yes brain, you can has (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
astro_noms) wrote2011-01-19 11:18 pm
astro_noms) wrote2011-01-19 11:18 pm
Entry tags:
fic: (AV) Bad Blood
Title: Bad Blood
Wordcount: 7,377
Rating: Mature
Warnings: language, non-con
Summary: In the early days, Lasersquad had another manager. Then they fired him. This is why.
Atomic Vaudeville master post
"Good news, everyone," Tommy said as soon as he came into Alex's loft. He strode into the room, just barely avoiding tripping over cables and equipment sitting in their usual spot. "I just got off the phone with the label."
"That's the good news?" Teri glanced up from where she was restringing her guitar. "You finished a phone call with the label?"
"Ha ha," Tommy rolled his eyes. "They called to let me know that the record deal is a go." The chaos that erupted filled the loft with echoing cheers and shouting. Tim hugged Alex, Marty and Jay clung to each other and kissed, and Teri even let Tommy pull her into an embrace.
"I'm taking you guys out to dinner to celebrate tomorrow. I made reservations at Eden, so wear something nice. And I booked a limo to pick you guys up, so be ready around seven."
"Tommy, can you guys pick me up last?" Alex leaned against Tim and rubbed at her temples. "I need to finish these songs, but I've got a really bad headache tonight."
"Sure, no problem," Tommy watched as Tim took over massaging Alex's temples from her. "You need anything? Painkiller?"
"I'll be fine, Tommy. As soon as I finish, anyway."
"Suit yourself," Tommy shrugged. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know what's up. I gotta go now, but I'll give you all the details tomorrow at dinner." He stood up to go and turned back to the band. "Remember, pick up is around seven. Dress nice!"
When the door closed behind him, Jay whistled. "Eden, hunh? I think we're paying him too much if he can afford to take us all there."
"Nevermind that," Marty hushed him. "The more important question is, what am I going to wear? I don't have anything fancy enough to wear to Eden!"
"Clearly, we need to go shopping," Teri said, grinning. "What do you say, Alex? You up for it, just us girls?"
Alex shook her head. "I've got a dress I can wear," she said. "I'm probably just going to chain myself to my desk until I'm done.
"We'll leave you to get some sleep, then," Marty and Jay got to their feet, pulling Teri up with them. "Tim? Ready to go?"
Alex sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. "Go on," she motioned to Tim. "I'll be fine. Just need some sleep to let my brain recharge." She grinned up at him. "Besides, you know you want to go and tell Conner the good news."
"He's actually out of town," Tim ran a hand through his hair, making it even more messy than usual.
Teri hooked her arm through Tim's and pulled him to the door. "Come on, then, you're coming with us. We're going out to celebrate, get some drinks, do a little dancing. I promise to behave myself," she told him when he frowned at her. "I swear, it's like none of you ever did anything stupid."
"You got drunk, walked up to him, stuck your tongue in his ear and your hand in his pants," Marty reminded her, laughing. "It's not something any of us are going to forget anytime soon."
Tim pulled Teri closer to him, and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, Teri, I don't really hold it against you. Anymore." He turned back to Alex and waved. "Give me a call if you need anything, OK? And don't sleep on the couch, it won't do your headache any good."
"Yes, dad," Alex rolled her eyes. "Go on, get out of here, have some fun. I'll see you guys tomorrow. And Marty, give me a call before you go shopping. If I get done early, I'll go with you. Hell, I might go with you even if it's not done, I'll probably need a break."
"See you later, babe," Jay waved from behind Marty. He pulled up the elevator gate and the four of them stepped in, calling out a chorus of "good nights" and "sleep wells."
Alex sank back into the couch, ignoring Tim's advice, even though she knew she'd have to deal with a sore neck if she didn't go to bed, like the countless times she'd done before. The headache had gone from hovering around the edges to a full blown throbbing behind her eyes, and she eyed the stack of papers on her table, cursing her own insistence on refusing assistance with overhauling the songs she still deemed imperfect..
"Tomorrow, I'm gonna make you my bitch," she told the pages as she forced herself to her feet. "Just you wait and see."
#
In the morning, Alex woke up earlier than she'd planned. She took five minutes to debate the pros and cons of getting up and attacking her work right away, and eventually dragged herself out of bed and into the kitchen to start the coffee brewing. If she was to make any headway on the songs, caffeine was a must. She was in the middle of her first mug when the phone rang, and she hit the speakerphone button, talking while she walked around the loft, picking up dirty clothes and dumping them into the hamper.
"Alex? It's Jamie."
"How you doin', little brother? Still an overachieving loner geek?"
"You know, one of these days, you'll realize that hasn't been funny for at least a year. Which, incidentally, is how long I've been together with Kyra." Jamie tried to sound offended, but Alex could hear the laughter in his voice.
"Yeah, but you're still an overachieving geek."
"And you're still, what, a struggling musician with an unfinished degree in a useless major?"
"Touché," Alex glared at the phone. "Technically, not as struggling this morning as we were last night, though."
"What'd you do, sell some blood or something?"
"Shut up, you ass," Alex threw a fork in the vague direction of the phone, but it clattered uselessly to the floor. "We got a record deal."
"Holy shit! Have you told Mom and Dad? You must have called them first thing, right?"
"Actually, no, I haven't. You're the first person I've told."
"Aww, sis, I'm touched." Alex could almost see Jamie making faces into the phone. "Although I'm surprised you haven't gloated yet. I mean, you're finally proving their worries were pointless, right?"
"Let's wait till we actually make the record and release it. Then we'll see."
"True," Jamie said. "I'm very proud of you, though."
"Thank you. Was there a reason you called?"
"Can't a brother call his sister just to see how she's doing?"
"Right," it was Alex's turn to make a face at the phone. "I'm kinda busy, Jamie, what did you need?"
"I need to get Kyra something for our anniversary, and I'm kinda out of ideas. I need something really nice."
"Flowers and chocolate not going to cut it?"
"Come on, Alex! It's a big deal!"
"One year is, what, paper? That's not really romantic. What about a nice necklace or something?"
"You think that'll be enough?"
"Jamie, you're barely eighteen. You don't have to get your girlfriend anything fancy. She'll be happy you remembered. Trust me."
"OK, I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right."
"And this is why you're still single, you know," Jamie laughed. "You can't just let it go, you have to have the last word."
"Jamie, I'm your older sister. It's practically a requirement I have the last word."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Listen, congratulations on the record. Good luck! And call mom and dad. I don't want to have to explain why you haven't called again."
Before Alex could answer, Jamie hung up. Alex glared at the phone for a moment, then hit the "end" button as well. Tease him as she might, she really was proud of Jamie. At least one of them was mature responsible, and it might as well be Jamie, she sure as hell wasn't equipped for it.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur. She got through two of the three songs before giving up when the migraine from the previous night came back with a vengeance. Putting the notes and computer away, she dug through her purse for her sunglasses, a pair of hilariously oversized aviators that nevertheless came in handy when she wanted to block out as much light as possible. She laughed at the absurdity of walking around the loft in her underwear and sunglasses, closing all the drapes, and plunging the loft into a fair approximation of dusk. Curling up on the bed, she tried to keep herself very still, hoping the pain would recede.
A couple of hours later, Alex crawled out of her bed and made her way to the kitchen to get a painkiller. She washed it down with cold coffee straight from the pot, grimacing at the bitter taste. Before she could stagger back to bed, the phone rang, and she fumbled for it, wincing as the ringing drilled into her skull.
"Yeah?"
"Marty and I are outside your building, waiting for you. Ready for some shopping?" Teri sounded far too cheerful for Alex's liking.
"If you've got a magic wand to make my migraine go away, sure," Alex told her. "Otherwise no, as I'm barely staying upright."
"Jesus, Alex, I know you don't like to take painkillers, but you have to take something."
"I just took something. I'll be fine for tonight, I promise."
"Call us if you need anything, OK?"
"I will, thanks."
"Feel better soon. We'll see you tonight," Teri said, and hung up. Alex turned the ringer off on the phone and staggered back to bed, massaging the back of her neck as she went. She burrowed under the blanket and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
#
She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but she knew she definitely had the migraine (and the painkillers) to thank for the strange dreams involving plants overgrowing her loft and surrounding her in a veritable forest of vines and flowers. She fumbled for her cellphone, dropping it twice before she managed to open it and peer at the display. There were three text messages from Teri, and it was already after five in the afternoon. Getting up and getting ready for dinner at a fancy restaurant was the last thing she wanted to do, but no matter how much she wanted to stay at home and veg out, the band's first record deal was too big of an occasion to miss.
