Trust Issues (Book #1 of the Defy series)

Chapter 10: Deal (Ace POV)

Trust Issues (Book #1 of the Defy series)

Ace:

We were sitting in a shadowy room, the brick walls gave the space an old cozy fill. The lights were dimmed to a warm level adding to the mellow mood. A few neon signs lit up dark corners of the room giving enough light for customers to see the table and people in front of them. And the acute smell of food and smoke permeated the space. 

Aaron, Hugo, and Marty sat on one side of the table. And Liam and I sat on the other side. We were meeting some people about the details of joining the show and discussing any extra things before signing a contract.

We've decided to join Stardom... the "battle of the century" was what it was being advertised as. The show hadn't even begun filming, but there was already a noticeable buzz on social media apps like FLIP, on what bands would participate and who were the judges.

Television commercials and even some gossip shows were talking about who might participate and if they thought the newest group sensation would be coming from this show.

From my knowledge, most of the bands involved were ones not that well known and some of them were basically brand stankin' new, literally debuting just a month or week ago. Some were small groups that were creating traction near their hometowns more than worldwide.

Which was similar to us.

Our group had been formed since me and the guys were in high school. But we hadn't gained any sort of popularity until recently. Our fans were mostly people in or near our hometown. We had a good bit of followers on our group and respective social media accounts but it wasn't anything to write home about.

Our biggest achievement was when Karl Ray - rockstar extraordinaire shouted us out on his account saying his niece was a fan of ours. I think that's what got us a few more fans recently. But still, we weren't to the level we wanted to be. We weren't particularly grammy or newsworthy... yet.

But we were determined.

And if that meant going on to some possibly rigged show we'd do it. Of course, we want to win but we know how TV competitions can go. Our biggest hope is to get some more traction around our name. And more exposure. Even if we don't win it's possible that this show can be the kickstart to our career.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught my attention. My gaze fell on a group of about five men. The one in the middle seemed to be in charge, he wore a crisp grey suit with silver cufflinks. His hair was a salt and pepper color and he wore dark-rimmed glasses. They step up to our table, and the man in the grey suit held out his hand to Marty who had stood to introduce us.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you my name is Dan Waldman. I am the executive producer in relation to Stardom." His voice was deep and scratchy sounding. As he spoke he made eye contact with every single one of us. His face held a business-friendly smile that still manage to rub me the wrong way.

 But then again I'm cautious of any business person.

"I'm Marty we spoke over the phone. This is Ace, Hugo, Liam, and Aaron." Marty pointed at us as he called us each by name. He ushered the five men to sit and they each ordered waters.

Mr.Waldman took out a laptop with a presentation on it. And one of the other men - an awkward lanky fellow who goes by the name Rick I think, began to speak. He seemed timid at first but when he began to speak he became more animated.

"This show is basically reality TV meets music!" His voice rose an octave and I leaned back in my chair to save my ears from the noise. "You guys will be battling other bands but we also follow you guys in your day-to-day lives. How you guys practice and how you interact with each other and the people in your lives."