Page 149 of If This Gets Out

“We will consider your offer,” says Ruben, his voice clear. “However, youdideffectively sever your relationship with us.”

“I—”

“So,” I say, cutting him off. “We will be exploring our options. When we’re ready, our lawyers will be in touch.”

“Jon…”

“I’m sorry, Dad, it’s just business. Goodbye.”

Jon’s window goes black. Ruben takes that as our signal, and he ends our call as well.

Everything has gone according to plan.

Ruben is flushed, and is smiling really big.

“That felt good,” he says.

And it’s only going to get better from here.

Our driver is a fan of Saturday.

She’s been talking nonstop this entire drive, asking us questions about what’s been happening with the band and our management. Given we’re in the middle of contract negotiations, we haven’t been able to answer a lot of her questions, but the fact that she’s so curious is incredibly sweet.

She’s driving us to the main office of Monarch Management, so I think she knows what we’re going to do.

I’m hoping, sometime very soon, we’ll be able to tell our listeners everything. Going forward, that’s what I want. No more secrets, no more pretending to be people we aren’t.

We’ll be Saturday, but our actual selves this time. Seeinghow well “End of Everything” and our back catalogue are performing, our lawyers are confident Monarch will want to work with us, and we’ll be able to make some amendments to our contract, to make sure what happened on tour this year never happens again.

I’m sharing the car with the rest of the band. We thought it was a good idea to arrive at the same time, to show what we are now: a united front.

“So, boys,” says Angel. “I was doing a bit of research the other day.”

“Now that’s a scary thought,” says Jon.

Angel crosses his arms. “I’m not telling anymore.”

“Fine, sorry, what is it?”

“Well, I had a quick look, you know, and I’ve found that there is this really nice four-bedroom penthouse currently up for grabs in Marina del Rey. It’s got city and mountain views, and a separate theater room. Plus you can have pets! You know I’ve always wanted a French bulldog, right?”

Somehow, I’m not surprised that even after knowing Angel for this long, I’m still learning stuff about him.

“What do you say?” he asks. “Shall I book a viewing?”

Ruben glances at me. “It can’t hurt to take a look, right?”

“Yeah,” says Jon. “What’s the harm?”

“Book it,” I say.

“Already done,” says Angel, grinning. “It’s next Tuesday.”

The car goes around a corner, and I see the Monarch Management building. Out front is a crowd of about a hundred or so people. Given how widespread the news of our battle with Chorus has been, I’m not surprised they’re here. What does surprise me is seeing how many of them are holding rainbow flags or are wearing rainbow shirts. They see the car, and start cheering for us.

Not screaming. Cheering.

It thrills me more than I think a stadium ever has.

---