Ashes

Chapter 61

"And they make me feel like a baby who can't handle my own life, but I don't see how I'm to blame for what's happened," Ashanté told Bryce as they wound their way down the stairs. "I mean, I admit it was stupid to sign that contract, but everyone makes mistakes. I've paid for mine several times over now. I just want all this to stop. Is that so unreasonable?"

Bryce held the door for her on the second floor. "Nope. But what do you want to do with your life? I assume you want a job playing guitar since you're so good at it. You're also an amazing singer, so it's a waste not to sing for a living."

"I guess, but I really hate performing in front of people." She followed him down the hall to her room, where they gathered up her belongings before heading downstairs to the reception counter.

"I may have a suggestion," Bryce said as Ashanté's parents and doctor met them in the lobby. "I've been tossing something around in my mind lately. Ever since Maverick fired me, actually. Heh. I'm thinking of starting my own independent label."

"Really? You have the money for that?"

"Yes and no. It's a risk, but the music world's changing. A lot of what we did at Broken Pony can be done in a home studio these days at a fraction of the cost without any great loss of quality. I've recorded some tracks in my home on occasion. Would you be willing to work for me as a studio musician? There wouldn't be any live performances, just mp3s we'd record on my work station and videos we'd upload to your channel. We need to take advantage of your current popularity before people forget you. This scandal is a blessing in that it's put your name in front of millions who'd normally never listen to country music. We need to capitalize on that before it blows over."

"Baby girl, don't listen to this phony," Beverly interrupted. "You need to come home with us and restore your reputation with honest work. Become a school teacher."

"But Bryce isn't like that, Mom. He's done nothing but try to help me."

"You mean he's done nothing but try to make money for himself from your talent."

Ashanté turned to Bryce. "You see? She treats me like a baby!"

Bryce snickered and rubbed her back. He was about to reply but the clinic director came over, so Bryce told him Ashanté wanted to check out. "Do we need any paperwork for that?"

There was tons of paperwork for that, but the director got it started while Bryce handed the receptionist his credit card.

"I'm not a baby, Bryce. I can pay for this myself."

"Do you have your wallet with you?"

Ashanté remembered she had almost nothing with her, and shook her head.

"Then you can pay me back later. We'll add it to your growing debt. You still owe me one Mexican dinner and a movie."

"Not to mention a round of minigolf."

They both laughed, and Beverly turned to Lamar with slitted eyes.

"Tell me our baby girl isn't in love with this white boy."

"Mom! It isn't like that. I mean, Bryce sleeps with dozens of women."

"We know," Lamar said. "We've seen them on TV."

"Now wait a minute," Bryce said defensively. "It's not like that. There haven't been that many, really, and in every case the woman begged me  for sex, not the other way around. I only filmed them because I expected them to blackmail me later. A man has to protect himself these days. You have to expect that sort of thing in this business. Wherever there are men with power, influence or money you'll find unethical women who want all that for themselves without having to earn it the hard way."

He wasn't winning any fans here, and decided to change tactics.

"Ashanté, just think about this. While you may not earn as much with an independent label, you won't have to work as hard either. Broken Pony insisted on a heavy touring schedule, and I won't. You won't have to tour at all, and you could go back to school. If that's a financial burden, you can always save money by moving out of your apartment. Why not move in with me rent free? Then you can put the money you'd spend on rent into the bank."

Beverly ground her teeth.

"Hmm. And just where would I sleep?" Ashanté asked. "In the blue room?"

"Heh. No way. I'll sell all the furniture from the blue room. No one would ever want to sleep in there now that the whole planet knows about it. You can sleep in the guest room. It's almost as big, but no cameras."

"And how do I know that? You could have cameras all over that house for all I know."

Bryce was about to say something when the receptionist interrupted him for a signature.

Ashanté wondered whether he was serious about living together. On the one hand it was a great way to get closer to him. Living together! And if one night he just happened to wander into her room by accident in the dark, it might turn out like a Zane novel, and─

What am I saying?! Then I'd get pregnant and my parents would have a fit and drag me home in a chastity belt. Argh.

"I'm sorry, Bryce. It sounds awesome, but I can't move in with you without a wedding first. My parents would kill me."

Her mother nodded smugly, and Bryce tried to process this. "Wedding?" He pondered all the women in the grey room. There hadn't been many. LuAnne, Clarabelle ─ yes, that was her real name ─ Katy... was that her name? Maybe it was Karen. Yeah, that sounded more familiar. Funny, he could remember all the bad girls, but of course, he had videos of them. How many more good girls were going to come his way? Like LuAnne, they got married, and he wasn't getting any younger.

I'm only twenty-five!

And Ashanté was almost twenty and famous. What happened if she found someone else?

Oh my god, I'd lose her forever.

And what would she wind up with? Someone who'd use her to advance his own career. She was a nice, churchgoing kid; she didn't deserve that.

Kid?

Okay, woman. But a trusting, innocent woman who needs protection from wolves and users.

He had no idea how she felt about him, but there was only one way to find out. How humiliating could it be if she says no? Everyone in the world has seen me naked.  "So okay, when do you want to have the wedding?"