“Why are you here so early?” he asks.
“We need to talk.”
Bren nods and leads me to their kitchen table, where he sits across from me.
I want to tell him I know he’s been talking to Milo. Remind him of my contract . . . but I don’t want to throw Adrian under the bus. A more diplomatic approach will go over better. Reminding myself of his face when he stepped on that toy, I clear my throat to speak. “I wanted to apologize for last week. For not showing up.”
“I don’t want your apologies, Karl. I want your work ethic to improve—”
“I know,” I hurry to say. “And it will. I promise.”
“You’ve said this before.”
“I mean it. No more parties. I’m going to buckle down and do better at taking band business seriously.”
“What about creatively?” Bren asks.
“What do you mean?”
Bren lets out a long breath. “When you first auditioned, you blew me away. I was in awe of your playing. And all of us, but especially Fritz and me, were excited to see what you could bring to the table. We thought you would add your own flavor to the music.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I thought the two riffs in the last album were pretty epic.”
“They were, but I want to see you writing more music. Bring ideas. Show us what you can do—what weknowyou can do.”
“I’m turning a new leaf, Bren. I promise.”
“We always have the same conversation. How is this time any different?”
“You’re right. You don’t have to believe it because I say it. Let me show you that I’m done with the partying and recklessness. Time will prove I’m serious.” I could kill Roger for putting me in this position. I don’t revel in being one of my hero’s biggest disappointments.
Bren nods with approval. “Why not start proving it now?” he asks.
“What do you mean?”
“Sell me your house.”
I nearly jump out of my seat. “What?”
“Sofia liked it when she saw it. I did too. And we need to get out of this apartment. I want Addy to have a yard and more space.”
Bren’s penthouse is spectacular and has quite a lot of space, but I could see how a one-year-old would make it seem much smaller than it actually is.
“I love my house,” I say, hesitant to sell.
“You love it because it’s away from any other homes, and you can party and raise hell—but you’re telling me you’re done with that, right?”
“I am!”
“Good. Then sell me the house. I’ll throw in the penthouse if it sweetens the deal. This building has stricter rules, so you can’t have the ragers you’re used to. Adrian moved into the building too, so you can look out for each other. It’s a great plan, Karl.” He grins wide. “And it would go a long way to prove you are serious about what you said.”
“Pixel needs a yard,” I say.
“There’s a rooftop garden. Dogs are welcome. And there’s a doggy park just a few blocks down.”
Damn. He has an answer for everything.
I hang my head. I can’t say no to him. Not with everything I’ve fucked up lately. “Fine,” I say. “One week enough to pack and then start moving everything?”