Page 87 of Honest With You

Jesse starts to feel the tension and he gives me a questioning look. I simply give him a slight shake of my head. I’ve been through a handful of these mediations, where I’ve been forced to let someone go due to a contract violation. I remain standing, if nothing but to make sure my talents know who’s actually in control here.

I quickly hit the panel on the desk to bring down the privacy screens before grabbing my tablet to pull up a few legal documents. I send them to Felicity then quickly type out an email to Mr. Figgs so he has an understanding of what he’s walking into. Only after I hit send do I address the room.

“While we wait for Mr. Figgs to arrive, I’m going to need you to study the contract you signed in London, Miss Sandoval. Before we go further, I implore you to read every single word you approved, so there’s no confusion on anything moving forward.”

My father’s secretary buzzes the room and I hit the intercom. “Felicity, can you bring in the documents I just sent to your printer, please?”

“Right away, Miss Torres.”

Mickayla swallows audibly when Felicity walks in with several folders in hand. Ever the efficient colleague, she already has everything organized and hands them to me. Setting her contract down in front of her, I’m hoping Mickayla understands the severity of the situation.

I pull up my email and scan the messages I received last week,to find an email from Chuck Lassner, informing me of his dismissal and his right to representation, citing breach of contract.

I grit my teeth in annoyance. I've managed to juggle a multitude of things on my own, but sometimes things slip through the cracks .

I should really get an assistant.

I had two in London but when I delegated tasks to senior members of my staff, I promoted both of them too hastily.

Now, I have a possible lawsuit on my hands against a client whose career hasn’t even begun. Then, a line in the email catches my eye and I glance over at Jesse, who has taken it upon himself to grab one of the contracts, reading it over and writing on it.

He senses me watching him and he tilts his head in question. My father must have had him sit in or participate in client negotiations, hence the annotation. I slide my phone over to him, pointing out the line in question and his shoulders stiffen. I can see his jaw tense and I know he’s pissed.

His eyes slide over to Mason and I almost exhale a sigh of relief that he is directing his anger properly. Mason has no say in her career, especially with the stipulations I personally made sure were in both their contracts.

Given my father personally hand selected Jesse to produce her debut single, my ex has as much say in this as I do.

Figgs walks in, his professional mask in place. Wordlessly, I hand him both contracts. The one that was signed in London and the new one drafted for this meeting.

Figgs takes the seat on the other side of Jesse, the one right across Mickayla, whose eyes are bugging out as she continues to scan the document. When her eyes shoot up to meet mine, I take that as my cue to start the meeting.

“I’m assuming you have read and understood the purpose of my asking our legal counsel to be present today? This was supposed to be your new contract signing and meeting with your producer.” I gesture to Jesse.

Jesse pulls out two company-issued tablets I didn’t even notice he had with him and he opens up a hyperlinked document on one. At a quick glance, I see that he pulled up our musicians list but specifically has scrolled to our in-house musicians.

Mickayla nods, clutching the paper between her hands nervously as Mason growls beside her. He actually emits a noise I’ve only heard freaking animals do. He snatches the paper from her and skims the document.

I allow him the few seconds it takes before he grows tired of reading and throws the document on the table. I highly doubt he even understands what is at stake here.

“This is bullshit.”

Figgs clears his throat and I wave my hand, letting him know he has the floor while I keep an eye trained on Mason. I type out a quick message to Ben, letting him know I need security to come up to the penthouse floor as soon as possible for a possible escort. And that he’ll need to use the VIP elevator only my family uses.

“Please explain to us, Miss Sandoval, the events that lead to the dismissal of Mr. Lassner.”

“Uhm, I–” Mickayla clears her throat and I hand her a water bottle from the small kitchenette. She downs half the bottle, swallowing audibly. I’ve about made up my mind to take control of the situation again when Mason shoves off his chair and slams his hands on the table.

“Because that sod was incompetent! That pompous plonker was useless at his job. You would have known that if you had half a brain.”

Mickayla pulls on his arm and he pulls away, pointing his finger at me.

“Pity. With a face and name like yours, I’d simply assumed you were bloody brilliant. Should have known a bird like yourself would be useless, just like this one.” He throws his hand out toward Mickayla who visibly pales, her head hung low.

I respond with a raise of my eyebrow but notice that Jesse has his fists clenched, his anger visibly rising. Figgs taps his chair in warning and I can feel Jesse’s eyes fly to me but I keep myself composed. Temper tantrums are known hazards in my line of work but I am a Torres and we have quite a bit of pull in the industry. Not many people, especially our own talent, would dare to cross that line with us. Sometimes though, there are some people who let their egos get the best of them, so here we are.

I’m going to enjoy putting this asshole in his place.

“Mr. Figgs, would you do me the honor of reading stipulation six on the second page of Miss Sandoval’s initial contract? But before you do so, I suggest Mr. Moore remember that he has also signed a contract with Torres Entertainment Group and he has broken no less than three clauses simply by being in this room, acting as another client’s representation.”

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