Reputation (Mason Family 2)

Five

Coy

I sling the trash into the container and slam the lid shut.

My thumb swipes over my phone screen as I read the latest headlines.

Heartbroken Willa Welch Gets Tea in Hollywood

Willa and Coy—The Real Truth He Doesn’t Want You to Know

Insider Claims Willa Welch ‘Didn’t See BreakUp Coming’

The more I read, the more I want to scream. It’s all a bunch of horseshit. How anyone believes this crap is beyond me. But people do, and here I sit, unable to defend myself.

I’m about to click on a sports update to try to save my sanity when my text alert pings.

Meadow: Contract update. Call me when you can.

I groan into the early evening air. My irritation level is so high that I consider not calling her. But I know my curiosity about the contract will keep me up all night, so I break down and find her name.

“That was fast,” she says after the first ring.

“You said to call when I can. It’s not like I have a lot going on these days.”

“Touché. How are things in Georgia?”

I glance at the trash can. “They’re great. What’s up?”

“We ran into a bit of a snag today with the contract negotiations with your label.”

What?

“Define snag, Meadow,” I say. “We’ve gone over this, and you know the main thing I won't budge on is to have more leeway to create the kind of music I want and not just their definition of country.”

Frustrated, I rattle off a few more things we agreed to—like two more albums for a two-year term, their option to renew—but the longer I regurgitate what Meadow already knows, the angrier I get.

Why isn’t this moving forward?

Meadow sighs. “We agreed to all of that—in theory. Nothing was ever signed. We were supposed to do that next week, as you know, but—”

“Meadow, what the hell is going on?”

I switch the phone between my hands.

“The label wants assurances that you’ll be less of a liability and more cooperative going forward,” she says in her matter-of-fact tone.

I blink twice. “What the fuck? I have been cooperative. Less of a liability? What the—”

“It’s mostly a public relations issue, Coy. They want you to be the face of their new music division. The handsome boy from Georgia who delivers a punch of soul and sweetness.”

“And I have.” I blow out a hurried breath. “Half of my two albums for them include songs I don’t even like. Songs that aren’t me. Songs that they chose to make them fucking money.”

“It made you money, too.”

I close my eyes and try to stay composed. “I told you and them when we signed that I didn’t want to be straight country. But here we are. I’m total country. I’m cooperating. I’m toeing the line, Meadow. And then you come at me with this? The woman who—let’s talk about this for a second,” I say, seeing red, “is letting Willa paint me as an asshole in the press while I sit here and stay quiet? Please, tell me you see the hypocrisy in this.”

My whole body shakes with suppressed anger. My mind races with a million different options.

I didn’t break the fucking arrangement with Willa. Yet now my contract is being affected. This is totally wrong.

“This is a fluid situation and business,” she says. “You know this. While I concur that Willa is getting a little out of hand—”

“A little? Really?”

She sighs. “I have a call with her tomorrow. Okay? And I do appreciate your willingness to do what I ask. But the label is seeing this right now as a nightmare for them. Your reputation isn’t great. How do they pit you as the guy who every girl wants to date when you’re out breaking hearts in the middle of the street?”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it. That shit with Willa—you fabricated that. I didn’t break her heart.”

“But that’s what they see.”

“Because you made that happen. Not me.” I tug at my hair as I try to be professional. “Look, I just want to go back to my life, okay? I want this nightmare to be over—the one you got me in. So, get me out. Just … please, fix it.”

Her no-nonsense attitude barrels through the line. “I’m working on it. While we’re on here, they’re not interested in the staff writing deal for Hollis Hudson. I pressed it, but they flat-out denied him.”

“Of course, they did.”

“Coy …” Her cool demeanor cracks as she fights to stay collected with me. “I know you’re frustrated. I am too. I’ll talk to Willa again tomorrow and get her to get on board.”

“If she doesn’t, I’m speaking out. I’m not letting her just use me as some token in her bid to … do whatever she’s trying to do. I’m going to stand up for myself if no one else will.”

“I’ll talk to her,” she reiterates to appease me. “I’m talking to the label again tomorrow as well, and I’d like to be able to tell them that you’re on board with their vision. That you understand the acceptance and delivery term and that you understand that they have no obligation to release music that deviates from your contract.”