The headache had left her with the ghost of a dull ache in her shoulders and neck, and she groaned as the hot water beat down on her skin, the massaging shower head doing its job as advertised, making the knots of tension dissolve away. As she toweled off after the shower, Alex made a mental note to call her parents before going out for the evening. Jamie was right—she should tell them that they didn't need to worry about her future so much. With luck, she could stop relying on the allowance they insisted on sending her every month to pay for rent and food.
Alex didn't know what Teri and Marty had picked up on their shopping expedition, but she suspected her little black dress wouldn't be nearly as showy. Still, it was an expensive dress her mother had bought her, and it would have to be enough. As she put on her earrings and makeup, she hit the "home" speed dial on her phone.
"Alexandra, I was beginning to think you had forgotten about us," her mother said as soon as she answered.
"Hi, mom," Alex rolled her eyes. "I've been kind of busy."
"Am I to understand that you've gone back to school and are busy working on your thesis?"
"No, mother, I haven't gone back to school. We've been working on more songs."
"By we, I'm assuming you mean that band of yours."
"OK, you know what? I'm going to start this conversation over," Alex said. "Hi, mom, how are you? How's dad?"
"Your father is fine, as always, Alex. I'm wondering when I'll see you next."
"I'll try and make it home for Jamie's birthday next month, I promise."
"Your brother mentioned you have some news?"
"He never could keep his mouth shut," Alex grumbled. "We got a record deal."
"Congratulations, Alex." There was genuine warmth in her mother's voice, and Alex smiled down at the phone. "It may not seem like it, but I'm really proud of you for following your dreams. The same goes for your father. You know how much he loves you."
"Yeah, I know. And I appreciate you guys helping me out. Hopefully things will be a little better now."
"We're always glad to help, Alex. Your father and I may not have always approved of the choices you made, but you're our daughter, and we'll always support you, in any way we can."
"That means a lot, mom," Alex promised herself she would make the trip home no matter what. "Listen, I've got to go. I just wanted to share the good news."
"I'm proud of you, baby."
"Love you." Alex ended the call and finished putting on her makeup. She was ready with time to spare; Tommy and the rest of the band wouldn't be there for at least another forty-five minutes. Time enough to try and get some work done on the last song. Tommy hadn't given them any details, but they were going to be studio-bound soon, and the songs had to be finished. When the buzzer rang twenty minutes later, she was in the middle of the song rewrite. She straightened out the pile of papers on her desk and padded barefoot to the door.
"Can I come up for a minute?"
"Tommy. Aren't you with everyone else?"
"No, I sent the limo to pick them up. They'll swing by for us last. They're not going to be here for another half an hour at least, though."
"You'd best come up, then." Alex wasn't thrilled with the idea, but she wasn't going to make Tommy wait outside. It was a good thing she'd tidied up her desk, she thought as she put the papers into the drawer, Tommy was bound to nag her about the songs not being finished. Sometimes he took his job as the band manager a little too seriously. She slid the drawer shut just as the elevator heaved to a stop on her floor, and Tommy stepped out after a brief struggle with the gate.
"You know, one of these days, someone's going to get stuck for good in that thing."
"That's why I take the stairs when I can," Alex grinned at Tommy and sat down on the couch to pull on her high heels. "Much safer, that way, plus I get some exercise."
Tommy sat down on the couch beside her and leaned into her. "So, have you called your parents with the good news yet?"
"Jesus, what is this, Nag Alex Day? First Jamie, then my mother, now you."
"I'll take that as a yes, then," Tommy snickered. "How'd that conversation go?"
"Let's just say it's a lot easier to talk to her when we're not face to face. She still hasn't forgiven me for my youthful trespasses."
"One of these days, you'll have to tell me about that," Tommy said, shifting on the couch until his and Alex's bodies were touching.
"Not in this lifetime," Alex scoffed. She ignored Tommy's proximity and did up the strap on her other shoe. Straightening up, she leaned back and rubbed her neck.
"How's your headache?"
"I caved and took the good drugs," Alex said. "It helped me sleep, but I'm still a bit achey. I might take something before we go, just in case."
"Here, let me," Tommy moved to sit behind her. Alex's words of protest turned into a long groan when she felt Tommy's fingers dig deep into the sore muscles. She let her head fall forward as Tommy made the knots in her shoulders loosen up, and ignored the awkwardness of the situation. It was a free massage from her manager, she told herself, and there was nothing wrong with him taking care of his lead singer.
She managed to ignore the feeling right up until she felt Tommy kissing the back of her neck.
"You know," he whispered, his hands sliding down from her shoulders onto her arms, "I've wanted to do this for a long time."
Alex stiffened. "What gave you the idea that this was a good time?"
"Come on, Alex," Tommy didn't let go of her arms, pulling her back against his chest. "I've seen the way you are around me. I know you feel the same way." He leaned down and started kissing her neck again, wrapping an arm around her waist. He tightened his grip on her when she tried to pull away. "You know, you should be a little more grateful. I just got you a record deal."
Alex felt a surge of anger and it gave her the strength to pull away from Tommy. "Did you seriously just imply that I should sleep with you because you got us a record deal?" She backed away from the couch, stumbling as the heel on her shoe caught the edge of the carpet. Tommy moved to get up and come towards her, but she held up a hand while she undid the straps on her shoes and took them off. Picking up one of the shoes, Alex brandished it at Tommy. "Stay away from me, Tommy."
"Come on, Alex, you're overreacting."
"You're shitting me, right? After what you just said, you're seriously going to tell me I'm overreacting?"
"It's part of the business, Alex. Everyone does it." Tommy stood up and walked towards her, moving slowly with his hands held up in front of him. Alex backed away until her back was against the wall, and then Tommy moved in, grabbing the shoe out of her hand and tossing it away. He grabbed her wrists, pinning them against the wall, moving in until he was pressed up against Alex. "You've done it," he said, leaning in to kiss her. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, and Alex knew he was smearing her lipstick on both their faces. She shifted her weight to bring up her knee into his groin, but he pressed his leg between her thighs and shook his head. "Don't do that," he told her, squeezing her wrists until she gasped at the pain. "We have a fancy dinner to go to, you don't want to make us late, do you?"
"Am I interrupting anything?
Tommy looked back over his shoulder at Teri, who was gaping at them, and smiled lazily. "Alex and I were just celebrating," he said, wiping Alex's lipstick off his face. He turned back to Alex and leaned in until his lips were brushing her cheek. He cupped her chin, wiping his thumb over her smeared lipstick, his finger digging into her skin painfully. "Get yourself cleaned up, Alex. We wouldn't want to make the band wait." With a last leer at her, he turned to the door and walked out past Teri, who was still staring at Alex, her mouth wide open.
"What the hell was that?" Teri came up to Alex, just in time to catch her when Alex's legs gave out and she started to slide to the floor. "Did he hurt you?"
"No," Alex shook her head. "He just got a little handsy." She let Teri lead her back to the couch and sat down, resting her elbows on her knees and cupping her face in her hands. Teri sat beside her and reached out to gently take a hold of Alex's wrist, where the red marks from Tommy's grip were only now fading.
"This doesn't look like a 'little' handsy," Teri said, massaging Alex's wrist, then taking the other one and repeating the massage.
"Teri, please, don't make more out of this than it is," Alex pulled her hand out of Teri's and sat back on the couch. "We just got a little carried away."
"We? Now you're saying you were a willing participant?"
Alex shook her head. "Don't..."
"Don't what? I was standing there long enough to see what he did to you."
"Just... Let it go, OK?" Alex got to her feet and went to grab her shoes. She sat down on a chair and tried to do up the straps, but her fingers were shaking too much to be of any use. Sighing, she dropped the shoes to the floor and got up to walk to her closet. High heels probably weren't the best choice of footwear for the evening, and she grabbed a pair of flats, sliding them on with a sigh of relief.
"Alex, you can't let him get away with this," Teri pressed, following Alex to the bathroom. "Next time, you might not be so lucky."
"There won't be a next time," Alex said, wiping the smeared lipstick off her face and reapplying a fresh coat.
"How do you know? What if he tries again, and there's no one to walk in just in the nick of time?"
"I've managed before, I can manage this time," Alex snapped. "Just let it go."
Teri held up her hands, glaring at Alex. "Hey, whatever you want."
"Thank you," Alex said. "Now let's go, before they come looking for us."
#
The dinner passed uneventfully for the most part. Tommy was his usual charming self, especially to Alex and Teri, and while Teri glared daggers at him the whole evening, he either didn't notice, or pretended not to notice. Alex did her best to ignore both Teri and Tommy throughout the evening, letting Tim and Marty and Jay pull her into their conversations. After they finished dessert and sipped their drinks, Alex leaned closer to Tim, avoiding looking in Tommy's direction.
