Page 88 of One Day Like This (Excess All Areas 1)

“Yeah. I am. I know my limitations. So, I’m all in. What do the rest of you want to do?”

“I’m in,” Ben said.

Luke nodded in agreement. “They only get a percent of future earnings, so, yeah, I’m in.”

Alex looked over at Jase for a moment. “Jase, mate. Why else are you so against it? Is it really about the money?”

“Fuck off, Alex.”

“If you have a valid concern, we should discuss it,” Alex said.

“Elvis, Aerosmith, Billy Joel, fuck, even Beyoncé have all had issues with their managers having too much control. Unreasonable percentages, pitting band members against each other, syphoning off the top.”

Matt sighed. Control. Now his nan had pointed it out, it was so obvious. “You’re right, Jase. There have been some unscrupulous managers out there. But we can’t afford to not take this risk. Alex, what do you think?”

“I think we should sign. What have we got to lose?” he replied.

Jase folded his arms across his chest and Matt could see the vein at his temple throb. “Fuck this shit,” Jase said. “Everyone is going to agree except me, and we’ll do it anyway. Story of my life.”

“In this case, we are. I heard your concerns, getting screwed by management is valid. But if we don’t do this, I think we might be screwed anyway.”

Ennis and Simon walked back into the room. “What are you thinking?” Simon asked. “Any questions for us?”

And in the most Manchester of ways, in the back room of a pub that had been open for hundreds of years, over a table filled with full and empty pint glasses, they hashed out a deal.

And the whole time, Matt wished Iz could have been there to see it.

15

Matt looked around the BBC studio at Media City in Salford. A year ago, he’d have bitten off his own arm to be here, but now he had only one thing on his mind.

Leaving.

He and Izabel had a date planned. One that had been days in the making. Izabel had told Luke she was going to Nottingham to stay with a friend. Instead she was meeting Matt at the Boulevard Hotel in Blackpool.

Thanks to signing with Simon five days earlier, and the financial audit Nikhedonia had arranged for the band, there was a little extra cash for each of them. Matt had used it to book the two of them a night away.

They’d barely seen each other in ten days thanks to the band’s schedule. Begrudgingly, Jase had signed the management contract, and they’d gone for beers to celebrate. It had ended with Jase getting drunk, doing too much coke, and calling them all twats, but Matt had a feeling it was more for show than anything else.

And Izabel had been run off her feet organising the fundraiser. Confidence looked good on her.

There had been stolen moments. As many as they could find. An accidental meeting in the apartment entrance, an hour stolen when she’d gotten home from work early and Luke had been out, long video calls in whispered voices at night to ease the physical ache they felt for each other.

Simon had gotten to work straight away. Lining up appearances like this one with the BBC and booking four major gigs all in January.

“Matt, how has it been, handling this overnight success?” the presenter asked, shaking him from his thoughts.

“I don’t think we see it that way. We’ve been working hard for over a decade. So, none of this feels overnight to us. It feels like the payoff after a long period of hard work we’re really grateful for.”

The presenter nodded. “And Jase, it must be nice getting this success with your family. You and Matt are brothers, Ben and Alex are also your cousins, and Luke went to high school with Matt and Ben.”

Jase smirked. “They say you can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends. Should have remembered that when I was deciding on bandmates.” He laughed, but Matt was rankled by the answer. “Sometimes it’s like oil and water. But family have to put up with each other, don’t they? Even if they’re as much fun as cold mashed potatoes.”

Ben rolled his eyes.

“Luke, what’s next for the Sad Fridays?”

“We’ll just stay focused on the music, writing for the next album.”

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