Surge

5

Draggingmy heels into the open-plan office space, following Hunter’s chinos, I searched at every desk for Maeve’s face. They said every cloud had a silver lining, and maybe the whole reason behind me getting screwed up the ass by Jay was so I would have a reason to see Maeve again.

Wow, was that a new low or what? When getting sued was kind of a good thing because you might see the girl you loved again? I needed therapy.

I wasn’t proud of how I’d left it with her. But us guys were stuck between a rock and a hard place these days. Be a chivalrous knight but respect your woman’s independence at the same time. The knight in me had wanted to tell Maeve she hadn’t known what was best. The modern man in me knew I had to believe her when she’d told me she needed space to deal with her shit.

But now that “some” time she needed had passed, I knew for certain life wasn’t right without her. Maeve got me. She knew my sense of duty was my biggest strength and my biggest weakness. She knew I didn’t want to live my life with a big-ass ego I had to take care of like a Godzilla-sized toddler. She knew everything about me. We needed each other, and I’d known this all along, but I knew it even better now.

Not that I’d planned on having that conversation today, but it would have been nice to say hi. Make talking again normal.

When I saw her little face peeping up at me over a cubicle divider, it was like a sparkling slash of sunlight coming through the blinds. We waved. Instantly, I wanted so much more than that. I wanted to throw her down, kiss her, tell her that I wasn’t taking no for an answer this time and that I intended to make her mine for all eternity.

With just a flick of her hand, an ordinary wave for anyone else, she cast her spell on me all over again, intensifying what was already there. I had no idea how long we gazed at each other, but it felt like an eternity.

“Drake?” Hunter opened the door to a meeting room. “Here we are.”

I’d deal with Maeve after this. Man, I hoped I could concentrate.

A woman already sat at a table and rose, coming around the large piece of glass to shake my hand.

“Hi, Mr. Jackson. I’m Jacinta Ward. Senior partner here.”

“Great to meeting you. Call me Drake.” Great, even her short greeting came across more intelligent that Hunter who called me Drake-o.

“Super. And you can call me Jacinta.”

Hunter hadn’t mentioned we were meeting with a senior partner today. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or relieved, but regardless of what I should have felt, I was grateful to have someone else in the mix besides him.

We all sat at a table far bigger than we needed.

Jacinta folded her hands in front of her. “It’s come to my attention that you were in charge of your monetary affairs while performing with Jason Fry. And the bookings?”

“That’s right.” I glanced at Hunter who had an obnoxious smirk on his face. He’d told me I had to come in but gave me no details. I loved surprises but hated when people thought something inconsequential could be a big reveal. Like a magic trick that you’d already figured out or, controversial, gender reveal parties. Hunter’s track record with me and his personality made me wary this could be one such moment.

I was wrong.

With a finger tapping firmly on the table with every few words, Jacinta delivered the punchline. “If you can prove that you did all the managing, all the bookings, and paid Mr. Fry with the earnings you orchestrated, it’s possible we could prove, provided you keep good records, that Mr. Fry was a musician in your band, negating any copyright claims.”

Damn. This was no gender reveal party. Hunter’s ta-da moment was serious shit. “Come again?”

“Essentially, Drake, a songwriter doesn’t have to include their band in copyright. If Mr. Fry was a backup musician, which is possible to prove, you don’t share the copyright. Not only would this case disappear, but there could be counterclaims opened up since he made an advance selling your music. Do you understand?”

I should have felt happy but I was flabbergasted. Hunter actually came up with this idea? And now, I had the upper hand?

Hunter drummed his fingers together like an evil villain, sitting back relaxed in his chair. “Are you a paperwork kind of guy? We need proof.”

I was. I always had been. My mom had taught me to that in order to have a good credit rating and if I ever wanted to buy a house, I needed to claim all my earnings. I managed all of my finances, and in the biggest turnaround my life had ever seen, exactly what Jacinta and Hunter hoped was true. I booked, managed, took in all of the payments for our band under my own name. Every last payment was paid into my personal bank account. The few invoices and receipts I had from a mostly cash business were to me—Drake Jackson.

This was the definition of zero to hero.

The discussion was brief after I nodded, most likely with my mouth hanging open. They provided me a list of documentation I should dig up, and we’d go from there.

Jacinta excused herself.

Hunter invited me to lunch in the cafeteria.

I didn’t want to eat with him, but it gave me a reason to linger. I could even invite Maeve to lunch with us. Would that be weird? No, it would be casual, friendly, and just the exact harmless, low-drama, non-confrontational way to go about a first conversation with Maeve. Warm her up. You couldn’t go in cold with a woman like her.