"Can we share a cab? You could drop me off on your way home."
"Sure," Tim nodded. "Do you want to go soon?"
"Whenever you want," she said. "I just don't want to have to go home alone."
"Did something happen? You've been off all evening."
Alex looked up at Teri, sitting across the table from her, and then back down immediately. She hoped that Tim didn't notice. "I'm just a little out of it," she said, shaking her head. "That migraine last night took a lot out of me."
"Well, we can get going soon," Tim told her, then turned to Tommy. "So, Tommy, were you serious about treating us to dinner, or are we going dutch on this?"
"Of course I was serious!" Tommy laughed a little too loudly, and Alex winced at the sound. "You thinking of leaving us so early?"
"Conner's coming home tomorrow, and I want to get some sleep before I go to pick him up from the airport. Alex and I are going to share a cab, her place is on my way."
Alex watched Tommy's eyes narrow ever so slightly before he leaned back, taking a sip of his drink. "Your loss," he said, shrugging. "I was going to take you all out to Tantra, but I guess it's your loss. You guys up for it?" He directed the question to Marty and Jay, ignoring Teri, who sat quietly, glaring at him. Alex caught the miniscule shake of Teri's head before looking to Marty, who shook her head.
"I think we're just about partied out," she said, taking Jay's hand. "Besides, we've got some celebrating to do on our own," she grinned at Jay, who leaned in and kissed her cheek.
Alex cleared her throat and got to her feet. "Well, since it looks like the evening is wrapping up, I'm going to ask Tim to take me home." She turned to Tommy, giving him a smile. "Thank you for dinner, Tommy. Everyone, we'll see you later." As Tim led her away from the table, Alex resisted the urge to look back. She could feel Tommy's eyes on her, and forced herself not to turn around.
While they waited for the cab, Tim stared at Alex until she turned to look at him. "What?"
"Something's wrong," he said, moving closer to peer at her. "Come on, spill. What's going on?"
"Nothing," she shook her head.
"Alex, I've known you for a long time. You don't get like this over nothing. Did you argue with your parents again?"
"No," Alex said, pulling her jacket tighter around herself and shivering despite the warm air. "It's nothing, Tim. Please, just let it go." When Tim opened his mouth to say something, she waved him off. "Please. Leave it alone."
"OK," Tim held up his hands, backing away from her. "But if you need to talk, you know you can come to me, right?"
"Yeah," Alex nodded. "Thanks."
They spent the rest of the wait in silence, and when the cab arrived, the silence had grown more than a little uncomfortable. Alex tried to break the tension by leaning her head on Tim's shoulder, and he relaxed enough to wrap his arm around her. When they arrived at Alex's loft, Tim walked her to the door. "Call if you need anything, OK?"
"Go get some sleep so you're halfway presentable when you go to pick up Conner tomorrow," Alex grinned. "Thanks for the ride."
"Goodnight, Alex," Tim kissed her forehead and waited until she was inside with the door shut behind her before getting into the cab. Alex waved as the cab pulled away and then stepped into the elevator. She was glad the evening was over, glad to be away from Tommy. All she wanted to do now was sleep. Leaving a trail of shoes, clothes, and underwear behind her, she padded towards her bedroom and crawled into bed.
#
"Congratulations," Tommy popped the champagne cork and started pouring into the glasses everyone held out. "I can finally say I'm managing a real band." He sat back, taking a swig from the bottle and grinned.
"About that," Jay said, putting down his glass. "Teri and Tim brought something up last week, and we had a talk about it." Alex looked up at Jay, shaking her head and trying to lean across Marty to shut him up, but Marty pushed her back, shushing her. "We've decided that given the situation, we don't want you to manage us anymore."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Tommy slammed the bottle into the ice bucket, spilling the champagne.
"You know exactly what we're talking about, Tommy," Teri told him. "You didn't seriously think we'd let you get away with this, did you?"
"Teri, don't—" Alex started to say, but Marty shook her head.
"We've got this," she told Alex, speaking quietly. "Just trust us, OK?"
"But—"
"You stupid bitch!" Tommy lunged towards Alex, and Teri and Tim pulled him back, slamming him into his seat. "This was your idea, wasn't it? You fucking slut, you lead me on, use me to get your stupid band off the ground, and this is how you treat me when I finally make you legit? Just you wait, I'm going to make sure you never get another deal in your miserable lives!" He turned around to pound on the partition window. "Pull over!" Tommy yelled when the driver rolled the window down. The limo stopped and Tommy pointed at the door. "Get out! All of you, get the fuck out!" He pushed Tim towards the door and turned to Teri, who was sitting on the other side of him. When he reached for her, Teri glared at him.
"Touch me and I'll break your face," she told him, and he pulled his hand back, returning her glare.
"Whatever," he muttered. "Just get the fuck out." The last Alex saw of him was Tommy reaching for the champagne bottle and leaning back in his seat as he took another swig. Ignoring the rain that started falling, she turned to the rest of her band.
"What the hell were you guys thinking? Are you insane? We just signed a record deal, we need a manager!"
"We'll get another one," Tim said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her toward the cafe they were standing in front of. "Come on, let's get out of the rain."
"He's going to sue us," Alex complained when they were all seated, with hot drinks in front of them. "He's going to go to the label and fuck over our contract."
"He can't do that," Teri shook her head." They didn't sign a contract with him, they signed it with us."
"I talked about this with Conner, he says we're in the clear," Tim said. "I promise, we'll be fine."
"Doesn't change the fact we still need a manager."
"Nathan mentioned his cousin's band just signed with a management company. They're looking for new clients. Snagging a band with a record deal already signed will be good for them."
"Is there anything you guys haven't thought of?" Alex grumbled. "You could have at least talked to me about it."
"We knew how you'd react," Jay said. "I wanted to just beat the crap out of him, but Marty made me be diplomatic," he made air quote signs with his fingers around the last word.
"We need to talk about you filing charges against him," Teri said.
Alex put down her cup and shook her head. "Absolutely not!"
"Alex, Teri told us what she saw—" Tim leaned across the table. "You have a witness, you've got grounds to file charges."
"No."
"You can't let him get away with thi—"
"End. Of. Fucking. Discussion." Alex said, leaning forward over the table. "The next person who brings up the subject will get slapped. I swear to god, I am not kidding." She picked up her cup and drained the rest of her coffee. "Now that we've settled that, what's this management company? Do we know anything about them?"
"One of them reps the Unicorn Murders. They're pretty good, actually."
"Yeah, I've heard of them. What about the managers? Are they good people?"
"Nathan's cousin says yes, and Nathan trusts him."
"And we trust Nathan," Alex nodded. "OK, when do we meet them?"
"We've got an appointment tomorrow at noon."
"I don't have to tell you guys not to bring Tommy up, right? We decided to let our previous manager go, for various reasons, and that's it."
"Whatever you say," Tim nodded.
"Thank you," Alex said. "Listen, I'm going to go home and get out of these wet clothes. Where exactly are we going tomorrow?"
"Their office is here in town," Tim said. "I'll swing by and pick you up, and we'll all meet there."
"Great. I'll see you tomorrow."
#
They filed into the office, Nathan bringing up the rear. He had tried to be left out of the visit, but Alex insisted. He didn't play with them all the time, but he was a part of the band, and it was only right that he was there for a meeting with a prospective new manager.
David, as the man had introduced himself, pointed them to the array of chairs and couches, and waited patiently as they arranged themselves comfortably. When at last Teri had wedged herself in between Jay and Tim, and Marty perched on the arm of the couch beside Jay, David cleared his throat.
"I've spoken to my partner about you guys, and we'd be glad to take you on."
"Having a record contract makes us appealing, no doubt," Teri said, and David laughed.
"Of course. But I've done some research on your exploits, and I have to say, I'm impressed. Why are you looking for new representation, though? It seems to me right after signing a record contract isn't the best time."
"It was a matter of... personal differences," Alex said, glaring at everyone else. They all avoided eye contact with her, and she turned to David, putting on a bright smile. "There were some things we didn't agree on, and it was decided that it would be for everyone's benefit if we parted ways. If that's a problem..."
"Hey, no, not at all," David held up his hands. "His loss, our gain, right?" He opened a folder on his desk and flipped through the pages inside. "I have a standard contract here, nothing different from the industry standards. I'll give you some time to read it over, and if there are problems, we can all sign." He got up and handed the contract to Alex. "Take your time, and let Angela know when you're done." With that, he left them alone in the office.
