I turned toward that family and caught a sea of shocked faces with mouths agape.
I swallowed as I took them all in. “What?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“Was that her?” Cherry asked quietly.
“Yeah, that was January.”
All the girls yelped at once, startling me.
“What!” I yelled.
“Go after her!” Harper commanded. “Right now!”
“What?”
“Are you nuts? That’s the January you couldn’t shut up about?” My dad interjected, the complete surprise etched all over his aging face.
“Yeah,” I sang, more nervous than I’d ever been.
Callum slapped me on the shoulder. “If you don’t go after that girl, Tom, I believe these women may skin you alive.”
“What do I do?” I asked them, desperation seeping into my voice.
“Do you know how you got this job?” Jason asked evenly, interrupting the already conspiring females. He stared absently out the window before turning toward me.
Everyone grew quiet.
“No,” I said truthfully.
“Can you not guess?”
“I have no clue.” I was being honest. I had no idea. I figured Jonah had quit or thrown himself off a bridge. I didn’t care. What?
“January.”
“January got me the job?” I asked, baffled as ever.
“Yes, January put her own reputation on the line to save your sorry ass.”
“How?” I swallowed audibly.
“She went to Peter Weathervane, without permission, by the way.” We both knew that showing up unannounced at Peter’s door is basically a death wish. I nodded. “Turns out, January found she was somewhat responsible for Jonah thieving all your bands.”
“She’d never do that,” I said, defending her.
“No, not directly,” Jason continued, fishing his cigarette and lighter out of his pocket, as if he could smoke it in there. He was nervous just talking about the risk January took. I breathed deeply. “Apparently, when she would phone home, she’d let them know where she was going and I guess Jonah found this out somehow. He’d ring her home soon after claiming to represent the label and conned her little sister into spilling your locations.
“She felt awful about it, I guess, and risked her own job to let Peter know the truth. When Peter confronted Jonah with the phone records, he couldn’t deny it and was fired on the spot.”
“Oh my God, she could have been fired as well.”
“I know,” Jason said.
“Why?” my mom asked.
“Because our locations were label business and we signed confidentiality agreements before we’d left. We don’t want competition from other labels. She risked herself for me.”
“What a brave girl,” Kelly said. “She must love you very much.”