Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
jake
“I don’t think you’re hearing me,” I say, exasperated, staring at Jason on my monitor. We’re only a couple of minutes into this call, and I’m already losing my patience. He’s either the most helpful man in the world or fucking Satan. There is no in-between.
“No, I heard you. I’m just telling you it’s not possible,” Jason replies, sitting in a leather chair with his arms crossed, with a row of windows behind him.
His office is everything you’d expect from a high-powered manager—a far cry from when he ran things out of the living room of our two-bedroom rental house fifteen years ago. “There’s a difference.”
I groan, pressing my thumbs into my temples.
This is exactly why I’ve been dreading this call.
I might be the talent or the so-called boss, but I have almost zero control over my life.
One of the many aspects of fame no one ever talks about.
I’m at the mercy of what everyone else wants or needs.
Pretty much the only way to get out of something is to be on your deathbed or lose someone close.
A sharp pain hits me square in the chest, the same feeling I get every time I’m reminded of my mom’s death. Although my therapist assures me this physical pain will go away with time, I question whether that’s true. It hasn’t gotten any better in the last year.
“Now, Jason. Don’t you think you could at least try to be helpful?
” Anna says with a thick Southern accent, walking the fine line between incredibly sweet and taking a potshot at Jason.
Anna’s office is the polar opposite of Jason’s—muted walls with pops of color, designed to make you feel immediately at home.
“Don’t start with me, Anna. I don’t have the energy for your shit today,” Jason retorts.
“All right. Why don’t we get back to the purpose of this call?
Jake has a few scheduling requests I’m sure we can find a way to accommodate,” Max says diplomatically, sitting next to me on the couch in my home studio.
He’s a pro at reining in Jason and Anna when they go at each other.
At some point, they’re going to kill or fuck each other—I’m not sure which one yet.
“Thanks, Max,” I reply, trying to focus my thoughts on this meeting and getting what I want out of it—more time with Kate. “I’m going to be blunt. Kate is a permanent part of my life. She’s the one. And I fully plan on marrying her whenever she’s ready.”
Jason sighs dramatically, rolling his eyes because settling down and marriage are his worst nightmares. Hell, I used to feel the same way until Kate. Now, I hate spending a single night apart from her.
Anna shakes her head at Jason’s exaggerated reaction. “That’s wonderful to hear, Jake. Kate is a lovely woman, and we’re all very happy for you.” There might be a smile on her face, but she’s also somehow shooting daggers at Jason.
“I appreciate it. What I really need help with is adjusting my schedule. The first weekend on tour was a lot for Kate. I’d like to make it easier on her.”
Alex narrows his eyes as a deep frown appears on his forehead.
He’s been silent during the video call, so quiet I almost forgot he was here.
I’m not sure whether it’s his military background or his nature, but he either makes his presence extremely known or he’s like a ghost in the night.
And talk of changing his precious timeline always results in the more vocal version of Alex.
“What do you mean, ‘it was a lot’? What went wrong? Why wasn’t I told about this?” Alex asks, moving slightly closer to the camera.
I catch Max’s grimace in my peripheral vision.
Great. He heard the undertone of Alex’s questions, too.
There is nothing Alex hates more than doing something wrong.
It’s worse if he isn’t told about it immediately.
Time to walk the fine line of expressing my concerns about the schedule while assuring everyone they’re doing a great job.
The perks of being the so-called boss, who really isn’t in charge of anything.
“Nothing went wrong, Alex. First weekends always have a few kinks to work out with the band and crew. Overall, it was a success.”
He nods, and the tension eases a little from his face.
“My main concern is the limited amount of time I spent with Kate. I see her in bursts of ten to fifteen minutes, constantly running from one location to another. There has to be a better way to streamline it,” I say, staring directly into the camera without blinking.
I want them to know how serious I am about this. This isn’t like one of the times when I’ve asked for a change in the past and quickly backed down when one of them told me no.
There is silence on the call. No one dares to be the first to speak. A video game of chicken I’d usually lose by now. Not this time.