"I like him," Tim said. "He's very straightforward."
"Yeah," Marty said, glancing at the closed door. "And he doesn't look like the type to demand sexual favors for doing his job," she said, turning towards Alex.
"Yeah, yeah, we know, Tommy was an asshole," Alex glared at Marty. "We're here, aren't we?" When she saw everyone's eyes on her, she threw the contract at Tim. "Here, you look it over. All that time with Conner, you might have learned some legalese."
"Maybe we should have brought Conner with us," Marty said as Tim started to leaf through the contract.
"He's got meetings all day today," Tim shook his head. "I've come prepared, though," he held up his phone. "Conner suggested it, actually. I'll take photos of the pages, and he can look them over. If there's anything we need to be careful about, he'll call." One by one, he snapped pictures of each page and sent them off. Five minutes later, his phone buzzed with an incoming text message. He glanced down at it and grinned. "Conner says everything's fine, and to go ahead and sign."
"I'll go get David, then," Alex stood and walked to the door. She peered out into the reception area and nodded to Angela, who picked up a phone and dialed.
"They're ready for you, David." She listened for a moment and then turned to Alex. "He'll be right with you."
"Thanks," Alex said, and went back into the office.
When David came back in, he had a grin on his face. "I knew today was going to be a good day," he said as he closed the door behind him. "As soon as we get the paperwork sorted out, I'll get in touch with the label and see about getting you guys into the studio."
"We appreciate that," Alex said, reaching for a pen and flipping through the contract. "Let's make it official, shall we?" She signed with a flourish and passed the pen on to Tim, who did the same. After the rest of the band had signed, David did the same. He and Alex shook hands, Alex glaring at Tim who was taking photos of them with his phone.
When they were done with David, Teri and Alex headed for Teri's car, leaving the rest of the band to their own rides. Terri pulled the car over in front of Alex's building and turned off the engine.
"I like him," she said to Alex. "He seems like he's got a solid head."
"Yeah," Alex said. "Here's hoping things work out."
"I still think you should have told him about Tommy."
"How many times are we going to have this discussion?" Alex turned to her. "I told you, I just want to put it behind me."
"I'm not going to say I understand, because I don't," Teri shook her head. "But it's your decision, and I promise, this is the last time I'm going to bring it up."
"Thank you," Alex smiled. "Are you still coming over tomorrow? We need to go over "Discordia" and "Long Black Veil," make sure they're like we want them."
"What time is everyone else coming over?"
"I think we said three. That was Jay and Marty won't bitch too much about having to be up too early."
"Let's say two, then. There isn't too much work to do for us, so that should be enough time."
"'K. I'll see you then." Alex collected her bag and reached for the door. "Unless you wanna come up now? We don't have to work, we could just hang out?"
"I have to get home," Teri shook her head. "I can drop by a little earlier tomorrow if you want."
"Nah, don't worry about it," Alex said. "I might go catch a movie or something tonight. I just don't feel like being alone."
"Alex, if you're worried that—"
"No, it's not that," Alex said. "Don't worry about it." She opened the door and got out of the car, then leaned back down to look at Teri. "Thanks."
"Good night, Alex."
Once Teri was down the street and around the corner, Alex turned to go inside. She'd told Teri the truth; she wasn't worried about Tommy coming back, she just didn't want to be alone. She was tempted to turn around and head out to the movies without even going upstairs, but the fancy suit she'd worn to the meeting wasn't that comfortable, so she decided to go up and change first.
The elevator groaned and shrieked on the way up, and Alex made a mental note to call the super and ask him to check it out. She really didn't want to get stuck between floors when it finally broke down, and even though taking the stairs wasn't that big of a hassle, three floors up was still a ways to walk hauling music equipment, not to mention coming back late from a gig or a night out on the town.
Alex dumped her bag on the floor by the door and hung up her jacket. She really needed to clean up one of these days, she realized as she looked around the loft, with clothes and paper and various other things scattered on the floor...
Funny, she didn't remember leaving the contents of half her bookshelf on the floor. The loft was far messier now than it had been before she'd left for the meeting.
There was a thudding noise from further inside the loft. If it was a burglar, he would be sorely disappointed. There was very little of value among Alex's possessions that would be considered valuable by anyone else. She knew she should leave the loft and call the police, but instead she headed inside, looking around for something heavy to defend herself if she needed to. There was nothing suitable, however, and she ended up clutching one of her high-heeled shoes instead.
The sight before her as she turned the corner almost made her drop the shoe. Tommy Marshall stood over her desk, rifling through the drawers, ripping up the pages and tossing over them over his shoulder.
"Let's see how well you do without these," he muttered to himself. "I should torch this whole fucking place, teach you a lesson."
"You know, I have backups of all of those on the computer," Alex said, walking across the room towards Tommy. She put the shoe down and clenched her fists in anger. "I've called the police, they're on their way. If you leave now, I won't tell them it was you who did this."
"Fuck you," Tommy spat, and continued demolishing the contents of the desk. "Fuck you, and fuck your band, and fuck your stupid empty threats." He stopped what he was doing, and looked up at her. "If you'd called the police, you wouldn't be here. They'd have told you to stay outside." He shut the drawer and walked around the desk, advancing on Alex.
"And who's to say they didn't?" Alex said, backing away from Tommy. "Maybe I just didn't listen to them."
"And maybe you're full of shit," Tommy said, covering the distance between them in three long strides. He eyed her, taking in her outfit, the updone hair, the nice makeup she wore. "I see you didn't waste any time. Who'd you sign with?"
"That's none of your business," Alex said, backing away from him. "You need to get out of here, Tommy."
"Don't you fucking tell me what I need to do." He grabbed her by the lapel of her jacket and pushed her backwards until she was up against the wall. "You owe me, Alex. You owe me big."
"Tommy, please, don't do this," Alex tried to pull away from him, but his grip on her jacket kept her in place.
"You're not in any position to make any requests," Tommy leaned in and nuzzled Alex's neck, sliding one hand under her jacket. "We never got to finish our celebration the other day."
"You're not going to finish this time, either," Teri said, coming up behind Tommy. She swung the guitar in her hands just as he turned to face her, connecting with his head, shattering the guitar. He went down in a tangle of limbs, and Alex threw herself at Teri, clinging to her. Teri clung back, leading Alex away from Tommy.
"I called the cops when I came in, they're on their way," she said as she led Alex to the bedroom area.
"What are you doing here?"
"You left your cell in my car," Teri told her. "I figured since it's the only phone you have, you might need it before tomorrow. And thank god you did." She wrapped an arm around Alex and pulled her into a hug. Alex shook as she started to cry, curling up beside Teri.
Ten minutes later, when the police arrived, Teri disentangled herself from Alex to answer the door, pulling the divider closed behind her. Alex sat up, wiping at her tears, and listened to the muffled conversation outside. She heard one of the police officers calling for paramedics to take Tommy away.
"We're going to need a statement from her," the female officer told Teri.
"Does it have to be tonight?"
"I think we've got enough for tonight," the officer said. "She can come down to the station tomorrow and give a statement."
"I'll bring her down in the morning."
"There's no hurry. Make sure she gets some rest. And you might want to get her to put in a security system in here."
"Don't worry, officer, we'll get everything taken care of."
Alex listened as the paramedics arrived and took Tommy out. Teri saw the police officers out and came back to the bedroom. She sat down next to Alex and took her hand.
"I'm sorry you broke your guitar," Alex said, leaning her head on Teri's shoulder. "I'll buy you a new one."
"Damn straight you will. And you're going to press charges. For everything."
"No," Alex sat up straight, shaking her head. "Absolutely not."
"Alex, you have to do it."
"I'll press charges for the break in. But nothing else."
"Alex—"
"No, Teri. I know how these things work. Tommy's family is loaded, he'll get some fancy lawyer, and they'll drag all the sordid details of my life into the light to prove that I couldn’t have possibly not been willing. I don't want to go through that." The tears were flowing again. "Please, just let it go."
Teri wrapped an arm around Alex and pulled her close. "OK. But we're getting an alarm installed tomorrow."
"We?"
"I'm gonna come live with you for a while. Help you clean up, make sure that asshole doesn't come back. He'll be out on bail tomorrow, if not tonight."
"You don't have to do this," Alex said, wiping at her tears again. "Your mom—"
"Will be fine for a few days," Teri said. "You shouldn't be alone."
They curled up together on the bed, and Alex was almost asleep when the phone rang in the other room.
"I'll get it," Teri told her, getting up and going to the living room. She answered the phone and spoke for a minute, then came back to the bedroom. "That was David. He apologized for the late hour, but he has important news."
