Center Stage - Chapter 18

Monday, I was back home and the tour was done. Warren was still working out the details of my tour, but it looked like it wouldn’t be happening until the next month at the earliest, or even May. My last tour had been small and mostly made up of bars and clubs, which were able to set things up fast. Warren had been looking at bigger venues and they’d decided to go even larger after the huge bump in popularity I’d had from all Dakota and Alina stuff combined.

These places, though, booked a lot further out and required a lot more planning, which meant there were going to be some months where we didn’t have much going on aside from playing the Blue Ridge. We weren’t ready to put out an album and we really needed a label, but we’d started talking about maybe a few singles that would be on a later album coming out over this year to keep people interested, since people moved on very quickly if nothing was happening.

I’d talked to the band and we were all working on ideas for songs. I had the two new ones I’d played on the stage to release, but both were melancholy and a little sad. We needed at least one very up-tempo song to put out also and then find a way to record them so the quality was decent. It wouldn’t be a full album, more like a mini-album toward our next one. Warren was calling it an EP plus.

The added time of not touring would also allow me to catch up on my school work. The tutor had been great so far, but I’d dug myself in a hole and I still had a ways to go to get my grades all the way back up, so a month just being home would really help.

Not that I expected it to be dull. Benny had talked to GLR and they’d backed off on their threats, but they were starting to play games about The Stage album that was releasing our live versions of songs played on the tour, and were including my originals along with the covers. That was in the contract and we knew it was going to be a thing going in, but they were making noise that it gave the rights over later published versions of the songs and being difficult about the royalty agreement. Benny was working it out, but it was yet another sign that I’d absolutely made the right choice in not signing with them.

I finished the English homework I had due tomorrow and pulled out my phone to take a little break before I dived into math. My least favorite subject. Since Friday’s show, I’d been following our social media campaign closely, especially on Switcher. The push hadn’t ended with Friday and we’d sold out all three shows, with people who’d come to see me a large part of the attendance.

Those people had started to post up reactions to the show and videos they took there and had been uploading them, so every day I’d taken to watching it whenever I had a few minutes. Incredibly narcissistic of me, I know, but I kept telling myself that it was to stay in touch with my fans.

Not that it didn’t make me feel good.

I searched up my name and the first dozen videos were just videos of the concert itself from different angles. Most of just my songs, but a few of me and Dexter.

I scrolled and came to the next video which had two girls, probably around my age, sitting cross-legged on a bed, the camera shaking slightly as they giggled and talked over each other.

“It was so amazing y’all. We were pretty far back, but man … he is so good,” the first girl said.

“You know, he looked at me, right? He looked right at me on the final verse of Country Road. We locked eyes and everything,” the second girl with her hair in pigtails said.

“He didn’t. You’re such a liar,” the first girl laughed, shoving her friend.

I had no memory of that. In all honesty, unless they were in the first three or four rows, I couldn’t see anything. It was just a sea of black up on stage, so I just kind of looked out as I sang because Willie always said people liked eye contact.

“I swear to God he did. I literally got chills,” she said as they both squealed, clutching at each other’s arms. “He’s so cute. His eyes are just…”

More squeals.

“I heard somewhere he was touring again this year,” the first girl said to the camera. “If you guys haven’t gotten to see him, you have to. It’s the best show, and he’s amazing.”

“Charlie, we love you,” they both said, and then the video looped and started over.

I scrolled again. That was good for my ego, but it also felt weird having these two girls I’d never met talking about me like that. To my surprise, the next video wasn’t strangers talking about me or clips of my concert. It was of Alina on a talk show. It seemed mid-show and started with the host asking a question, and for a moment, I wondered how this ended up in a search for my name until I noticed that it had my name as one of the hashtags.

As soon as it started playing, it was instantly apparent why I was tagged.

“So, Alina. Tell us about this new guy in your life. Everyone is abuzz that you’re finally off the market,” the host asked.

“Now, now. A lady never kisses and tells,” she said, swatting him playfully on the arm and smiling.

“But you two have been spotted together quite a bit lately. Surely there’s something going on there.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “Charlie’s been very supportive during a difficult time. He’s a wonderful person, and I’m very lucky to have him in my life.”

“And I’m sure he feels the same,” the host said in a half-leer, half-knowing expression that made it clear what he thought was happening.

When the video looped, I closed the app and dialed Alina’s number. It rang a few times before she picked up.

“Charlie! It’s so good to hear from you,” she said, her voice bright and bubbly. “I heard your Atlanta show was amazing. Sold out crowds three days in a row.”

