Chapter 5

I shook my head quickly, not only in denial but to shake the wax out of my ears.

"I'm not qualified to..." I began but Liz cut me off.

"Alone, you're right," she told me. "If it were you alone, I would have to continue my search after I convinced you. But you're not alone. You can bring in three other people with the skills to supplement what you bring to the table."

I found my mouth hanging open and forced it closed.

"Sarah has worked in the entertainment field," Liz began. "Yes, it was only in commercials but that is enough rudimentary knowledge to ensure we don't miss viable opportunities. Rick worked at Disney for two years. He understands broad-based appeal. Susan understands the need to keep an eye on smaller concerns. She worked for Emily Canton until they moved."

"Did you have us checked out?" I asked. My mind immediately wondered if my friends had somehow set me up.

"In a way," Liz admitted.

"You could have just called me," I protested. "You didn't have to ... use my friends."

"Oh," Liz said. "No, I think you misunderstand me. Running into you today was pure luck. When I found out that you ... and three extremely competent friends ... were in a field where I needed dire help ... not to mention that each of you hates your job ... I asked Stephanie to ... gather more information. I talked to the station manager about the programs you've put together for the hospital and got a glowing recommendation from her. Stephanie gauged their qualifications and then used their answers to verify their employment. Each is very well regarded, not only by their former employers but by the hospital staff. Well, the hospital staff that matters. Some of the administrators hate you all but ... actually ... that was a plus to me. I have had my life controlled by stuffy old men and women for 14 years. I want fresh new ideas. I want bold new strokes. I want ... I want to grow up."

I had pulled into the taco stand but stopped well away from the building.

"It won't work," I said, shaking my head.

"I disagree," Liz replied with a smile. "But I will listen to your concerns."

"Look, you're going to need a lot more than just four people," I said, lifting up my hand so I could tick off fingers. "You are going to need someone to market your music. You have an apparel line that is going to require someone. You are going to need someone for personal appearances and scheduling. You're going to need someone to be on the road with you to oversee things like today. I couldn't believe you didn't have a PR person with you at the radio."

"I did," Liz said.

"I didn't see her," I countered. "The job is too big for your manager or your road manager to handle it. You have to know that!"

"I had you with me today," Liz said, carefully enunciating every word. "This interview was lined up months ago. The Nashville guys gave them a script that they had to follow ... unless they wanted to face real problems in the future. I know you thought it sounded phony. That's why. It was phony. They could have used my voice from the interview I did in San Antonio last week and no one would have known. That's why we didn't take phone calls. That's why no one from the Firefighter's Association was invited. Those things are outside of Nashville's control and they don't believe I can handle anything not given to me on a plate. I wanted you to see firsthand what I never want to see happen again. Plus, I had enough faith in you to know that you would have intervened if the hosts tried to move into topics that were better left alone. You wouldn't have let me be ambushed today any more than you would have when I was 15. But you also have faith in me, I think. You would have let me handle things until it became obvious a professional needed to intervene."

"I guess," I mumbled. Then I sighed. "Yeah, you're right. But that still doesn't change anything. The others can't relocate. Matt has a job and the kids are in school. Sarah can't leave. Susan is in the same boat. Her husband works at the military base. That's why she couldn't go to Las Vegas. Rick's husband..."

I stopped.

"Well, I'm sure that tidbit already came up in the background check," I said with a hint of disgust. "Rick is gay. He's married to a very successful building developer and wouldn't be willing to move to ... wherever."

"Then wherever will be here," Liz said simply. "Look, Travis, I'm pretty much a worldwide property right now. I could have my marketing arm in London or ... that taco stand ... and it wouldn't matter. People tend to come to me. I didn't plan it that way but that's how it works. As far as staffing, I have no idea how to run a marketing department. I'm a singer with a high school diploma that is more like a GED. But Susan knows the nuts and bolts and I'm sure everyone else has ideas. I'm not talking about them doing the grunt work. I'm talking about them overseeing the overall project. I ... I overheard you saying that you were going to look for work the rest of the week. I had already decided I was going to approach you to handle my road marketing. You know me, first of all."

