Here you go everybody, the latest update. I hope you like it and thank you for all the reviews. I smile every time I read another one. So thank you.
Chapter 18
I walked into G Major the next morning relatively calm inside. I had my a choice the day before and I had to stick with it. But more importantly I still stood by my decision. If Darius was going to let me go, I'd go. I'd walk and I'd be a better musician for it. If I've learned one thing it was that I can't let the business change me, no matter what the cost. If that means I lose my record deal, then it wasn't much of a deal.
"Darius wants to see you right away," Kwest said walking up to me. Everybody else in the lobby was ignoring me, not making direct eye contact. If that didn't tell me I was in the dog house, the smirk on Liam's face would have. I really hated that cocky stuffed shirt. He was definitely one person I would not miss at G Major.
"I'm ready," I said smiling confidently.
Darius was sitting behind his massive desk, staring at 2 pieces of paper in his hands. He didn't look up just gestured for us to sit down. I rolled my eyes, he was always treating us like he was so much better than us. I really wouldn't miss that either.
"Do you have anything you want to say?" Darius asked finally setting the piece of paper down.
"Actually, I do," I said sitting up straight, looking him straight in the eye. "You run a tight ship here D. You sell a lot of records and you sure know how to take a nobody and make them into a somebody." Darius nodded but he looked surprised by what I was saying. I glanced at Kwest out of the corner of my eye and he looked just as surprised. "But I can't play the game your way. If there's one thing I've learned about myself is I can't conform. Oh I can for a little while but I just keep what I really want to say or do bottled up inside and then it blows up like it did yesterday."
"Yesterday never should have happened," Darius said pursing his lips which made him look even angrier.
"Yeah it should have because if it wouldn't have happened yesterday, it would have happened next week," I said standing up. I hated sitting down when I was trying to explain something that I knew he'd probably never understand. "I can't be who you want me to be. I can't be Eden or Avril or the next Kelly Clarkson. I'm just me Darius. I'm Jude Harrison, a former garage punk singer turned rock garage punk singer. It's who I am. I can't be a pop singer."
"I didn't realize I was asking you to be," Darius said confused.
"Are you kidding me?" I asked shocked. "The stupid clothes, the dumb song and then you wanted me to start dancing and have back up dancers. Do I look like I can dance because I am sorry to say I suck. I have to left feet and no rhythm." Kwest was smiling which made me smile. "Darius, I'm not who you want. We both knew that back at your place right after I won that contest. You wanted Eden, you got your Eden. You think I have no talent, that I hide it behind loud music and depressing songs. I think Eden is garbage who should have been taken to the dump a long time ago."
"Don't hold back Jude, tell me how you really feel?" Darius joked standing up. "You can sit down now, it's my turn to talk." I sat only because I was running out of things to say and I really wanted to hear him out. "Kwest, what do you have to say about your artist yesterday?"
"Honestly," Kwest said after he took a deep breath. "As her friend I was proud of her, she sang her heart out and won the crowd over knowing it was going to be a hard sell. She owned it yesterday, way better than she would have singing Dumb Girl." Kwest looked at me before turning back to Darius. "As her producer I was pissed and ready to chew her ass out for going behind my back. I should have pulled her, I never should have let her take the stage."
"You're right about that," Darius said nodding. "So I'm guessing it was her friend, not her producer, that stopped me from pulling the plug yesterday."
"Yes," Kwest said seriously.
"I should fire you over that," Darius said walking out from behind his desk. "But I'm not going to. I knew you had a friendship with Jude, I never should have made you her producer. It's why I didn't make Tommy her producer, they were too close."
"That's why my album was so great," I protested. "I write with him better than any other person. He pushes me when I'm willing to accept good because he knows great is just around the corner. When I'm ready to give up, he's there propping me back up making me go the extra mile. I don't think anybody else can be my producer, he's the best."
"Well you are definitely passionate about him," Darius said nodding his head thoughtfully. "I wonder what you'd say if I told you Tommy gave me his resignation today."
