December 24th [COMPLETED]

17. Board Meeting

George couldn't help the urge to wear her nicest pair of pajamas to her meeting at Concept. There was a gnawing feeling, an unwavering suspicion, forcing its way up from the depths of her stomach into her throat, that the meeting was going to be a disaster. She had the unnerving feeling she was walking into a military-style ambush and so figured she might as well dress comfy for the end of her world as she knew it.

And yet, another part of George riled against this idea. This part of George wanted to go on the full offensive, full Vivian to the extent that George's mother would have to be proud of her. She could see it clearly, walking into that conference room, in a perfectly tailored three-piece designer suit with the air that she just happened to have it lying around, she was that sophisticated and powerful.

But both ideas, when played out to the full extent, yielded one outcome: George would be walking into the room visibly defensive and that was the last thing she wanted. She settled instead on something she would have worn to any other board meeting. The blazer she pulled on top of her favorite band-tee shirt she couldn't help thinking she had worn to a board meeting before but couldn't remember which one. There had been too many and they had all been equally traumatizing.

At the ripe tender age of twenty, George didn't understand the concept of a five-year record deal. But standing on the other end of it, she knew every ins and out's like the back of her hand. And she hated every single one of them.

George's contract with Concept Records ran out on December 31st at 11:59 pm. George had been sent a renewal last fall but she had postponed it until she had time to negotiate her terms. It was now eleven months later and George's proposal for her contract revision had been submitted. The response to said proposal was the reason for the pit gnawing away at the bottom of George's stomach.

The first red flag George noticed was the actual response to her email with her full terms laid out in clear, understandable bullet points. The email had been sent to the entire board of directors at Concept Records, as well as Julien and the legal team.

George didn't need a response from Julien, he called her immediately and told her what he thought of her conditions. No, the red flag appeared when no one on the board responded to George's email. The only person who did respond was the head of the legal department, letting George know they had received her email.

The second red flag that deepened George's conviction that she was on her way to an ambush was the persistence with which Lionel (the head of company) had his secretary make sure George would be in attendance at this specific meeting. The poor secretary's casual persistent reminder of the date and time was a clear act of war in George's eyes as she had a long-standing tradition with the board to send Julien as her representation when she was unavailable due to a job somewhere not in LA.

And the third, and final, red flag came in the scene George found waiting for her when she stepped off the elevator, heading for the conference room. She was a perfect five minutes early. She hadn't even wanted to risk being on time, she had to be early and Sydney had made that happen. And yet, the entire board was already in the conference room, mingling around the table, waiting to take their seats. They all looked at her as soon as she walked in and only took their seats when she took hers.

George's hands were looking for something to destroy and so she sent them after each other, hiding them underneath the long mahogany table that separated George from the people who decided her future.

"Georgiana! So good to see you!"

George could spot Lionel's blinding white teeth all the way from her end of the table. Even from so far away, she could see he had had more work since the last time they had talked.