"What is it?"
"We're going into the studio next week."
Wordcount: 7,377
Rating: Mature
Warnings: language, non-con
Summary: In the early days, Lasersquad had another manager. Then they fired him. This is why.
Atomic Vaudeville master post
"Good news, everyone," Tommy said as soon as he came into Alex's loft. He strode into the room, just barely avoiding tripping over cables and equipment sitting in their usual spot. "I just got off the phone with the label."
"That's the good news?" Teri glanced up from where she was restringing her guitar. "You finished a phone call with the label?"
"Ha ha," Tommy rolled his eyes. "They called to let me know that the record deal is a go." The chaos that erupted filled the loft with echoing cheers and shouting. Tim hugged Alex, Marty and Jay clung to each other and kissed, and Teri even let Tommy pull her into an embrace.
"I'm taking you guys out to dinner to celebrate tomorrow. I made reservations at Eden, so wear something nice. And I booked a limo to pick you guys up, so be ready around seven."
"Tommy, can you guys pick me up last?" Alex leaned against Tim and rubbed at her temples. "I need to finish these songs, but I've got a really bad headache tonight."
"Sure, no problem," Tommy watched as Tim took over massaging Alex's temples from her. "You need anything? Painkiller?"
"I'll be fine, Tommy. As soon as I finish, anyway."
"Suit yourself," Tommy shrugged. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know what's up. I gotta go now, but I'll give you all the details tomorrow at dinner." He stood up to go and turned back to the band. "Remember, pick up is around seven. Dress nice!"
When the door closed behind him, Jay whistled. "Eden, hunh? I think we're paying him too much if he can afford to take us all there."
"Nevermind that," Marty hushed him. "The more important question is, what am I going to wear? I don't have anything fancy enough to wear to Eden!"
"Clearly, we need to go shopping," Teri said, grinning. "What do you say, Alex? You up for it, just us girls?"
Alex shook her head. "I've got a dress I can wear," she said. "I'm probably just going to chain myself to my desk until I'm done.
"We'll leave you to get some sleep, then," Marty and Jay got to their feet, pulling Teri up with them. "Tim? Ready to go?"
Alex sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. "Go on," she motioned to Tim. "I'll be fine. Just need some sleep to let my brain recharge." She grinned up at him. "Besides, you know you want to go and tell Conner the good news."
"He's actually out of town," Tim ran a hand through his hair, making it even more messy than usual.
Teri hooked her arm through Tim's and pulled him to the door. "Come on, then, you're coming with us. We're going out to celebrate, get some drinks, do a little dancing. I promise to behave myself," she told him when he frowned at her. "I swear, it's like none of you ever did anything stupid."
"You got drunk, walked up to him, stuck your tongue in his ear and your hand in his pants," Marty reminded her, laughing. "It's not something any of us are going to forget anytime soon."
Tim pulled Teri closer to him, and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, Teri, I don't really hold it against you. Anymore." He turned back to Alex and waved. "Give me a call if you need anything, OK? And don't sleep on the couch, it won't do your headache any good."
"Yes, dad," Alex rolled her eyes. "Go on, get out of here, have some fun. I'll see you guys tomorrow. And Marty, give me a call before you go shopping. If I get done early, I'll go with you. Hell, I might go with you even if it's not done, I'll probably need a break."
"See you later, babe," Jay waved from behind Marty. He pulled up the elevator gate and the four of them stepped in, calling out a chorus of "good nights" and "sleep wells."
Alex sank back into the couch, ignoring Tim's advice, even though she knew she'd have to deal with a sore neck if she didn't go to bed, like the countless times she'd done before. The headache had gone from hovering around the edges to a full blown throbbing behind her eyes, and she eyed the stack of papers on her table, cursing her own insistence on refusing assistance with overhauling the songs she still deemed imperfect..
"Tomorrow, I'm gonna make you my bitch," she told the pages as she forced herself to her feet. "Just you wait and see."
#
In the morning, Alex woke up earlier than she'd planned. She took five minutes to debate the pros and cons of getting up and attacking her work right away, and eventually dragged herself out of bed and into the kitchen to start the coffee brewing. If she was to make any headway on the songs, caffeine was a must. She was in the middle of her first mug when the phone rang, and she hit the speakerphone button, talking while she walked around the loft, picking up dirty clothes and dumping them into the hamper.
"Alex? It's Jamie."
"How you doin', little brother? Still an overachieving loner geek?"
"You know, one of these days, you'll realize that hasn't been funny for at least a year. Which, incidentally, is how long I've been together with Kyra." Jamie tried to sound offended, but Alex could hear the laughter in his voice.
"Yeah, but you're still an overachieving geek."
"And you're still, what, a struggling musician with an unfinished degree in a useless major?"
"Touché," Alex glared at the phone. "Technically, not as struggling this morning as we were last night, though."
"What'd you do, sell some blood or something?"
"Shut up, you ass," Alex threw a fork in the vague direction of the phone, but it clattered uselessly to the floor. "We got a record deal."
"Holy shit! Have you told Mom and Dad? You must have called them first thing, right?"
"Actually, no, I haven't. You're the first person I've told."
"Aww, sis, I'm touched." Alex could almost see Jamie making faces into the phone. "Although I'm surprised you haven't gloated yet. I mean, you're finally proving their worries were pointless, right?"
"Let's wait till we actually make the record and release it. Then we'll see."
"True," Jamie said. "I'm very proud of you, though."
"Thank you. Was there a reason you called?"
"Can't a brother call his sister just to see how she's doing?"
"Right," it was Alex's turn to make a face at the phone. "I'm kinda busy, Jamie, what did you need?"
"I need to get Kyra something for our anniversary, and I'm kinda out of ideas. I need something really nice."
"Flowers and chocolate not going to cut it?"
"Come on, Alex! It's a big deal!"
"One year is, what, paper? That's not really romantic. What about a nice necklace or something?"
"You think that'll be enough?"
"Jamie, you're barely eighteen. You don't have to get your girlfriend anything fancy. She'll be happy you remembered. Trust me."
"OK, I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right."
"And this is why you're still single, you know," Jamie laughed. "You can't just let it go, you have to have the last word."
"Jamie, I'm your older sister. It's practically a requirement I have the last word."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Listen, congratulations on the record. Good luck! And call mom and dad. I don't want to have to explain why you haven't called again."
Before Alex could answer, Jamie hung up. Alex glared at the phone for a moment, then hit the "end" button as well. Tease him as she might, she really was proud of Jamie. At least one of them was mature responsible, and it might as well be Jamie, she sure as hell wasn't equipped for it.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur. She got through two of the three songs before giving up when the migraine from the previous night came back with a vengeance. Putting the notes and computer away, she dug through her purse for her sunglasses, a pair of hilariously oversized aviators that nevertheless came in handy when she wanted to block out as much light as possible. She laughed at the absurdity of walking around the loft in her underwear and sunglasses, closing all the drapes, and plunging the loft into a fair approximation of dusk. Curling up on the bed, she tried to keep herself very still, hoping the pain would recede.
A couple of hours later, Alex crawled out of her bed and made her way to the kitchen to get a painkiller. She washed it down with cold coffee straight from the pot, grimacing at the bitter taste. Before she could stagger back to bed, the phone rang, and she fumbled for it, wincing as the ringing drilled into her skull.
"Yeah?"
"Marty and I are outside your building, waiting for you. Ready for some shopping?" Teri sounded far too cheerful for Alex's liking.
"If you've got a magic wand to make my migraine go away, sure," Alex told her. "Otherwise no, as I'm barely staying upright."
"Jesus, Alex, I know you don't like to take painkillers, but you have to take something."
"I just took something. I'll be fine for tonight, I promise."
"Call us if you need anything, OK?"
"I will, thanks."
"Feel better soon. We'll see you tonight," Teri said, and hung up. Alex turned the ringer off on the phone and staggered back to bed, massaging the back of her neck as she went. She burrowed under the blanket and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but she knew she definitely had the migraine (and the painkillers) to thank for the strange dreams involving plants overgrowing her loft and surrounding her in a veritable forest of vines and flowers. She fumbled for her cellphone, dropping it twice before she managed to open it and peer at the display. There were three text messages from Teri, and it was already after five in the afternoon. Getting up and getting ready for dinner at a fancy restaurant was the last thing she wanted to do, but no matter how much she wanted to stay at home and veg out, the band's first record deal was too big of an occasion to miss.
