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~~~ "I'm Never Alone, I'm Alone All the Time" ~~~
* Chapter Twelve *
"Who is that?" Nathan asked looking at her for answers. Haley pushed him off of her and got off the bed. She clicked the bedside lamp on.
"Shhhh" was all she muttered back to him.
She quickly grabbed his messenger bag and his shirt off the floor.
"Get your shoes and go wait in the bathroom!" She ordered as she shoved the items in his waiting arms. She watched a stunned Nathan rush into the bathroom and quietly shut the door behind himself. She felt ridiculous hiding him like a teenager from her parents but it was easier that way.
She rushed over to the door and yanked it open.
"About time Haley, I've been trying to reach you all evening. Don't you believe in answering your cell phone anymore on your day off! I need to be able to reach you at all times."
"I turned it on vibrate mainly to enjoy my evening off. What's so urgent that it couldn't wait until our meeting tomorrow morning over breakfast?" Haley questioned trying to keep her voice in check. She certainly didn't want to start a fight with Nathan waiting in the next room to hear every word exchanged.
"Why didn't you show up at the interview today?" Peyton demanded as she surveyed the hotel room with her eyes.
"I thought I could skip it since I've been at the last three radio interviews. You only said two of us needed to be there hence why Quinn went instead of me. What's the big deal anyway?" Haley argued back.
Peyton let a devious cackle out as she shook her head her blonde curls bounced on her shoulders. "You know what the big deal is. The success of this tour is weighing on your shoulders. You've moved to the forefront of this band with this new album. Not to mention the latest single is all you. You're the face of The Fire Pistols now. The stakes are higher and the sacrificing needs to reflect that on your end. Think like Adam Levine from Maroon 5. He is the star of the band and that's the direction the label is moving in." She said to Haley in a lecturing tone.
Haley had been suspecting this for quite some time but kept hoping it wouldn't happen if she ignored it. This discussion would not continue with Nathan in the next room if she could do anything about it. Nathan found himself taking in every word as he quickly finished dressing himself as quietly as possible. This was a side of the music industry and Haley he'd yet to see until then.
Peyton continued "You need to get serious about your commitment to the band as well as the label. We'll continue this with the rest of the band at breakfast tomorrow 7am sharp! Don't disappoint me Haley. I have a lot invested in you."
"Fine I'll see you tomorrow morning then." Haley finally answered not necessarily agreeing with her but just wanting the conversation to stop. Peyton gave her a silent nod of acceptance and exiting the room in a huff. Haley took the open opportunity of slamming the door in an attempt to release the hostility brewing inside of her.
She let an over exaggerated sigh out before calling out to Nathan.
"It's all clear you can come out now."
Nathan reappeared fully dressed unsure of how to proceed. He could tell Haley was upset just by looking at her.
"And that crazy lady that stormed in here like a bat out of hell would be your…" Nathan started pausing for Haley to fill in the gap.
"The band's manager Peyton Sawyer." She provided as she sat on the edge of the bed. She ran her hands through her hair desperately trying to stuff her emotions away for now.
"She sure was warm and fuzzy wasn't she? I wonder if she's met my dad Dan before. Or maybe they attended similar manager seminars." Nathan said lightly hoping he could lift her mood. He sat down next to her and gently rubbed her back.
"The thing is; Peyton is damn good at what she does and she's opened so many doors for us. Everyone has a bad side to them right? Some just show their's more easily" She replied. He instantly thought about Dan and their relationship. Dan would fight tooth and nail to get Nathan a deal he genuinely deserved. However at the same time he would hold Nathan to unreasonable standards and demands.
"Ok enough with this bull shit. It's taken up too much time already. Let's get back to us." Haley insisted and then placed her hand on his thigh.
Nathan studied her for a moment taking in that she clearly wasn't ready to open up those emotions with him yet. Silently hoping she would soon.
"I hate to do this but I've gotta go. My car is probably waiting for me downstairs already. I had the best day with you." He said sweetly. He brought her lips to his, gently guiding her chin with his hand. They exchanged a tender kiss lingering before finally pulling apart again.
"Me too! I'm really sorry about the interruption at the end." Haley said.
He shook his head and replied "Don't even worry about that. I'll try to call you tomorrow sometime before my game and before your sound check."
She felt instantly reassured and almost giddy again. She walked him to her door and drank in his embrace once more before finally letting him go.
Nathan dragged his tired body out of bed the next morning knowing full well he was already running late. He'd managed to sleep some on the flight back to L.A. considering he was still pretty wired from the evening's events with Haley. He grabbed a quick breakfast on his way out the door to the gym. A light morning workout would help boost his energy level which he knew he'd desperately need in 12 hours for his game. Part of him was hoping he'd be able to avoid Dan's phone call a little longer by going to the gym too. He knew Dan would ask questions about his recent day trip to Miami. He didn't want Dan to ruin the happy feelings he had about Haley and their budding relationship. Dan was always caught up in appearances and strategies to continue to boost Nathan's basketball career. Nathan feared in Dan's opinion a relationship with a rock star wasn't part of the "plan."
Haley headed down the hall the next morning and waited outside Chris' hotel room for him to come to the door. Shortly the door swung open revealing Chris before her looking rather annoyed.
"Do you know what time it is?" He asked sounding groggy.
Haley pushed past him and walked into his room desperately needing answers.
"You should be grateful I waited this long to come bother you. Besides we've got a meeting in like 30 minutes anyways. I really need to talk to you." Haley stated in a serious tone. Chris took in her voice and her body language knowing he needed to shelve the smart ass remarks for the time being.
He shut the door before walking back to his bed. He flopped back down and watched as Haley paced back and forth.
