Loving a Man Who Forgot Me Novel Chapter 72
“They were in a car accident,” Uncle Ky continued. “Jaime wasn’t with them, but they were hit by a drunk driver and they didn’t make it.”
Noooo!
Aunt Jax let out a gut-wrenching sob. I don’t think Aiden knew what to say, or couldn’t say anything.
He just stood there in shock. Uncle Ky pulled him and Aunt Jax into his arms and held them tight. Aunt Jax’s head lifted and her eyes found mine. She held her arm out and I walked over on autopilot and fell against them.
I cried into her shoulder as she ran her hand up and down my back. Aiden squeezed one of my hands and didn’t let go, and Uncle Ky kept us all from crumbling right there.
How could this happen? Jaime and his family were just here. I held Amelia in my arms. She was so tiny and innocent. And now she was just gone. And Molly. She was so sweet and smart and feisty. Full of life and love for her family.
God, Jaime. My heart cracked inside of my chest thinking of what he must be going through right now. I ground my teeth together and clenched my fists beneath the table. To say the meeting wasn’t going well was an understatement.
Talks had deteriorated almost as quickly as they began. Nobody was listening, only trying to talk over the top of each other. Gabe and I had agreed to let the lawyers and our agent do the talking for the most part, but Gio couldn’t keep his fat mouth shut for two damn seconds.
“You can’t fucking do this!” He angrily shoved his chair back and stood.
The lawyer representing me and Gabe had just made it clear in no uncertain terms that the two of us would walk, lawsuit be damned, before we’d remain in the band with Gio and Lowell.
Lowell honestly didn’t look like he gave a shit, but that’s probably because his bloodshot eyes suggested he was stoned. “Now hold on,” Alex Trevors, the label exec, held up his hand. “What if Lowell and Gio were to go through a treatment program?
We could postpone the tour a few months, of course the band would have to cover part of the losses, but we wouldn’t sue.”
Gio snorted angrily and was about to fire off another angry retort, when Pete Franks, our band manager, grabbed him by his arm and yanked him back down into his chair, muttering, “Just shut up.” Then everyone at the table looked toward me and Gabe.
“No,” I said. “It’s not just about the drugs. The band is supposed to be a family, supposed to have each other’s back, and we haven’t been that way in a long time. The fact is, I don’t trust them and can’t rely on them. The band is broken, and I’m done.”
“Same for me,” Gabe said firmly. Alex sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. He glanced at the label’s lawyers beside him and then down at the copies of our contracts laid out in front of him, before lifting his eyes to the rest of us.
“Then I suggest we all take a few minutes. I need to go over some things with our lawyers, and I suggest you all do the same, because the fact of the matter is we have contracts here that have to be worked out in one way or another, and I’d like to find a solution with the least damaging outcome for everyone. We’ll meet back in here in fifteen minutes.”
Gio was the first to rise again, kicking his chair and storming out of the room, Lowell on his heels, followed by Pete, and the band’s lawyer. Gabe, and I, along with our lawyer, trailed after them, leaving Alex, the other label guys, and their lawyers alone in the room.
The second I stepped out of the conference room, Gio was right up in my face. “Screw you, asshole! You can’t kick me out of the band.”
“Weren’t you listening, asshole?” I growled right back. “There is no more band. We’re through.” “You can’t just fucking do that,” he spat. “I can sue your ass.” He looked at Pete and John Iverson, the band’s lawyer, for confirmation, but they just shifted uncomfortably.
“Actually, I can, dumbass. Every time you missed a practice or studio session, or were late to a sound check or meeting, or just didn’t show at all, you were in violation of our contract.
I write and own all of our music, so aside from your cut of the royalties, you’ve got shit to stand on, and I’m willing to bet the label isn’t going to do shit to try and save your ass either.” Gio shoved me then and snarled, “All because of the fucking baby that probably wasn’t even yours to begin with.”