The headache had left her with the ghost of a dull ache in her shoulders and neck, and she groaned as the hot water beat down on her skin, the massaging shower head doing its job as advertised, making the knots of tension dissolve away. As she toweled off after the shower, Alex made a mental note to call her parents before going out for the evening. Jamie was right—she should tell them that they didn't need to worry about her future so much. With luck, she could stop relying on the allowance they insisted on sending her every month to pay for rent and food.
Alex didn't know what Teri and Marty had picked up on their shopping expedition, but she suspected her little black dress wouldn't be nearly as showy. Still, it was an expensive dress her mother had bought her, and it would have to be enough. As she put on her earrings and makeup, she hit the "home" speed dial on her phone.
"Alexandra, I was beginning to think you had forgotten about us," her mother said as soon as she answered.
"Hi, mom," Alex rolled her eyes. "I've been kind of busy."
"Am I to understand that you've gone back to school and are busy working on your thesis?"
"No, mother, I haven't gone back to school. We've been working on more songs."
"By we, I'm assuming you mean that band of yours."
"OK, you know what? I'm going to start this conversation over," Alex said. "Hi, mom, how are you? How's dad?"
"Your father is fine, as always, Alex. I'm wondering when I'll see you next."
"I'll try and make it home for Jamie's birthday next month, I promise."
"Your brother mentioned you have some news?"
"He never could keep his mouth shut," Alex grumbled. "We got a record deal."
"Congratulations, Alex." There was genuine warmth in her mother's voice, and Alex smiled down at the phone. "It may not seem like it, but I'm really proud of you for following your dreams. The same goes for your father. You know how much he loves you."
"Yeah, I know. And I appreciate you guys helping me out. Hopefully things will be a little better now."
"We're always glad to help, Alex. Your father and I may not have always approved of the choices you made, but you're our daughter, and we'll always support you, in any way we can."
"That means a lot, mom," Alex promised herself she would make the trip home no matter what. "Listen, I've got to go. I just wanted to share the good news."
"I'm proud of you, baby."
"Love you." Alex ended the call and finished putting on her makeup. She was ready with time to spare; Tommy and the rest of the band wouldn't be there for at least another forty-five minutes. Time enough to try and get some work done on the last song. Tommy hadn't given them any details, but they were going to be studio-bound soon, and the songs had to be finished. When the buzzer rang twenty minutes later, she was in the middle of the song rewrite. She straightened out the pile of papers on her desk and padded barefoot to the door.
"Can I come up for a minute?"
"Tommy. Aren't you with everyone else?"
"No, I sent the limo to pick them up. They'll swing by for us last. They're not going to be here for another half an hour at least, though."
"You'd best come up, then." Alex wasn't thrilled with the idea, but she wasn't going to make Tommy wait outside. It was a good thing she'd tidied up her desk, she thought as she put the papers into the drawer, Tommy was bound to nag her about the songs not being finished. Sometimes he took his job as the band manager a little too seriously. She slid the drawer shut just as the elevator heaved to a stop on her floor, and Tommy stepped out after a brief struggle with the gate.
"You know, one of these days, someone's going to get stuck for good in that thing."
"That's why I take the stairs when I can," Alex grinned at Tommy and sat down on the couch to pull on her high heels. "Much safer, that way, plus I get some exercise."
Tommy sat down on the couch beside her and leaned into her. "So, have you called your parents with the good news yet?"
"Jesus, what is this, Nag Alex Day? First Jamie, then my mother, now you."
"I'll take that as a yes, then," Tommy snickered. "How'd that conversation go?"
"Let's just say it's a lot easier to talk to her when we're not face to face. She still hasn't forgiven me for my youthful trespasses."
"One of these days, you'll have to tell me about that," Tommy said, shifting on the couch until his and Alex's bodies were touching.
"Not in this lifetime," Alex scoffed. She ignored Tommy's proximity and did up the strap on her other shoe. Straightening up, she leaned back and rubbed her neck.
"How's your headache?"
"I caved and took the good drugs," Alex said. "It helped me sleep, but I'm still a bit achey. I might take something before we go, just in case."
"Here, let me," Tommy moved to sit behind her. Alex's words of protest turned into a long groan when she felt Tommy's fingers dig deep into the sore muscles. She let her head fall forward as Tommy made the knots in her shoulders loosen up, and ignored the awkwardness of the situation. It was a free massage from her manager, she told herself, and there was nothing wrong with him taking care of his lead singer.
She managed to ignore the feeling right up until she felt Tommy kissing the back of her neck.
"You know," he whispered, his hands sliding down from her shoulders onto her arms, "I've wanted to do this for a long time."
Alex stiffened. "What gave you the idea that this was a good time?"
"Come on, Alex," Tommy didn't let go of her arms, pulling her back against his chest. "I've seen the way you are around me. I know you feel the same way." He leaned down and started kissing her neck again, wrapping an arm around her waist. He tightened his grip on her when she tried to pull away. "You know, you should be a little more grateful. I just got you a record deal."
Alex felt a surge of anger and it gave her the strength to pull away from Tommy. "Did you seriously just imply that I should sleep with you because you got us a record deal?" She backed away from the couch, stumbling as the heel on her shoe caught the edge of the carpet. Tommy moved to get up and come towards her, but she held up a hand while she undid the straps on her shoes and took them off. Picking up one of the shoes, Alex brandished it at Tommy. "Stay away from me, Tommy."
"Come on, Alex, you're overreacting."
"You're shitting me, right? After what you just said, you're seriously going to tell me I'm overreacting?"
"It's part of the business, Alex. Everyone does it." Tommy stood up and walked towards her, moving slowly with his hands held up in front of him. Alex backed away until her back was against the wall, and then Tommy moved in, grabbing the shoe out of her hand and tossing it away. He grabbed her wrists, pinning them against the wall, moving in until he was pressed up against Alex. "You've done it," he said, leaning in to kiss her. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, and Alex knew he was smearing her lipstick on both their faces. She shifted her weight to bring up her knee into his groin, but he pressed his leg between her thighs and shook his head. "Don't do that," he told her, squeezing her wrists until she gasped at the pain. "We have a fancy dinner to go to, you don't want to make us late, do you?"
"Am I interrupting anything?
Tommy looked back over his shoulder at Teri, who was gaping at them, and smiled lazily. "Alex and I were just celebrating," he said, wiping Alex's lipstick off his face. He turned back to Alex and leaned in until his lips were brushing her cheek. He cupped her chin, wiping his thumb over her smeared lipstick, his finger digging into her skin painfully. "Get yourself cleaned up, Alex. We wouldn't want to make the band wait." With a last leer at her, he turned to the door and walked out past Teri, who was still staring at Alex, her mouth wide open.
"What the hell was that?" Teri came up to Alex, just in time to catch her when Alex's legs gave out and she started to slide to the floor. "Did he hurt you?"
"No," Alex shook her head. "He just got a little handsy." She let Teri lead her back to the couch and sat down, resting her elbows on her knees and cupping her face in her hands. Teri sat beside her and reached out to gently take a hold of Alex's wrist, where the red marks from Tommy's grip were only now fading.
"This doesn't look like a 'little' handsy," Teri said, massaging Alex's wrist, then taking the other one and repeating the massage.
"Teri, please, don't make more out of this than it is," Alex pulled her hand out of Teri's and sat back on the couch. "We just got a little carried away."
"We? Now you're saying you were a willing participant?"
Alex shook her head. "Don't..."
"Don't what? I was standing there long enough to see what he did to you."
"Just... Let it go, OK?" Alex got to her feet and went to grab her shoes. She sat down on a chair and tried to do up the straps, but her fingers were shaking too much to be of any use. Sighing, she dropped the shoes to the floor and got up to walk to her closet. High heels probably weren't the best choice of footwear for the evening, and she grabbed a pair of flats, sliding them on with a sigh of relief.
"Alex, you can't let him get away with this," Teri pressed, following Alex to the bathroom. "Next time, you might not be so lucky."
"There won't be a next time," Alex said, wiping the smeared lipstick off her face and reapplying a fresh coat.
"How do you know? What if he tries again, and there's no one to walk in just in the nick of time?"
"I've managed before, I can manage this time," Alex snapped. "Just let it go."
Teri held up her hands, glaring at Alex. "Hey, whatever you want."
"Thank you," Alex said. "Now let's go, before they come looking for us."
The dinner passed uneventfully for the most part. Tommy was his usual charming self, especially to Alex and Teri, and while Teri glared daggers at him the whole evening, he either didn't notice, or pretended not to notice. Alex did her best to ignore both Teri and Tommy throughout the evening, letting Tim and Marty and Jay pull her into their conversations. After they finished dessert and sipped their drinks, Alex leaned closer to Tim, avoiding looking in Tommy's direction.
