Page 8 of Higher Notes

“Not an issue, per se, but something we, uh, need to discuss with you.” Sikes watched me as he spoke.

“Go on.”

“Well, uh…Snipe and I are moving forward with a relationship with one of our principals.”

“I expected this after the Anaheim trip.”

“You did?” I finally found my words and wondered what we missed.

“Your meeting in the bar with Jason.”

“You knew about that?” I was as surprised as Sikes was but damnit, Fizzbo didn’t miss a thing.

“I know everything. I suppose this call is to request a transfer to team Chaotic?”

“Yes, please.”

“Snipe, you’re in agreement?”

“Yes, sir.” Fuck, I hoped we were doing the right thing career wise.

“Understand this must be approved by Masterson Management first so don’t be surprised to get a call from Sal or Easton. Actually, it may be Jeremiah and given he’s in Seattleright now they may very well request a face to face meeting with both of you.”

Great.

“And Jason.”

Fuck.

“Understood.” There were times it was best Sikes replied for both of us. Words weren’t always my friend and generally included a resounding number of fucks.

“Be wise, both of you. Chaotic is new to the Masterson family and I’d hate to see bad choices ruin their chances for success. Jason’s a good man and deserves this.” What did Fizzbo know about Jason that we didn’t? Likely everything given how thorough he was.

“Understood.”

“I’ll be in touch.”Click.

“Now what?”

“We wait, but at least we got the ball rolling.”

Anxiety wasn’t my friend. “We need to tell Jason.”

Sikes readily agreed. “Let’s go back inside. Maybe we can sneak away with him after practice.”

Fingers crossed he wasn’t pissed we notified management without first consulting him. Fuck, Jason thought he’d be shit at this but we were with this whole relationship thing and it’d only just begun.

Sikes and I sat inside stewing and second guessing our choice to tell Fizzbo without Jason’s input, but at least we had great music to listen to. Most of the guards were metal heads so being assigned a Masterson contract was more a blessing than a curse. For the most part all their principals kept themselves in check. The occasional sneaking off without notifying us was the worst any of them did and for that we were thankful.

“Hey, Jason.” Nervously, we approached him after the other guys had taken off. “We need to talk to you.”

“Dumping me already?” Though he said it with a smile, it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Nah, the complete opposite, actually,” Sikes hurriedly corrected. “Can we take you to dinner?”

“I have to get home and feed the kids so Mom can go to work. You’re welcome to join us, though I’m not sure what we’re having yet.”

That broke my heart. I knew Jason had siblings but hadn’t had a chance to check out their living situation. I wondered if this was what Fizzbo had hinted at. Guess we’d find out soon enough.

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