his hair. “I’m so proud of you.”
I frowned as another car came down the drive. I recognised Flannigan’s limo instantly. The personalised license
plate was PH0N31X.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked.
Jesse turned to look. “I invited him. I didn’t think he’d actually come.”
Jesse had invited Flannigan to the wedding too, but he hadn’t turned up. That made me wonder what he wanted
now.
Almost as soon as he was out of his car, Flannigan motioned Jesse over to him.
“Ignore him,” I said.
“That would be rude. Would you mind holding Jasper?”
I never minded getting a chance to cuddle either of the twins. “Do you want me to go with you?” I was still his
manager.
“Nah, it’s fine. Enjoy the party.”
I took Jasper from him and watched as he jogged over to the music mogul. Not wanting to appear rude, I drifted
away and joined Jesse’s backing band by the food tables. I couldn’t enjoy the party as Jesse had wanted me to.
Instead, I kept an eye on the conversation between Flannigan and Jesse, watching as Jesse’s posture stiffened. I
thought about going over there. I was Jesse’s manager, but if he hadn’t wanted my input… Gone were the days
when I would have intruded, regardless of what Jesse wanted.
When Flannigan left, I returned to Jesse, bouncing Jasper in my arms.
“Is everything all right? He didn’t stay long.”
“Yeah,” Jesse replied. “We were just talking about when to release my album.”
Bastard. Flannigan had agreed to postpone Jesse’s album indefinitely. He had no right to interrupt Jesse’s happy
day, especially if their conversation had involved pressure for Jesse to get back to work.
“And?” I asked.
“We’ve agreed on releasing it in the new year. It was obvious he wanted an earlier release, but…” Jesse sighed
and kicked at the grass. “Should I have agreed to an earlier release? Charlie’s single has just gone double
platinum.”
And his album wouldn’t be far behind. Sales had actually gone up since he’d made the announcement about
having epilepsy.
I squeezed Jesse’s shoulder. “Not so long ago, Charlie gave you some advice about putting yourself first.”
Jesse frowned. “Yeah, and during that same conversation, you were at each other’s throats. What’s changed?”
“Nothing. It was good advice, that’s all.” Even if I had been forced to remind Charlie of it too.
Jesse smiled. “Yeah, it was. Charlie would’ve probably chewed Flannigan out for even hinting that I should come
off parental leave any sooner than the new year.”
I could well believe it. Charlie was a firecracker when it came to standing up for himself and defending the people
he cared about.
“I’ve been thinking…” Jesse began hesitantly. “Not now, but sometime in the future, I want to start my own record
label.”
I raised my eyebrows. Where had that come from? Jasper grabbed hold of my nose and clung on tight.
“He’s got quite the grip!” I was used to Colby squeezing my finger or nose, but Jasper was normally a bit gentler
about it. I pried his fingers off my nose. “Your own record label, huh?”
Jesse nodded. “It’s just…I love what I do, but there’s so much about this industry that sucks, especially when
you’re an omega.”
We’d both been on the receiving end of an industry that treated us as a commodity rather than people.
“It’s like the record labels think they own us, but they don’t,” Jesse went on. “Phoenix is miles better than
Impulse ever was, but there’s a lot that could be improved. Charlie’s right. Without us, there are no fans, no
albums, and no money. We should be treated better than we are.”
I sighed heavily. “You’re not wrong.”
Even with the likes of Charlie standing up for himself and getting a better contract, there was no sign of any
widespread changes in the industry. Omegas would still be forced to take heat blockers the majority, if not all the
time. Bands and singers would still be sent on tours with punishing schedules, all in the name of making the
most money in the shortest time possible.
“Would you be interested in going into partnership with me?” Jesse asked.
I stared at him, unsure of how to answer. I was flattered he asked, but the boundary between our professional and
personal lives was already murky enough without blurring it even more. We were building a relationship as father
and son; could we really survive becoming business partners?
“You know more about the business side of the industry than I do,” Jesse said. “Plus, you’re an amazing
songwriter.”
“Jesse, I…” I shook my head. Even if I wanted to, I
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