Chapter 16

Corrin

Our spring break bliss is interrupted on Wednesday when my cell rings during breakfast. Everyone stops chatting while I answer.

"Hello?" Not many people have my direct number, which leads me to believe it"s someone meant to get in touch with me.

Tennyson stands up like he's going to move closer. I wave him away, my gaze telling him to chill out. He's always careful of what I take in since he"s basically my filter for all things social media.

"Corrin Ray. Please hold for Miguel Stryker."

My eyes widen. Turning to Austen, I whisper, "It's Miguel."

"Miguel who owns the company I work at?! Miguel Stryker!?" He doesn't reply back as quietly, which makes everyone tune into the conversation even more.

"Put it on speaker," Smith tells me.

I wouldn't normally comply, but I'm too curious about this call to overthink it. Besides, whatever he's calling to tell me is big enough for him to interrupt our early morning meal – not that he even realizes it. I'm just a little salty that anyone else gets to come between me and food.

With the phone on speaker, the sound of Miguel's chuckle echoes loudly. "Sorry about the wait, Corrin. Good morning. How are you?"

"Umm, I'm fine. Spending the week with family and friends. To what do I owe the honor of this call?" I cut straight to the chase. I don't know if I can hold out if he wants to small talk before he tells me what he's calling about.

"Ah, yes. Hello to everyone. I'm sure they're all listening in, so let me be the first to tell you the news. You're officially a part of the Stryker Global family now. I've signed off on the acquisition of SoulSource effective immediately. The news will release over the next few hours. You can expect your email to blow up and phone to ring quite a bit. I'm going to hold a press conference on Friday. Can you make it over to headquarters for the announcement?"

I try to speak, but my voice is gone. An acquisition?! I mean, I kind of already knew, but I didn't think it was the real deal. He'd spoken in riddles before about the changes coming my way. Nothing was set in stone though.

Seems like it is now. I have a million questions, all of which revolve around the future and how it's going to look.

Rather than ask them all, I nod. We can swing it since the main Stryker Global building is here. "I'll still be around. I can get a ride to wherever it's being held."

"No need. I'll send a car. You can bring the whole family and your friends too if you'd like. I'd love to do dinner so we can talk about the future. I have some big plans for the label, and Loveless is the focus."

"Really?" I can't hide my curiosity.

"Absolutely. Don't worry though. It's all good. I only want to foster your creativity, Corrin. I believe there's a lot more to you than what SoulSource had been peddling to the public. I want to help you find that voice. We'll talk more in person. This call is merely so you didn't see the alerts and worry. You're still signed. The album can take as long as needed. You focus on making the magic happen. We'll handle the rest."

I sag with relief, my head dropping to Austen's shoulder. "Thank you. That's … amazing. I look forward to seeing you Friday."

The call cuts out, leaving the kitchen quiet. Tenn breaks the silence first. "I don't know about you, but I'm kind of excited."

"As you should be. Miguel's a good guy. I know him through Patrick, and he's definitely the guy you want making your business decisions," Kelvin tells me.

Austen rubs my back. "How are you feeling? What can we do to help?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I feel… confused. It's weird knowing the label is changing. They've been with me since the start. While I'm sure Miguel is a good guy, it's still hard to face change."

"True," Smith tells me. "But sometimes, change can be really good. Stepping out of your comfort zone can bring amazing things your way. I have a feeling this is one of those times."

"A toast to new adventures." Zach raises his drink in the air. We all raise our glasses.

There's a ton I don't know yet, however, I ‘m already eager to take on a new challenge.

Friday arrives without much fanfare. The rest of Wednesday and all day on Thursday, I walked around with a cloud hanging over me. It wasn't intentional. I just couldn't shake the notion that shit was about to go off the road – but like, in a good way. It would be an adventure, that much I could tell.

Ok, clearly my mind is off balance if I'm reverting to weird analogies.

When a limo arrives at the rental house to pick us up, we all climb in. I received a text telling me to dress how I normally would instead of throwing on a suit for appearance"s sake. That alone has made me feel a tiny bit better this morning.

It's weird to be in a fancy car in street clothes. At least I'm not the only one though.

"You ready?" Austen squeezes my hand between his in the back of the car.

"Not really. But I have you with me, and Tennyson will be there. I have no doubt between the two of you, I'll be good. If I need to have a meltdown, please just make sure I'm not near the cameras."

Tenn chuckles. "No need for a breakdown. I've got a good vibe about this. You're going to be in good hands."

The topic changes to other things the rest of the way. Zach regales a story about his coworkers and a particularly inventive game of softball involving a slip-n-slide. I lose track of who is who along the way since there are several new to me people and the couples are confusing. Hell, there's even a throuple, which features a brother who has a twin in another expanded friend group. I choose to smile and nod after he shares that fact because I need a murder board style diagram for this to make sense.