"Can we share a cab? You could drop me off on your way home."
"Sure," Tim nodded. "Do you want to go soon?"
"Whenever you want," she said. "I just don't want to have to go home alone."
"Did something happen? You've been off all evening."
Alex looked up at Teri, sitting across the table from her, and then back down immediately. She hoped that Tim didn't notice. "I'm just a little out of it," she said, shaking her head. "That migraine last night took a lot out of me."
"Well, we can get going soon," Tim told her, then turned to Tommy. "So, Tommy, were you serious about treating us to dinner, or are we going dutch on this?"
"Of course I was serious!" Tommy laughed a little too loudly, and Alex winced at the sound. "You thinking of leaving us so early?"
"Conner's coming home tomorrow, and I want to get some sleep before I go to pick him up from the airport. Alex and I are going to share a cab, her place is on my way."
Alex watched Tommy's eyes narrow ever so slightly before he leaned back, taking a sip of his drink. "Your loss," he said, shrugging. "I was going to take you all out to Tantra, but I guess it's your loss. You guys up for it?" He directed the question to Marty and Jay, ignoring Teri, who sat quietly, glaring at him. Alex caught the miniscule shake of Teri's head before looking to Marty, who shook her head.
"I think we're just about partied out," she said, taking Jay's hand. "Besides, we've got some celebrating to do on our own," she grinned at Jay, who leaned in and kissed her cheek.
Alex cleared her throat and got to her feet. "Well, since it looks like the evening is wrapping up, I'm going to ask Tim to take me home." She turned to Tommy, giving him a smile. "Thank you for dinner, Tommy. Everyone, we'll see you later." As Tim led her away from the table, Alex resisted the urge to look back. She could feel Tommy's eyes on her, and forced herself not to turn around.
While they waited for the cab, Tim stared at Alex until she turned to look at him. "What?"
"Something's wrong," he said, moving closer to peer at her. "Come on, spill. What's going on?"
"Nothing," she shook her head.
"Alex, I've known you for a long time. You don't get like this over nothing. Did you argue with your parents again?"
"No," Alex said, pulling her jacket tighter around herself and shivering despite the warm air. "It's nothing, Tim. Please, just let it go." When Tim opened his mouth to say something, she waved him off. "Please. Leave it alone."
"OK," Tim held up his hands, backing away from her. "But if you need to talk, you know you can come to me, right?"
"Yeah," Alex nodded. "Thanks."
They spent the rest of the wait in silence, and when the cab arrived, the silence had grown more than a little uncomfortable. Alex tried to break the tension by leaning her head on Tim's shoulder, and he relaxed enough to wrap his arm around her. When they arrived at Alex's loft, Tim walked her to the door. "Call if you need anything, OK?"
"Go get some sleep so you're halfway presentable when you go to pick up Conner tomorrow," Alex grinned. "Thanks for the ride."
"Goodnight, Alex," Tim kissed her forehead and waited until she was inside with the door shut behind her before getting into the cab. Alex waved as the cab pulled away and then stepped into the elevator. She was glad the evening was over, glad to be away from Tommy. All she wanted to do now was sleep. Leaving a trail of shoes, clothes, and underwear behind her, she padded towards her bedroom and crawled into bed.
"Congratulations," Tommy popped the champagne cork and started pouring into the glasses everyone held out. "I can finally say I'm managing a real band." He sat back, taking a swig from the bottle and grinned.
"About that," Jay said, putting down his glass. "Teri and Tim brought something up last week, and we had a talk about it." Alex looked up at Jay, shaking her head and trying to lean across Marty to shut him up, but Marty pushed her back, shushing her. "We've decided that given the situation, we don't want you to manage us anymore."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Tommy slammed the bottle into the ice bucket, spilling the champagne.
"You know exactly what we're talking about, Tommy," Teri told him. "You didn't seriously think we'd let you get away with this, did you?"
"Teri, don't—" Alex started to say, but Marty shook her head.
"We've got this," she told Alex, speaking quietly. "Just trust us, OK?"
"But—"
"You stupid bitch!" Tommy lunged towards Alex, and Teri and Tim pulled him back, slamming him into his seat. "This was your idea, wasn't it? You fucking slut, you lead me on, use me to get your stupid band off the ground, and this is how you treat me when I finally make you legit? Just you wait, I'm going to make sure you never get another deal in your miserable lives!" He turned around to pound on the partition window. "Pull over!" Tommy yelled when the driver rolled the window down. The limo stopped and Tommy pointed at the door. "Get out! All of you, get the fuck out!" He pushed Tim towards the door and turned to Teri, who was sitting on the other side of him. When he reached for her, Teri glared at him.
"Touch me and I'll break your face," she told him, and he pulled his hand back, returning her glare.
"Whatever," he muttered. "Just get the fuck out." The last Alex saw of him was Tommy reaching for the champagne bottle and leaning back in his seat as he took another swig. Ignoring the rain that started falling, she turned to the rest of her band.
"What the hell were you guys thinking? Are you insane? We just signed a record deal, we need a manager!"
"We'll get another one," Tim said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her toward the cafe they were standing in front of. "Come on, let's get out of the rain."
"He's going to sue us," Alex complained when they were all seated, with hot drinks in front of them. "He's going to go to the label and fuck over our contract."
"He can't do that," Teri shook her head." They didn't sign a contract with him, they signed it with us."
"I talked about this with Conner, he says we're in the clear," Tim said. "I promise, we'll be fine."
"Doesn't change the fact we still need a manager."
"Nathan mentioned his cousin's band just signed with a management company. They're looking for new clients. Snagging a band with a record deal already signed will be good for them."
"Is there anything you guys haven't thought of?" Alex grumbled. "You could have at least talked to me about it."
"We knew how you'd react," Jay said. "I wanted to just beat the crap out of him, but Marty made me be diplomatic," he made air quote signs with his fingers around the last word.
"We need to talk about you filing charges against him," Teri said.
Alex put down her cup and shook her head. "Absolutely not!"
"Alex, Teri told us what she saw—" Tim leaned across the table. "You have a witness, you've got grounds to file charges."
"No."
"You can't let him get away with thi—"
"End. Of. Fucking. Discussion." Alex said, leaning forward over the table. "The next person who brings up the subject will get slapped. I swear to god, I am not kidding." She picked up her cup and drained the rest of her coffee. "Now that we've settled that, what's this management company? Do we know anything about them?"
"One of them reps the Unicorn Murders. They're pretty good, actually."
"Yeah, I've heard of them. What about the managers? Are they good people?"
"Nathan's cousin says yes, and Nathan trusts him."
"And we trust Nathan," Alex nodded. "OK, when do we meet them?"
"We've got an appointment tomorrow at noon."
"I don't have to tell you guys not to bring Tommy up, right? We decided to let our previous manager go, for various reasons, and that's it."
"Whatever you say," Tim nodded.
"Thank you," Alex said. "Listen, I'm going to go home and get out of these wet clothes. Where exactly are we going tomorrow?"
"Their office is here in town," Tim said. "I'll swing by and pick you up, and we'll all meet there."
"Great. I'll see you tomorrow."
They filed into the office, Nathan bringing up the rear. He had tried to be left out of the visit, but Alex insisted. He didn't play with them all the time, but he was a part of the band, and it was only right that he was there for a meeting with a prospective new manager.
David, as the man had introduced himself, pointed them to the array of chairs and couches, and waited patiently as they arranged themselves comfortably. When at last Teri had wedged herself in between Jay and Tim, and Marty perched on the arm of the couch beside Jay, David cleared his throat.
"I've spoken to my partner about you guys, and we'd be glad to take you on."
"Having a record contract makes us appealing, no doubt," Teri said, and David laughed.
"Of course. But I've done some research on your exploits, and I have to say, I'm impressed. Why are you looking for new representation, though? It seems to me right after signing a record contract isn't the best time."
"It was a matter of... personal differences," Alex said, glaring at everyone else. They all avoided eye contact with her, and she turned to David, putting on a bright smile. "There were some things we didn't agree on, and it was decided that it would be for everyone's benefit if we parted ways. If that's a problem..."
"Hey, no, not at all," David held up his hands. "His loss, our gain, right?" He opened a folder on his desk and flipped through the pages inside. "I have a standard contract here, nothing different from the industry standards. I'll give you some time to read it over, and if there are problems, we can all sign." He got up and handed the contract to Alex. "Take your time, and let Angela know when you're done." With that, he left them alone in the office.
"I like him," Tim said. "He's very straightforward."
