A middle-aged black woman glanced up as Jen and Lisa pushed through the door of the office, each trying to keep a basket from getting caught by the door handle. “Can I help you ladies?”

“Hi.” Jen smiled, setting the basket in a chair and tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m Jen Lawson, and this is my mother, Lisa. We have a meeting …”

“My goodness!” The woman rose from her seat, coming around her desk toward them. “Jenny Lawson! He’s told me so much about you!” Without warning, she threw her arms around the younger girl, squeezing her in a tight hug. “It’s about time you came in to see us.” Leaning back, she gave Jen a quick once over. “You’re a tiny thing, aren’t you? Much younger than I imagined.”

“I am?” Startled, Jen glanced quickly at her mother. “I … uh …”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” With a laugh, the woman stepped away. “I’m Tessa, Mac’s assistant.” She gestured around the large room. “His only staff, really. He’s very particular about who he represents, so we don’t see a lot of foot traffic through here.”

“Okay.” Laughing quietly, Jen shook her head. “It’s nice to meet you, Tessa. I already feel welcome.”

“As you should. I haven’t seen him this excited about a client in a very long time.” Tessa reached out, placing a hand on Lisa’s arm. “Your girl has been working magic and doesn’t even know it.”

“Well, I hope your version of magic includes sweet stuff, because she’s been baking up a storm.” Lisa held out the basket. “As her official taste-tester, I suggest either the peanut butter brownies or the chocolate chunk cookies. They’re killer.”

“Honey, you should’ve seen my men tear through the holiday basket you sent.” With a bubbling laugh, Tessa took the basket, peering intently through the gift wrapper. “My husband and sons were fighting over the chocolate fudge and peppermint bark before we even had it unwrapped. And that hot chocolate mix? Lord, girl, that was heaven in a cup. I hid the tin away so nobody else could find it.” Setting the goodies down on the desk, she glanced back over to Jen. “Thank you so much. Mac is good to share his gifts when he can, but this was the first year that anyone actually sent a staff gift.”

“The business doesn’t get done if you don’t have the right support.” Jen nodded. “A good assistant deserves perks, too.”

“Oh, there’ve always been perks, but lately they’ve been in abundance.” Tessa returned to her seat behind the desk. “We’ve been blessed these last few months. In fact, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it to visit my Daddy before he passed away.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’d guess that he’s happier now than he ever was on this earth.” Clearing her throat, she reached toward the phone on the desk. “He’ll be after me if I don’t let him know you’re here. He was over the moon when he saw you were on his schedule today.” Her finger paused over the button. “Mac has a heart of gold, but this business can really wear a body and spirit down. You’ve put new life in him, Jen. He looks better than he has in years.” Not waiting for a response, she lifted the receiver to her ear and pressed the intercom button, grinning when he picked up. “Mac, honey, you didn’t mention that this girl is as cute as a pixie. And she bakes, to boot.” Jen snorted back a laugh as Tessa winked at her. “Yes, sir, I think she brought some for you, too.” There was a pause. “Yep. You’ve got it.” Hanging up the phone, she leaned back in her chair. “He’ll be right out.”

Lisa had just picked up the second basket when the door behind the desk opened and Mac came breezing through, all smiles. “Jenny! So glad you came in.”

“Hi, Mac.” Jen grinned as he approached, stepping into his hug. “It’s good to see you.” She let out a laugh. “We come bearing treats.”

“So I’ve heard.” He released her, turning toward Lisa with a welcoming smile. “And you must be Lisa. It’s a pleasure.” Stepping back, he held the door open. “Please come in, ladies.” As they passed by, he sent a glance toward Tessa. “I’m expecting to hear from John Stevens today. If he calls before we’re done, just take a message. I’ll get back to him.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, Tessa.” Closing the door behind him, he turned to find that the basket had been placed on his desk, both Jen and Lisa wandering to look at the framed pictures on the walls. “So, Jenny, Lisa … what brings you in today?”

“Is this Eric Clapton?” Jen’s voice was filled with awe as she gestured to one of the photos.

“It is. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few of the heavy-hitters over the years.” With a smile, he took the seat behind his desk. “Whenever a client is nominated for an award, there’s a possibility I get to tag along as a seat-filler. That was taken at the Grammy Awards in ’93.”

“Tears in Heaven is one of my favorites. I think it was the first major acoustic piece I taught myself after I completed the Advanced Theory book.”

“Well, my dear, I’d wager that one of these days, there’s going to be young people across the country learning your music in the same fashion.” He leaned forward, his arms crossing on the desktop. “As happy as I am to see you, I must say I was surprised that you wanted a meeting. Is everything going well? Do you have questions?”

