Conquest (16 page)

“Yes,” Greg said. “He covered a lot of ground when he was performing. All of his albums went multi-Platinum, and his fourth,
One More Time
, was a masterwork.”

Jesse went to the case and gazed down at the awards. “I knew he won a lot of awards, but I never knew it was this many.”

Greg moved to Jesse’s side, also looking down in the case. “Well, they never meant much to him. That’s why I have them. It was always such a pain to get him to those award shows unless he was booked to perform. He’d go up on stage smiling for everyone, say a quick charming acceptance speech, then walk offstage, shove the award at me, and wait until he was called up again.”

Jesse looked at the awards, wondering why Evan didn’t want them. It was a huge accomplishment for a musician to win as many as he did. For every album he released there were awards.

Greg gave him a warm smile. “Evan was very taken with your music. That’s a great compliment coming from him. He doesn’t acknowledge other musicians unless he truly feels they have talent, so you can imagine that’s a rarity with him since he’s well aware of the enormity of his own gift.”

Jesse faced Greg and met his eyes with an unwavering stare. “Is that why you called us for this deal? Because he told you to?”

Greg’s smile shifted from warm to sympathetic. “You’re a fan of his, aren’t you? I could tell when you met him. You must have been very excited to speak with someone who carries as much weight in this business as he does, but the truth is Evan has little interest in the careers of other artists. He brought me to see you guys because he saw your talent, he gave me his input on your style, but that’s it. I’m sure you admire his work and would like to see him again, and if he’s still in town by the time we hit the studio, if all goes well today, I might be able to convince him to come down, but I couldn’t promise anything.”

Jesse stood silent. Either Greg was doing a hell of a cover job pretending to not know about him and Evan, or he really didn’t know. Pure elation began to fill him. Greg didn’t know. Evan really hadn’t set this up. He had been honest when he said all he did was bring Greg to see him. Not that he thought Evan had lied, but with all the accusations from Tim and Kenny, his belief in Evan’s words had gotten a little shaken. And that meant Tim really didn’t know either, but had assumed it from what he saw and his impression of him.

Jesse shot Kenny a triumphant smirk. Kenny pointedly looked away.

Greg patted Jesse’s shoulder. “I said I couldn’t promise anything, so don’t get your hopes up. Right now, we should concentrate on getting down to business.” He walked to his desk and took a seat in the chair behind it. “I take it Tim already discussed the advance amount with you, but just so you know, that’s where all your recording costs are going to come out of, so try to optimize your studio time. If you have a dream of recording in New York, L.A., or anywhere else, we can send you there, but it’s going to cost more than if you use our private studios here in Chicago.”

Jesse sat down beside Kenny. “Is this a warning to not blow all the cash on booze and strippers?”

“Pretty much. You could do that, but then you’d end up more in debt to the label.”
“Well then, maybe our advance should get bumped up,” Jesse said.

Kenny choked out a horrified gasp.

Greg leaned back in his chair, grinning at Jesse. “Are booze and strippers key elements to your creative process?”
“No, but Pizzeria Uno’s and a shopping spree at Saks are.”
Kenny buried his face in his hands.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Greg chuckled. “Let’s start working out some of the other details, and we’ll negotiate at the end.”

Halfway through Greg’s explanations of the countless clauses in the contract, Jesse sat back in the chair, rubbing his eyes. “From what I’m getting out of all this crap in the promotions section, we pretty much have to do whatever Phoenix tells us to do since you’re handling all our publicity and promoting. You basically own us. We’re your indentured servants.”

“I prefer to think of us as all on the same team, striving for the mutual goal of your ultimate success,” Greg said. “That’s some nice sugarcoating.”

“Yes, I thought so. But you could seek outside representation in the form of an agent to handle your publicity if you’re not comfortable with Phoenix doing it.”

“So long as your people can get the job done, one evil’s just as good as the other as far as I’m concerned. And just to make sure I’m completely clear on this, the songs we record become the property of Phoenix, even masters that aren’t released. Then if you guys decide to let us go, we can’t record those songs again with another label?”

“That’s the gist of it, but it doesn’t mean forever. After a certain time period we can relinquish those songs back to you. See here, it’s written in case you are cut loose by us, after a period of five years from that date, you can release the songs under another label.”

