Worthwhile (A Jonah Marais Fanfiction)

Chapter 22

Winter's P.O.V.

The Republic Records office in LA was bustling. People in business suits and formal attire hustled around. The cool conditioned air calmed my nerves as soon as I set foot in the building. Martha, in her usual uptight formal wear, tagged along, going through the points that I would be putting forward in today's meeting. I was nervous. I've had tons of meetings but I still get cold feet before attending the next one.

My entrance caused the lively office to come to a standstill. Everyone looked at me like they had seen a ghost. I walked past, smiling at each of them, pretending to be unphased by their stares, when in reality, it was making me crawl in my skin. My bodyguards glared at them as we walked past. Near the elevator, a few people were waiting. I pulled out my phone not wanting to be bothered by questions I didn't want to answer. I scrolled through Pinterest, viewing aesthetically appealing photographs, to placate the storm inside.

Once we reached the conference room, I stopped abruptly. Was this a good idea? What if people think that I am coward, running away from my problems?  What if this was unnecessary? What if they overruled my proposition? I removed my sunglasses and put them in my bag pack. I didn't like using hand bags. They were too much maintenance. Brushing a few stray strands of my hair back, I pulled the door open, causing the 10 seated people to rise up.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! I hope you're having a pleasant day so far." I greeted them, politely. The room was filled with sounds of silence. They gave me warm smiles but didn't say a word.

I looked around the room. Every management team included a lawyer, a publicist, a music manager, a tour manager, a videographer, a music promoter, a marketer and representative from the record label. Everyone looked familiar except for one person. 

She stood at the far side of the table near my seat. She had silky brown hair and rosy cheeks. She looked extremely nervous and out of place. I knew I hadn't seen her around. Before I could ask whether she was new here, Martha whispered to me, "Winter, she's your new publicist, Samantha Dallas." Samantha locked eyes with me and I gave her a warm smile. She was new. I had to make her feel comfortable. Everyone in this room treated one another like family and it would unfair to her if we treated her like an outsider. One thing was for sure... She was beautiful.

My representative was Jeff Herring, the same person who pitched me in, five years ago. He walked up to me and engulfed me into a hug, "It's been so long! I'm sorry for everything that you've had to got through." 

I hugged him back, "It's good to see you." We pulled apart and I made my towards my seat at the head of the table. I put down my bag pack, pulled out my laptop, turned it on and faced the team in the room. They were waiting for me start.

I leaned forward onto the table, "I hope all of us is aware of the news circulating around me..." They nodded in unison. 

"It's getting really difficult for me to focus on anything else... I had a bad break up, the media decided to paint me as the the bad guy and then #WinterAddingtonIsOverrated was trending on Twitter and still is..."

Scowls and frowns graced their faces at the mention of the events. 

I continued, "Keeping that in mind, I have come upon a decision to... take a break for a while..." 

Gasps followed. They were astonished. I could tell that they didn't see this coming. No one said anything for a while. I was trying to gauge their reactions, which made me question whether I made the right decision. 

My marketer, Nora, spoke up, "Are you sure? Like have you thoroughly thought over it?"

"Yes! I have gone over every single possibility and I am just not in the right head space to release a new album. All of this is unflattering and my health is deteriorating. This is worrying my family and friends more than enough and I hate seeing them worried about me."