“Yes and yes.” Jen laughed quietly, taking a seat and looking over as Lisa did the same. “I actually opened a bank statement over the weekend, and you can imagine my shock at how different it looks lately. It’s come to my attention that even though I generally keep my hopes low, being completely unaware of what’s happening with my business may not be the best track for me to take here.”

“I see. It’s amazing what one hit record can do, isn’t it?” His fingers ran through his hair. “That’s all it takes to get the ball rolling.”

“One Sweet Day really did that well?”

“Between single sales, album sales and radio play, yes. It’s a phenomenal song, Jen.”

“How is that possible?” Lisa shifted in her seat. “I know I’m not familiar with the entertainment industry at all, but wouldn’t the artist receive the bulk of the royalties?”

“Believe it or not, unless the artist writes, arranges and publishes the song, he’s the low man on the totem pole.” Mac leaned back, his arms raising to cross over his chest. “Not only did they attain the rights to record the lyrics, they also kept much of the original arrangement. Since they didn’t provide an entirely new backing track, she also retains a portion of that credit as well.” The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Add that to the fact that we’re operating as our own publisher, and the percentage of royalties payable to Jen is well above what your average songwriter would receive.”

“I’m my own publisher?” Jen’s brow furrowed. “That was the paperwork I had to sign for the whole JennyTunes thing, right?” She glanced over to Lisa. “That’s the business name on the portfolio account, but I never really understood what that meant.”

“One of the reasons I left Universal with Alex was because I felt we were stripping the clients we were representing of a large portion of the earnings they were due.” His chest lifted with a sigh. “Publishing companies have the potential to make a killing on a portfolio like yours. Yes, you would probably still have seen a rather impressive payout for your work, but a large portion of that income would’ve been withheld by the company. Not only would they receive the publisher’s portion of the royalties, they would also likely be entitled to a percentage of your portion as well, depending on your agreement.”

“And Jen’s agreement with you is … what, exactly?” Lisa tilted her head, studying him across the desk. “How is it any different than what she would’ve had if she’d signed with a large publishing firm?”

“Rather than having all the strings attached, our agreement is for a single percentage of royalties. I represent Jenny as songwriter, arranger, composer and publisher. Word is traveling fast, and it’s not unusual for me to field multiple requests to view her portfolio in a day. Each artist represents potential earnings, so responses are made promptly, and we hope that they result in agreements for recording. After royalties are compiled and paid to my agency, I deduct my twenty five percent and the rest is deposited directly into the business account she set up.” Mac let his eyes meet Lisa’s. “Upon her graduation, she is free to decide if she wishes to keep her agreement with me, or if she would prefer to move to a larger agency. My hope is that she’ll extend our contract, but that’s her choice.” His focus moved to Jen. “I don’t think we discussed the government’s portion of the royalties. Taxes are not withheld from your deposits and things are about to begin booming, so I strongly suggest acquiring an accountant. I have all the financial paperwork that you’ll need to handle the filing process. You can either have the taxes withdrawn from each deposit or submit a single tax payment when you file at the end of the year.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I know a fabulous accountant.” Jen smiled sweetly toward her mother. “What do you say, Mom? Can I bribe you out of retirement to crunch my numbers and maybe play with some investing?”

“I’d consider it.” Lisa’s brow arched playfully. “What’s the bribe?”

“Chocolate chunk cookies for life?” A laugh escaped. “Or how about a new car? Heck, I could buy us both a new car.”

“Don’t get too excited, Jenny …”

“By all means, let her get excited.” Mac leaned forward over the desk. “She has reason to. One Sweet Day was just the beginning.”

“There’s more? What else is going on?”

“Where would you like to start?” He gestured to a pair of large filing cabinets across the room. “That’s all you. The one on the left is for requests to view material. The one on the right is signed contracts for either lyrics, or both the lyrics and arrangements. Those are the ones most likely to end up on an album, if they haven’t already. You’ve also had a great response to some of the material you’ve submitted for the film projects I’ve sent you. I’ve been grinding it out over payment contracts with different studios for the past few months, making sure you’re getting the best deal I can finalize.”

“Really?” Jen blinked in surprise. “Which ones?”

“Disney acquired the rights for Go the Distance for an animated feature currently in development, used both in the body of the film and as a pop single during the credits. A representative from Fox tells me they’ve narrowed their selections down and will likely run with At the Beginning for one of their animated features.” Rising from his chair, he moved to the cabinet and pulled open the top drawer, flipping through the files until he found the folder he was looking for. “Tom Hanks is producing a movie that will feature and be named after That Thing You Do. It releases later this year. He wanted it pretty badly, and I was able to get a sweet deal signed for it.”

