𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ➺ 𝐵𝓇𝒾𝒶𝓃 𝑀𝒶𝓎/𝒬𝓊𝑒𝑒𝓃

𝟏 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐲

A/N 

Hi babies! Welcome to the sequel of Peace Lovin' Guy! 

Hope you're all doing well! And I hope you all enjoy, we're starting off with a bang!

Carys x

-

~element of envy~

August, 1975

I could feel my eyes being pulled shut by a force that could only be described as tiredness. I was the only one who could feel it and understand it, but my unforgiving pile of paperwork laid in front of me on my worn out and familiar desk, looked up at me with a bored and blank stare. It was such a small thing when you look at the full picture, but it was the small thing that would determine when I got to have a nap, or when I got to lounge on the sofa and stare at the ceiling with a beer in my hand because there was nothing else to do. As I sat there, with my pen between my teeth, I wondered if there was any way to make some kind of shortcut that would make my job any easier, but to no avail. There was no way I could get around having to pay full attention to the stack of papers in front of me. If there were, I would have done it hours ago, but I would most likely end up fired.

I settled with my cup of tea, no brandy, I promise, and I continued through the paperwork assigned to me by my boss and mentor. I truly didn't mind paperwork too much; it was just that there would always be this element of envy that came with sorting through papers that showcased another person's success in money figures. Critics were generally unimpressed with Elton's latest album 'Caribou' but sales showed otherwise; people were still eager to buy the album anyway and he had such an adorning fan base. It was my job to total up and divide the sales to go to the relevant people. It was all part of my training from John, and whilst it sometimes felt too taxing, I had to remind myself that the empire that John was gradually building could one day be synonymous with my own empire.

Another part of my job working for John Reid was analysing studio usage: what each studio in the London area charged for artists to use their facilities, how long they used them. Sometimes it even depended on the artist themselves. It was all part of determining what were the best business moves to make. It really felt like I was back at university sometimes, only without the pressure of Professor Ross bearing down on me until I couldn't bloody breathe; John was the kind of mentor I wanted at university but never got.

Outside of professional life, I got on rather well with John; we had a lot in common, and it was nice to work with somebody in this field who was around my age. It was weird sometimes, though, thinking about the fact that my mentor was only a year older than me, but was still so good at what he did. However, he did have this volatile streak that hindered him in some ways, but I guess I was always drawn to people like that.

I ended up spending two and a half hours going through all the sales for 'Caribou' and dividing profit up into what would go to Elton, what would go to John, the producers, the technicians, the studios, the labels – everything. It was taxing, actually, if I'm going to be completely honest. Taxing on my brain, that is, since it involved a horrible amount of maths and let's just say I was never the brightest bulb when it came to mathematics.

I stretched back on my chair, my arms up in the air as I let out an exaggerated groan, when I finally finished my work for the day. I let my head fall back briefly, staring up at the ceiling as my muscles stretched out, providing me with some kind of tension relief from being sat over a desk for ages. I guess it didn't really matter, since I was fully planning on just lounging on the sofa once again for the rest of the day, listening to records – not the radio... Never the radio.