Chapter 2 1

"Good morning, Ms. Peterson," greeted Frodd, the individual from the record company whom Clara had met at the bar, as she stepped into the pristine building housing Tidal Records. "Hi," she replied timidly, wary that expressing more than a brief greeting might reveal her inexperience and enthusiasm, potentially jeopardizing this critical opportunity. She couldn't afford to do anything that might jeopardize her one chance. "So today, we're meeting with several of our executives to discuss the contract we'll be offering. It's a fairly standard contract we use for all our new talents. In simple terms, it outlines that you'll record an EP, we'll handle the promotion and distribution, and the earnings from the EP will be divided between you and the company. Your future with Tidal will be determined based on the success of the EP. Of course, you're more than welcome to have your lawyer review it before any signing, but I just wanted to provide a brief overview before we head in. Being surrounded by the team can be a bit overwhelming, as I've been told." Everyone in there will be there for you though." Clara nodded along as Frodd dragged on with his spiel about the business side of things, trying to keep up. Her attention, however, was distracted by the whole novelty of being here with the chance to make her dreams come true and the pressure she now felt fell on her shoulders. She had to make the most of this chance. She was led to a board room, white and crisp in a way that should have felt luxe but instead felt cold and judgmental. The room intimidated her in ways she didn't want to admit. She understood why people had said this was nerve-wracking. They spent an hour in the room discussing the specifics of her recordings, percentages, and rights to masters, all while she tried to fight the urge to spin around in the rolling chair from pure joy. Maria, more like a father to her than anything, had sent his business lawyer over to screen everything she signed and when the meeting came to a close, she had agreed to finalize an EP within six months and to participate in events set up for her by Tidal. When the lawyers and businessmen were gone. The ink, sealing her loyalty to Tidal dry, she could breathe. She no longer felt like every misstep would lead to ruining her chances. She was however still too apprehensive to risk pinching herself. There was a part of her still convinced that this had to all be a dream. • "Austin, where the fuck are you? Our studio time starts in five minutes." Jake Green, the lead guitarist for Austin's band, Planet Orange practically yelled through the phone. "I'm on the way Jake, chill out." Austin spat back at him. "Jesus, Austin. Are you still trashed?" The judgement from Jake was obvious and had Austin's annoyance growing. "I'll be fine, damn it. We're doing that song today man, I just, I...I needed a minute. I'll be fine. I'm on the way." Jake breathed a disappointed sigh through the phone that would make Austin feel bad if he could feel anything at all. He ended the call not waiting for his friend's reply. Friends. Were they his friends still? It wasn't like he had done anything to earn their seemingly unwavering loyalty, especially recently. Austin was an asshole or at least he had been recently and he was damn lucky to not be completely alone. He knew as much, but he didn't know how to fix himself and he was too scared to try. The last time he had been vulnerable with anyone his heart had been reduced to rubble. It seemed like too great a risk to be anything less than cold-hearted, the wall around himself built of solid stone. His driver pulled up to the building twenty minutes later and he stumbled out, slinging the door to the studio open. As he entered the security nodded at him, not bothering to offer a greeting, they knew he wouldn't reply. He felt the angry stares of his bandmates immediately fall upon him and he trained his eyes on the wall of achievement plaques in the studio waiting area. He wanted their attention off of him but he knew at the moment that wasn't going to happen. "Austin, if it's gonna be like this. If you're this stressed and upset about it, maybe we shouldn't record the song." "I'm not upset." His entire band stared at him in silence. "I need this, Seth," Austin said, his voice threatening to betray him. To show that despite the popular belief that he was emotionless, there was still one topic that could nearly bring him to his knees. "I need the closure and I need to say this. Just...let's get it done." The long-haired drummer nodded curtly at Austin, wanting to tell him that he wasn't as gone as he tried to make everyone believe. Seth Lawson and the rest of the boys of Planet Orange knew this was just something he needed time to work through. Breakups were fucking hard. Unfortunately, their consistent work schedule had prevented that from happening. Instead of grieving his lost relationship with Sandy, his girlfriend of two years, the girl he had thought he would one day marry who had made him the man he was currently when he had come home from tour to find her in bed with someone else. He had clung to the memory of it. He had fixated on all the things he had lost when he lost her and he had let the hurt fester, pulling him down into the depths of the self-deprecating hell Austin currently found himself in. "Well, let's just do it then. We're in the space at the end of the hall." Austin hung his head and followed after the rest of them. His best friend in the group, Wade Reeves, their bassist, falls in step beside him. "I saw you had a late night last night," Wade smirked at the singer. "I just went out." "Yeah, and banged some bartender. She told TMZ all about it." Wade laughed the words out and gave an unsurprised shake of his head. "Fuck. Did she at least say it was the best sex of her life?" A man had to have at least a little pride. "Along those lines, yeah." Wade chuckled. Austin smiled at that, at least he was good for something.

"You're a dick." Wade laughed again, shoving him slightly. Austin only shrugged. He slowed at the sound coming from the recording space next to theirs. It's something unpredictable, but in the end, it's right. I hope you had the time of your life "Who's that?" He asked looking to Wade who only offered a shrug before turning back to Frodd, the label executive the band worked most closely with. "Her name is Clara." He offered and Austin glared at him, eyebrows raised in silent question until he finally continued. "We signed her for an EP and a label option if it does well." "She's good." He commented, admiring her soft vibrato and the clarity of her tone. Her voice was pure and beautiful, a far cry from the raspy and ragged qualities of his own. "Holy shit. Did I actually just hear Austin Sharpe compliment someone?" Seth asked, only to be hit in the face with the empty water bottle Austin had been carrying. "Just saying she's not complete shit." He mumbled before pushing past them all and into their recording space. He'd just thought the girl had a lovely voice, they didn't need to make a big deal about it. Sure, he usually made fun of the other artists pulled in by Tidal but they usually were mainstream bubblegum pop shit that made his ears bleed. Her voice didn't lean that way. It had an honest quality he had picked up on in the few short moments he had spent listening to her. It was two words, not a whole monologue singing her praises. It didn't mean anything.