Music Management 101
By: Sailorjj07
Lesson 11. Falling Slowly
A/n: Yoooooo! Sorry it took so long, everyone. Please don't hate me too much. I promise I'm not an evil person, haha. Thanks for all the awesome reviews! Keep it up! This chapter should be pretty long, yay!
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
"Lacey, why do we have to come die in the gym with you? I can't keep this up!" Phoebe groaned as Lacey programmed her treadmill and hopped on. Jo didn't have a problem with the exercise and hopped on the machine beside Lacey.
"BB, it's not like I'm making you do anything terribly strenuous. And who doesn't want a hot bod?" Lacey replied, with a teasing grin.
Jo giggled at that, "Are you kidding? Phoebe will sit and play video games with Tyler for the rest of the week if she could."
"Or read. I like reading," Phoebe replied saucily, climbing up on the machine and setting her speed at a slow, but steady speed.
"Regardless, being healthy makes you happier!" Lacey said, with a cheerful smile.
"Girl, she has lost her mind," Phoebe shook her head, rolling her eyes. Jo just laughed at their antics.
"You'll be thanking me when all this hard work pays off," Lacey gave a knowing nod, and cranked the speed up on her machine.
"Suuuuuuuuurrrreeeeeeee." Phoebe glanced at the screen in boredom, before turning her gaze back towards Lacey, "So Lacey… how's things with you and Danny?"
Lacey ignored the painful squeeze of her heart and continued with her exercise, "What do you mean?"
"Are you guys getting along? Not murdering each other after practice?"
Jo chuckled and mumbled under her breath, "Oh, they're murdering each other all right."
"Hey! I can hear you!"
"Don't get mad at me! You and Danny need to learn how to lock the door!"
"Wait, what's she talking about, Lace?" Phoebe leaned as far over into Lacey's space as she could manage from her treadmill.
"I just mean that I've walked in on them all over each other TWICE this week. They swear it was part of the routine, but look at her face. It's not, haha!" Jo cried, completely amused by the situation.
"Daaayyyummmmm. I didn't know you guys were like that. GO LACE!" Phoebe cheered, highly amused at the bright blush that was covering Lacey's face. "But seriously it's so cool that you guys are going to perform on National TV together! That's so awesome!"
"Speaking of Danny - Did he give you that gift yet?" Jo asked, before covering her mouth immediately.
"Gift?" Lacey and Phoebe asked in unison. Apparently Jo had slipped up.
"Yeah, he asked me to help him pick something-! NOPE! Stop asking me. Stop it right now. I won't tell you anything else."
"Hahaha, good going, Jo, now we're going to be curious until he gives it to her!" Phoebe couldn't stop the laughter that was bubbling out of her at Jo's inability to keep a secret.
Lacey wasn't sure how she felt about Jo's words. It wasn't her birthday and they hadn't been together long enough to have an anniversary. Why would Danny buy her a gift?
What was he going to give her?
"And what about you, Jo? Surely you and Tyler don't just sit and stare into each other's eyes all day." Lacey responded, in an attempt to change the subject and stop her train of thought.
"Tyler and I…" Jo started, but shook her head. She stared straight ahead, a far off look on her face.
Lacey didn't like that look. It worried her.
Slowing her machine down to a light walk, Lacey and Phoebe watched Jo bite her bottom lip with a look that spoke of worry and frustration.
"You guys had a fight. That I know." Phoebe said, in an attempt to help her come clean with the information.
Jo nodded, "He's really upset with me because…" Jo's gaze flickered to Phoebe before she shook her head. The look was not missed by either of them.
"Something to do with Phoebe?" Lacey questioned out loud, a sense of dread washing over her. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was no way that Jo could withhold anything from them now.
"With me? Why would my brother be upset with you about me?"
Both girls watched as Jo turned her machine off completely. She leaned heavily onto the railing between them, as if the information weighed her down physically.
"It's Cole."
"Cole?" Again, both Lacey and Phoebe spoke in unison, and both were genuinely confused.
"He… Cole told me he loved me."
"He…what? Cole did what?" The distress in Phoebe's voice was evident. She froze up completely, her face screwing up like Jo had slapped her.
