Page 14 of Broken Harmony
I hear cheering on the other line, and my lip twitches. “Yes. She won.” She pauses for a moment for Uncle Chase to speak. “Well, no, I had no idea... So she really is your niece?” She looks at me wide-eyed. “Why did no one let me know!?”
I chew on my lip, praying I didn’t fuck everything up.
“Yes, that makes sense.” She starts calmly. “Okay, yes, I understand. No, I don’t think that would have affected the outcome, you know I’m honest, and there’s no amount of money you could pay me to fuck with my career.” She raises a brow, giving me a playful smile. She huffs at whatever he says and rolls her eyes. “No. No amount of money will get me to go on a date with you, Chase! You're my boss. It’s not happening. Also, are you that desperate for a date that you're willing to pay for one? You have women throwing themselves at you.” Her cheeks blush, and it’s my turn to raise a brow.Huh. Does my uncle have acrushon this woman? She’s an Omega, like him. It’s not uncommon for Omegas to get together, but I always thought my uncle would go for an Alpha woman. But hey, what do I know?
“You're insufferable,” she huffs out, but there’s no heat behind it. “You do know this could cause an issue in the future, right?” She rolls her eyes. “No, not you going out on a date with me, because that's never gonna happen. I’m talking about your niece being the winner of the competition.” She pauses for a moment. “No. It doesn’t change my mind on picking her. She won because of her talent. She deserves it...” My damn heart warms again. “Alright, I guess we will deal with it when it’s needed. Okay. Talk later.”
She hangs up and looks over at me. “Let me guess. You kept this to yourself because you didn’t want it to affect the outcome of this competition?"
“Pretty much, yeah.”
She sighs heavily. “I can’t blame you. Honestly, I admire you for it. With something this big on the line, I know a lot of people who would have taken the opportunity to use the chance to push themselves further in something like this. Hell, they probably would have used the connection to get a straight-up contract without doing any of this.” She waves her hand around the room, meaning the competition. “That makes me even more sure about my decision. You’re hard-working and honest.” She grins. “Well, for the most part.”
I huff out a laugh. “I wanted to make sure that it was all me and what I have to offer that won me this. Nothing and no one else.”
She nods. “And it was. We’re honored to have you as a part of this label, Ally. I mean it, you’re going to do great things.”
“Thank you,” I smile. “It’s kind of crazy.”
“It is, isn’t it?” She smiles back.
“So other than all the office business meetings and signing contracts, what else do I need to do?”
“Pretty much, after everything is signed, you go onto your channel and update your viewers. We will put out an officialstatement to the public, do a few interviews, and once we know more, we will go from there. It’s going to take some time to work everything out, see where we want to take things. You are going to be involved in a lot of the decisions. Chase takes pride in the clients who work with us. It’s not just about us making money. He wants to make sure everyone feels respected, seen, and heard. We don’t want to lock you into something you don’t fully understand or agree with. It’s a process. But I think within the next few weeks, we’ll be starting a new album.” She grins. “And I hope the songs you’ve made for the competition will be added. They were amazing songs, Ally. People are going to love them.”
“Really?” I ask, sounding surprised. “You want my songs?”
“Who else?” She laughs. “We want your voice singingyoursongs. All original, all you. It’s why I made the competition rules the way I did. While we have some really talented songwriters, I wanted something completely authentic to the artist. There’s too much in this industry being controlled by the higher-ups. Artists hiding their voices or only singing what sells, not what's in their hearts. I don’t want any of that here.” She shakes her head.
“Whoa.” I laugh. “Okay, yeah. For sure. I have a ton of songs already written.”
“Well, if that's the case, then I don't think it’s going to be long before we have your first album out.”
“Not going to lie, I’m kind of freaking out.” I laugh, feeling jittery, like I can’t sit still.
“It’s a lot to take in.” She laughs. “Go, meet up with the guys. Celebrate. I’ll get the ball rolling, and we’ll be in contact tomorrow.”
“I have a question.” I swallow hard, hoping this isn’t asking for too much or pushing my luck. But I’ve been thinking about this a lot the past few weeks, and I know it’s what I want.
“Ask away.”
So I do. I tell her why I want this, what it means to me, and when I’m done, I’m relieved to see her nodding in approval. “I like it. I think we can make that happen.”
“Really?” My eyes widen in excitement. “You can?”
“I think so,” she laughs, smiling. “Question is, do you think you can make it happen?”
“I’m gonna damn well try!” I squeal with excitement.
Becky laughs and sends me on my way.
I’m a whirlwind of exhilaration as I leave the label building. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I sent a quick text to the guys, asking them to meet me in the hotel lobby in about an hour.
The whole way back to the hotel, I feel like I’m walking on air. I can’t believe this is real. That this is really happening.
My phone rings as I enter my hotel room. Looking down, I see it’s my mom’s number. Smiling wide, I answer.
“Hey, Mom! You will not believe what just happened!”
