As Mac leans again in her chair whereas twirling a purple braid, Cassidy nods at her and clears her throat. I guess she didn’t anticipate this assembly to be such a nightmare.

Welcome to Murderous Crows.

“Okay. Look, certain, we may go after Nyx, however does she actually have something price taking? Or is it the precept of the factor? If that’s the case, how a lot is that precept price to you? As a result of it should take a shit load of money and time to pursue with no assured end result. I’m simply being trustworthy.” She meets every of our gazes, leveling us together with her fact. “If we will get her in right here, get her to signal an NDA, and possibly pay her just a little bit of cash to maintain quiet–”

“Whoa, wait a minute there,” Jake begins, shaking his head. “You need us to pay her off, too? Reward her for all of the bullshit she’s put us by way of? No manner.” He’s simply stated what we’re all considering.

“Honey, pay attention,” she says, grabbing certainly one of his fingers with each of hers. Her eyes are virtually pleading, and one thing in my chest aches on the sight of them on the verge of an argument. They by no means argue. I don’t prefer it. “The secret’s to get her to signal the NDA. As soon as we try this, we will be fairly assured all of this might be behind us. And if it prices a fraction of what a lawsuit would, I say that’s a very good funding. Blackmore is on board with this.” She glances over to Eliza, who nods her settlement.

“I don’t know…” Jake seems over at me in query. As if I’ve any say in any of this.

The perfect I can do is shrug. I’m to this point out of my depth proper now, and I don’t know what the hell is up or down anymore.

“I simply need this shit to be over with,” I say, working my fingers down my face. “I’m drained. I’ll go together with no matter you need, Jake. It’s your name, man.”

He stares at me for a minute, and in that fraction of time, we’ve the silent dialog we’ve each been avoiding for months since Andy died. All of the blame, guilt, disappointment, and anger that we each went by way of alone once we ought to have been there for one another channels by way of us. Admissions are made, and forgiveness is given. It’s been a very long time coming and manner overdue.

Lastly, we nod at one another in understanding. We’re in settlement. The previous is now behind us, and we have to lastly let shit go and transfer ahead. If meaning paying off Nyx, so be it.

I don’t prefer it, however I perceive it. It’s a big-picture transfer as a result of we’re not small-time anymore. We’re not an nameless native Vegas band. We’re within the main leagues now, and it’s not about any certainly one of us. It’s about all of us.

However fuck, if all of this doesn’t piss me off.

“Do it,” I say, and go away the convention room earlier than I explode.

I would like a fucking drink, and there’s a beer or ten someplace on the market with my identify on it. I need to overlook my life totally for a short time. Erase the emotions. Drown my sorrows, as cliché as that’s.

It’s cliché as a result of it’s a basic. And classics by no means exit of fucking fashion.

twenty-two

Delirious

Sloane

“It may not be what it seems like in any respect,” Fiona says, scrolling by way of her telephone throughout from my desk as I scroll by way of mine within the morning earlier than lessons begin. “You’ll be able to’t imagine something the web publishes. You already know that.”

I do, but it surely doesn’t change the actual fact I’m footage of Cooper making out with and hanging throughout some supermodel of a girl final evening.

“Oh, did his tongue ‘by accident’ slide into her mouth?” I maintain up my telephone, displaying an image of the 2 kissing whereas leaning towards a automobile in some car parking zone. My abdomen lurches. “And his fingers slipped and landed on her ass? Come on, Fiona. I get that tales will be made up. That occurs on a regular basis. However images? They don’t lie.”

“Nonetheless, there’s obtained to be some form of affordable rationalization.”

I respect she’s making an attempt to cheer me up or justify the photographs or no matter she’s doing, but it surely’s not working. There isn’t any explaining this away. He turned down my invitation yesterday and as a substitute went out with another person. It’s so simple as that.

It shouldn’t harm a lot, but it surely does. We don’t owe one another something. We’re not relationship. Hell, we haven’t kissed. Regardless of that, I may have sworn we had a stable connection. We have been getting over our bullshit cussed starting and constructing one thing else. One thing actual.

I suppose I used to be improper.

“Simply overlook about it. I’ll recover from it. Don’t fear.” I pressure a smile, although I’m certain it’s not convincing. “You already know me. It’ll take much more than Cooper Davies to carry me down.”

She stands and straightens her shoulders, smiling again with the identical plastic smile. “Fuck yeah, it should.”

I shut off my telephone and rise up together with her, grabbing my mentoring supplies. Courses begin quickly, and I need to get to the piano studio earlier than Cooper is available in. If I can keep away from him, possibly I’ll get by way of the day. It’s going to be exhausting in between lessons, although. I’ve grown to sit up for our temporary flirting periods within the hallway. Nicely, look what that obtained me. A damaged coronary heart.

Silly woman.

After all, the world is conspiring towards me, and I virtually run proper into him within the hallway. He’s nonetheless fairly tough across the edges from the battle on Saturday evening, and his bruises and scrapes look worse. If I needed to guess, I’d say he was additionally hungover from his night with the supermodel.

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