Strung Tight (The Road To Rocktoberfest #1) - Ann Lister Page 0,45
to me already, but since he hadn’t, it made me wonder if he heard or saw anything at all that night.
Ryan interviewed us for another twenty minutes; afterward, when the camera was shut off, I visibly relaxed once I saw it being put back into its case. I knew I hadn’t said anything damaging or misconstrued, and I trusted Ryan and his crew not to alter our words. Even still, I found Ryan in the room and approached him. I wanted to thank him, first, for doing the interview, but I also needed to clear up a few things that were on my mind. He was putting his notepad back into his shoulder bag when I walked over to him.
“Thank you for taking the time to do this for us,” I said with sincerity.
“No worries,” Ryan said as he folded over the top leather flap of his bag and then draped it around his neck to hang on his shoulder. “New talent is my niche. I love introducing noteworthy bands to the music world, and Chaos is perfect for a feature spread, especially since you’re on your way to the desert to play at Rocktoberfest.”
“Do we get final approval of the interview before it’s posted to your website?” I asked.
“Damn, my husband has taught you well,” Ryan said and then chuckled. “I understand your concern, but my editing will not include rearranging what you said to suit some kind of personal agenda I might have. What you said and how you said it is exactly what’ll appear in the online footage, you have my word. The fact you asked that question shows me you’re already thinking like a professional and someone on their way to stardom.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m doing my best,” I deflected.
“Mark my words, Fletch. You and your band are going places,” Ryan predicted. “Just keep your head on straight and put in the work, and you’re going to have enormous success. Wait until you see what happens after Rocktoberfest. There’s no way to prepare for it, so just roll with it and be mindful that everything you say or do stays credible to your brand and remain cohesive as a band just like you said during the interview.” Ryan stuck his hand out for me to shake, and then he grinned. “Be careful of what you wish for because sometimes when that goal is achieved, it might not be exactly what you bargained for; however, at other times, it’s ten times better.”
I watched Ryan cross the room and offer Dagger a soft kiss on the lips before he left with a security guard leading the way. It made me wonder how much of what Ryan said would come to be a reality for us. Would my life be changing after this next show? I wished I could look into a crystal ball and find the answer to that. How would my life look in five years, or ten? Would I have the career I always dreamed of and a relationship like Dagger shared with Ryan, or would Mike and I still be sharing an apartment—maybe a much better place—but still living together? The visual kind of made me smile. I loved Mike like a brother, but I definitely didn’t want to be living with him in five years. Hell, I hoped we’d have enough money in two or less to have our own places.
His family had always been good to me. They’d taken me in when my parents tossed me out of the house at eighteen and had treated me like one of their own—even had me doing chores around their home to earn my keep—and I was fine with that. They were good people, and I was always on my best behavior around them and felt like I still owed them a lot. I lived with Mike’s family for over a year until we had enough money saved up from working random odd jobs to get the apartment where we lived now. But it was their house I went to for the holidays, not my own family’s. They’ve never even bothered to try and find me to see if I was dead or alive. At least I knew where I stood with them, though. I couldn’t live my life looking backwards. Living was all about keeping your focus on what was in front of you, which was exactly what I planned on doing.
Mike’s folks were talking about driving out to the desert to