“Look…. Just tell them no. If they do Leno, we’d have to push back dates and the shows that week are already sold out. See if they’ll book em the week of the fifth. That’s their week off, alright? I gotta go.” I snap my phone shut and stuff it in my pocket as I step into the airport.

I immediately scan the crowd for Trace and frown. Little bastard’s late. Don’t know why I’m surprised.

I move to find a seat to wait for him, but stop when I catch a glimpse of a sign with my name on it.

What the fuck?

The woman holding the sign has her hair pulled back, dark glasses covering her eyes and a ball cap pulled low over her face. But, even with the disguise, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who it is.

“Hi.” She smiles as I approach her and quickly grab the sign from her hands before tearing it in half. “Hey! It took me like ten minutes to make that!”

“Really not in the mood for that kind of attention today. Where the hell is Trace?”

“He’s… indisposed.” She smirks. “I sent him on a couple errands. Thought it might be good for us to catch up.”

Catch up?

Is she high?

Does she need money?

Seriously… what the fuck did I do to deserve this?

I mean, I thought it was pretty clear that we have absolutely nothing to say to each other. I can tolerate her for the sake of work, but I really don’t know where this buddy-buddy shit is coming from.

“Catch up on what?”

“Just… stuff.” She shrugs as we head for the car. “It’s been a long time since we just talked, Justin. I kinda miss it.”

“Fine. Talk.” I shoot her a bored look and roll my eyes.

Luckily, the hotel is only about half an hour away from the airport. So, I should be able to get through this without wanting to knock her out.

But then again, this is Madison we’re talking about. She has the power to annoy like no other.

“Well… how’ve you been? I mean… how’s everything outside of work?”

“Alright I guess.”

“Well, good.” She nods slowly and I can almost see the wheels turning in her head. “How’s your mom?”

“Good. Just bought a new house, actually. I’ll prolly have to fly out in a couple weeks to help her move. Your parent’s alright?”

“Oh… yeah. They don’t change much.” She chuckles and shakes her head.

It doesn’t take long for the car to become totally silent, and I gotta admit… it’s really fucking awkward.

I guess because in a lot of ways, I feel like I don’t know her anymore. But then again, deep down… I know she’s still the same person.

I guess I just… after everything that’s happened, I can’t see her the same way anymore.

“So… found us a guitarist yet?”

“Nah. But I’m working on it. We’ll find somebody.”

“Right… no, I know.” She smiles awkwardly. “I just… what if Lucas wants to leave before we find somebody?”

“He won’t.”

That is one thing I’m sure about. Lucas Dawson isn’t going anywhere until I can find his replacement.

He can talk all the shit he wants, but he’s well aware that I’d sue him for everything he’s worth. And really… I’m being pretty damn nice by letting him out of his contract to begin with.

Granted… I had some selfish reasons for doing it, but it’s not like I forced him out. I simply agreed to let him go.

Besides… any reason I had for wanting to get rid of Lucas, is gone. I’m done chasing Madison. She’s free to date whoever the hell she wants.

I’ve finally stopped caring.

*****************************

“We’ve got a problem.” Jc clears his throat as he enters my room, a frown firmly in place.

“Yeah?”

He throws the latest copy of Rolling Stone down on the table in front of me and shoots me a pointed look.

Alright… yes, I’m the boss man around here. But… sometimes shit slips past me. I get so much fucking paperwork shoved in front of my face, once in awhile… I sign things without reading them all the way through. It’s completely unintentional… it’s just… a hazard of the business, I guess you could say.

However… I didn’t sign off on this. I make damn sure to read over anything if I ever see the word interview.

But this… this is completely unauthorized.

“How bad?”

“Well… that’s the weird thing… it isn’t even an interview. It’s just a story on Lucas leaving. The problem… is that they know a little too much about what really happened.”

Great.

If I didn’t talk… Jc and Trace didn’t talk… the band sure as hell didn’t talk. That leaves one person.

Frankie.

‘’And… if I recall correctly… someone wanted to release this same exact story, but was shot down. And now, it’s suddenly out there. I’m just curious Justin… who’s in fucking charge around here? Cause I thought it was us… but this… this… woman… is coming here and taking over.”

“She’s not taking over, alright? I’ll take care of this.” I mutter and flip through the pages quickly. “Has Madison seen this yet?”

“Nope.” He chuckles darkly. “I figured I’d leave that to you. Have a good afternoon.”

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Why am I always the one who has to give Madison bad news?

