Family matters
A/N: I own nothing... I didn't really have any ideas past the birth of the baby. I thought about ending the story there, but I sat and read the whole thing yesterday (as a reader, not the writer) and I came up with some ideas. (Well, that and my current obsession with everything Leto.) Hope you continue to enjoy! Special thanks to WonderingAngel, danigirl2259, creceant, andLov2-Travel.
Sitting at the kitchen table, laptop in front of him, with papers strewn all around, Jordan reads the email on the screen for the third time. Having struggled with reading all his life, he wanted to make sure he was understanding what was on the screen in front of him.
Mark, the band's agent, had forwarded him an email directly from the legal department at Atlantic Records. Bypassing most of the legal terminology, what Jordan understood was if Residue refused to embark on an international tour in June of next year, there would be legal action taken against the band.
Sighing, Jordan gets up to fix himself another cup of coffee. Having been up since 5 o'clock that morning, seeing to his now one month old son, he had decided to take care of some of the band's business that he'd been neglecting. Angela had left to take Maddie to school and hadn't made it back home yet. He was debating on how to tell her about what was going on.
Sitting back down at the table, he picks up his phone and dials out Shane's number.
Shane, still sounding sleepy, answers the phone. "Hey, Jay. What's up?"
"Shane, we got a problem, man. I got an email from Mark late last night. Atlantic is not happy and they're starting to make threats." Jordan, falling back on old habits, chews on his thumbnail waiting for Shane to respond.
"What? What do you mean they're making threats. What kind of threats?" Fully wake, Shane rushes on. "About what? We've been working on songs. We've got time to get them recorded. We said we'd do their media tour."
"Well, from what I can get out of the email, if we don't agree to go on tour in June, they'll sue us. It says here, 'Failure to fulfill contractual obligations to promote success of record will result in litigation by Atlantic Records to retain monetary values owed by said party.' That's what it means, right?" Jordan, only struggling over a few of the words, reads more of the email to Shane.
"Damn, Jay. Can they do that? I mean, if we make the album and do the media thing, then we are promoting it, right? That's what I thought Mark said, anyway."
"Who knows, Shane. I think maybe I should call Brian and see what he says about it." Brian, who practiced family law, was always willing to advise Jordan when it came to legal issues. Never really needing one, Residue didn't have a lawyer.
"Go ahead and call him. What could it hurt? Hey, before you call him, you better tell Angela. You don't want her to find out about it from her family. Discuss it with her, see what she thinks."
"Yeah, I will. She hasn't gotten back from taking Maddie to school yet. I'll talk to her about it when she gets here." Rubbing his eyes, he sighs again. "I'm gonna forward the email to you and to Tommy. Will you call him and let him know?" After saying his goodbyes to Shane, Jordan goes upstairs to check in on Justin.
He slowly opens the door to the nursery, trying to be very quiet so he doesn't wake the baby. Walking over to stand beside the crib, he watches Justin sleep.
Jordan VO: I don't want to leave my family. I want to be here to watch him grow and change. I want to see him take his first steps and say his first words. Can I just tell them to go to hell? How will that affect Shane and Tommy? Why does everyone have to make demands?
"Hey, there you are." Angela walks up behind him and slips her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "I stopped and got some bagels and some diapers. I've never seen a baby go through so many diapers in a day." They stand together watching Justin sleep for a few minutes.
Turning in her arms, Jordan hugs her close and kisses her forehead. "Hey, let's go downstairs. I got an email from Mark last night that I want you to read." They leave the nursery, pulling the door closed behind them.
Walking into the kitchen, Angela makes herself a cup of tea and prepares a bagel for Jordan and herself before sitting with him at the table. He pushes the laptop over in front of her. Watching her read the email, he tries to gauge her facial expressions.
"If you don't leave in June, for Europe, they're going to sue Residue?" Looking over the top of the computer at him, she frowns. "Can they do that?"
"I don't know. We've been arguing with them about this since we went to New York. We told them that we weren't going back on tour. We planned to finish the new album and then do their media tour, but we weren't planning to do the tour." Nervously running his hand through his hair, he continues. "Mark said if we recorded the album and did the media circuit to promote, then we wouldn't have to leave. I guess Atlantic has other ideas."
"So what happens if you guys do all the work on the album and do the media tour and they sue you anyway? Will it all be for nothing?" Sitting back in her chair, Angela seems to think about it for a minute. "Can you take the album to another label?"
"I'm not sure. I know that if we record it under them, then they probably have some kind of rights to the songs, or something." Getting up from his chair, he starts to pace the the kitchen. "This is all starting to get fucked up. I told them in April that I wasn't gonna tour again for a while. It wasn't like I just threw this at them. Shane and Tommy are tired of being gone all the time, too."