"We're here," Kelvin announces when we've pulled into a parking area. "It doesn't look like much, but that's because we're in the private entry area. The front is likely covered in reporters."

I nod, then climb out behind Austen. His hand wraps around mine right away, then he's leading us toward the entrance. I hear the others behind us, though I'm only focusing on what lies ahead. I can't get distracted. Too much is on the line for me today.

We're whisked through security and then taken upstairs to a giant office. I notice people glancing our way from their workstations as we pass. None of them move to greet us or take photos. I take it as a good omen when the employees of the man who just bought my company understand privacy.

Not even the people at SoulSource could seem to grasp the concept.

"Right this way," our driver tells us as he escorts us through the door. "Yo, Miguel! You owe me dinner with my boy. None of them recognized me!"

I look from the man I thought was our driver to face the more familiar face of Miguel Stryker. He chuckles and shakes his head at the stranger.

"Fine, Mateo. You win this time. Tell you what, I'll reserve you a spot anywhere in town and put it on my tab. Deal?"

"Deal it is. I love free food and so does my boy." He drops into a chair near the door. At my curious look, he motions to the couch and chairs. "Don't mind me. I signed up for the fun of the bet. I'll still drive you all back though. I won't leave you stranded."

"Please ignore my sometimes friend, Mateo. We like to play these games from time to time, hence the bet. It was all in good fun. Let's have a seat. We've got about forty-five minutes until the press conference starts."

The door opens and Aiden walks in. "Am I late? Please tell me I didn't miss anything."

"You didn't miss anything. In fact, do you want to tell him the news?"

Aiden claps as he climbs onto Miguel's lap. They move like this is completely normal for them. Granted, I've seen it, but the others haven't.

We all grab seats. Smith, Zack, Kelvin, and Bailey pile onto the couch. Austen sits in a chair and pulls me down on top of him, the move a replica of Miguel's a second ago. Tennyson laughs and takes the other empty chair across from the desk.

"Ok, now that everyone is here, I'll start," Aiden begins. "Let me start with saying that I'm a huge Loveless fan. Have been since the beginning when you were uploading covers online for free. Well, one day, I was talking randomly like I do sometimes, and I mentioned to Miguel that I thought you had been stifled in the industry."

"To which I asked him to elaborate." Miguel taps on the desk.

"Yes, he did. And I explained how versatile your music was, and how it could be. I told him that your label was making you stay in one lane for their sake since they probably had no clue how to promote across genres."

I snort, then cover my mouth. "Sorry. That's absolutely true."

Miguel grins. "We found that out once we began asking around. It didn't take much digging to realize the company was bleeding money and wasting amazing talent like yours because they didn't want to change."

"Am I telling him, or are you?" Aiden grumbles.

With a kiss to his temple, Miguel apologizes, "I'm sorry, boy. You go ahead."

"As I was saying before I was interrupted," Aiden teases, "I mentioned this originally in passing. Miguel decided it would be a fun surprise for me if he could buy out the company to give artists like Loveless a chance to make the music they want."

"That's amazing. It's been a shock, for sure."

Aiden nods. "Understandable. That's why we wanted to bring you in to chat before the press conference. We would like to talk about the next album. Not to set a deadline, but just to get an idea of what style you've been writing in. And maybe see if you have anything you've shelved in the past that might be useful now that you've got no limits."

I sink back into Austen's hold, my heart racing at the potential ahead. There is no limit to the possibilities of my craft anymore. I don't have to fit into a box or avoid my muse when it goes off course.

Taking a breath, I tell them the truth. "I have written dozens of songs that have never seen the light of day. Music that the record label absolutely refused to even hear. A blend of folk and jazz on some of it. I have a classical song that's perfect for a ballad, maybe even a collab. All of it could top charts with the proper help."

"That's great!" Aiden claps. "We can absolutely use this to our advantage."

"Tell them about the new stuff. They need to know." Austen's voice cuts through the dull hum of excitement in the room.

Aiden perks up as Miguel studies me closely. "Don't leave us guessing, Corrin. We're invested in you and this music. I didn't spend $5 million because I wanted you to keep things as they were before."

Hearing the amount come from his lips is no easier than when I read it in the paper. Knowing I'm the main reason he invested — or at least a major part — puts even more pressure on me, just in a different way.

"I can't explain what this new stuff is. I can play it for you though." I pull out my phone, then open my recording app to pull up the couple of songs I've only shared with Austen so far.

Tennyson leans closer, his face lighting up. "I haven't heard these yet. Are they any good?"

