The Debt 8 (Club Alpha) (5 page)

Raven’s heart was pounding.
 
She didn’t want to come across like a
fool.
 
“I believe you can do all of
that, Mister Zee.
 
But I also
believe that Jake is already such a big name, and his new music is so good,
that even without advertising he can be huge.
 
And if we put it out independently, Jake
keeps the profit instead of giving most of it back to you.”

Mack’s smile faded and he removed the
cigar from his mouth.
 
“Does she
speak for you, Jake?”

Jake nodded.
 
“She’s my manager,” he said.
 
“And she co-produced those tracks.”

Raven stared at him.
 
Manager?
 
Did he just seriously call her his
manager?
 
Because
that was insane.
 
She didn’t
know the first thing about managing a music career.
 
She was hardly able to manage her own
finances and career when she was a waitress.

“Okay, then,” Mack said, his voice a
throaty growl.
 
“Let’s put all of
our cards on the table, shall we?”

“That would be great,” Jake said, sitting
relaxed in his chair.

Mack leaned forward over his desk.
 
His bulk was so enormous that the desk
itself seemed to shrink and strain as he put his weight fully onto it.
 
“I want this record.
 
I think this record could be the biggest
I’ve ever put out, if you let me.
 
And I’m willing to give a very generous split on royalties.
 
You can keep your publishing, Jake.
 
I won’t touch it.
 
I’ll give you the benefits of being
indie along with the push of a label with some clout behind it.
 
We both win.”

Jake nodded, then looked to
Raven
.
 
“What do
you say to that?”

She swallowed,
then
looked back at Mack Zee.
 
“I think
we need to see the contract.
 
And if
you actually deliver—if you make it as fair as you say—then it
sounds like a great deal for Jake.
 
But he needs to have total control, final say on his product.
 
Your label’s going to benefit from being
attached to this record.
 
Basically,
I think you’re the one getting a gift here, not Jake.”

The room fell silent and Raven thought
she’d finally gone too far.

But then Mack Zee grinned again and
stuffed the cigar back in his mouth.
 
“I like her,” he said.
 
“I
really like her.”

Jake laughed, rolling his eyes as he gave
Raven a look as if to ask her if she was crazy or something.

Mack got up and brought over a bottle of
champagne and three glasses.
 
“I
know nothing’s in writing just yet—but I want to drink to the spirit of
what we’ve agreed to here today.
 
I
think this could be the beginning of a wonderful partnership.”

They sat and drank some champagne and
Mack played the demo CD again, walking around his office and drinking, as he
listened, seeming to relish every note that he heard.

I
love you
, Jake mouthed
to her, when Mack’s back was to them.

I
love you too
, she
mouthed back.

A few minutes later, Mack sat down,
refilling his own glass and raising it.
 
“To a long and fruitful business relationship,” he said.

“Cheers,” Jake said, toasting, and then
sipping from his glass.

Raven was feeling slightly buzzed, giddy
and high from everything that had transpired.
 
She almost wanted to pinch herself,
because none of this—none of it could be real.
 
This couldn’t possibly be her life,
could it?

Mack Zee set his glass down on the desk
and his eyes grew focused and serious, perhaps as serious as he’d been since
they’d arrived.
 
“I do want to
mention something else,” he said.
 
“Something of a sensitive nature.”

His words seemed to hang in mid-air, and
in that silence, Raven found her stomach clenching and Jake’s body language
changing as well.
 
He sat up
straight in his chair and his jaw set.

“Go ahead, speak your mind,” Jake told
him.

Mack wiped at his lips.
 
“I always keep my ear to the ground, you
understand.
 
It’s the nature of my
job, my livelihood involves me knowing what’s happening in the industry, down
to the tiniest details.”

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re
about to drop an atomic bomb into our conversation?” Jake asked.

“Well, you might be right.”
 
Mack Zee glanced down, as if carefully
considering his words.
 
“I’ve heard
some whispers about a certain club,” he said, his own voice getting quieter,
but still very audible in the room.
 
“This club--that shall not be named—has taken on a larger role in
your lives than perhaps you’d expected.”

Raven was frozen.
 
Literally.
 
She couldn’t move and all the air seemed
to have left her body.

He knew about Club Alpha.
 
But how?
 
Her mind was spinning.

Jake, meanwhile, was already standing
up.
 
“I think we should go,” Jake
said, motioning to Raven.

Mack Zee watched him with unflinching
eyes.
 
“This isn’t a threat,
Jake.
 
I don’t work for or with that
particular organization.”

“Then what are you saying? Spit it out.”

“I’m putting my cards on the table,” Mack
said.
 
“I know some of what’s going
on.
 
I don’t know everything…”

“Tell me exactly what you know,” Jake
said, stepping forward.
 
As big as
Mack Zee was, Jake managed to make him look small now that he was angry.

“I know that they’re putting the squeeze
on you and your pretty lady,” Mack told him calmly.
 
“And I know that you don’t like it.”

“That’s not exactly earth shattering
info, Mack.”

“I didn’t say it was.
 
But from the way you’re acting, it’s
making me think that you could be a liability for me.
 