“Thanks, Yeah, it was pretty amazing. So, I saw a clip from your interview last night.”

“Oh, wasn’t it wonderful? I’m getting more requests than ever before. It’s so exciting!”

“That’s great, Alina. Really. But you need to stop implying that we’re dating.”

There was a brief silence on the other end. “What do you mean? I never told anyone we were dating.”

“I know you haven’t said it outright. But every time they ask you about us, you give an answer that’s not a no. People are drawing conclusions, and I know you’re doing it on purpose.”

“Charlie, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know these people. You have to play them right, or they’ll just make up stories.”

“Alina, come on. They don’t have to make up stories because you’re giving them one outright. I get that this whole thing is good marketing for you, and honestly it’s been good for me too, but it’s starting to hurt real people. People I care about.”

“You just said it was helping your career,” she said.

While not admitting that she was doing it on purpose, it was a step in the right direction.

“I also said people were getting hurt. People like my girlfriend. She trusts me, but how long do you think that’s going to last if she keeps hearing you imply there’s something going on between us?”

“I’m sorry, Charlie. I didn’t mean to cause any problems.”

“I know you didn’t. But if we’re going to be friends, we have to be honest with each other. No more games, no more implications. Just the truth.”

There was another long pause on the other end of the line, followed by a deep, sad sigh. “You’re right. I was doing it on purpose. My management … they thought it would be a good idea after all the positive press we got from the incident. They liked that you were very public about your clean reputation and thought it would help … offset some stuff.”

“So you decided to make me a prop?”

“No, Charlie, it’s not like that. It’s just … with the rumors about the drugs and everything, they thought it would help.”

“Is that what lunch was about? You just wanted to be seen with me?”

Another pause. “Yes. I’m sorry, Charlie. I should have been honest with you.”

“Look, I get it. I know how much pressure managers can put on you. But I’m not going to sit here while you or anyone else uses me. If you want to be friends, that’s great, otherwise I have other people I’d rather be spending my time with.”

“No. I was telling you the truth when I said I didn’t have any actual friends. Just other models who are always looking to get my spot or people looking to make money off of me. I really could use a friend.”

“Then this has to stop. No more games, no more implications, no more lies.”

“But what if they ask me about it again? What am I supposed to say?”

“The truth. That we’re just friends.”

“But that will look bad. People already think we’re together.”

“And whose fault is that? You can’t build a relationship on a lie, Alina. It always comes out in the end. It’s better to face it now than let it grow into something bigger.”

She was quiet for a long moment before asking, “And if I don’t?”

I was annoyed. I knew what she was doing, trying to please everyone, me and her management. Trying to find a way to not be the bad guy and just keep doing things as she had been.

I wasn’t going to allow that to happen.

“Then I’ll start denying it. Loudly and publicly. And it will definitely make you look bad. Is that what you want?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then stop it. Now. We’re friends, Alina. That’s it. And if you can’t respect that, then maybe we can’t be friends at all.”

“I’m sorry, Charlie. I don’t know if I can do that. My management ...”

“Stop.” I cut her off before she could finish the sentence. “Just stop.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said, her voice barely audible.

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but it’s your life to live, Alina. I really thought we could be friends.”

“No. We can be.”

“No. We can’t. You do what you have to do. I’ll try to keep from causing you too many problems, but let your managers know if you keep trying to lead people into thinking we’re dating, that I will make it crystal clear what’s happening, and that will be very embarrassing for you and your career.”

“Charlie, please ...”

“Goodbye, Alina,” I said, disconnecting the call.

I stared down at the phone. I knew I shouldn’t let it bother me, because we just met, but she was very nice and I’d enjoyed having a friend who knew about being in the public eye, since it was a weird experience people who weren’t experiencing it didn’t really understand.

It really was too bad.

Alina tried to call a few times later that night and Monday, but I let it go to voicemail. She had to figure out what she wanted. If she could accept my boundaries, then sure, I’d give her another chance, but she wasn’t going to pretend she was just a passenger and wasn’t in control of her own actions.

By Tuesday evening, she’d started sending texts basically trying the same ‘I have no choice’ argument, which meant she wasn’t listening to me. So when the phone rang, I almost didn’t pick it up to see who was calling. The only reason I did was because it was getting close to the time Kat would call me, and I didn’t want to miss our nightly phone call.

I was surprised to see, instead of Kat or Alina, that Hal Steiner was calling. I only had his phone number from that business card he’d given me at the party, and I was pretty sure it was his office number. It was really late for someone to still be in their office, but he wasn’t a call I’d want to miss. He’d already shown the push he could have when he helped me get the talk show spot after the tabloid article came out. Hal wasn’t someone I wanted to ghost.