I grab the magazine and quickly head down the hallway, straight for Madison’s dressing room. She’s seated on the couch, guitar in her lap, notebook laying open on the table in front of her.

“Hey.”

“Oh… hi. You need something?”

“Yeah… umm… Jace just brought me this.” I pass her the magazine and bite my lip, just waiting for her to explode.

She thumbs through, stopping on the article, and surprisingly… doesn’t show any form of emotion. It takes her several minutes to read it, then she closes it and tosses it down on the table.

Ok… definitely not how I expected this to go.

“So… umm….”

“Did you approve that?”

“No.”

“Ok. Well… thanks.” She shrugs. “I kind of figured it’d get out somehow. I mean… Lucas was gonna talk eventually. Apparently he’s pretty bitter about all of this, and fucking loathes me. It was just a matter of time.”

“He didn’t talk though. I… I don’t know for sure… but I think Frankie put this out.”

“You said she’s supposed to be some amazing publicist, right?” I nod in response and she shrugs again. “Then it’s probably for the best.”

Ok… who the fuck is this person? Because there is no way in hell this is my Madison.

Not that she’s mine, but… yeah.

“You alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m just… trying to keep things calm for a change.” She nods and lays her guitar in its case. “Oh… while you’re here… I’ve got something you should listen to. I think I found a guitarist.”

She places a cd in her laptop and cranks the volume, then sits back to watch me intently.

Even I’ve gotta admit… it’s fucking good. Like… a thousand times better than anything I’ve found. Definitely worth setting up a meeting.

“Who is it?”

“Ryan.” She says simply.

“Ryan… as in… used to play for you… got you hooked on drugs, Ryan?”

“Yeah. He’s… he’s clean, and you know as well as I do, he’s amazing. You should atleast talk to him.”

She’s giving me the puppy dog eyes, and if I didn’t have my shit together… I’d probably say yes right here.

But… she knows exactly when to turn on the charm, and that fact isn’t lost on me.

“I’ll think about it.” I nod slowly as a smile spreads across her face. “But, umm… I gotta go. Good luck tonight.”

I damn near fly out of the room and let out a sigh of relief.

I swear to christ… I don’t know how she does it… but that girl always gets me all turned around and shit. I can’t think straight… I get nervous. But at the same time, I can barely stand to even look at her.

We are the definition of a love/hate relationship.

And as much as I try to hate her, it just doesn’t seem to work.

*********************************************

They had a good show. There’s no denying that. Unfortunately, a small part of me can’t see Ryan here.

Maybe he’s been able to convince Madison he’s cleaned up, but I’m not so quick to believe him. And whether or not I want to admit it, Lucas fits here.

You’d think Madison, of all people, would have known better than to get involved with a guy in her band. Some part of her had to know this wouldn’t end well.

But, Lucas made his decision. And I’m not about to try changing his mind. Cause honestly, I just don’t like the dude.

When Madison finally appears in front of me, I grab her by the elbow and pull her off to the side.

I’ve spent most of the day trying to figure out where this laid back approach to everything came from. The Madison I know would have been freaking the fuck out about this whole thing with the Rolling Stone article, and she sure as shit wouldn’t have come to pick me up at the airport the other day.

I don’t understand it. And I really don’t like the way it’s confusing the hell out of me.

“Justin… I gotta get a shower.” She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Seriously… I stink, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Look… I’ve been thinking… and I really don’t like what’s going on around here.”

“Umm… ok then… what exactly is the problem?” She looks slightly bewildered and I guess I’m not getting my point across.

“You. You’re… you just… you’re too fucking calm!”

Her eyes widen and she starts to giggle. “I’m sorry… I didn’t realize that would be an issue.”

“Yeah… well… I don’t like it.”

Ok… I sound like a fucking moron. I have no idea what I’m doing here.

“Just… why? Why are you being nice to me… why aren’t you freaking out all the god damn time? What the hell is going on?”

“Well…” She smirks and folds her arms over her chest. “It was pretty easy to see you didn’t exactly like the way I was acting before, so I thought it’d be a good idea to change it.”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Justin… I’m going to be totally honest with you, ok?” I nod and she grins before taking a step toward me. “I’m… well… I thought… oh, fuck it.” She mumbles before quickly sliding her arms around my neck and placing her lips against mine.

No, no, no.

I was doing such a good job of distancing myself from her, and she just went and fucked that all up.

She finally leans back, her body still pressed against mine, and stares at me.

“That’s why.” She takes a step back, smiles at me, then strolls down the hallway like nothing happened.

I’m living in the fucking Twilight Zone. That’s the only reasonable explanation for any of this.