by Hannah Ford
“The question is whether or not I can do it legally,” Jake said.
Mack Zee smiled again. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, my brother. That’s always been my experience.”
Jake checked in with Raven. “What do you think?”
Raven shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, this isn’t really my area of expertise.”
“But I want to know what you think,” Jake said in a low voice, leaning towards her. He looked into her eyes. “Go on, say it.”
She turned toward Mack. “I guess I’m curious what you’re offering. Because I think Jake could probably release this album himself digitally, and not even worry about CDs or anything like that. And he’d probably make quite a lot of money going independent.”
Mack smiled and nodded, his eyes flitting to Jake. “She’s good,” he said. “I should hire her.”
Jake laughed. “She’s exclusive to me, Mr. Zee.”
“That’s too bad. I can tell she’s sharp and she’s got gumption, which I like.” Mack picked up his cigar again and spun it deftly with his fingers. “What we’re offering is simple. We spend the money to produce the tracks in our studios, get the very best equipment and engineers to do it the right way. We go wide with distribution as soon as possible, and we hit hard on all the stations—both terrestrial and satellite. It still takes a lot of green to make them play your songs in heavy rotation to the point where all the little girls and boys cry to their parents to buy the album.”
Raven looked to Jake and saw he was nodding in agreement.
“Is that all?” she asked Mack Zee.
He laughed, a deep-throated chuckle. “Is that all, she says.” He shook his head. “Is that all? Well, that’ll be a few hundred thousand easy. But no, that’s not all. Because then we pay for advertising on TV, billboards, you name it we do it. I know how to take a big album and make it explode, get those Grammies, get that double platinum status, that critical and commercial acclaim. That’s what Mack Zee does, baby.” He put the cigar between his teeth and spread his arms wide.
Raven’s heart was pounding. She didn’t want to come across like a fool. “I believe you can do all of that, Mister Zee. But I also believe that Jake is already such a big name, and his new music is so good, that even without advertising he can be huge. And if we put it out independently, Jake keeps the profit instead of giving most of it back to you.”
Mack’s smile faded and he removed the cigar from his mouth. “Does she speak for you, Jake?”
Jake nodded. “She’s my manager,” he said. “And she co-produced those tracks.”
Raven stared at him. Manager? Did he just seriously call her his manager? Because that was insane. She didn’t know the first thing about managing a music career. She was hardly able to manage her own finances and career when she was a waitress.
“Okay, then,” Mack said, his voice a throaty growl. “Let’s put all of our cards on the table, shall we?”
“That would be great,” Jake said, sitting relaxed in his chair.
Mack leaned forward over his desk. His bulk was so enormous that the desk itself seemed to shrink and strain as he put his weight fully onto it. “I want this record. I think this record could be the biggest I’ve ever put out, if you let me. And I’m willing to give a very generous split on royalties. You can keep your publishing, Jake. I won’t touch it. I’ll give you the benefits of being indie along with the push of a label with some clout behind it. We both win.”
Jake nodded, then looked to Raven. “What do you say to that?”
She swallowed, then looked back at Mack Zee. “I think we need to see the contract. And if you actually deliver—if you make it as fair as you say—then it sounds like a great deal for Jake. But he needs to have total control, final say on his product. Your label’s going to benefit from being attached to this record. Basically, I think you’re the one getting a gift here, not Jake.”
The room fell silent and Raven thought she’d finally gone too far.
But then Mack Zee grinned again and stuffed the cigar back in his mouth. “I like her,” he said. “I really like her.”
Jake laughed, rolling his eyes as he gave Raven a look as if to ask her if she was crazy or something.
Mack got up and brought over a bottle of champagne and three glasses. “I know nothing’s in writing just yet—but I want to drink to the spirit of what we’ve agreed to here today. I think this could be the beginning of a wonderful partnership.”
They sat and drank some champagne and Mack played the demo CD again, walking around his office and drinking, as he listened, seeming to relish every note that he heard.
I love you, Jake mouthed to her, when Mack’s back was to them.
I love you too, she mouthed back.
A few minutes later, Mack sat down, refilling his own glass and raising it. “To a long and fruitful business relationship,” he said.
“Cheers,” Jake said, toasting, and then sipping from his glass.
Raven was feeling slightly buzzed, giddy and high from everything that had transpired. She almost wanted to pinch herself, because none of this—none of it could be real. This couldn’t possibly be her life, could it?
Mack Zee set his glass down on the desk and his eyes grew focused and serious, perhaps as serious as he’d been since they’d arrived. “I do want to mention something else,” he said. “Something of a sensitive nature.”
His words seemed to hang in mid-air, and in that silence, Raven found her stomach clenching and Jake’s body language changing as well. He sat up straight in his chair and his jaw set.
“Go ahead, speak your mind,” Jake told him.
Mack wiped at his lips. “I always keep my ear to the ground, you understand. It’s the nature of my job, my livelihood involves me knowing what’s happening in the industry, down to the tiniest details.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re about to drop an atomic bomb into our conversation?” Jake asked.
