Read Online Diva NashVegas by Rachel Hauck - Free Book Online Page A

um—”
    â€œYou’re a journalist. Say it.”
    I look her in the eyes so she knows I’m serious. “This is your first big interview, and despite what happened last year between the two of us—
    â€œWhich I’m still curious about. What exactly did happen, Scott?”
    â€œTrust me, the details would bore you. But I want this interview to go well for you and Inside NashVegas . Let’s have fun. Are we cool?”
    Aubrey thinks for a second. “Only if you’re willing to tell me what happened.”
    â€œAre you two ready?” Olivia bounds around the corner, using her cheery voice and tapping her watch. “We’re burning up time here.”
    I slide back in my chair. “Olivia’s right. We should get going on the interview.”
    â€œDon’t think you’re going to get off this easy.”
    I grin. “Believe me, I don’t.”

8
    â€œAubrey James is an amazing singer, entertainer, and songwriter. I wish she’d record her own stuff. Be bold, Aubrey. Don’t let the Big Dogs run you down.”
    â€”Country recording artist Emma Rice
    Scott: The final night of the CMA Fest, you fainted. What happened?
    AJ: Exhaustion. Took the big diva dive. The FRESH! tour drained me. In between shows, I filmed a commercial for FRESH!, had photo shoots. Plus, we did a hundred cities in six months.
    Scott: Based on Melanie Daniels’ Star interview, you guys had a lot of drama going on. What happened between you and Melanie?
    AJ: Wow, starting off with the loaded questions. [shifting in her seat] Melanie came to work for me as my musical director four years ago. She took care of my band on and off the road and worked with me on my last three albums. She helped pull together the all-girl band.
    Melanie is a great musician and brought a lot of new ideas to my team. I felt lucky to have her, and we became good friends. At least I thought we were friends. I certainly shared enough of my life and heart with her.
    About a year and a half ago, a new man came into her life, and suddenly she started demanding more. More money, more influence. She wanted to be included in all my major musical decisions, right down to designing the tour show.
    Scott: What about her claim you hindered her career?
    AJ: Not true. I didn’t even know she was talking a record deal with SongTunes.
    Scott: You fired her in the middle of the tour. Why?
    AJ: We’d been at odds before the tour started. While I valued her immensely, and honestly felt she deserved some of what she was asking for, her attitude was one of “You owe me.” No matter what we offered, she felt it wasn’t good enough. We argued a lot last year. It got very tense and heated between us. In fact, right before we started rehearsal for the tour, I wasn’t sure if she would be on board as my musical director. She didn’t return our calls, and we heard rumors she was bad-mouthing me on Music Row. Then one day she showed up, guitars in hand, as if nothing had ever happened. She was warm, fun, pleasant, eager to get to work.
    Scott: Didn’t you think that was odd?
    AJ: For a musician, no. [grinning] Scott: I see. What were her reasons for disappearing?
    AJ: She said she needed to get her head together. She had taken time to hike the Appalachian Trail with her brother and then visited family in Florida.
    Scott: She seemed like the old Melanie to you ?
    AJ: Yes. Sometimes she seemed subdued and distracted. Her temper was short, but it never crossed my mind she was making mental notes for a future blog or planning to diss me in the international press.
    Scott: She blogged, “Aubrey James is only about herself. Our drummer was having personal issues, but Aubrey would not even listen to her story. She sucks the life right out of a person. No matter how long the road, how hard we worked, she demanded that much more and never gave in return.”
    AJ: I guess I did drive the band hard. First