“I understand you guys need the copyrights so you can distribute and promote the music, but the last thing I want is to be watching TV and hear ‘Shattered’ as the background music for a tampon commercial because you guys got offered an endorsement deal. I want a clause written in that no songs bearing songwriting credits by myself or any other member of Conquest can be exploited or released for endorsements or other promotions without my direct written consent.”

Greg’s lips parted in shock. “I’m not sure I can agree to that.”
“Then I’m not sure I’m capable of holding a pen.”

Kenny looked at Jesse in alarm. He glanced at Greg and watched him and Jesse stare each other down.

Greg’s face broke into a slow smile, and he scribbled down Jesse’s demand. “The attorneys will adjust this into the final contract.”

Jesse glowed at his victory as he flipped to the next page. He didn’t care what Tim said. He knew he had everything it took to reach the highest levels of success in music, and he wasn’t going to stop until he stood on top of the world, the conquering hero for all who had ever doubted him to look upon.

C
HAPTER
E
LEVEN

 

Jesse stretched his arms high over his head and looked at his watch. “It’s already past seven. That took forever.” Kenny stood beside him, rubbing his forehead. “My brain hurts.”

 

Jesse tossed his arm around Kenny’s shoulders. “But we did it! I told you never to lose faith in me!”

“We have to go out and celebrate! I can’t wait to call Carrie and tell her.”
Jesse rolled his eyes. “Does she have to come?”

“What do you think? She’s my girlfriend. Besides, this is a perfect excuse for getting laid.”

“You shouldn’t have to use excuses. You should just be able to say, ‘I’m horny, satisfy me,’ and get results.”
“And that’s why your relationships never last beyond a night.”

Jesse leaned toward him, speaking in a singsong voice, “Not anymore.”

He felt Kenny’s shoulders tense under his arm and saw the joy in his countenance wither. Anger welled up inside him. Even after hearing from Greg that Evan had nothing to do with the meeting, Kenny still believed he had slept with him to get the contract. He dropped his arm from Kenny’s shoulders and dug in his front pocket for his cell phone. “I’m calling Evan.”

Kenny’s expression turned apprehensive. “Is he going to go out with us?”

 

“If he wants to.”

 

Kenny opened his own cell phone and turned away from him.

Jesse glared at the back of Kenny’s head while listening to the phone ring. On the fifth ring, Evan answered with, “Hey, gorgeous. How’d things go?”

Evan’s warm greeting and the sound of his voice extinguished Jesse’s irritation at Kenny. “We got signed! I even got us a higher advance and had our royalties bumped up a couple points!”

“That’s wonderful. Congratulations.”

 

“Thanks! I guess I really can quit my job now.”

Evan laughed softly. “Yeah, that’d be a good idea. Listen, I hate to cut this short, but I’m kind of in the middle of something. Are you heading back to your place now?”

“Yeah.”
“I’ll see you there in a little bit then.”

“Alright. Later.” Jesse snapped his phone closed and spun toward Kenny.

Kenny closed his phone and headed up the sidewalk. “Let’s get going. The sooner we get home, the sooner we can party!”
The earlier tension between them vanished on the ride back to their apartment, with excited conversations of what it’d be like to record and tour. When they arrived home, Jesse let Kenny shower first, then claimed the bathroom, showering and making sure every part of his body was perfectly washed and groomed for Evan. He stood in front of the mirror in a pair of jeans, working on his hair. As he finished, a knock sounded on the apartment door.
Jesse sprinted out of the bathroom and slid to a stop at the door. Taking a deep breath to steady his rapidly pounding heart, he flung open the door.
His lips graced in a sensual smile, Evan brought one arm from behind his back and held out a bottle of Dom Perignon. “Congratulations, gorgeous.”
Jesse ignored the champagne and hurled himself at Evan, slamming into him in a rough kiss.
Evan stumbled back, trying to catch his balance and not drop the champagne. He laughed through the kiss. “Miss me?”
Jesse kept his arms clamped around Evan’s neck. “You have no idea how much.”

“I can’t say I’m not happy to hear that.” Evan held up the bottle of champagne. “Now are you going to let me in, or should I drink this stuff straight from the bottle in the hall like a bum?”

Jesse took the champagne and let Evan inside. “You’d be one high society bum to be drinking this.” He closed the door and turned around as Evan took off his Yankees cap. “You got your hair cut and highlighted.”