“Well, you might be right.” Mack Zee glanced down, as if carefully considering his words. “I’ve heard some whispers about a certain club,” he said, his own voice getting quieter, but still very audible in the room. “This club--that shall not be named—has taken on a larger role in your lives than perhaps you’d expected.”
Raven was frozen. Literally. She couldn’t move and all the air seemed to have left her body.
He knew about Club Alpha. But how? Her mind was spinning.
Jake, meanwhile, was already standing up. “I think we should go,” Jake said, motioning to Raven.
Mack Zee watched him with unflinching eyes. “This isn’t a threat, Jake. I don’t work for or with that particular organization.”
“Then what are you saying? Spit it out.”
“I’m putting my cards on the table,” Mack said. “I know some of what’s going on. I don’t know everything…”
“Tell me exactly what you know,” Jake said, stepping forward. As big as Mack Zee was, Jake managed to make him look small now that he was angry.
“I know that they’re putting the squeeze on you and your pretty lady,” Mack told him calmly. “And I know that you don’t like it.”
“That’s not exactly earth shattering info, Mack.”
“I didn’t say it was. But from the way you’re acting, it’s making me think that you could be a liability for me. If I put hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars into someone, I want to know it’s not going to explode in my face ten minutes after I invest.”
“If you don’t trust me, then take your investment and use it to make a dozen more shitty fucking wax statues,” Jake said, his voice rising as he stood in front of Mack’s desk.
Mack shook his head. “So you don’t like my statues. That hurts, brother.”
“Stop fucking around,” Jake told him. “Who told you about Club Alpha?”
The big man looked away. “Can’t give up my sources like that. No way. But I can tell you that the sword cuts both ways. I know about you,
but I also know about them.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, maybe I can help you with them.”
Jake’s shoulders slowly relaxed. His voice lowered. “It is a sensitive topic,” he said.
“Clearly.”
“But I think we’ve handled it. It’s under control and although I appreciate your offer of support, I’m going to have to decline for now.”
Mack nodded his head. “I hope this hasn’t changed your mind about working with me.”
Jake turned and looked at Raven to see her reaction.
She wasn’t sure. Her mind was still racing, her thoughts confused after hearing what this strange man was telling them. “I don’t see how it changes anything,” she said, surprising herself with the conviction in her voice.
“I knew she was smart,” Mack said, nodding. He got up with some trouble, and held out his hand toward Jake.
They shook firmly. Raven got up and shook his hand too.
“Thanks for everything,” she told him.
“I’ll be sending those contracts over in the next day,” Mack Zee told them. “I hope you two are ready to go on the ride of a lifetime.”
* * *
As they drove home, neither of them spoke much.
Raven was lost in thought, wondering just what it all meant. Could Mack Zee be trusted? Was he threatening them, lying or manipulating the situation to his own benefit? She really couldn’t tell.
And how did he know about Club Alpha? It frightened her to think just how deep and far Club Alpha’s reach extended. It seemed as if they were everywhere and nowhere, a phantom that could never be shaken.
When they got off the highway and onto the island, the drive slowed and they could talk again more freely without having to yell above the wind.
“What do you think of Mack Zee?” Raven asked Jake.
He glanced at her. “I don’t know. He’s a weird dude.”
“Are you worried about Club Alpha again?” she asked him.
“No,” Jake said, but she wasn’t sure she believed him.
“Did you seriously mean what you said about me being your manager, or was that just a stunt to throw Mack off during the meeting?”
Jake gave her a look. “You can never take a compliment, Raven. I swear, everything’s got to have some ulterior motive.”
“It doesn’t make sense. I know nothing about the industry.”
“But you know something about me. You understand me, you believe in me and I trust you. That goes a long way in my world.”
Raven bit her lower lip, realizing the gravity of what he’d just said. “Thanks,” she whispered. Perhaps he didn’t hear her though.
In any case, as they turned onto his street, Jake whistled through his teeth before swearing under his breath.
“What is it?” she asked him.
He pointed ahead, at a Mercedes parked out in front of his house, just outside the gate. “That car,” he said. “I know that fucking car.”
“What? Who is it?” she asked, immediately thinking, Club Alpha. Somebody was there to hurt them.
But Jake didn’t answer. Instead. He pulled up next to the car and left his jeep running. He put a hand up to the tinted window of the passenger side of the Mercedes and then peered inside. “Nobody’s there.”
Then he went to unlock his gate. As he did so, a figure came running from behind one of the larger palm trees nearby.
“Jake!” Raven shrieked, her hands flying up to her face. “Watch out!”
At the last moment, Jake spun around. The man tried to punch Jake, but was off balance, as Jake moved deftly out of the way.
Suddenly, Raven realized who the crazy man was. It was Kurt, Jake’s ex-manager and ex-friend.
She got out of the car, managing to take out her phone. “I’m calling the police!” she screamed.
Jake grabbed Kurt by the collar of his shirt and threw him to the ground. Kurt hit the sidewalk hard, making a guttural sound as he smashed into the concrete. Breathing heavily, Jake turned to Raven. “Don’t call the cops,” he said.
“But, Jake, he’s crazy and he just tried to assault you.”
