All at once, my bandmates and I looked at each other, shock and excitement written on their faces just as I knew it was on mine. But it was Jace we all eventually turned our eyes on. He stood as still as a statue as we all seemed to mentally tell him what we wanted him to do.
Then he nodded at Harris. “We have time.”
Harris smirked at him. “I thought you might say that.” Leaning behind him, he opened the door and waved someone inside.
We all stood up a little straighter when the small, hot-as-hell redhead walked into the dressing room. Her big, green eyes were assessing us, but her face was completely neutral, as if she were still summing us up. After a few minutes of no one speaking, she finally shook her head, making her long, auburn hair cascade over her shoulders.
“You boys have really been hiding under a rock in Bristol, Virginia?” she finally asked skeptically.
“Yes, ma’am. That’s where we’re from,” Jace informed her. “We’ve been playing at several different bars for the last few years.”
She lifted an eyebrow at him. “You know where Demon’s Wings are from?”
We all knew the story of Demon’s Wings, but before any of us could figure out how to make our voices work under the assault of this hot chick’s eyes, she answered for us.
“They’re from some trailer park in Ohio. They worked their asses off to get to the top. If you guys have been paying your dues, working your asses off to get here, then I respect that a hell of a lot more than if you just showed up on some crap talent show and a bunch of talentless fucks gave you the golden ticket.”
“Umm, thanks?” Jace muttered, looking at a loss for words.
Emmie smirked up at Harris. “They seem a little nervous. Am I scary?”
He chuckled. “My dad always said you were. To me, you’re a little goddess with a clipboard.”
She laughed and turned her attention back on us. “Okay, I get it. You’re still a little high off of that show you guys just rocked the house with, and I’m draining all of that away. I’m known for doing that a lot. So I’m going to make this quick and painless.” She clasped her hands together in front of her, all signs of amusement absent now. “I want to represent you guys. Once your contract with Harris is over, I want to sign you. Anyone could easily get Tainted Knights a record deal, but I can get you the right deal. I see a lot of potential in you five and I want you to give me the chance to push you past the top of the charts.”
“Really?” Cash spoke up for the first time, his voice full of awe. He was usually able to keep his emotions from showing in highly emotional situations, but right then, not a single one of us could have remained stoic. “You’re serious about this?”
> Her face even more serious as she looked him straight in the eye. “Very. I don’t make offers like this to just anyone. If I think you have what it takes, then you fucking do. I’m in the business to make money, to make you money too. If you put yourselves in my hands, I promise you there won’t be anything you can’t accomplish.”
It was a hell of an offer, and we all knew she wasn’t just blowing smoke up our asses. If anyone but this woman had just said that, I would have scoffed and told them that we’d think about it. But it wasn’t anyone else. It was Emmie fucking Armstrong.
Harris shifted beside her, rocking onto the balls of his feet as he watched the five of us closely. “I told you all that I would be able to get you either a manager or a record deal before the year was up. I didn’t expect to make that happen so soon, but Emmie is the best of the best. If she wants you, I suggest you think really hard about accepting. She managed my dad’s band. I grew up with her busting his ass every damn day of the week when it came to his music career. I can honestly tell you that you won’t ever get an offer as good as the one she’s offering.”
He looked down at the little redhead and grimaced. “That being said, you should know that she won’t put up with the bullshit that some other managers would. She will make you bust your ass for every step she helps you climb. She doesn’t put up with drugs, and if you get into bad habits, she will straighten you up really quick. And, if you piss her off, she will probably eat your heart for dinner.”
Emmie shrugged, apparently not in the least offended. “All true.”
“But she only does it because it will help you in the long run. She will only ever have your best interests at heart, because once you sign with Emmie, you aren’t just a client. You’re family to her.”
“Aw! I knew I loved you for a reason.” She hugged him with one arm but turned those big, green eyes on us. “Again, all true. But I’ll give you guys a few days to think about it. When you make a decision, just give me a call. Harris has my number.”
Harris nodded at Jace, and they turned away. As he opened the door and Emmie started to walk through it, we all stepped forward at the same time.
“Wait,” Jace called out, and she glanced at him over her shoulder. “We accept.”
Her eyes narrowed on him as she slowly turned to face him. “Are you sure? Do you speak for the others? Because I don’t want there to be any bitching later down the road that you ruined their lives or some other sobbing cry baby bitch story by accepting my offer when they didn’t want it.”
“We all agree,” Cash quickly assured her.
“Yeah,” Kale told her, his voice just as full of awe as Cash’s still was. “All of us.”
Emmie turned her eyes on me and Sin. We hadn’t said a word the entire time she had been in the room, but it was usually safer if we didn’t. With just a handful of words from either of us, we could have caused all-out war.
“Well?” she asked.
Sin nodded. “I’m in.”
“Me too,” I told her, keeping my excitement banked down for now. “Tainted Knights are now in your hands.”