Page 3 of More Than Scars
As soon as I finished, I tossed my bottle in the recycle bin and placed my plate on the tray beside the trash, deposited my napkin in it, and got the fuck out of the room, despite the questioning look Tony shot me. I needed to hit my vape and settle my nerves because I was starting to get a stress headache in the back of my neck and radiating through my shoulders. Each time someone else had sat down at our table, the feeling had only grown, while the voice in my head had screameddon’t look at me, don’t you dare fuckin’ look at me,so loud and so long that it had begun to sound likelyrics. Maybe they would be, one day, if I could still my pounding heartbeat down enough to figure out the proper rhythm for it.
Fuckin’ Tony!
He should have known I would not be okay with this.
The thudding in my ears grew louder as I glanced around, searching for the exit that led out into the alley. I made a beeline for it the moment I spotted it, nearly plowing over one of the guys coming down off the stage. Our shoulders collided, and there was that red hair again. Couldn’t that fucker stay the hell away from me? I didn’t even bother muttering an apology, since I knew damn well I wouldn’t mean it, I just plunged through the door and out into cool, crisp air, fingers automatically scrabbling past the lip of my pocket until I felt plastic and yanked it out.
A part of me wanted to be pushed through to the third round, another part wanted to go home. As I desperately sucked in nicotine, though the only thought on my mind was if both sides would ever be on the same page again.
Chapter Two
Pressley
“Pressley, it’s good to see you again.” Easton Masterson greeted me as I stepped inside. “Welcome to our home. Diamond and I prefer to work from here now that we have the twins.”
“Completely makes sense and saves on overhead.”
“I like the way you think,” his husband, Diamond,said as he neared us.
Their office was at the front of the house, which was massive. Both home and office, that was. “Please, have a seat.” Easton gestured to the leather chair across from theirs at the conference room table. Yes, their office was big enough for a table that sat twelve, along with a wall of massive screens in front of it.
“We’re happy to have you on board. Our business has grown immensely these last few years, and with Dad retiring, it brought about the need to extend our team. The members of Social Sinners and Maiden Voyage have chosen to venture off into positions of scouting new talent for us and to mentor. They rarely tour anymore and prefer to keep to performing at festivals and charitable events only. With that being said, we’re putting together our first band from scratch, which you’ll have a hand in.”
“Wow, thanks. That’s exciting.” And something I’d never done before, and being a man driven by challenges, I couldn’t wait to dive in. Having followed these bands for years, I couldn’t wait until I got to work side by side with them. Masterson’s business practices were highly regarded within the industry. They never screwed anyone over and took excellent care of their talent and also took no shit from them, so it was rare that any of their band members dared to step a toe out of line.
“Excellent. Tryouts for the lead guitarist started today. Our stage manager, Wolf, is overseeing it and narrowing it down to the top five. Then you, along with Joey and Stoli, will watch the final round and make the choice together. Joey and Stoli are family, as we consider all our bands and employees to be.”
“Think of us as one big non-blood-related incestuous family,” Diamond chimed in. My jaw hit the floor as the words sunk in.
“Um…” I had nothing.
Easton buried his face in his hands and shook his head. “Please ignore my husband. Though it is true that most members of the Masterson team are related in one way or another, I can assure you that none of those romantically involved are of a shared bloodline.”
“What?” Diamond protested when Easton side-eyed him with a harsh tsk. “It’s true. Whether they’re banging their guards or each other, it’s all in the family. The only two that are blood related are me and Jeremiah.”
“Point taken, my love, though your execution was seriously flawed.” Easton took a moment to gather himself. “Back to the auditions, if we may. This will be a busy week as we are determined to fill the band positions. Singer auditions are tomorrow, and we’d like the new guitarist to be in attendance for that. It’s important that the band members vibe, we can’t allow conflicts or holier-than-thou attitudes to be present. We are a cohesive team at Masterson, and nothing else will be accepted.”
“Understood and appreciated.” More than they knew. I’d seen shit go south real fast when attitudes came into play.
“We need you to be strong and supportive. Keep an eye on this band as it’s yours to grow. Completely hands-off isn’t our style, but neither is micromanaging. Everyone employed by Masterson has our personal numbers and knows that they can reach us at any time, though it’s rare that they do. Diamond and I have made it clear we are focusing on our family first, hence the need to step back and hire more managers, and that’s where you come in. As the band manager for Imminent Danger, it will be up to you to resolve issues before they reach upper management.”
“Imminent Danger, that’s the band name?” Had a great ring to it.
“It is, I picked it,” Diamond said. “The logo makes for a kickass tattoo.”
“About the only place you have room left to ink is your ass.” Wait, did Easton just make a joke? “Here is the bio we built for the band, which you’ll update as it comes to fruition. Ah, right on time.” Joey and Stoli I recognized, but the third guy, I hadn’t a clue who he was. Big smile and curly blonde hair, he was adorable. “Pressley, Joey and Stoli I’m sure you’re familiar with. The last gentleman is River, our social media manager, as well as being one of Mickey from Social’s life partners.”
“Great to meet you all,” I said as we shook hands. “I’m excited to get started.”
“Here’s your laptop, and all the login information is inside the box. There’s a list of all Masterson bands and the social media accounts for you to follow as well. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on them. You never know when someone’s gonna go rogue, and usually they hit social media first.” River had a point.Humans did enjoy blasting their shit out there for the world to see, whether drunk or sober.
The comfortable comradery amongst them was a new experience for me. Most employees were stiff when around their bosses, but not this group. No one was above another and given how long the guys in Social had been friends, I understood why. They worked together well, and the fact that they chose me over the hundreds, hell, possibly even thousands of applicants they received for this job said a lot. I’d do my best to never let them or myself down.
But I’ll be honest, to stand in the presence of rock and roll royalty was a bit overwhelming. Given I too was a metalhead, it was hard not to fanboy out. These guys were multi-millionaires who ruled the record charts, yet they acted and dressed like everyday Joes.
This was a dream job, my dream job.
While River and I went over a few things and I signed the NDA along with a pile of other papers, Diamond went to get the babies for Joey and Stoli to drool over. Guess they were debating on possibly having their own little brood. Diamond returned with Sal, Easton’s father and founder of Masterson Management, and another woman, possibly the nanny, and each had a baby in their arms.