The resounding THUD was the exact thing that Lacey didn't want to hear. Phoebe had stopped moving and the machine, which was still on, deposited her on the floor on her hands and knees.
"Phoebe!" Both Jo and Lacey cried, rushing to her side.
"He… I can't believe… You? But why? WHY JO? What did you do?!" Phoebe went from frozen in shock to sobbing uncontrollably in two seconds flat. Both girls looked at each other in sadness, and moved quickly to get her up off the floor.
"We need to get out of here," Jo said, grabbing their gym bags and heading directly to the locker room. Lacey held onto Phoebe as she clung to her and cried in earnest. The group made their way into the locker room, doing their best to get there without causing more of a scene.
Behind them, Regina Crane stepped off her own treadmill and watched them walk away. Her fists were clenched in anger.
"You told me that if I gave you everything you would get me a deal. You said I could be in movies and TV shows and eventually start a music career. BUT HOW IS IT THAT MY REPLACEMENT OVER THERE IS ALREADY GOING TO BE ON TV AND ALL I'VE GOTTEN WAS A STUPID COMMERCIAL ON YOUTUBE?!" Regina slammed her palm down on the desk, directing an icy glare at the woman who sat calmly on the other side of it. The woman in front of her bridged her fingers together, took a deep breath, and released it slowly.
Without even realizing it, Regina did the same.
"Look Regina. I told you over and over again that we would pay you for your secrets from Twisted Records, and we will. You just need to be patient."
Instantly, Regina's rage returned, "No! I'm done being patient! I've been here for nearly a year now and all you've done is send me out on dumb jobs that no one else wants! What the hell?!"
The woman's blue eyes gleamed with a steadily rising anger and Regina's expression faltered just a bit.
"Get me more info and then you can have whatever you want." Came the firm response.
Regina balked, "MORE! You want more information?! SCREW YOU, MARILYN!"
Marilyn Rossi shrugged, knowing that the best approach with Regina Crane was being nonchalant.
"Well then, looks like I'll have to tell EFG that you don't want to audition for the TV show? Maybe call and cancel that script reading in three weeks for a new soap opera?" Marilyn listed off, glancing down at her tablet as she scrolled through a completely empty calendar.
But Regina didn't know that.
Regina instantly perked up, "Waiiitt, you didn't tell me about either of those~! Ahahah, I was only kidding." She smiled and twirled her perfectly trimmed locks around her finger, "What sort of information do you need from me?"
"Well, we were thinking about launching your music career after we got you on TV, but if you can get me something great from Danny's team, we'll release a single, a music video AND get you a soap opera."
"Why does it have to be from Danny's team specifically?"
"Danny is at the top of his game right now. If we could just get one song from him, do you know how much that would help your career? You don't even have to steal it, just ask him for it." Marilyn watched as Regina winced at the mention of her "stealing" something else. It was a sore subject for her, really.
Regina hadn't wanted to do it. She didn't want to steal from Danny or the team at Twisted; not at first. It wasn't until she realized that Danny had completely trusted her when everyone else around them didn't, that she realized just how much she could get away with. Jo was mean to her, Tara completely ignored her, and Phoebe went out of her way to be rude to her, for absolutely no reason. She had tried to be nice to all of them, and they all treated her like trash. She wasn't able to get revenge until she realized that she held the ultimate card - Danny Desai's loyalty. After that, it was easy to make them pay for treating her the way they had.
She was above each and every one of them.
"Fine," Regina said sullenly, crossing her arms over her chest, "I'll ask Danny for his help."
Both women in the room knew that Regina wasn't capable of such a thing. Danny would never help her with anything ever again.
But neither of them said that out loud.
"Okay. You do that," Marilyn said, with a satisfied smirk, knowing she had gotten her way once again with the idiot in front of her. Regina would sell her soul for fame and popularity.
'It's kind of sad, really.' Marilyn thought to herself, pointing towards her door, "Now get out of my office."
Huffing at her dismissal, Regina growled loudly as she saw herself out.
After a week and a half of long, strenuous practicing, Danny and Lacey were finally ready for their performance together. Lacey tried not to let her nerves get the best of her, but she was a nervous wreck internally. They stood at the edge of the stage, waiting behind the curtain for Danny's name to be announced. People flittered to and fro, preparing for the other performances that would follow theirs.
