Page 19 of Accidental Fire
“Yeah, of course. Look, I’ll be there next week. Yeah, it’s awful. I’m sure you’ll get an offer after Rocktoberfest, if it lasts till then. Anyway, I need to go. I’ll call you when I’m back in the States.” He ended the call and turned to go, so I touched his shoulder.
“Oh, hey, Hansen. What can I do for you? Having fun?” Kensington asked me.
I ignored his stupid questions. “Why don’t you take the band to the venue before they need to do a sound check the day they’re playing? It might be good for them to get a good look around the place. Maybe River wouldn’t have to puke, or they wouldn’t need to get high before they take the stage if they had a better idea of their surroundings. It might improve the first part of their set.”
Marshall did a double-take. “Who the fuck do you think you are, teamster? You haul shit for a living. You don’t know jack shit about managing a band.”
I chuckled. “Funny, I was just going to say the same thing to you.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Marshall appeared to be more than a little pissed, but I didn’t give a shit.
“How about this. I’m taking the band out this evening to check out the local scene, part of which includes going to the CulturalCenter to get dinner. Let’s see how they play tomorrow night, and if it’s better, then you start doing this shit, got me?” He was a smug bastard to say the least, but he’d met his match in me, to be sure.
“Go to hell. I’m calling Nate Ashby to get you replaced. Leave my band alone.”
I laughed and walked away. I decided to go for a run while I waited for River and the guys. I was quite pleased with myself. Fuck Marshall Kensington.
Halfway through my run, my phone rang from where I had it secured on my left bicep so I could listen to music. I’d decided to run on the beach because I wasn’t too familiar with the area, and the last thing I needed was to get lost.
I stopped running and slid my phone from the band, seeing it wasn’t River. “Nate?”
“Hey, Kit. How’s it going?” His tone was exasperated. I was guessing Marshall called him to complain about me.
“Great. The guys are getting pampered in the spa, and I’m waiting for them so we can go out to the venue to look around. Did you know Kensington is half-assing this?”
“I guessed as much. He called me just now.” Well, that explained the tone in Nate’s voice.
“I figured. Look, I’m trying to help the kids get their shit together like you asked, but I don’t know shit about running a tour or looking out for a band while they’re on tour. They need competent management, Nate, and I don’t think it’s Kensington.” I wasn’t trying to get the guy fired, but the kids deserved more than they were getting.
“Sorry, but I’m not in that business, nephew. The kids have a contract with him, so it’s their decision what to do about him. I have no idea how much of a cut he gets from their earnings, but if he’s not doing his job, I’d suggest they seek other representation. Anything else going on?” Nate asked.
“I asked Kensington why he didn’t take them to the venues where they play before the sound check so they can look around and get a feel for the place. I’m sure more seasoned bands can probably get by with showing up a couple of hours before they go on, but these guys are young, and you said they haven’t had a tour like this before, so why not give them every opportunity to do their best?” Marshall Kensington was losing points on my respect scale.
“I hear ya. Anyway, keep up what you’re doing, please. Those kids are talented, and they are going to make me a lot of money, so take care of them.” Nate chuckled before he hung up.
I put the phone back in my arm band, shoved the earbuds in my ears, and cranked AC/DC before taking off toward the resort.
My head swam with thoughts of what to do about, or for, the band. I’d come to care about those young men, and I wanted the best for them. They were good guys, and they deserved a shot.
As I ran the distance back to the resort, I started second-guessing myself. Why was I stepping into something that was clearly none of my business? In my opinion, Marshall Kensington was being a total prick, but maybe it was how all agents handled their clients. If I stepped in, would I be undermining a tried-and-true management approach? I had hoped maybe the asshole would just leave, but I didn’t know what Accidental Fire would do if he did.
I grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with cucumber water from the beverage dispenser in the lobby before traversing the stairs to my room, nearly dropping dead as I opened the door to the twenty-second floor and dragged my happy ass down the hall to my room.
Inside my room, I stripped and stood in front of the air vent as I chugged the water. After I caught my breath, I went to the ensuite and fired up the shower. It was five o’clock, and I waspretty sure River and the others would be done with their spa day soon. I wanted to be there to meet them.
I dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a light-blue T-shirt before putting on some short socks and sneakers. I pulled my long hair into a tight bun and grabbed my aviators from the desk, heading out of my room to the stairwell.
Once I opened the door of the stairwell to the penthouse level, I heard shouting. Someone was having a loud argument, and the smell of pot permeated the air.
After banging on the door for thirty seconds, I pulled out my phone and called River. We’d exchanged numbers after LA, but I’d been reluctant to reach out to him because when it came to the kid, I had some odd emotions that I couldn’t sort through.
When he didn’t answer, I banged my fist again, and when it opened, I saw Arlo’s familiar snarl. Something was going on with him, but he wasn’t who I was there to see. If his new hair style was any indication of his mood, that wasn’t good. Coal black and very short was telling of his temperament of late.
“Where’s River?”
Goldie was kneeling on the tile floor picking up glass, which was everywhere, while JD was smoking a joint on the couch. This wasn’t good at all.
“He went looking for you. He got pissed at us because we smoked a bowl after our massages. We don’t have a gig tonight, so we didn’t think it was a bad idea, especially after we got some bad news. River pitched a fit and stormed out.”