"No, I don't," I cut in. "Do you have any idea how many times I've thought today that the girl I knew bears only a slight resemblance to the woman I'm talking to?"

"Probably the same number of times I've thought the same thing about you," Liz said. "That doesn't change the fact that we're comfortable around each other. Part of it is our shared upbringing. Part of it is our shared ideals that growing up in a small town imparted in us. Part of it is because each of us understands the other a little better now that we've changed shoes. You know what it's like to be ... nobody. I know what's it's like to be ... somebody. We both know where the other is coming from because they're in a spot we occupied for most of our lives. I'm not trying to be hurtful but, seriously, I got the impression that your work life is pretty similar to my home life as a kid."

I snorted.

"Yeah," I admitted. "I wasn't upset at how you phrased things. And, yes, I can see things working out with me playing a small role in your onsite marketing. I think you'll be underwhelmed with my abilities, though, if I were to be given a prominent role."

Liz shook her head.

"The conversations about the industry and your perceptions tell me differently," she said. "The fact that you admit you don't know everything is important. I want to have a bigger hand in how my image is presented. To do that I have to have someone near me that I can count on. That's been the biggest stumbling block so far. I've met with hundreds of people in PR or marketing or advertising. I got this ... smarmy ... feel off all of them. I got the impression that they all thought they knew more about how I should be perceived than I did. I don't get that impression from you."

"I wasn't trying to impress you with my knowledge of your career or your business," I said.

"Exactly," Liz told me with a nod. "You were just yourself. You know what I noticed today? I noticed that you were genuinely happy to see me succeed but that you weren't impressed by it."

"I'm impressed by what you've accomplished," I protested.

"Not to the point where you won't bust my chops about stupid things," Liz said. "I was never comfortable with my road agent. He was with me for ... a decade ... and I always knew he worked for someone else before he worked for me. I know that will never be true for you. Even though you might hate where you are right now, I know you bust your ass for them. The station manager was very impressed with you."

"It's a huge risk," I said, shaking my head again. "Not only for them but for you."

"True," Liz said. "All of this is a huge risk. That's why I want people I trust near me. It might not work out. I understand that."

"And that leaves me and my friends unemployed," I noted.

"No," Liz said. "We might have to alter the structure but they will always have a job ... unless they do something really, really awful on purpose. I mean, if they leaked a personal conversation to TMZ, they would have to be fired. But if I find that I underestimated my needs, that is not their fault. That's mine. I give you my word that I will not fire them or cut their pay or lay them off for two years without a very good reason. If I find we have to change directions, I will give them notice and keep them on the payroll ... in this location ... in some capacity until their contract expires. I am willing to assume all the risks on this venture. I'm not playing favorites. Stephanie and Jill have the same promise. My road crew gets paid even when I'm not touring. When we put together the contracts, it will be more specific. I've already had the fight with my attorney over things and he has seen the light."

"Damn," I said as I expelled the breath from my lungs.

"And you thought I was just going to try to live out a teenage fantasy," Liz said, reaching over to pinch my cheek. "You can tell your mom that your virtue is safe."

Sarah Costello answered the phone almost before I heard it ring.

"Well?" she asked expectantly.

"Well, what?" I returned.

"How is your date going?" she asked as though I was a slow-witted child.

"Behave," I replied. Sarah laughed at me. "Is Matt home yet?"

"He'll be here in five or 10 minutes," she said. "Why?"

"I hoped you might be able to come out to eat with us," I told her.

"Don't count on me to protect you," Sarah told me. "I've said for the last month that you'd be a lot less of a prick if you got your ashes hauled."

"Jesus Christ, Sarah!" I exclaimed. I was greeted by laughter again ... this time in stereo. Not only was my friend making fun of me, I found Liz's head pressed close enough to my shoulder that she could overhear the conversation.

"She's probably right," Liz whispered softly enough that Sarah couldn't hear it.

I pulled away and glared. I think she saw that all the information I had been given over the previous 20 minutes had caused a slight meltdown. She moved her head away before extending her hand for the phone. I gritted my teeth but handed it over to her.

"It's actually my idea," Liz said. "I mean, I've been stuck with only Travis to keep me entertained for ... five hours now."