"Yeah," Marty said, glancing at the closed door. "And he doesn't look like the type to demand sexual favors for doing his job," she said, turning towards Alex.
"Yeah, yeah, we know, Tommy was an asshole," Alex glared at Marty. "We're here, aren't we?" When she saw everyone's eyes on her, she threw the contract at Tim. "Here, you look it over. All that time with Conner, you might have learned some legalese."
"Maybe we should have brought Conner with us," Marty said as Tim started to leaf through the contract.
"He's got meetings all day today," Tim shook his head. "I've come prepared, though," he held up his phone. "Conner suggested it, actually. I'll take photos of the pages, and he can look them over. If there's anything we need to be careful about, he'll call." One by one, he snapped pictures of each page and sent them off. Five minutes later, his phone buzzed with an incoming text message. He glanced down at it and grinned. "Conner says everything's fine, and to go ahead and sign."
"I'll go get David, then," Alex stood and walked to the door. She peered out into the reception area and nodded to Angela, who picked up a phone and dialed.
"They're ready for you, David." She listened for a moment and then turned to Alex. "He'll be right with you."
"Thanks," Alex said, and went back into the office.
When David came back in, he had a grin on his face. "I knew today was going to be a good day," he said as he closed the door behind him. "As soon as we get the paperwork sorted out, I'll get in touch with the label and see about getting you guys into the studio."
"We appreciate that," Alex said, reaching for a pen and flipping through the contract. "Let's make it official, shall we?" She signed with a flourish and passed the pen on to Tim, who did the same. After the rest of the band had signed, David did the same. He and Alex shook hands, Alex glaring at Tim who was taking photos of them with his phone.
When they were done with David, Teri and Alex headed for Teri's car, leaving the rest of the band to their own rides. Terri pulled the car over in front of Alex's building and turned off the engine.
"I like him," she said to Alex. "He seems like he's got a solid head."
"Yeah," Alex said. "Here's hoping things work out."
"I still think you should have told him about Tommy."
"How many times are we going to have this discussion?" Alex turned to her. "I told you, I just want to put it behind me."
"I'm not going to say I understand, because I don't," Teri shook her head. "But it's your decision, and I promise, this is the last time I'm going to bring it up."
"Thank you," Alex smiled. "Are you still coming over tomorrow? We need to go over "Discordia" and "Long Black Veil," make sure they're like we want them."
"What time is everyone else coming over?"
"I think we said three. That was Jay and Marty won't bitch too much about having to be up too early."
"Let's say two, then. There isn't too much work to do for us, so that should be enough time."
"'K. I'll see you then." Alex collected her bag and reached for the door. "Unless you wanna come up now? We don't have to work, we could just hang out?"
"I have to get home," Teri shook her head. "I can drop by a little earlier tomorrow if you want."
"Nah, don't worry about it," Alex said. "I might go catch a movie or something tonight. I just don't feel like being alone."
"Alex, if you're worried that—"
"No, it's not that," Alex said. "Don't worry about it." She opened the door and got out of the car, then leaned back down to look at Teri. "Thanks."
"Good night, Alex."
Once Teri was down the street and around the corner, Alex turned to go inside. She'd told Teri the truth; she wasn't worried about Tommy coming back, she just didn't want to be alone. She was tempted to turn around and head out to the movies without even going upstairs, but the fancy suit she'd worn to the meeting wasn't that comfortable, so she decided to go up and change first.
The elevator groaned and shrieked on the way up, and Alex made a mental note to call the super and ask him to check it out. She really didn't want to get stuck between floors when it finally broke down, and even though taking the stairs wasn't that big of a hassle, three floors up was still a ways to walk hauling music equipment, not to mention coming back late from a gig or a night out on the town.
Alex dumped her bag on the floor by the door and hung up her jacket. She really needed to clean up one of these days, she realized as she looked around the loft, with clothes and paper and various other things scattered on the floor...
Funny, she didn't remember leaving the contents of half her bookshelf on the floor. The loft was far messier now than it had been before she'd left for the meeting.
There was a thudding noise from further inside the loft. If it was a burglar, he would be sorely disappointed. There was very little of value among Alex's possessions that would be considered valuable by anyone else. She knew she should leave the loft and call the police, but instead she headed inside, looking around for something heavy to defend herself if she needed to. There was nothing suitable, however, and she ended up clutching one of her high-heeled shoes instead.
The sight before her as she turned the corner almost made her drop the shoe. Tommy Marshall stood over her desk, rifling through the drawers, ripping up the pages and tossing over them over his shoulder.
"Let's see how well you do without these," he muttered to himself. "I should torch this whole fucking place, teach you a lesson."
"You know, I have backups of all of those on the computer," Alex said, walking across the room towards Tommy. She put the shoe down and clenched her fists in anger. "I've called the police, they're on their way. If you leave now, I won't tell them it was you who did this."
"Fuck you," Tommy spat, and continued demolishing the contents of the desk. "Fuck you, and fuck your band, and fuck your stupid empty threats." He stopped what he was doing, and looked up at her. "If you'd called the police, you wouldn't be here. They'd have told you to stay outside." He shut the drawer and walked around the desk, advancing on Alex.
"And who's to say they didn't?" Alex said, backing away from Tommy. "Maybe I just didn't listen to them."
"And maybe you're full of shit," Tommy said, covering the distance between them in three long strides. He eyed her, taking in her outfit, the updone hair, the nice makeup she wore. "I see you didn't waste any time. Who'd you sign with?"
"That's none of your business," Alex said, backing away from him. "You need to get out of here, Tommy."
"Don't you fucking tell me what I need to do." He grabbed her by the lapel of her jacket and pushed her backwards until she was up against the wall. "You owe me, Alex. You owe me big."
"Tommy, please, don't do this," Alex tried to pull away from him, but his grip on her jacket kept her in place.
"You're not in any position to make any requests," Tommy leaned in and nuzzled Alex's neck, sliding one hand under her jacket. "We never got to finish our celebration the other day."
"You're not going to finish this time, either," Teri said, coming up behind Tommy. She swung the guitar in her hands just as he turned to face her, connecting with his head, shattering the guitar. He went down in a tangle of limbs, and Alex threw herself at Teri, clinging to her. Teri clung back, leading Alex away from Tommy.
"I called the cops when I came in, they're on their way," she said as she led Alex to the bedroom area.
"What are you doing here?"
"You left your cell in my car," Teri told her. "I figured since it's the only phone you have, you might need it before tomorrow. And thank god you did." She wrapped an arm around Alex and pulled her into a hug. Alex shook as she started to cry, curling up beside Teri.
Ten minutes later, when the police arrived, Teri disentangled herself from Alex to answer the door, pulling the divider closed behind her. Alex sat up, wiping at her tears, and listened to the muffled conversation outside. She heard one of the police officers calling for paramedics to take Tommy away.
"We're going to need a statement from her," the female officer told Teri.
"Does it have to be tonight?"
"I think we've got enough for tonight," the officer said. "She can come down to the station tomorrow and give a statement."
"I'll bring her down in the morning."
"There's no hurry. Make sure she gets some rest. And you might want to get her to put in a security system in here."
"Don't worry, officer, we'll get everything taken care of."
Alex listened as the paramedics arrived and took Tommy out. Teri saw the police officers out and came back to the bedroom. She sat down next to Alex and took her hand.
"I'm sorry you broke your guitar," Alex said, leaning her head on Teri's shoulder. "I'll buy you a new one."
"Damn straight you will. And you're going to press charges. For everything."
"No," Alex sat up straight, shaking her head. "Absolutely not."
"Alex, you have to do it."
"I'll press charges for the break in. But nothing else."
"Alex—"
"No, Teri. I know how these things work. Tommy's family is loaded, he'll get some fancy lawyer, and they'll drag all the sordid details of my life into the light to prove that I couldn’t have possibly not been willing. I don't want to go through that." The tears were flowing again. "Please, just let it go."
Teri wrapped an arm around Alex and pulled her close. "OK. But we're getting an alarm installed tomorrow."
"We?"
"I'm gonna come live with you for a while. Help you clean up, make sure that asshole doesn't come back. He'll be out on bail tomorrow, if not tonight."
"You don't have to do this," Alex said, wiping at her tears again. "Your mom—"
"Will be fine for a few days," Teri said. "You shouldn't be alone."
They curled up together on the bed, and Alex was almost asleep when the phone rang in the other room.
"I'll get it," Teri told her, getting up and going to the living room. She answered the phone and spoke for a minute, then came back to the bedroom. "That was David. He apologized for the late hour, but he has important news."
"What is it?"
"We're going into the studio next week."