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*‘I’m the fucking man, you don’t get it, do ya? - Type of money everybody acting like they knew ya - Go Uptown, New York City bitch - Some Spanish girls love me like I’m Aventura’

I looked at my phone in dismay as Drake’s voice filled the SUV. I had known that the call would be coming, but that didn’t mean that I was ready for it.

*‘Tell Uncle Luke I’m out in Miami too - Clubbing hard, fuckin’ women ain’t much to do - Wrist bling, got a condo up in Biscayne - Still getting brain from a thang, ain’t shit changed’

“You have to answer it.” Lauren acknowledged. She gave me an encouraging smile. “Maybe he won’t be that upset.”

*‘How you feel? How you feel? How you feel? - Twenty five sittin’ on 25 mil - I’m in the building and I’m feeling myself’

“Hey, Eddie!” I answered, finally silencing the young rapper as I brought the phone to my ear.

“Where do I start?” Eddie asked. He sounded tired and incredibly annoyed. “I should probably start by telling you that I’ve seen the video ... just like everyone else in the world.”

“Yeah.” I swallowed hard. “I don’t know how someone managed to gain access to my account. I’m still using the password that you guys gave to me. I have no idea how anyone could have figured it out ...”

“Amy!” Eddie interrupted viciously. “The fact that someone managed to hack into your account is a secondary concern at the moment. I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to be honest with me. Do you understand?”

I nodded, even though I knew that Eddie couldn’t see me. As soon as I fell silent, Lauren grasped my hand for support and Brian turned slightly in his seat to stare at me. Even though he was driving, Nick was also partially watching my expression in the rear-view mirror.

“I’m going to take your silence to mean that you understand.” Eddie pushed on. “Is there something going on with you and Brian?”

“Yes.” I whispered. The tremor in my voice was noticeable even at such a low volume.

“Are you emotionally invested?”

“Yes”

“Is he?”

“Yes.” I hesitated slightly. “At least, I think so.”

“Have you been together ... physically?”

“Yes.”

“If I told you that you had to walk away from him in order to keep your job, would you?”

“No.”

A worried expression crossed Brian’s face as my last answer deviated from the affirmative pattern. As he was only privy to my side of the conversation, he began gesturing wildly at me to explain what Eddie was saying. I shook my head slightly and turned my attention back to Eddie. I would explain later.

“I see.” Eddie affirmed after a few seconds pause. “You’re putting me in a very difficult position, Amy.”

“You told me to be honest.” I offered.

“I did.” Eddie sighed. “You know that I’m supposed to fire you, right?”

“I know.” I acknowledged. “I’ve been dreading your call ever since the video was posted. If it makes things easier for you, I can resign.”

Three sets of eyes bore into me as soon as I uttered the words. Nick and Lauren exchanged a knowing glance in the mirror, and Brian began frantically shaking his head.

“That would make things easier.” Eddie acknowledged. “But that’s not what I want.”

“You would prefer to fire me?” I choked.

I was on the verge of tears and I knew that the emotion was evident in my voice. Lauren gripped my hand tighter, and I squeezed back appreciatively.

“For God’s sake, don’t be so dramatic!” Eddie scolded. “Obviously, I have no desire to fire you. You’ve been doing excellent work ... until now.” He continued. “Look, it’s an awkward situation. I don’t think that I really need to ask, but is Brian with you?”

“Yeah, he’s here.” I confirmed. “We’re on our way to Montreal. I’m travelling with Brian, Nick, Laruen, and Baylee. The others are in a separate car.”

“Can I talk to him?” Eddie asked.

“Sure...” I hesitated. I was now thoroughly confused, but I handed the phone to Brian despite my reservations. “Eddie says that he needs to speak to you.”

“Hi, Eddie. How’s Louis?” Brian asked as he accepted the phone. I watched his expression intently as he listened to Eddie speak.

The soft murmur of Eddie’s voice could be heard even above the din of Baylee’s hand-held video game. I strained to hear what he was saying, but it was no use. For now, I was only going to get Brian’s side of the story.

“Yes”

“Yes”

“Yes”

“Yes”

“No”

My stomach jumped as Brian answered ‘no’ to one of Eddie’s questions. If Eddie had asked him the same set of questions, than Brian had just admitted that he wasn’t able to walk away from our relationship.

“None of that matters. I’m in agreement, and I’ll sign whatever I have to sign. Send me the paperwork.” Brian passed me the phone with a grin on his face. “He wants to talk to you again.”

“I don’t know what you’ve done to that guy, but he actually seems happy.” Eddie mumbled as I pressed the phone to my ear. “I’m going to let you stay on tour, but I’m expecting a lot out of you going forward. This isn’t going to be easy. You’re involved now.”

“Really?” I asked, shooting a confused look at Brian. What exactly had he agreed to sign?

“Really.” Eddie repeated. “The guys are going to take a lot of heat for that video. It’s not pretty; it makes them look like shit. We’re still trying to figure out who hacked into your account. Until then, you won’t have access to it. I expect extra Twitter coverage to make up for the lack of blog posts.”

“Of course.” I agreed, but I was only half listening. My mind was still celebrating the fact that I wasn’t being sent home.

“Amy.” Eddie cautioned. “I hope you realize how hard this is going to be for you. Brian’s a great guy, but he’s about to find himself in the middle of one ugly situation. Leighanne ... well let’s just say that Leighanne isn’t going down without a fight. You better make sure that you keep your head down.”

“Thanks, Eddie.” I said, sincerely. “Keep me updated in terms of my account. I’m assuming that Greg is working on tracing the IP address?”

“Damn straight. We’ve had him working on it since first thing this morning. We woke the poor guy up. He wasn’t pleased.” Eddie avowed as soft, needy cries started up in the background. “I’ve got to go; that’s Louis. Try and stay out of trouble.”

“So?” Lauren pestered before I had even lowered the phone from my ear. “What’s the verdict? Was he hella pissed?”

“He was surprisingly calm.” I replied. “I thought for sure that he was going to kick my ass out of Ground(ctrl) for good.”

“But he’s going to let you stay?” Lauren guessed, a slow smile spreading across her face as she glanced quickly between me and Brian.

“That’s what he said.” I confirmed. “Although, I think that Brian may have had to sign his life away in order to make it happen.”

Brian shrugged and waved his hand in the air dismissively. “I just have to say that I’m waiving ... something ... some clause ... I wasn’t really listening.”

“What if it’s something critical? Are you sure that you don’t want to take some time to think this through?” I asked.

“Amy, relax. I’m sure that it’s just a technicality that relives Ground(ctrl) of any responsibility if you abscond with all of my money or trash our reputation.” Brian soothed. “Since Leighanne has already done both of those things, I’m not too worried.”

___________
*Lyrics – Take Care (2011) - “The Motto” by Drake ft. Lil Wayne – No copyright infringement intended.