Part 3 (2/2)
Warmth crept over Kevan's cheeks, and she faced the window. As usual, Tina was missing the bigger picture. The one where companies like Global Entertainment Marketing and Argyle were the evil overlords of the entertainment marketing world, aimed at crus.h.i.+ng her entrepreneurial dreams. ”No, I've never seen him. You realize he's the compet.i.tion, right? His company's ginormous and could flatten us for fun.”
Tina snorted and rolled her eyes. ”Why would they give a s.h.i.+t about our d.i.n.ky little agency?”
Kevan took a long sip of her coffee, letting the heat warm her from the inside. ”Someone big is supposedly pitching to Manix. Do GEM or the L.A. guys even sign indie bands or heavy metal acts?”
Shrugging her slim shoulders, Tina seemed far more interested in chewing the tattered end of a nail.
Kevan blew out a long breath, lifting her bangs off her forehead. ”I think GEM might be interested in Manix.”
Tina stopped chewing on her nail and gaped up at her. ”That doesn't make any sense. They only go after established stars.”
Exactly what Kevan had been thinking.
”I know. But somebody is courting Manix. Has to be GEM. And we're f.u.c.ked if they get serious about it.”
Kevan watched her a.s.sistant's face instantly transform. Her eyes changed from unfocused to razor sharp, and her slack jaw tightened. This cunning version of Tina scared Kevan and forced her to keep her boundaries firmly in place.
h.e.l.l, she'd only agreed to hire her on Tina's promises of vast connections in the music industry through a cousin Kevan had never met. Turned out her cousin was a professional groupie, and s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g a bunch of local musicians and roadies wasn't exactly considered business networking. By the time Kevan figured it out, Tina had proven to be a cheap and semicompetent office manager. She also had the occasional deviously brilliant idea, which Kevan was counting on right about now.
”How do you know this?” Tina asked.
Kevan rolled her eyes. ”You're missing the point.”
”Then indulge me. What is the point?”
”The point is that a huge megacorporation, or some slick, experienced yahoos, have our band in their sights. They may just end my company before it even gets started.” Kevan stood and paced the room. Catching sight of her wadded dress in the hall, she pushed all thoughts of one big, s.e.xy man out of her head. She had to focus.
”Again, how do you know this?”
”Joe told me last night at the club that another company had approached them.”
”Doesn't mean anything.” Tina waved her hand, dismissing Kevan's wariness. ”Could be anybody. And he could be trying to get us to up our game.”
”Maybe.” It had occurred to Kevan that Joe was bluffing.
”I wouldn't worry about it.” Tina's shrewd eyes narrowed, and her pink-slashed lips twisted into a smirk as she looked around the room. ”You're never this paranoid about landing a client, especially when you've mind-f.u.c.ked half the band.”
”That's not true, Tina,” Kevan said. ”And way out of line.”
”Something has you twerking and twitching.” Tina stood and clacked her way from the living room, down the hall and back. A know-it-all, s.h.i.+tty grin plastered on her face, she said, ”You got lucky last night, didn't you?”
”No,” Kevan said, dragging out the O sound. Nothing even slightly tainted with the possibility of gossip ever got past Tina.
”You're so full of it. Who was it? Do I know him?” She smiled. ”How did your clothes end up all over your apartment?”
Oh sure. As if she'd share anything personal with Tina the Tiny Talker. ”It's none of your business. Focus. Someone big is going after Manix, and we need to figure out who.”
Tina's expression of excitement evaporated and was quickly replaced with a tight grin. ”Why would they care about some midmarket metal band?”
”How the h.e.l.l do I know?” she snapped, regretting asking Tina anything about the compet.i.tion.
”Both GEM and Argyle do big names, acts that sell out arenas. We do local and small-time. Companies like GEM are the lobster to our peanut b.u.t.ter sandwich. Even Argyle is champagne, and we're day-old canned beer. We're ghetto, and they're-”
”Okay, okay. I get it. They're awesome, and we suck.”
The room spun a little. Was it true? Maybe she really didn't have a chance at signing the band. Maybe Manix Curse would jump at the opportunity to work with someone sporting more impressive credentials.
Pus.h.i.+ng down her doubt, she looked Tina in the eye. ”I don't have a choice. If I don't do something, we lose our lease, the company, and my brother will never get clean.”
”That's not what I meant. They're both big-time. Maybe we could partner with them instead of fighting over the same sorry-a.s.s bone.”
”Are you on f.u.c.king crack? Both those companies would chew us up and spit us out. They don't want to be our buddies. GEM never collaborates with small agencies; they obliterate them. And the Argyle guys are such pompous a.s.ses, I'd never want to work within fifty feet of them. We need to do this on our own.”
Tina looked away. ”You mean you need to do this on your own. Your business. Your band. Your brother.”
”Not true.” Kevan could hear the frustration edging into her voice and tried to cut it back. The stress of Mason bailing and now Tina's obstinacy was wearing on her last nerve. ”It's for all of us.” It was true. If she couldn't sign the band, she couldn't keep her b.i.t.c.hy a.s.sistant on. She let out a huff. Maybe that wouldn't be the end of the world.
Tina stood and walked to the small kitchen, tossing the thumb drive on the counter. ”Whatever you say, boss. But we both know you'll always have a job at Tony's shop.” She turned and looked Kevan up and down, hand on her hip. ”At least you look ready to do battle.”
Although Tina's compliment seemed to lack sincerity, Kevan said, ”Thanks. Hopefully, I'll get this straightened out, sign the band, and we can get to work on a kick-a.s.s promotional plan.”
”Sure. So what is the plan?”
Tina had dropped the subject of Kevan's possible hook-up. Relieved, Kevan recounted the brief discussion with Joe the previous night and shared her pitch for later that afternoon.
Kevan walked to the door, then swung it wide. ”I'm going to put it all out there and give it my best shot.” She leaned in to embrace Tina, who stood there placidly. Her frosty demeanor sent icy spikes of uneasiness through Kevan's chest. d.a.m.n, her friend ran hot and cold. With a quick squeeze and pat on Tina's back, Kevan pulled away.
Well, that was awkward.
Once she figured out this mess with her brother, she'd do some serious housecleaning-and not just the mess strewn about her apartment, but the people in her life. And maybe that would happen sooner than later.
After Tina left, Kevan plugged the memory drive into her laptop and scanned the presentations she'd spent the last week putting together for Demon Hill and Manix Curse. She clicked through the slides, faster and faster, and realized several of her graphs and bulleted data were missing. What the h.e.l.l's happened to the slides I worked my a.s.s off to perfect? Obviously, Tina had copied the wrong file.
Kevan checked the computer clock one last time. She had ten minutes before she had to leave to meet Joe at his downtown office. Maybe she could still catch Tina, have her get the right file, and bring it. She dialed her number, but the call went straight to Tina's voice mail.
What the h.e.l.l? She left five minutes ago.
Leaving a short message, she jabbed the ”end call” b.u.t.ton and packed up her laptop. She was out of time. She'd have to improvise.
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