"Keller is all ears. What's got you tweaked at this hour?" He asked with a yawn.
Haley gave him a cliff notes version of what Peyton had discussed briefly the night before. She was careful not to go into too many details mostly she wanted to know where his head was at.
"I don't really think anything has changed as far as Quinn and Walker. If anything she seems to want to be more in the background rather than the spot light these days. She never has liked that part all that much." Chris stated after listening closely to her previous statements.
"I know that and agree with what you said about her. But what about Walker and you?" She argued back.
"I wouldn't worry about Walker. Just last night he went on and on about how he had his dream job; playing drums, going on tour, meeting chicks and partying. Trust me he's just fine! Most people don't join bands as the drummer expecting to become a super star. Well I guess unless you're Dave Grohl." He answered with a smile hoping she felt some comfort from his honesty.
Haley stopped pacing and looked at Chris closely.
"But what about you Chris? You've worked as hard as me if not harder to get where you are. It wouldn't be fair to turn this band into the "Haley James" show. I just couldn't do that to you." She said honestly suddenly feeling a rush of emotions coming to the surface.
Chris noticed Haley's emotions change and within seconds had gotten off the bed. He stood in front of her and put both hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes closely before he finally spoke.
"You worry too much Hales! Everything is going to be just fine. I'm not worried about Peyton's latest marketing strategy for the band and what will happen to me. Music is music and that's what speaks to our true fans." Chris said.
"How can you be so cool about everything?" She asked.
He offered her his trademark Keller grin and then answered frankly "Female band leaders are sexy and empowering to other women. Thus chicks will come to our gigs, end up backstage…I think you can see where I'm going with this."
She couldn't help but laugh at him. He was always good about calming her down and most importantly providing much needed humor often at inappropriate times.
"I gotcha you can stop now. I don't need anymore details than that." She laughed giving him a playful shove. Chris soon joined her laughter.
"Speaking of details James….I do recall you had a date with a male by the name of Scott last night. So tell me…did you tap that?" He joked with her.
Haley rolled her eyes and this time smacked his arm.
"OK this conversation is over with. Get ready for this breakfast and don't be late. You've got only 15 minutes Chris." Haley said with a nervous laugh and promptly left his hotel room.
The breakfast meeting went as Haley anticipated. Peyton had developed quite the detailed strategy and openly discussed the marketing plans with the rest of the band. Haley could have sworn she saw Quinn almost look relieved as Peyton explained how Haley's role in the band would soon be changing. To her surprise, Chris was still in the fore front with her according to Peyton's current plan for the time being.
Peyton concluded their breakfast meeting by opening up the chance for the band to ask questions about the rest of the tour.
"So Hales are you cool with all of this?" Quinn asked looking at her sister deliberately in front of Peyton. No one would bully her younger sister….not even THE Peyton Sawyer.
Haley looked at Walker and Chris before settling on Quinn. There was a great sense of hope in their eyes. Hope she couldn't take away from them.
"Whatever it takes." She stated with a smile trying to be as reassuring as possible. She could fake it with the best of them after all.
"Great then it's settled. Thanks again for meeting me so early guys. I'm off to check the venue before you get over there for the sound check. Later guys." Peyton said and then quickly gathered her things only to head on her way.
Haley could feel an added weight to her shoulders as she walked back up to her hotel room to get ready for the day. There was a great sense of pressure not to let everyone down. She would be up for the challenge even if it killed her to do.
"Dan I don't want to have this conversation anymore. I need to focus on the game tonight and contrary to what you may believe, this is not helping." Nathan exclaimed into his phone. Dan had spent the last 10 minutes barking orders and making assumptions.
"It's not good for you to do all that flying and then have such little sleep all before a game day. You finally played a truly acceptable game against Houston and since then you've turned a corner. You can't afford to back slide any! I'll ask you again, what did you need to do in Miami for only one day?" Dan demanded.
Nathan sighed as he grew even more annoyed with the argument. It felt like he was on a merry go round and he couldn't get off.
"It doesn't really concern you what I did in Miami on my free time. I'm not going to discuss this with you anymore." He shot back in an angry tone to Dan.
"Bullshit! Of course it concerns me Nathan. I am your manager and your agent! If it affects your basketball career then it's my business!" Dan shouted into the phone.
Nathan had hit his limit and he was about to explode. "You know what Dan that's right. You are my agent and my manager meaning you work for me. Bottom line! Don't forget it. This conversation is over with." He yelled and then abruptly ended the call with his father. He held his iPhone in his hand and fought off the urge to hurl it across the room against the wall to get out his anger. 'Save it for the court' he told himself.
Dan sat back in his office chair staring at his desk phone stunned. He couldn't believe the latest actions of his best client. Something had shifted in Nathan after his injury and Dan had been taking advantage of the opening to become more involved with Nathan's career moving forward. For the first time in Nathan's basketball career, he was vulnerable and was scared. Dan moved in and capitalized on it without a seconds hesitation. However, the recent change in Nathan's behavior was something he hadn't witnessed before. His game was coming back to exceptional levels and yet Nathan wasn't back to his usual self. Something was going on and Dan was going to get to the bottom of it.
Dan pulled up a contact in his address book and punched the numbers into his phone. Nearly just seconds later there was an answer on the other end.
"Fox here."
"Yes, it's Dan Scott calling. I have some business for you if you're interested." Dan said without any hesitation.
"Mr. Scott I'm all ears. What do ya got for me this time?"
"Well Daunte I was hoping you could do a little private investigative work and keeps tabs on one of my clients. I need results now and I know you're the guy to get it done." Dan explained.
"Who's the target?" Daunte asked coldly.
"Nathan Scott."
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