Haze - By Andrea Wolfe Page 0,95

and he possessed an overabundance of it.

No, I didn't want to be jealous of the world he had. But there was something so appealing about living every day exactly how you wanted to live it. How many people got to say that was the case? Sure, you could be satisfied with what you have, but that doesn't mean that it's exactly what you want.

This was heavy material, for sure, so heavy that I couldn't believe that we were already at LAX by my first break in thinking.

"God, I'm sorry, Effie," Jack said. "I meant for that email to be a short one. It didn't happen."

I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "It's fine. Really. The scenery is mesmerizing to me."

"I forget that sometimes. To me, it's like being in my own backyard. It's nice, but I don't get excited when I look out the window."

"Maybe because the grass is overgrown and you don't want to deal with it?"

"Maybe."

We boarded our private jet and Jack spent a few minutes up front, laughing and joking with Tim. His name alone was enough to bring my mind back to my own former Timothy problems. Shit, he was supposedly still in New York City too, not that I actually knew for sure. He could have been lying, for all I knew.

Life was getting too confusing for me, the answers approaching gray instead of black or white. But gray wasn't totally a bad thing either.

I settled down briefly, buckling myself up for takeoff. Soon after, the plane rose into the sky and I said a silent goodbye to Los Angeles.

***

"Can we talk about it now, Jack?" The flight was roughly half over, but our own meandering conversations had kept us away from serious business.

Jack ran a scratched his forehead and straightened out his posture. "Effie, I'm not going to beat around the bush anymore—I'm not going with MCI. We decided to release it ourselves and go through a bigger company for distribution. I'm starting my own label, finally."

I gulped, feeling words rising in my throat like hot air. Should I even mention what Sam said?

Sounds started to emerge from my mouth, but I stopped them immediately. Jack looked upset about the fact that I had blatantly censored myself.

"Effie, say whatever you want. I'm here for you. You're not going to offend me."

"Well, it's just that Sam, well, Sam said—" I buried my head in my hands, wishing that this wasn't a part of my life.

"What about Sam?" Jack asked. "Did he do something to you?"

"He's been suspicious this whole time. I don't understand why, but he acted like he knew about us from the beginning."

"Well, so what?" Jack said defensively. "You had nothing to do with my decision. He's just paranoid because he's not the wunderkind he used to be."

"He's not acting rationally. He said his wife is divorcing him and he needs money to pay for legal troubles."

"His wife?" Jack asked suddenly.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"I don't think Sam's ever been married. Too focused on his job to settle down."

Fuck. What was going on here? Honestly, I believed Jack more than Sam, but I had no idea how to juggle the information. Was it just a weird coincidence? Had Sam actually said that stuff or had I just imagined it?

No, he definitely said it.

"Well, whatever," I said, not as a dismissal, but because I didn't know where to go with the information.

"He was probably just trying to get you to feel sympathetic for him. To make you feel bad or something. To take it out on someone else so he doesn't have to face the facts. His deal sucked. Period."

"Is MCI doing badly as a company?" It seemed like a good question.

"Not too bad. Not great either. Most labels aren't. That's why they want someone like Lexy on their rosters. I say fuck 'em all. Independent is the only way to do it right now with something this hot."

Well, that made sense. "So what do I do?"

"With what? This isn't your problem. Relax. Chill out." He tapped his fingers together as he talked.

"What about that Dan guy? The jerk at the party?"

"He probably doesn't even work for MCI. I wouldn't worry about him. He acted like an asshole. Deserved everything he got."

Jack was right about that. But I didn't have to see Dan every day, or ever. "Sam's always on my ass about stuff. And he's stressed out all the time, ever since I first met you."

"If Sam's being ridiculous, tell him to go to hell."

I