shit about you. They’re doing it because they owe me a favor.”
“Does everyone in this industry owe you a favor?”
“Pretty much.” He begins speaking to someone offline. So, I wait patiently for him to return to me. Finally, he says, “Hey, kid. I need you to defend me. Georgina walked in while I was saying nobody gives a shit about you, and her Momma Bear got all riled up. Would you please tell my feisty woman I was actually being nice to you—cruel to be kind?”
“Put her on.”
“You’re gonna defend me, right?”
“I’m going to tell the truth.”
“Well, don’t do that. Defend me.”
I laugh. “Reed Rivers. You’re scared of Georgina Ricci, aren’t you?”
“No,” he says righteously. “I’m terrified of her.”
We laugh together.
“Put Miss Ricci on,” I say. “The truth shall set you free.”
“I’m trusting you, Ally.”
“Put her on.”
“I’m putting you on speaker. Okay, tell her what a great guy I am.”
“Hi, Georgie,” I say.
“Hi, love. Was Reed being mean to you?”
“No. He was helping me. It’s a relief to hear that nobody gives a shit about me. It takes the pressure off. And that’s exactly what I need.”
“See?” Reed says indignantly. “Ally might be your sister, but she’s my artist. And if there’s one thing I know how to do in life, it’s how to handle my artists. So tell your Momma Bear to calm the fuck down.”
“Fine.” Georgie laughs. “Alessandra, aren’t you so excited about everything Reed’s lined up for you?”
“So excited.”
“When he told me about your music video—”
“Georgie!” Reed chastises. “I haven’t mentioned that yet. I was just getting to that.”
“Whoops.”
“Video?” I eke out.
Reed exhales. “Here we go again. Yes, I’ve decided to shoot a music video for your single, while you’re in New York. We’ll shoot the day after the charity concert, so you’ll need to adjust whatever plans you’ve got with Fish. Now, calm down, if you’re freaking out. It’ll be a simple one-day shoot—a quaint little performance video. Nothing fancy. We’ve rented out a coffeehouse in Brooklyn for the shoot and I’ve already lined up Maddy Morgan to direct.”
“Oh my God! Maddy is amazing!”
“I’ve been meaning to give her a shot for years. Now, don’t worry. All you have to do is look into the camera while singing along to your track. Just pretend to be at your regular gig in Boston. You can do that, right?”
“I can do that.”
“Good girl.”
“Although I should warn you I’m not all that great on camera.”
“That’s not true. You’re very photogenic.”
“With my friends and Georgie. But when there’s lots of people staring at me, I tend to get weirdly stiff and awkward on camera.”
“Oh, for the love of—”
“You’ve got this,” Georgie interjects. “I’ll stand next to the camera the whole time, so you can look into my eyes while singing.”
“Thank you. That’s a great idea.”
“Here’s the bottom line,” Reed says. “I’m not going to let you fail. Because when you fail, I fail. And I don’t fail.”
My heart skips a beat. Damn, he’s good. And, wow, Reed is really going all in on my little song! When Reed signed me, I didn’t think he’d do anything but record the song and post about it on River Records’ social media channels. “Thank you for everything, Reed,” I say, my voice cracking with emotion. “I can’t believe you’re doing all this.”
“Aw, don’t cry. Please. This is business.” But his tone sounds anything but businesslike.
I sniffle. “I’m not crying. I’m totally emotionless right now.”
Georgina laughs. “Oh, Ally.”
“Has Fish already booked your accommodations in New York?” Reed asks.
“Yes. He’s taken care of everything. After New York, he’s coming to Boston with me for a whole week!”
“Sounds fun. I’ll have Owen reimburse Fish for the New York portion of your trip, now that you’re coming for official business.”
“Oooh. It sounds so exciting when you say it like that. Official business. I’ll tell Fish.”
“Great. I have to go now. Busy day. See you in New York.”
“Bye! See you soon.”
“Don’t hang up yet, Ally!” Georgie calls out. “I have something huge to tell you!”
I lean my butt against my kitchen counter. “About what?”
“Fish. Reed and I went to Dax and Violet’s place for dinner last night. And during dinner, Dax said Fish has been racing out of the studio every day, rather than hanging out afterward, like he always used to do, because he’s always so excited to get home to video chat with you.”
“Aw. He’s so sweet.”
“Dax said every time Fish races out the door to talk to you, he says, ‘Gotta dip, dudes. I’ve got