Austen grins knowingly. "They're the best he's ever written."

The heaviness of his words hits me instantly. To have someone in my life believing in me is nothing new. Tenn has been my best friend for ages and told me how talented I am. So have all the people surrounding me in the industry. Granted, a lot of them wanted me in a ‘who's who' kind of way.

This is different though. Austen's compliment is rooted in deeper feelings. I love that he's always got my back.

I love him.

Oh.

Oh, my.

Now is not the time to have this realization. Not when I'm already emotionally falling apart with all this news.

Sensing something is off, Austen wraps his arm around me tighter and helps me pick a song to play. He clicks the button for "Weekend Wake Up," a song I wrote shortly after the charity event we attended. It's a song about pining after someone who is close but somewhat untouchable. The lyrics speak about wanting to wake up with them every day and not just the occasional weekend.

My voice filters through the phone speaker, all the longing and desire obvious to anyone listening. I've never felt so vulnerable playing my music for others.

When that one ends, Austen chooses another. This one is a more upbeat track I've called, "Keeping it Together." It's based on the someone having to hide their feelings because they're afraid of how others will react — much like how I'd kept my crush on Austen a secret from Tennyson.

I tug the phone away as the music fades away. Two songs are plenty to give them a taste. Plus, I really don't want to face anyone if they hear all the others. Austen may not have picked up on the fact that they're all about him, but surely the others will.

Aiden's hand is over his mouth, eyes filled with tears. Miguel doesn't show the same level of emotion, though I can tell he's touched by the music too.

"This is what the next album is. I don't care how long it takes for you to finish. We'll release some of the previously unreleased songs if we have to for you to have more time," Miguel tells me firmly. "I'm not going to set a certain number of tracks or tell you a deadline. Let whatever you've been doing keep steady. This is absolutely the best I've ever heard, and I know your entire discography, thanks to Aiden's addiction."

The younger man grins shyly as he wipes his eyes. "I can't help it that I have amazing taste in music. And clearly good instinct, since this is probably Album of the Year material."

My jaw drops at the declaration. It's not something to be said lightly, and while I'd love the accolade for something this personal, I'm also terrified he'll be wrong, and this will flop.

"I'm going to give you my personal information. Mine and Aiden's actually. Stay in touch with us for updates. We'll need to set up another meeting to hear the unreleased tracks. From there, we'll plan on how and when to get those out. I'm sure they're amazing as well. For now, you don't have to worry about anything besides writing more of that." Miguel waves toward where I put my phone in my pocket.

There's a bit more talk about schedules as the mood shifts again. I half pay attention since Tennyson is so engaged. I should really promote him to be the same level as Ken on my team. He's basically acting as my manager now.

"Can I ask a question before we head down?" I say as everyone stands to leave.

"Absolutely! What is it?" Miguel nods.

I look to my best friend, then grin at him. "I'd like to fire my current manager and hire Tennyson in his place. The other guy was brought in by SoulSource. Tenn already does more than him, plus he knows the music better. With him and Ken at my back, I'll be taken care of. Plus, their names rhyme. Makes sense."

Aiden jumps in before Miguel can reply. "Done. We'll get him set up in the system this next week. You can go into the office Austen works at to handle the HR stuff. Welcome to the SG family too. Looks like the only Page holdout is Kelvin. You want a job with us, Professor?"

Kelvin barks a loud laugh. "Absolutely not. I'm good where I'm at. Besides, I don't want my boss to be in the same social circles as me. Patrick would never let me live it down."

Miguel shakes his head. "Pat would definitely give you shit. Enough recruiting for now, Aiden. We've got a press conference to get to."

With Miguel's demand, we all take the elevators to the first floor. I stand off to the side with my group as Miguel stands on stage announcing the acquisition. Aiden beams beside him.

"As a surprise, I'd like to welcome one of our most exciting clients to the new Stryker Global Creative Group: Corrin Ray!"

I take the queue, stepping through the curtain to stand on stage. Waving to the flashing cameras, I step up to the mic stand.

Miguel reaches out for a handshake. I go through the rigmarole, then wait with him as he continues telling them that we're working on making the switch and building a new vision for the music industry. One where artists can be as creative as they choose.

When I signed with the label, I thought it would be the greatest moment of my life. I was getting the chance to live my dream and to share my music with the world. Then my sister got sick, which devastated our family. In a twist we didn't expect, she became pregnant with the best man possible. Smith and Star healed some of the hurt from losing Charlene. And in the midst of it all, I met Tennyson and Austen. Together, the Page brothers changed my whole world.

And now, here I am, with another life-changing moment. There's no telling how many more I've yet to experience. I just hope there is more good than bad.