“Tom Hanks?” Lisa’s hand gripped Jen’s wrist. “You wrote a song for Tom Hanks?”

“Well, I didn’t know it at the time, but yeah. I guess so.” Her head shook back and forth slowly. “It’s just a silly little song that wrote itself in thirty minutes. All I had to do was play with the track and it was done. This is crazy.”

“Who Would Imagine A King has been acquired for a Christmas film release this year, with Whitney Houston performing the track.” Biting back a grin, Mac continued. “And your friend Eric up there recorded a version of Change the World for the Phenomenon film soundtrack. It was released as a commercial single on the fifth. The Wynonna Judd version was included on her February release, but won’t likely be a single.”

“You’re kidding!” Brown eyes sparked with excitement. “I loved that guitar melody. Did he keep it?”

“I believe he did. You could always go buy a copy to hear it for yourself.”

“I can, can’t I?” Jen cast a quick glance toward Lisa. “We’re stopping on the way home.” Her focus came back to Mac. “Anything else I should know?”

“There’s a few notables that aren’t movie related.” He returned the file to the cabinet, his fingers flipping over the tops of the folders. “She Drew A Broken Heart was included on the last Patty Loveless album. There’s a possibility that it’ll be released as an eventual single. Don’t Speak was recorded by a group out of California and released as a radio single in April. It’s getting great airplay response so far, but they don’t intend to release a commercial single at this time. Gloria Estefan recorded Reach for her latest release, and I’m not sure if you’ve been watching the Olympic Games, but it was selected as one of the themes for the event. It’s getting quite a bit of prime time airplay and they’ll include it on the album released after the closing ceremonies.”

“Oh, wow.” She sat back, her head spinning. “Is that it?”

“Almost. After the success she had in Japan with To Love You More, Celine Dion is constantly checking over your new material. Call the Man was included on her March release in the U.S., which is selling remarkably well. You’ll see a great payout for that one, even if it never becomes a single. Several contracts have been signed for the recording rights to other songs, we just have to wait and see if they get released. There’s been some interest in your composition work for commercial use, but nothing solid yet. I’m finalizing the agreement for the printing rights for the simple sheet music of One Sweet Day.” Mac opened the other cabinet, his brow furrowing as he looked over one of the files. “And I’ve gotten numerous requests for updated material from a Johnny Wright.”

“Oh, really?” Jen felt a smile forming. “Johnny’s a good friend, so we want to do anything we can for him. If he’s looking for something specific, please let me know.”

“Certainly.” Removing the pen from his pocket, he made a few notes in the file. “For right now, that’s all I have to report. There’s several possibilities floating around, so I’ll let you know if anything else becomes definite.”

“Thank you.” Standing up, she moved across the room and hugged him. “For everything. I never dreamed anything like this would be happening.”

“This is all you, Jenny.” With a quiet laugh, he gave her a squeeze in return. “You’ve built this vehicle, and I’m just trying to help you steer it.” Looking down at her, he grinned. “I’ve gotten some great feedback on your full vocal arrangements as well. It seems more people are wanting to know who the voice is behind the songs. I don’t handle artist representation, but if that’s something you’re interested in, I can make a few calls. Even if you never want to release a vocal recording, your instrumentals could make for a fabulous series of albums.” A slight redness entered his cheeks. “Brian was kind enough to put together a few discs that I keep at home. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind. If you hear something you like, it’s yours.” She looked over toward Lisa. “I think we need to celebrate, don’t you?”

“Sounds good to me.” Lisa stood with a smile, stepping around her chair and toward the door. “What did you have in mind?”

“I know a great little pizza place downtown. The breadsticks practically melt in your mouth.” Glancing at the clock on the wall, Jen turned to Mac. “It’s past lunch time. Would you and Tessa be able to join us? My treat.”

“I …” Trailing off in uncertainty, his eyes moved over his young client, then skipped up to her mother, who was nodding encouragingly behind Jen’s back. “That would be wonderful. We’d love to.”

He held the door open for them, and as they passed through, Lisa paused briefly before him, her hand resting on his arm as she leaned in to speak softly. “Thank you for taking care of her. It’s a relief to know that she has good people watching out for her whenever I’m back home.”

“It’s been my pleasure.” Mac smiled, propping the door with his foot so that he could cover her hand with his. “She’s a wonderful person who has a magic I’ve never seen in any of my other clients. I’ll do everything I can to protect both Jenny and her work.” With a wink, he nudged Lisa on through the doorway so that they could both see his assistant talking to Jen, gesturing animatedly with a half-eaten cookie in her fingers. “And I believe Tessa will be more than happy to tear apart anybody who might make it around me.”