"Lace, you'll be fine." Danny said, pressing a gentle kiss into Lacey's hair. He didn't want to get anywhere near her face right now - he refused to be subjected to her wrath for ruining her makeup (a feat he accomplished during their first dress rehearsal).
Regardless, Lacey Porter looked positively delicious. In a skin-tight leotard that showcased her perfect legs and ample cleavage, Danny felt a tiny twinge of jealousy. Every man in America would be able to see how beautiful and amazing his Lacey was. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.
"I don't know how you do this every day, babe." Lacey said, interrupting Danny's thoughts, "I feel like I'm going to be sick."
Danny tried not to laugh; a nervous Lacey was extremely adorable, "Lace, you've danced in front of people before, haven't you? It's the same thing. There's just… more cameras."
Releasing a deep sigh, Lacey nervously bit on her bottom lip. The action immediately got Danny's attention. Taking both of her hands in his, Danny focused a steady gaze on her, until Lacey looked up into his eyes.
"Danny, I'm sorry, I don't mean to-"
"Lacey, I really want to kiss you right now." Lacey's cheeks heated instantly at Danny's confession. He couldn't help but smirk at her immediate silence, "But since I might get carried away, I guess now's a good time to give you this instead."
Reaching into his leather jacket, Danny pulled out a velvet box. Lacey's heart stood on edge, but she knew the shape was too rectangular to be a ring box.
"I was going to wait until after our performance, but since Jo already opened her big mouth-" Danny laughed sheepishly, and handed the box over to Lacey with a warm smile.
Her heart pounding in her chest, Lacey opened the box to find a small, bar shaped silver and black necklace. Engraved on the bar was a treble clef.
"Oh Danny. This is beautiful."
"You like it?" He beamed.
"I do." Without further ado, Lacey removed the necklace from its box, and turned her back to Danny, "Care to help me out?"
"Absolutely!" Lacey unhooked the clasp on the necklace and handed the two individual pieces to Danny. After he made sure it was securely attached to her neck, he turned Lacey around by her shoulders, admiring the view of the trinket that rested delicately around her neck.
Involuntary, Danny's hand reached out to stroke the jewelry, effectively sending a shudder through Lacey. Danny felt her tremble through his fingertips, and it made his heartbeat pound in his ears. Pulling her body impossibly close to his, Danny drew her nearer still, grasping her chin and drawing her mouth towards his.
Lacey's breath fanned across his lips as she made an attempt to stop him before he really did ruin her make-up, "Danny, you said you weren't going to kiss me."
"Whoops?" he said, before giving into his urges. Lacey was impossible for him to resist; Danny had only wanted to give her a little peck, but the moment Lacey's arms came around him to clutch his back, he knew that wasn't going to happen.
In The Hallway
Jo and Cole walked towards the backstage waiting room to wish Lacey and Danny luck. They had about five minutes before they had to be on stage and Jo was worried that Lacey would freak out. Though she was a bit weary to be around Cole after his confession, Cole had promised they would continue on as friends, no matter what her answer would be.
"So did Danny give Lacey the necklace yet?" Jo questioned, as they flashed their backstage badges to the security guards in the walkway.
Cole gave Jo a curious look as they walked passed a couple of open dressing rooms, "What necklace?"
"You know, the one with his unreleased album on it. Did he tell you about it?"
Cole stopped walking for a moment, a thoughtful look crossing his face, "He did tell me he was giving her a necklace, but he didn't mention anything about his new album. That's pretty cool though! Is it one of those hidden USB things?"
"Yeah! That's exactly what it is. It took us forever to find one that didn't look super tacky and obvious."
"But why would he put his unreleased album on it? Don't you usually give your girlfriend a playlist or something?"
"Come on, Cole, really? We were both in the studio with him last week!"
"Ooooohhhhh. That's right. He wrote those songs for her. I wonder how he was able to find the energy to do that with all the practicing they've been doing! I'd be dead on the ground by now."
"Says the famous soccer player," Jo replied, rolling her eyes. Cole laughed sheepishly, opening the door to the backstage waiting room for Jo before following in after her.
Neither of them noticed Regina Crane's head appear from open doorway of the dressing room directly across the hall. The smile that stretched across her face was nothing short of sinister.
End Chapter 11