Read Online The Hardest Set (Willow Son #4/Brothers of Rock #19) by Karolyn James - Free Book Online Page B

eviction
notice.
    Now Natalie was even more
embarrassed.
    The right thing would have been to
just let it all go. Put it on the tab from the night before. Have the craziest
story in the world to tell anyone who would listen and believe.
    Natalie rushed to the trashcan and
took the lid off.
    “ What
are you doing? ” Andrea
asked.
    Natalie grabbed the paper with the
phone number on it.
    Van was an asshole, yes, but
Natalie wanted to explain herself. And thank him.
     
    8.
     
    Two black cups of coffee and a
decent meal set Van completely straight. He met the band in the studio where
Harry and Portis were already. They were listening to a couple tracks the band
had started to record.
    “ Far
from done, ” Brantley said. “ But it ’ s an idea. ”
    “ I
love it, ” Portis said. “ The sound is tight. Solid.
Exactly what the fans expect. ”
    “ So
no arguing? ” Colby asked. “ That ’ s rare. ”
    “ Hey, ” Portis said. “ We had a party for the ages. My
phone won ’ t stop blowing up
right now. You guys are going to be playing some shows, but it ’ s going to be a little
different. Rather than an actual tour, we ’ re
going to start with some mega shows. Heavily sponsored, add some bands and
events around it, with Willow Son as the headliner. ”
    “ I ’ m not wearing special clothes
and shit, ” Van said.
    “ Hey,
he ’ s alive, ” Jett said.
    “ Where ’ d you end up last night? ” Ryker asked.
    “ With
a woman, I bet, ” Colby
said.
    “ Yeah,
you could say that, ” Van
said with a grin.
    “ Good
for you, ” Brantley said. “ You needed it. Get all that
other shit off your back. ”
    Hardly, brother. But I won ’ t tell you that.
    “ Van, ” Portis said. “ What kind of clothes do you want
to wear? ”
    “ My
own, ” Van said. “ I ’ m
not wearing anything. I ’ m
not drinking anything. I ’ m
not going to be a giant commercial for money. Sorry. ”
    “ I
agree, ” Jett said.
    “ We
all agree, ” Colby said.
    “ That ’ s already been talked about, ” Harry said. “ Everyone ’ s best interests are taken care of here. ”
    “ It ’ s good, ” Portis said. “ Let
me handle the money. ”
    “ As
long as the checks clear for us, ” Van said.
    “ I ’ m sure you ’ ll be happy with the upcoming
structure of your contract, ” Portis said.
    “ Oh? ” Ryker asked.
    “ It ’ s only fair, ” Harry said. “ I took it to the lawyers and
then to Portis. We ’ re going
to restructure some things. Since you ’ ve
been so successful. ”
    “ You
asked for more money? ” Van
asked Harry.
    “ And
you said yes? ” Brantley
asked Portis.
    “ Look, ” Portis said. “ The game is a gamble. Inside and
out. You guys have seen bands come and go. You ’ ve
seen music get written and processed to market. But you guys have changed my
mind on some things. I ’ m
okay with backing up and giving you all more trust. Don ’ t forget my position. I came in with you guys a
mess. Christ, Jett, you ended up in jail. Ryker, you took off. ”
    “ Don ’ t forget about Colby, ” Van said. “ When he knocked your jaw off. ”
    Portis rubbed his chin. “ Yeah, I deserved that one. ” He laughed. “ My point is I need to focus on
other growth. So I ’ m giving
you the keys to the car. The lawyers are going to hash out the details on
things. I ’ d like to go by
an album to album basis. I ’ ll
fund the time and effort, but the payments will be structured based on the
music and the previous sales. ”
    “ Fine
by me, ” Van said. “ You ’ re going to go broke to afford us. ”
    “ I
hope so, ” Portis said. “ I really do, Van. ”
    “ Enough
of the business talk, ” Harry said. “ You guys have
work to do here. ”
    “ I ’ m flying to New York, ” Portis said. “ Leaving in an hour. You guys
have your first mega show coming up down in LA. Going to be something wild. I ’ d love for you guys to channel
that wild energy of the city. Think about the amazing