If I put hundreds and hundreds of
thousands of dollars into someone, I want to know it’s not going to explode in
my face ten minutes after I invest.”

“If you don’t trust me, then take your
investment and use it to make a dozen more shitty fucking wax statues,” Jake
said, his voice rising as he stood in front of Mack’s desk.

Mack shook his head.
 
“So you don’t like my statues.
 
That hurts, brother.”

“Stop fucking around,” Jake told
him.
 
“Who told you about Club
Alpha?”

The big man looked away.
 
“Can’t give up my sources like
that.
 
No way.
 
But I can tell you that the sword cuts
both ways.
 
I know about you, but I
also know about them.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, maybe I can help you with
them.”

Jake’s shoulders slowly relaxed.
 
His voice lowered.
 
“It is a sensitive topic,” he said.

“Clearly.”

“But I think we’ve handled it.
 
It’s under control and although I
appreciate your offer of support, I’m going to have to decline for now.”

Mack nodded his head.
 
“I hope this hasn’t changed your mind
about working with me.”

Jake turned and looked at Raven to see
her reaction.

She wasn’t sure.
 
Her mind was still racing, her thoughts
confused after hearing what this strange man was telling them.
 
“I don’t see how it changes anything,”
she said, surprising herself with the conviction in her voice.

“I knew she was smart,” Mack said,
nodding.
 
He got up with some
trouble, and held out his hand toward Jake.

They shook firmly.
 
Raven got up and shook his hand too.

“Thanks for everything,” she told him.

“I’ll be sending those contracts over in
the next day,” Mack Zee told them.
 
“I hope you two are ready to go on the ride of a lifetime.”

***

As they drove home, neither of them spoke
much.

Raven was lost in thought, wondering just
what it all meant.
 
Could Mack Zee
be trusted?
 
Was he threatening
them, lying or manipulating the situation to his own benefit?
 
She really couldn’t tell.

And how did he know about Club
Alpha?
 
It frightened her to think
just how deep and far Club Alpha’s reach extended.
 
It seemed as if they were everywhere and
nowhere, a phantom that could never be shaken.

When they got off the highway and onto
the island, the drive slowed and they could talk again more freely without
having to yell above the wind.

“What do you think of Mack Zee?” Raven
asked Jake.

He glanced at her.
 
“I don’t know.
 
He’s a weird dude.”

“Are you worried about Club Alpha again?”
she asked him.

“No,” Jake said, but she wasn’t sure she
believed him.

“Did you seriously mean what you said
about me being your manager, or was that just a stunt to throw Mack off during
the meeting?”

Jake gave her a look.
 
“You can never take a compliment,
Raven.
 
I swear
,
everything’s got to have some ulterior motive.”

“It doesn’t make sense.
 
I know nothing about the industry.”

“But you know something about me.
 
You understand me, you believe in me and
I trust you.
 
That goes a long way
in my world.”

Raven bit her lower lip, realizing the
gravity of what he’d just said.
 
“Thanks,” she whispered.
 
Perhaps he didn’t hear her though.

In any case, as they turned onto his
street, Jake whistled through his teeth before swearing under his breath.
 

“What is it?” she asked him.

He pointed ahead, at a Mercedes parked
out in front of his house, just outside the gate.
 
“That car,” he said.
 
“I know that fucking car.”

“What?
 
Who is it?” she asked, immediately
thinking, Club Alpha.
 
Somebody was
there to hurt them.

But Jake didn’t answer.
 
Instead. He pulled up next to the car
and left his jeep running.
 
He put a
hand up to the tinted window of the passenger side of the Mercedes and then
peered inside.
 
“Nobody’s there.”

Then he went to unlock his gate.
 
As he did so, a figure came running from
behind one of the larger palm trees nearby.

“Jake!” Raven shrieked, her hands flying
up to her face.
 
“Watch out!”

At the last moment, Jake spun
around.
 
The man tried to punch
Jake, but was off balance, as Jake moved deftly out of the way.

Suddenly, Raven realized who the crazy
man was.
 
It was Kurt, Jake’s
ex-manager and ex-friend.

She got out of the car, managing to take
out her phone.
 
“I’m calling the
police!” she screamed.

Jake grabbed Kurt by the collar of his
shirt and threw him to the ground.
 
Kurt hit the sidewalk hard, making a guttural sound as he smashed into
the concrete.
 
Breathing heavily,
Jake turned to Raven.
 
“Don’t call
the cops,” he said.

“But, Jake, he’s crazy and he just tried
to assault you.”

Kurt moaned, trying to sit up.
 
“Fucking lucky sonofabitch,” he slurred,
and Raven realized that on top of it all, Kurt was stinking drunk.

“I should call the police,” she
reiterated, still holding the phone.
 
“He’s drunk, he’s dangerous—“

“I said no,” Jake told her.
 
He unlocked his gate and threw it open.

“The man stole millions of dollars from
you,” she reminded him.

Kurt looked at her through slit
eyelids.
 
“Thas…
.bullshit
…”
he said, pointing up at her.
 
“Bullshit.
 
I did…I did not…”