"Say no more," I heard come through the speaker. Liz must have had a lot more experience with smart phones than me because I barely knew how to use the intercom feature and I'd owned the phone for seven months. "I've been there myself. I usually go crazy after two hours of being subjected to Travis's sparkling wit. You must be really sweet or a complete glutton for punishment. Where are you?"

"I have no idea," Liz confessed. "I'm going to have to hand you back to Travis. I should warn you, he looks a mite bit perturbed."

"He always looks that way," Sarah said, laughing again. "I've learned to ignore him when he's PMSing."

"Fuck," I muttered.

Sarah laughed again.

"I knew you were listening, you big goof," she told me.

I closed my eyes tightly and ran a hand through my short hair. The clock on my phone said it was barely five o'clock.

"We're at Fiesta in Carlsbad," I said into the phone after I hunted down the button to end the speaker function.

"All the way out there?" Sarah asked. "Well, if it was just you I'd tell you to go screw. Wait, I already told you that. But since you are squiring around the lovely Miss Larimer I suppose we can make the trek. It might be six o'clock or so. Is that all right?"

"Yeah," I said. "Good to know where I rate, though."

"Jesus, Travis," Sarah said. "Would you quit your bitching? I'm just fucking with you! We'll drop the boys off to Matt's mom. It's on the way out that way. I wish I hadn't told him every salacious detail about your day. I could totally freak him out. Oh well, he'll be a babbling idiot anyway. Make sure you catch the introductions on video. I'll definitely want that one in my arsenal in case he gets a bit too full of himself. It's pretty cool of you to invite us out to eat. I was happy that you called and I got a little giddy."

"It's fine," I said. "Things are ... happening pretty quickly."

"So you might get your ashes hauled by a superstar," Sarah finished.

"Maybe this as a bad idea," I said.

"I'll behave," Sarah promised – and I knew she was lying. Her playful personality is what I liked best about her. "It's just an awesome day, Trav. I got to watch Little Jimmy eat his words. I saw a bunch of people I can't stand gawk when I stepped out of a limo. I saw Jennifer almost have a coronary when she found out we were all going to be off for the next two days and she might actually have to work. Your call just tipped me over my happiness quotient. I seriously thought Jennifer was going to stroke the fuck out! Susan was awesome! She approved all the time off requests and dropped them on old Jen's desk. Then she announced that none of us would be back until next week and you wouldn't be in until the week afterward."

"She can't approve the time off!" I protested.

"Oh, yes she can!" Sarah informed me. "When they did our last review they told her that she was at max pay. Instead they gave her a supervisory title in lieu of a raise. She's never used it before but she's had the ability for the last six months. She said they weren't paying her to supervise and she wasn't doing it for free. Jennifer was on the phone in a heartbeat but personnel signed off on her promotion. Susan said that Jennifer didn't need to let Thompson run off and it wasn't anyone else's fault that the department was so reliant upon four people to do all the work. She piled all of our work on Jennifer's desk and motioned for Rick and me to follow her out the door. We had talked it over on the ride back from the convention center.

"Things have gotten increasingly worse and we're sick of it. We were going to wait until this weekend to fill you in but Jennifer was an absolute bitch after I talked to you this afternoon. She told us that we were going to have to work Saturday since James had to go out of town. We told her no, that we were not going to be penalized for our competence and her incompetence ever again. We discussed it and decided that it was Thompson's mouth that started all this shit and she could call him back to do our work instead."

"I'd like to see that happen," I grumbled.

"It would be a long wait since we all know he's worthless as hell," Sarah said. "Anyway, Matt's coming through the door. We'll see you in an hour. Give Liz a smooch for us!"

She hung up before I reply. I was left holding the phone and shaking my head.

"She sounds fun!" Liz said. I ignored her for a moment while I replayed the conversation in my head. My friends might not have a choice in the matter after walking out that afternoon.

"Shit hit the fan at work today," I said with a frown. I gave a brief synopsis of what had transpired. I wondered if it was right to let Liz know the negotiations had shifted significantly in her favor but I knew Sarah would fill her in the moment she arrived.