood.
If she chose not to do this duet with Darcy, wasn’t that essentially like letting Darcy win?
If she allowed Darcy’s presence to push her away from doing something she’d dreamed of – working on anything related to Shelby – since she’d been a child singing on a pageant stage, she was giving Darcy far too much power over her.
Wait –
She turned to arch Thomas a look. “Just Darcy? Or We, The Romantics?”
After she asked, she paused to question internally if that would change anything for her. On one hand, she wondered if she would feel less… intense… about Darcy if they weren’t alone.
On the other hand, she definitely didn’t want to be ganged up on. Juliet was pretty certain she could hold her own, even with the three of them. But it would be ideal not to have to.
Thomas shook his head. “Only Darcy,” he confirmed. Interesting. “A real duet; just the two of you.”
Just the two of them, hmm?
“My final answer, then…” She paused, mulling it over. Really, she couldn’t try to dig too deep into this, not here. Not in front of Harrison. Rolling her shoulders back, she angled her chin. “I’m still a yes. I suppose I can take a day to show Darcy how it’s done.”
She slid a long-practiced smile onto her lips, something she’d perfected in her youth for Harrison, and it had become so very useful once she’d risen in fame.
“Great. I believe Brett is still here in his office, so I’m going to grab him to finalize some details and get this rolling. Glad we could make this work for everyone.”
Thomas was out of the conference room in seconds. No one would ever say he didn’t take advantage of closing a deal as quickly as possible.
Slowly, Juliet turned her attention to Harrison.
Unsettlingly, his smile mirrored hers – except it was a little warmer, which made her stomach sink. He seemed genuinely pleased, which meant he hadn’t been hoping that she’d choose to recuse herself from the album.
If Harrison was giving her any semblance of a happy look, it meant he was going to be getting something out of this, too.
She supposed the best thing about her stepfather was that he valued his own time enough not to keep her in suspense.
“I’m so pleased you’ve figured out how to manage your schedule properly. Given that you’re able to make time for the Shelby Linwood cover, I worked it out with Thomas that you’ll now also be able to perform at the Prosperity Fair in a few weeks.”
There it was.
If there was something she got to do purely for herself, because she wanted it, there would always be strings. Strings that cut even deeper than the Darcy of it all.
But these were strings she couldn’t do anything about.
“Glad your tour schedule isn’t as hectic as you’d thought it would be,” Harrison continued, and he was downright glowing with a victorious grin, now.
Her cheeks hurt with this smile. “Mhmm.”
The hum was all she could manage without letting her frustration shine through.
She’d declined Harrison’s request to make an appearance at their city’s fall fair – something he sponsored over fifty percent of all by himself; his name was all over their hometown of Prosperity, Texas – months ago, utterly delighted to be able to cite that it coincided with her tour.
Even if she didn’t have a show on the same exact night, the excuse had worked.
Of course, it hadn’t escaped her notice that she’d had that conversation with Harrison the week before the studio had finalized the decisions for Shelby’s album. She knew that Harrison had gone on a big hunting trip with several of the Copper Canyon execs and Thomas over that weekend.
And then Juliet had been unceremoniously not chosen to be featured on the album. Somehow she wasn’t convinced it was all a coincidence.
Frankly, she’d been an idiot not to have realized what was going on the second Thomas had mentioned Shelby.
Harrison’s smile sharpened. “That’s the spirit. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
“Yes, I suppose you will,” she returned in a measured, cool tone.
No one was going to take away working on Shelby Linwood’s album. Not Harrison, and certainly not Darcy Kincaid.
With whom she would apparently be collaborating with later this week.
Juliet’s eyes narrowed as a dark trill of anticipation thrummed through her. Perhaps it was about time for a face-to-face with Darcy, anyway.