Page 3 of Sustain

If I want to stay with Blackmore, that is.

“So, who is going to find new artists if I accept?” There are only a handful of us currently scouting talent as it is.

“Troy and Rory will be taking that over.”

“And what about Jan and Brett? What happens to them?” Things are clarifying themselves. Very sharply.

She silently lowers her gaze to the floor, and I know what that means. They’re getting axed.

Holy shit. This is major.

My limited options start rotating in my mind. If I accept the new position, I can kiss my regular schedule goodbye. It will mean I will be on the road more than not, more than I am already, which means less time to visit my daughters. Until now, I could take regular flights back to England, and even work in some acquisition stops while in the U.K. But now this will mean my trips will entirely depend on the band.

I’m not so sure that’s such a good thing.

“Your pay won’t change,” Eliza says sympathetically. “This isn’t a demotion.”

While that may be true, it’s not exactly climbing the corporate ladder either. But then, I’m not the typical executive. After being in a band myself for years, I’d since gotten used to the predictability of a regular schedule. Now my whole life is going to be upended.

Maybe thatisa good thing.

I’ve become a bit stagnant since the girls went back to England with their mother. This might shake things up a bit for me. Get the old juices flowing again.

Besides, I like a challenge. And Chaos Fuel is a challenge and a half. I’m the one that recruited them in the first place, so deep down I feel responsible for them anyway. This was probably inevitable. I know the guys, and I know what their general issues are, so it wouldn’t be like I was going in blind.

But my girls…that’s the only fly in the veritable ointment. Hayley and June are old enough to know I’m not around like I used to be as it is, six and five respectively, so where I am isn’t really an issue. So long as I keep up our weekly video chats, it should be fine. I’ll just try to visit them when I can. That’s not much different from how it is now.

My heart aches at the thought of not seeing them in person as often as I can now, but again, my options are limited.

“Ian?” Eliza interrupts my internal war. “What do you think? If you’re game, we’ve got a festival in Aspen coming up. It’ll be a bit of trial by fire, but Mackenzie Roberts will be there with Murderous Crows to lend a hand if you need it. You know Mackenzie, right?”

My mind fills instantly with a vision of the talented and gorgeous band manager. We’ve known each other for years, and I even helped to sign Murderous Crows to the label not that long ago. Something inside me thrills at seeing her again. And the thought of working alongside her, at least for one festival, makes the offer all the more enticing.

“So, are you up for it?” Eliza asks again, anxious to get this problem resolved.

Settling the idea within myself, I resolve to at least try it out and see how it goes. I suppose if it doesn’t work out, I can always do something else.

“Fine. Yeah. I’m up for it.”

The narrator in my head: He was, in fact, not up for it.

three

. . .

Cold as Ice

Mackenzie

I grew up in the desert. The Vegas desert. I am not equipped for snow. I’m just simply not built for it. But a weekend music festival in Aspen? For Murderous Crows, I can adjust. Managing their careers over the last decade and seeing them go from nobodies in local Vegas bars to now playing stadiums with a platinum record has been a meteoric rise that none of us were prepared for.

While all of the members now seem to have their shit together, for a long time they didn’t, and I played babysitter more than manager. But after the fatal car accident, it’s been a veritable love fest the last couple of years. Everyone has found a partner to share this crazy ride with.

I can feel all their eyes turn to me now.

Like I have time for a relationship.

Puh-leeze.

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