Fuck it. Let’s push my luck a little further. “I also want to discuss adding more flexibility to my schedule on weekdays. I want to be able to spend more time in Chicago with Kate and not be so restricted to Nashville.”
Jason starts laughing hysterically as if I just told the world’s funniest joke.
Anger quickly builds within me, frustration that he finds my relationship with Kate to be humorous.
He may be one of the best managers in the industry and the primary reason I have a career, but I’m not beyond firing his ass when my contract is up for renewal if he’s going to act this way.
“You’ve got…” He breaks into another laughing fit as his cheeks redden, and he gasps for air.
“I can’t… I can’t fucking believe you think any of this is possible.
It would be one thing if you were a newbie, but you’re a seasoned professional.
” He shakes his head, rolling his eyes again before taking a drink of what I’m pretty sure is whiskey, based on the color and glass.
“You’re fucking with me, right? This is all some big gag to get a rise out of me. Did Anna put you up to it?”
“What? I had nothing to do with this, Jason.” Confusion is written across Anna’s face. “I’m pretty sure he’s serious.”
“Definitely serious. There isn’t anything more serious in my life than Kate.” I cross my arms. “So, what’s possible? I don’t want to hear any more bullshit about how ‘nothing can be changed’ because I know that’s a fucking lie.”
Jason looks like his head is about to explode as he furiously types on his phone, no longer looking at the camera. Can only imagine who he’s angry texting about me. Probably his assistant. That woman is a saint for dealing with his bullshit.
“Well,” Anna starts smoothly, “I can try to batch as many of your interviews as possible. We should be able to do most of them remotely until we’re closer to the album release, when I’ll need you in person.
” She taps a black pen against her chin as she looks up slightly, a sign she’s deep in thought about something or about to give me bad news.
“The only thing I can’t control is when the news breaks about you and Kate.
We could announce it ourselves to control the narrative.
It may also allow us to ease Kate into the limelight in a coordinated manner rather than thrusting her into the spotlight overnight, which is what will happen if we wait for someone else to break the story. ”
I shake my head immediately. She’s previously pitched this idea, and I’ve already shot it down. Logically, I understand the benefits, but I’m a selfish bastard and want to stay in this bubble with Kate as long as possible.
“Okay. We’ll continue as planned, letting the story break on its own. I’m sure it’ll go fine,” Anna replies, arching her eyebrows. “I can work with Alex to find better ways to incorporate interviews into your schedule.”
Alex nods, writing a note on the clipboard that goes everywhere with him.
“I’ll go over your schedule with the team and see whether we can cut anything or shorten timeframes.
Not sure I can give you exactly what you’re wanting, but we can at least try to give you one or two bigger buckets of time to spend with Kate,” Alex offers firmly.
“I’d appreciate that.”
Alex presses his lips together tightly before saying, “Has Kate given any more thought to joining you for the meet-and-greets or VIP sessions? It would be another way to allow her to spend more time with you.” He holds my gaze, knowing she was a hard pass when this subject came up last time.
I sigh, blowing out a loud breath. “I’m sure she will at some point. Probably once everyone knows we’re a couple. Until then, we’re trying to fly under the radar. We’re not hiding our relationship, but we don’t want to make it blatantly obvious.”
“Noted,” Alex replies coolly.
“Is it my turn yet? Because I’m not rolling over like the rest of you,” Jason says, glaring at everyone.
“Jake, you know how this works. Your schedule is set months, if not years, in advance. Just because you’ve decided to fall in love doesn’t mean it gets to change.
I had to move fucking mountains to get you time off when your mom died.
Call in favors and make promises I’m already regretting and will likely kick myself for in the future.
” He rubs his hands over his face and sighs.
“I’m sure Alex and the team can make some slight tweaks to your daily tour schedule, but that’s it.
I need you in Nashville almost every day when you’re not on tour.
The only exception is when you’re traveling somewhere for the label or whatever PR Anna deems a must-do. ”
I exhale deeply, closing my eyes for a few seconds. I knew Jason had to pull strings to allow me to stay in Southmount and Chicago for so long. He’s refused to tell me what it entailed, and I’m beginning to wonder whether the cost is higher than I might have thought.