Evie | H.S |

82. Nepo baby

A/N: hiiii I love you. Say it back hehe
Just a little update for you MWAH x

"...there could be a bit of travel involved...would you be open to that?"

I blinked blankly at my MacBook screen before me. Producer extraordinaire Kid Harpoon, AKA Tom sat in one screen, meeting us all the way from the Canyon in Los Angeles. Staring at me through my screen, his ring-clad hand cupped his chin as he smiled encouragingly, watching on as the conversation he had arranged played out. We'd spoken over the phone briefly before I dialled in for the call...I couldn't help but suspect Harry had let him know I'd been pacing my flat anxiously all morning and asked him to try and talk me through what was to come.

From the London office and head of publishing at Sony ATV sat a woman named Christa Riley. She looked to be in her forties, her cascading dirty blonde hair and distressed band shirt was a stark contrast to her sharp, pinstriped suit jacket. She'd worked first in A&R at Columbia and since worked her way up to head of publishing for Sony EU & UK.

From the Los Angeles was Marcus Reed, also clad in a smart pinstriped suit with chunky red framed glasses - very stylish, I'd noted. He head publishing for LA, Nashville and New York and seemed particularly interested in my style of music.

The fourth person, who I wasn't expecting was Ron Perry, chairman and CEO at Columbia Records. I almost fell out of my seat once his name popped up under a young-ish face with floppy hair. I knew of his name, but hadn't expected someone in their forties to hold such a title. I also had a niggling feeling he was in attendance as a big, big favour to a certain someone.

I know Harry would have pulled the favour out of the sweetest and best of intentions, but there was a part of me that the gesture didn't sit well with.

I knew what people had said about me when rumours first popped up linking us together.

'It's PR... I'm calling it now'

'I heard her label paid A LOT of money to get on that tour'

'Such an obvious industry plant lol'

As someone who had, prior to Love On Tour, been virtually unknown to people outside of the corner of the internet and local music community I had inhabited, my sudden introduction had sparked questions. I'd hate to give that any further ammunition.

"Um, yeah, of course... if I needed to" I replied with a smile. My hands in my lap fidgeted and my legs bounced restlessly under the table while I tried to remain composed from the chest up. "My time here is sort of open-ended, I've no job to return to...sort of resigned without a plan...classic muso" I laughed nervously, holding my breath till the four other faces on screen did the same. "I'm writing all the time anyway, this just feels like a good move."

"Well, we obviously don't want to take away from what you've got going on...but we do have a minimum return for your draw" Christa continued. "Whatever extra you do between album cycles is up to you and just a bonus."

"In saying that though, what we've heard so far has sparked my interest. I'd be keen to see how you'd go in more of a development role, if you liked the sound of that. It would be a bit more hands-on, working with other artists and producers." Markus added.

I blew out a puff of air, the heaviness of the conversation starting to weigh on me - this was serious business. This wasn't just fun, fun, let's write cool songs. This was a serious time commitment but also an incredible opportunity to focus on doing what I love while getting paid for it.

"What are your plans?" Ron cut in and commanded the attention that a title like CEO demanded. "...with the album" he added.

"Oh, god... I uh" I began to fumble my words, my tongue readying to trip over each vowel and consonant as I swallowed thickly. My eyes flickered above the little camera with the green light on my laptop and towards my dimple-popping cheerleader who was sitting quietly, cheering me on in a mime. 'Go on' he mouthed and for some reason, I straightened up my posture and re-composed.