"He what!" I exclaimed standing up. What was the old man up to now?
"Yes, that's what one of these pieces of paper is," Darius said motioning towards his desk. "And you'll never guess what the other is."
"No clue," I said still in shock about Tommy. Why would he resign, I knew he hated working at the new G Major but quitting? He loved being a producer and what about that album he was recording? He couldn't resign.
"It's the answer from the poll one of the technicians set up last night," Darius said handing it to me. I looked at it before looking up at Darius, staring at him in confusion. "Yes, seems you're right. Your fans do like your music better. That song you sang, which they've titled Overrated, aptly named I might add, was a hit. They want to know when it's going to be released."
"Did you tell them never?" I joked rolling my eyes. I knew my fans would like the song, just like I knew that Darius hated it.
"No, I'm not in the habit of pissing off thousands of people," Darius said choosing to ignore my eye roll instead of comment on it.
"Just one right," I said but made a movement to zip my lips when he glared at me. He had let me have my say, it's only fair that I let him have his. I have to keep the sarcastic comments to myself but that is easier said then done.
"Jude, I had doors opening for you, there was movie role and a chance for a world tour with your sophomore album," Darius said and I literally had to bite my tongue from pointing out that I could still have that if I wanted, just my music instead of somebody else's. "I don't like your music, there's not point to it. You are either whining or going on and on, depressingly I might add, about a guy we both know is too old for you."
"That's a matter of opinion," I said taking my turn to glare at him. There was no way I was letting that go. Tommy may be a lot of things but too old for me was not one of them. Half the time I thought he was younger than me.
Darius took a deep breath. "What is it going to take for me to get you to stay?" he finally asked shocking the hell out of me and Kwest.
"What!" We both said at the same time.
"I know you hate it here and we both know you could go leave and probably find another record deal that's even better than what you have here. So what do I have to do to make you stay," Darius said looking utterly defeated.
"Um…Darius, are you okay?" I asked looking at Kwest who looked just as confused. "I thought for sure you would fired me to day. Rip up my contract and tell me to take a hike."
"G Major is floundering Jude," he said shocking us even more. "In fact, G Major is going under. Eden can't sell a damn record, Shay's taking a break and now the number one artist wants to leave."
"We're doing that bad," I said surprised.
"No, G Major is doing that bad," Darius said shaking his head. "You are doing fine, great in fact after your performance yesterday. Fans have been e-mailing all night, asking for a second album and for more. We even have the MTV TRL asking for an interview. You are going places."
"Wow," I said softly.
"Yeah wow," Darius said sitting down. "So please tell me what I can do so you will stay. You are G Major's biggest money maker. If you leave, I'm done."
"Give me total control of my album," I said without even taking a break to think about it. "Let me be me. Let me wear what I want, sing what I want, let me pick my own hair color."
"I need to have some say Jude," Darius said seriously. "I can't let you have free rein. It's not how I work."
"Okay then I will show you everything I record and you can have a say in whether it makes the cut or not. Deal?" I asked holding out my hand.
"So if I don't like what I hear I can say no," Darius said reaching his had over the desk.
I pulled my hand back quickly. "No, you can give us our say but if we think you're wrong, then we overrule you." When Darius looked like he was going to object I hurried to add. "Darius, you just said it yourself, my fans like my music. You've been trying to turn me into Eden for awhile now and I can't be her. So this is my deal or I walk."
Darius wanted to say no. I could see it in his eyes but I was putting him between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't afford to have me walk, and that was empowering. "Fine," Darius said. We shook on it but as I was standing up and getting ready to walk out he said something else. "You keep saying we, who're you talking about?"
"Don't worry about that, I have it under control," I said smiling as I stepped back into the lobby of G Major. Now there was just one more person to see and I found myself really nervous. I had no idea what he was going to say and I wished I could just walk in there and tell him how I really feel. But I didn't even know how he really felt, I couldn't keep putting myself out there for him blindly. So I as headed into Tom Quincy's office, I took a deep breath and prayed that I would somehow find the words that would make everything alright.
R and R please!