“This is Charlie,” I said, not one-hundred percent sure this was actually Hal, and not someone from his office.

“Charlie, it’s Hal. Do you have a moment?”

“Sure. Isn’t it kind of late to be working though?”

“It’s not that late here, we’re three hours behind you. I was about to call it a day, but I wanted to take care of this before I went home for the evening.”

“Ohh, yeah,” I said, kicking myself for looking like an idiot.

“I’m sorry we haven’t spoken since the party. Things get very busy, as you can imagine. I first wanted to say I’m sorry about all of the trouble you had after we spoke that night, but also that you handled it beautifully. I already had a very good impression of you from the show, but your actions that night, and since, have really shown the kind of integrity you have. I wanted you to know how impressed I was by you.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate that. I was just trying to do the right thing.”

“Which is all too rare in our industry, and tangentially one of the reasons I’m calling. I’ve also heard about some dust-ups that you’ve been having with GLR on the tour.”

“They’ve been pushy about signing with them. I know most people in my position would, because they’re a big company, but we didn’t like the terms that they offered and afterward, everything I’ve seen about how they treat their artists, I’m glad I didn’t. You know I had issues with my first label, so I’m trying to avoid that.”

“Yes, I’ve been watching that too. It’s a shame what Dakota has gone through, although again, you’ve been very standup where that was concerned. So what my people have told me is correct, that you’re looking for a label. I had them do some checking and I understand you got some sort of limited distribution deal?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of a stopgap, really. It’s working for now, but we know that having a real label behind us would open a lot more doors. We were hoping to find one with the success of the stage tour but, so far that hasn’t happened. We’re still trying though.”

“But it’s been getting harder, yes?”

“Yes. Warren, my manager, has said he’s getting fewer meetings than he’d like.”

“It isn’t a coincidence. I don’t know if he’s heard this, since managers are generally not in the same circles, but GLR has been on the warpath against you for some time now, and they’ve been intensifying their campaign of late. It seems they have quite the grudge against you and have been joined by your old label to essentially try and have you blackballed from the industry. As I understand it, they are even pressuring your distributor to drop you from your contract. I don’t believe they’ve begun pressuring venues yet, as it seems they are trying to keep this quiet, but I would imagine that is coming.”

“What?” I said, my stomach suddenly dropping. “I knew they were pissed at me, but…”

I couldn’t believe it. After all the effort from the show and getting my career started up again, I was about to end up right where I was last summer. I slumped back in my chair, feeling completely defeated. How was I going to explain this to Lyla and Seth?

“I hadn’t finished,” Hal said, not angrily, but more to stop the ramble that I was about to go on. “I don’t play these types of games West and his kind like to play. I find this kind of behavior loathsome, the actions of people who have no ability to work hard and make their name honestly. Anyone with half a brain and half an ear can tell how audiences are responding to their music, and I believe I have at least that much.”

“Ohh, thanks,” I said.

I was still reeling from the news, but it was good to hear someone was looking out for me.

“Charlie, I didn’t call to deliver bad news. I called because I want you to join the ARC family.”

“What?”

“You’re exactly the kind of artist I want on my label. Someone with integrity, talent, and a genuine desire to make great music. I’m not asking for an immediate commitment, of course. I understand we’ll need to work out the terms with your lawyers and managers. I don’t relish crossing swords with Benny Levine, but I think you’re worth the effort and I wanted you to know that the offer is on the table.”

Now that was unexpected.

“Hal, if it was just up to me, I’d say yes right now.”

“I know, but we’ll do this the right way. I’ll call your manager next and get the ball rolling on our end. I just wanted you to hear it from me first.”

“I ... I don’t know what to say other than thank you. Thank you for the opportunity and for believing in me.”

“You’ve earned it, Charlie. The next time we see each other, it will be to sign contracts. We’ll talk soon.”

“Definitely. Have a good night, Hal.”

“You too, Charlie.”

The line went dead and I sat there for a moment in stunned disbelief. That phone call had been a roller-coaster, from feeling like my career was completely done, to being told I’m getting signed to a new label. One nearly as big as GLR itself.

I had no doubt Warren and Benny would make this happen, and I had faith that Hal would offer reasonable terms. If we signed this fast enough, they might even be able to take the tour Warren had been working on and really push it. Not to mention actual sales and real marketing.

This was possibly the best news I’d heard in a long time.