Page 51 of Rock On

She snorted. “I’m guessing that turned out to not be true.”

“I’m assuming you know the story about when Presley got pregnant and tried to reach Z to tell him about the baby?”

She nodded. “Yeah, and the band’s management wouldn’t give him her messages.” She closed her eyes as understanding dawned. “Oh. That was Aurora.”

“Exactly. She and Z had rekindled things and I guess this time she was looking for more than casual sex. So she kept Presley at bay. Anyway, when Z eventually found out, he was pissed and wanted to fire her. She had Carter on her side, telling him if he didn’t defend her, she would tell everyone about River. Because of the money involved and the trust he set up, she’d found out about the baby, so she was controlling Carter to a degree.”

“Oh shit. He never said a word.”

“Anyway, eventually he came to his senses and told her to fuck off. Then he died and it was moot. Regardless, we fired her. Well, now she was just made the President and CEO of Sound of Light Records, who are a pretty big deal.”

“Yeah, they have some big names on their roster.”

“Exactly. And they just bought Low Rider Records.”

She squinted, and I could practically see the wheels turning. “Wait… that’s your original record label.”

“Yup.”

“And she now runs the label that owns…what? Your original albums?”

“Obviously, we have the right to the music, but they now own the masters. They have a huge say in what we can and can’t do with the music.”

“But if you own the music, what’s the difference?”

“It’s a little murky, but since they own the masters, any time those songs are played or streamed they make money. With Low Rider, we had a bit of control over some of those decisions. Now, with Aurora at the helm, we don’t. Technically, they could even block us from performing songs from those two albums.”

“Oh my god. That includes ‘Shiny Pieces’ and ‘Break Your Promise,’ right?”

I nodded. “Yup.”

‘Break Your Promise’ was one of our biggest hits, and the song we always played in an encore.

Her eyes narrowed. “Oh hell no. That’s taking food right out of my baby’s mouth!”

I laughed at her protectiveness. “Out of all our mouths. Not that any of us are going hungry any time soon.”

“No, but it’s the principle!”

“Exactly.”

“Fuck her and the horse she rode in on!”

“No thanks. But I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Just tell me what to do. Fuck that bitch.”

I grinned.

That was the Harley I knew and loved, and it was nice seeing her again.

TWENTY

Harley

The band meeting felt like old times.

Though Tommy and I got a few strange looks when the others realized we were in the same room together during the video chat, no one said anything. I’d met or was familiar with everyone in attendance, including Kellan’s new girlfriend Jesse, who was also there, along with Presley, Madeline, the band’s new-to-me manager, Sasha, and the owner of their current record label, Casey Hart.

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