Stopping in front of the sink, Jordan spins to look at Angela. "See, we had this all planned out. If we did the album, it would fulfill the agreement we had with them and then we could do what we wanted for a few years. I spent the last 10 years devoting my time to this band and it's success. I just want to be with my family for a while." Looking at her expectantly, he asks, "What do you think we should do?"
"Well, I don't want you to leave, especially if it means you'll be in Europe for several months, but it's not like we can't go with you. At least until Maddie starts back to school next fall. We can work it out, if we need to. We'll do whatever you need us to do." Angela takes a bite of her bagel, slowly chewing. "It's really not about how I feel, though. It's about what you want."
"What? You want me to go? You think we should do the tour?" Crossing his arms, he stares at her. "I thought you wanted me to stay home?"
"No, I don't want you to go on another tour. I want you to be here with us, but I know that making music and performing is what you do. It's all you've ever wanted to do. It's what makes you happy." Getting up from the table she walks over to him. "All I ever wanted is for you to be happy."
"Angela, you and my kids make me happy. Yeah, I love performing, but I don't have to do that to be happy. I'll never stop making music, writing songs. I can do that here, with you and the kids. Here is where I want to be." Caressing her cheek, he tells her, "I've spent way too much time away from you and Maddie as it is. If I leave, I'll have to miss all the important things with Justin. I don't want to do that. And I damn sure don't want my family living out of a hotel room."
"Well, then don't leave. Stay home with us. If Shane and Tommy feel the same way, then tell them no." Leaning into him she slips her arms around his neck. "Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together."
He closes his eyes and wraps her in his arms. "We'll tell them no because I'm not leaving you." Kissing her softly, he pulls back. "How long do we have to wait?"
"Wait for what?" Smiling sweetly at him, she plays dumb.
"C'mon, babe. You know what I mean." He turns around with her still in his arms and pins her to the counter, pressing against her. "How long til we can be together?" Kissing down the side of her neck, he pushes her shirt aside.
"Hmmmm. We're together right now. We're together all the time." She leans her head back and lets him kiss down her throat.
"Red, don't play dumb with me. How long til I can strip you down and make love to you? How long til I can lose myself in you?" Just as he's reaching down to pull her shirt up, Justin starts to cry.
"Ah, are you kidding me?" Jordan straightens her shirt and kisses her on the nose before stepping back from her. "Your son has great timing."
Watching Jordan pout, Angela laughs. "It's just as well. We have to wait a few more weeks anyway. I'll be your Christmas present." Running her hand down across his erection, she kisses him on the cheek. "It'll be worth waiting for."
Jordan stands with his back to the counter, watching Angela leave the room. He smiles to himself thinking about what it will be like.
Later that night, Jordan, Shane and Tommy are sitting in the den together. All afternoon they had been going back and forth with Mark, who was dealing with the Atlantic executives. Mark had just called to tell them the latest news.
"God damn it!" Jordan throws his hands up in frustration. "If we give them the album they want, but don't go on tour, they're gonna sue. And there's not a fucking thing we can do about it."
"But we don't want to go. I don't know about you, but I've made up my mind and I'm not going back. We've toured for 8 years straight. After 2 platinum albums and how many awards and hundreds of appearances, why can't they give us this?" Tommy, who's usually the quiet one, goes on. "I want to enjoy some of the success that we've had. I've started making plans and for the next 3 years, none of them include sleeping on a damn tour bus or moving from one hotel to another."
"He's right, Jay. They're being unreasonable. Our deal was for 3 albums. We're still willing to do that, but they're trying to tie us into this tour with a loophole. There's got to be something we can do." Shane stands and walks over to the window, looking out.
"Brian said we should continue to work on the album. He thinks we should hire an attorney like tomorrow. 'Cause no matter what we do, we're fucked." Throwing his phone down on the table, he says, "If we're all in agreement, then we need to be ready to fight. This isn't going to go down easy."
"Well, then we fight. We do what we want to do." Shane walks back over and sits on the sofa beside Jordan. "I'm ready."
"Jordan, call Mark right now. Let him know where we stand and let him know it's final. We'll deal with whatever happens." Tommy leaning forward, picks Jordan's phone up off the table and hands it to him.
Jordan makes the call and after hanging up, he looks from Shane to Tommy. "It's done. He'll tell them what we want. I'll have Brian recommend a good lawyer. Boys, I think we have a helluva fight on our hands."
I promise when I started writing the record company into the story, I wasn't even thinking about 30STM. I was leading in to Jordan wanting to stay home with his family. I'm really finding it difficult to separate Jordan and Jared. It probably doesn't help that I've been getting JL movies back to back from Netflix... Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you decide to stick with me. Thanks! ~gagirl29