Evan shook his hair out with his fingers, now shorter in the back, falling to the middle of his neck, layered, and staggered sharper around his face to pull out his refined features. Gold and copper highlights streaked through the natural chestnut color. “That’s where I was when you called. The guy doing my hair was so nervous about screwing it up, his hands were shaking. Sorry I had to cut our conversation short, but I was afraid my being on the phone would distract him even more.”

“It looks wonderful. It’s just like when you were performing.”

 

“Yeah, I’ve always liked it like this.”

Jesse set the champagne on the card table that acted as a kitchen table and walked toward him, his eyes locked into Evan’s, his lips lifted with a mischievous smirk. He wrapped one arm behind Evan’s back and reached up with his other, taking a fistful of Evan’s hair behind his head. “I’m glad you didn’t get it cut too short. I still have something to hold on to.”

Evan grinned and moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue. He brushed his fingers down Jesse’s bare chest, moved to kiss him, and paused when Kenny walked into the room. “Hey, Kenny. Congratulations on the contract.”

Kenny glanced at them standing chest to chest, embracing each other, and sped toward the kitchen. “Thanks. Are you going out with us?”
Evan looked at Jesse. “You’re going out?”

“I meant to ask when I called if you wanted to join us, but if you don’t feel like it, we could do something else.”

Kenny stared at Jesse in disbelief.
“I’ll go,” Evan said. “Where?”
“We haven’t decided yet,” Kenny said.

“We could stay here, or go back to your place,” Jesse suggested.

Evan raised one slender eyebrow. “Are you trying to get me alone?”
Jesse lingered his lips a fraction from Evan’s. “Maybe.”
Evan gave him a light slap on the butt. “Go get ready to go out.”
Jesse sighed in defeat and released his hold on him. He walked into his bedroom and went to his dresser to flip through his shirts. His bed creaked behind him, and glancing over his shoulder, he saw Evan lay back on it, propped up on his elbows with his legs hanging over the side.
“My closet is bigger than this,” Evan said, gazing around the room.

Jesse grinned at him. “Wait until my record sales surpass yours, then we’ll see who’s got the bigger closet.”

 

“My my, aren’t we setting high goals for ourselves?”

A knock on the apartment door forced Jesse to turn his eyes away from him, then Carrie’s squeal of, “Baby! I’m so happy for you!” broke through the apartment.

Evan snapped his head toward the door. “What the hell is that?”

“The dreaded Carrie beast, also known as Kenny’s girlfriend. It’s an obnoxious animal that should be destroyed for the sake of humanity’s eardrums.” Jesse went to his door and kicked it closed. “And I’m not ready to deal with it yet.”

As he moved to walk past his bed, Evan snagged him by the belt and pulled him toward him. “You said you wanted me alone.”

Jesse ran his fingers through Evan’s newly cut hair. “And you told me to get ready.”
“Well…” with quick movements, Evan clasped his arms around Jesse’s waist, lifted, and tossed him to the bed. Jesse landed on his back, laughing. Before the bed had stopped bouncing from the impact, Evan was braced above him on both arms. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Jesse caught Evan behind his head and pulled him to his lips, transferring the joy he felt through the kiss.

“Hey!” Kenny yelled from the other side of the door. “Are you ready?”

Jesse slowly withdrew from the kiss. Without taking his eyes from Evan’s, he called out to Kenny, “No. You guys go ahead. I’ll call you in a little bit and we’ll catch up.”

Kenny breathed a loud, frustrated sigh. “Fine.”

Evan stroked Jesse’s hair near his temple. “I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all day.”

Jesse slid his hands under Evan’s shirt and up his sides. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you either.”
“So how’d things really go? You said you negotiated for a higher advance and royalties, so Greg must’ve been treating you pretty fair.”
“Greg did at least,” Jesse mumbled, turning his head to the side.

Concern darkened the joyous glow on Evan’s face. “What do you mean? What happened?”

“Just a bunch of bullshit.” Jesse shifted to sit up, forcing Evan to climb off him. “Do you want some champagne? I’m dying to try it.” He got up from the bed and walked out of the room.

Evan followed him, catching him in the kitchen. He gently gripped Jesse’s upper arm, halting him from getting occupied with the champagne, and laid his other hand on the side of Jesse’s face. “I can see it in your face and hear it in your voice that you’re upset. Tell me what happened.”