Kurt moaned, trying to sit up. “Fucking lucky sonofabitch,” he slurred, and Raven realized that on top of it all, Kurt was stinking drunk.
“I should call the police,” she reiterated, still holding the phone. “He’s drunk, he’s dangerous—“
“I said no,” Jake told her. He unlocked his gate and threw it open.
“The man stole millions of dollars from you,” she reminded him.
Kurt looked at her through slit eyelids. “Thas….bullshit…” he said, pointing up at her. “Bullshit. I did…I did not…”
Jake grabbed Kurt by his shoulders and literally dragged him into the driveway and set him to the side. Then he walked past Raven and got back in his jeep, driving it quickly through the gate and parking it.
Raven slowly walked inside the gate, afraid as she got within a few feet of Kurt’s prone body. He looked terrible—unshaven, bloodshot eyes, stained clothing, rips on the knees of his pants.
Jake closed the gate and locked it again. “Help me get him in the house,” he told her.
“This really seems like a horrible idea, you know.”
“Yeah, you’re on the record, counselor. I get it.” He gave her an impatient look and she finally started walking.
Together, they lifted Kurt up and slowly hauled him into the house. He was walking, but just barely. Whether it was the booze or Jake throwing him hard into the sidewalk, Kurt seemed to have had all the starch and fight taken out of him.
His head lolled back and forth as he muttered.
“I told you…told you not to…” Kurt mumbled.
“Sure you did,” Jake said. “Sure you did.”
Once they got him inside, Jake took him into the first floor bathroom and started the shower running. He emerged and told Raven to bring some of Jake’s clothes down and then to put on a fresh pot of coffee.
She did what Jake requested, gathering a t-shirt, boxers, a pair of shorts and socks and handing them off. She watched as Jake pushed Kurt into the shower, and the water must’ve been cold, because the man howled like a banshee.
Jake shut the door and Raven shook her head, walking into the kitchen to make the coffee up.
* * *
When the two men emerged again some ten or fifteen minutes later, Kurt looked like a schoolboy who’d gotten reamed out by the headmaster and his parents all at once. He was dressed in Jake’s outfit, and his short hair was still damp, but his eyes looked clearer.
“How do you take your coffee?” Raven asked him.
“Black,” Kurt said, not meeting her gaze.
He sat down at the kitchen table and Raven handed him the mug. He didn’t look at her but said thank you in a voice so low she could hardly make it out.
Jake sat and watched Kurt sip his coffee for a while without speaking.
“Should I go?” Raven asked.
“Absolutely not,” Jake said. “You’re staying here with me.”
“I thought maybe you’d like some privacy is all.”
“There’s nothing he can say to me that can’t be said in front of you,” Jake announced with authority.
Kurt had finished most of his coffee. “Can I get a refill?”
“Of course,” she said, taking his mug and going back to the counter to pour him another.
You’re lucky I don’t throw the entire pot of coffee on your face, asshole.
Raven still hated him, even as pathetic of a figure as he seemed to have become since Jake fired him.
“What are you doing at my house, Kurt?” Jake asked.
“I came to try and deck you,” he answered.
“That didn’t work out too well for you.”
“Yeah, I never could take you. Not even when I was at my best,” Kurt said, his head hanging.
Raven brought him his coffee and placed it in front of him. Kurt finally looked up at h
er. “I’m sorry if I scared you,” he told her.
She crossed her arms. “I don’t believe you,” she said. “You’re a liar.”
He nodded. “Yeah, she’s right. I’m a piece of shit.”
“I never said that,” Raven corrected him. “Stop being so dramatic, playing the victim. You’ve been a jerk to me since the second I met you.”
“I had my reasons, hon.”
“Oh, I bet you think you did. People like you always have reasons.” She crossed behind Jake and stood there, not wanting to even sit near Kurt.
Kurt smirked, his hand wrapping around the coffee handle and then bringing the mug to his chapped lips. He drank from it, seeming to relish the taste, closing his eyes. “You know, there’s story I read once about a man falling off a cliff. Actually, he’s hanging on and about to fall. And just as he’s going, he’s biting into a strawberry. Then he slips and falls and he’s on the way down to certain death. But his last thought is that it’s the most amazing strawberry he ever tasted.” Kurt sipped his coffee again and smiled. “That’s how I feel right now.”
“I don’t get it,” Jake said.
Kurt sighed. “You wouldn’t.”
“Please elaborate. What don’t I get? What’s the axe you have to grind, buddy? Was stealing money from my wallet, mismanaging hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars not enough? “
Kurt put the cup down and chuckled. “Is your memory really that short? Or are you truly so fucking dense that you could actually forget what happened?”
Jake’s shoulders tightened and his biceps bulged. “Watch your step, brother. You’re like a hair away from getting the ass kicking you seem to be begging for.”
“Go right ahead,” Kurt said, swatting the air with his hand. “I couldn’t possibly give a shit at this point.”
Somehow, this admission seemed to take the steam out of Jake’s anger, and he sat back in his chair. “You’re upset about Afghanistan,” Jake said. “You still hanging onto that crap? Is that it?”
Kurt slid back suddenly, his eyes wide, his gaze wild. “I told you to let me go!” he shouted.
