Normally, she'd have something witty to say, I know it. But she drops it, thankfully. I scan the room, recognizing everyone, meaning that the act isn't here either. "Not much. You got here before your new signees-go figure. I swear this place is..."
"Then quit." Seriously. Since I can't fucking fire you.
She glares at me, before shrugging. "Can't do that. Guess you're stuck with me," she says, flipping open to a blank page in her yellow legal pad and doodling something.
Just peachy.
"So my birthday's coming up." I don't acknowledge her, flipping through my phone and finding a text from Jawaad. He's running late too, and gives me the heads up about the act also running off schedule. I feel Genevieve swivel in her chair to look at me. "So what are you buying me?"
"Nothing." I refrain from rolling my eyes. "I don't even know you."
"How about a Bentley? Or a Ferrari? I'm not picky." She nudges my shoulder. "Or maybe a house...right next door to your fancy Brownstone."
I go to reply, just as the door opens, revealing Jawaad and none other than the tall blonde haired fucker I'd be alright with never seeing again and his lame posse trailing behind him. He glances around the room, his eyes eventually settling on mine. And of course, he wears this cocky smirk.
"Sorry we're late. Forgot how bad New York City traffic can be. Everyone, this is 5 Seconds of Summer, the new act." I hear Genevieve snort, to which everyone-including myself-looks at her. Upon realizing the attention she's drawn to herself, she instantly straightens up and pretends to be writing notes down and nodding her head as if to be focusing. She looks at me and winks, but I ignore it, turning my attention back to the scene in front of me.
"Lads, introduce yourselves," my cousin instructs. The boys go around, stating their names as I sit here, stiff as a board. I'm grilling Luke, and he knows it, which is why he's wearing this never faltering smirk.
"And last but not least, which I'm sure you're familiar with...Zayn Malik. CEO of Malik, Inc." Fucking Jawaad. Though in his defense, he doesn't know hardly anything about mine and Luke's situation.
"Pleasure doing business, boss," Luke says, giving a nod. "I'd shake your hand but you're on the other side of the room." The rest of my team, except Louis, me, Jawaad and Genevieve laugh. What the fuck is funny?
"Now. The guys here have already been signed by yours truly on the London side of things. But they felt they'll work better out of New York, so here we are...to do most of the writing, recording and video shoots for the first album, which-congratulations, gentlemen. They've just wrapped their first official video." Which my fucking fiance worked on. It's a small, small world.
Though the more I listen, the more I think that this was all part of some plan by Luke to come back and fuck me over some more. But I won't let it happen this time.
"Relax, Zayn. You're pretty much shaking," Lou says, from my left. "You're gonna pop a vessel."
"Now, I'll turn it over to the finance department to discuss the budget we're working with." Jawaad looks around the room, as Sophia quickly raises her hand and begins rattling off numbers that I don't give a shit enough to listen to.
*
"Listen cousin, I swear I didn't know you knew each other until after I signed them."
"Bullshit."
"I'm serious. But it would take so much more effort to cancel this contract than to just collect what we can from them. And if it doesn't work out, then we drop 'em after the deal's up," he argues. "I'm sorry, man. I should've...I dunno."
Chapter 8
Start from the beginning
