Danger Signs // Demi Lovato // 4

56. I'm Going Places

"You have a meeting tomorrow at eleven," Demi told me one evening at dinner. The three of us had cooked together and even made a cake.

"What for?" I asked.

"I've been asking around to find someone to manage you, and I found someone." Demi smiled at me and I couldn't help but return it. After I brought up singing, I hadn't expected anything to happen until school was over. I still had some final exams to do, then it was all about graduation. Would I have time to work on music while that was happening?

"So, who is it?" I asked, wondering if it was someone I'd heard of.

"Her name is Jeanie Hanson. She's a new name to the industry, but she knows what she's doing. She's related to Hanson, you know the three brothers," Demi tried to explain, but the look on my face must have told her I was lost so she pulled out her phone and played a song I'd never heard. I just shrugged, but Demi explained it was popular so I was intrigued that one of their relatives would be my manager.

Demi put her phone away and the subject changed to songwriting. Of course I had no experience with it, but I told her I wanted to learn and write my own songs so she said she would set me up with some professional songwriters to help me.

~//~//~//~//~//~//~

The next day, Demi and Maia helped me pick out a nice outfit to meet Jeanie. After looking through everything in my closet, we landed on a dress with a black top and light, floral skirt and a quilted jacket. Maia went through her purses and let me borrow a black, crossbody bag with a little tassel on the zipper.

"This necklace would be cute," Demi said, holding one up. It was rose gold and looked like leaves, so she put it on me while Maia dug around my closet for shoes. She found a pair of heels that had a strap around the ankle and an open toe.

"I know you can walk in these because you wouldn't have them in your closet if you couldn't," Maia said, handing me the shoes.

They both knew I struggled to walk in heels, but if it was under three inches, I could manage. I never thought I would have to get someone to teach me, but I had a feeling I would be wearing heels a lot more, so it would be better to learn.

Once I was dressed and my shoes were on, we headed downstairs. I wanted to eat, but my stomach was a ball of nerves, so I grabbed some Greek yogurt, checking my phone to pass the time.

I had told Jay I wouldn't be able to talk because of the meeting, so she had sent a good morning text and then wished me luck in a second one.

It was almost 10:30, so I replied, saying thank you, that I would let her know how it went, and that we were leaving now.

Demi drove us to the building which was huge. There were two receptionists at the front desk. The one with stiff, blonde hair was on the phone, so I stopped in front of the other lady with darker hair and kind eyes.

"How can I help you, sweetie?" she asked.

"I have a meeting with Jeanie Hanson at eleven," I said, nerves shaking my knees. I pushed my legs together to steady them while the lady checked something on her computer.

"Name?"

"Rosie Lovato."

She clicked a few things, then nodded. "Okay, here you are. Follow me." She stood and walked out, going to a door on the left. I glanced at Maia and Demi as the three of us followed the lady down the hall and into an elevator. After reaching the third floor, she led us out and down another hall, turning into a room on the left. There was a large, round table with several chairs placed around it.

"My name is Heather, by the way. I'll be back to show you two the waiting room." Heather said the second part to Demi and Maia. She seemed unsure about who they were to me, but not like she was judging. "Jeanie will be with you shortly."

She closed the door after her and we took a seat at the table, the glass top showing the cylindrical chrome base in the middle.

"Nervous?" Demi asked.

"Did you not see my knees shaking like I was standing out in a blizzard?" I replied, laughing. It sounded forced, because it was and I was trying to clam my nerves.

Maia's brow furrowed slightly. "Have you ever seen a blizzard?"

"That's not the point. I have no idea what to expect. That's why I'm kind of a mess right now," I explained.

"You'll be fine. From my experience, she'll probably ask a bunch of questions to get to know you and get to know where you want your music to go and why you want to do this," Demi said, reaching her hand out and placing it on top of mine. "Okay, just breathe, don't talk too fast, and be honest." She smiled at me and I nodded, taking a deep breath before answering.

"Thanks. That helped a lot already."

We waited a little longer, talking about school until the door opened again. Heather entered first and we all stood up. My moms hugged me before following Heather out, then I took a good look at Jeanie. She had dark hair pulled into a neat ponytail and light looking makeup. She wore a light pink dress with very tall, black heels and her jewelry was simple as well. She smiled at me and held her hand out for me to shake.

"Rosie, yes?" she asked, leading me to sit down again.

"That's me," I said, my nerves flooding back. Just breathe, I heard Demi say in my head.

"It's wonderful to meet you. Believe it or not, I've heard a lot about you."

"Um, really?"

"Well, most of it's gossip magazines, so I've been very curious to get to know you. When I heard you were in need of a manager, I immediately reached out to Demi. So, if you don't mind, let's just get into this, yeah?"

I nodded and put on a smile.

"Tell me about yourself," Jeanie said, leaning back in her chair, a pen between her fingers. "What was your life like growing up, and now. Stuff like that."

I hesitated at first, but once I started talking about my life before Demi found me, I couldn't stop. Jeanie was understanding when something was hard to talk about, especially when I got to talking about my life now and dealing with two friends dying. Once I was done, we started talking about music and what motivated me to want to do it.

"Demi didn't force you, did she?" Jeanie joked.

I laughed and shook my head. "It was never really something I thought much about. But then my girlfriend mentioned it to me after hearing me sing, and I haven't really gotten it out of my head since." I went on to explain how going to France for Maia's birthday had made me realize I'd always wanted to travel. Growing up, it was never an option, so I just didn't think about it, but now that I could do it, I wanted to and having a singing career would help with that.

It felt like hours had passed by the time Jeanie decided that she would be my manager. "I really like you, Rosie, and I think you have a great future ahead of you," she told me as we went to the waiting area where Demi and Maia were. They were both engaged in something on their phones, so I cleared my throat and they looked up.

"Oh, there you are," Demi said, standing up, Maia right behind her and coming to stand next to her.

"Your daughter is something," Jeanie told them. "I can't wait to start working with her."

Demi's mouth dropped open and we all discussed how I would be working on songs in my free time while I finished school. Jeanie explained that we could schedule studio time whenever it was convenient for us and gave us the card of one of the producers there.

She walked us out to the front desk and I was surprised when she held her arms open. I stepped into the hug, getting a whiff of fruity perfume, then left with Maia and Demi, all of us holding in our shrieks and squeals until we were back in the car.