Trey's eyes narrowed as he entered the familiar conference room and saw half of Demi's management team sitting on one side of the conference table. He knew them well, as the dominant force that controlled a huge aspect of Demi's life, a force that she sometimes hated and sometimes loved. He was just wondering why he had been called into a meeting with his label but her people were there. He hadn't talked to Demi since he dropped her dogs off to her and they had dinner together. He could tell where he wasn't wanted and Demi definitely didn't want him in her life at the moment. And he accepted that. He was starting to work on new music, traveling all over the country for festivals, and just getting back into his career like he never had before.
"Good morning, Trey," Phil greeted him as he took his seat. Trey really didn't like him at all but he never said anything about it to Demi because that wasn't his place. They just didn't interfere in each other's careers...ever.
"Good morning. No offense but what are you doing here?" Trey questioned, causing Phil to chuckle before he relaxed back into his seat a little bit.
"Demi is clearly a little distracted right now but she's going to start working on her new music again. She's had a bit of a dry spell and after her little rehab stunt, people want new music to her. They want her back on the scene. And she's made it clear that it's been hard for her to get back into it so we've come up with an album of collaborations. Just her and some of her favorite artists on one album. And we want you to be on there," Phil explained, causing Trey to immediately shake his head.
"Why not?"
"Because judging by the fact that you waited until Demi was 'distracted' to have this meeting, she doesn't know about this and I'm not going to be a part of forcing her to do something that she doesn't want to do. So, until I know that she's okay with this, I'm not agreeing to this," Trey replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Phil had been her manager for what? Ten years? And he still couldn't grasp the fact that Demi wasn't about to put her heart and soul into something that she didn't want to do. Trey just didn't want to put her into an uncomfortable situation. Whether they were together or not, he still cared about her and that would most likely never change.
"Listen, Demi will know about the plan soon but we're trying to confirm all of the collaborations to get her on board. I'm sure once she realizes that we've lined up every single person that she has ever dreamed of working with, she'll be on board, even if it includes working with you," Phil planned out but Trey still wasn't convinced.
Life would be so much easier if people understood the depth of the relationship – or lack thereof at the moment – that he had with Demi. They had history. Long, hard, and painful history, and Trey didn't want to make their relationship even worse by forcing himself into her life by way of musical collaboration. She had been through enough in the past year alone and she didn't need this on her plate as well. Maybe this is why she was constantly ranting about how much she hated being in the business and how she just wanted to retire and be a songwriter. Labels, managers, and producers literally controlled their lives and even when they presented things that sounded like a choice, it hardly ever was. Like now. Trey could just tell that even if he wasn't going to verbally agree to the arrangement, it was still going to happen. Welcome to Hollywood.
Setting: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA
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