Free Everything I want: Will Alfie and Lily's love survive?... by K. L. Shandwick Page B

office. We had lunch in a little diner, but I was too nervous to eat anyt hing.
    The feelings I had were similar to those I had the first night I ever played with XrAid. I was so choked with nerves that anything I tried to put in my mouth got stuck in my th roat.
    I sat sipping my diet Coke, my other hand fiddling nervously with the condiments on the table. Cody swiped the ketchup bottle away from me and set it back in the metal condiment holder. “For fuck’s sake, Lily, you’re making me nervous,” he gro wled.
    By the time we got into the offices, my brain was in a complete fog. Their space was very trendy, all clean lines and decorated in a minimalist way.
    Huge picture windows brightened the room and the plush white leather sofas and black carpets gave it a modern feel. I couldn’t help myself for thinking that the carpets would be a nightmare to keep free of lint.
    The pretty Hispanic receptionist smiled and poked at a touch screen monitor. She announced our arrival and asked us to take our seats and wait for Keiron Hughes, the CEO of Sly Rec ords.
    I wandered over to where Cody was sitting, glancing up at the array of records hanging on the walls of the of fice.
    Gold and Platinum records were displayed in glass, chrome, and gold frames with little tags underneath. Each had a small logo of the band as well as their name and the name of the record. As I looked around the room, it was filled with Crakt Soundzz and Cobham Street d iscs.
    There was one for Crakt Soundzz that was different. “Guys, does anyone know what a Diamond Disc for?”
    Lennon smirked, and shook his head. “Ten fucking million units.” I swallowed audibly. Good grief. I couldn’t even begin to imagine my music being bought or downloaded; never mind that much. What made it all the more impressive was that less than two years ago, they hadn’t even been signed as recording art ists.
    At the time when Alfie told me they had been signed, I knew they would make it, but it never occurred to me what it really meant for them. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be sitting in a record label’s office on the cusp of an adventure like that.
    It was a surreal and scary feeling, and I felt like a fraud. There were so many people out there who were much better musicians than I was.
    I knew the guys in XrAid had talent, but with me, I couldn’t help but feel that luck had played a huge part in me being along for the ride. “Send them in please, Maria.” The self-assured voice rang out in the office, and the pretty receptionist flashed her beautiful smile a gain.
    “Mr. Hughes is ready for you all now. You can go in.” Her head gestured toward the double oak doors with the huge brushed chrome han dles.
    Lennon stood and wiped his sweaty hands down the front of his jeans. Glancing over at the other guys, they were all making a nervous gesture of one kind or another. This meant everything to them.
    James was pulling a small laptop out of his briefcase. He flashed a confident grin at us. “Let’s do it, guys.”
    We all shuffled in the door behind James. Keiron and two other ‘suits’ were sitting at his desk. Keiron got out of his seat and came around the large glass and chrome desk to meet us. “Great to see you all. Welcome to Sly Rec ords.”
    He shook all the guys’ hands and hugged me. “Excellent.” His voice sounding excited, and he looked pleased with himself for getting us t here.
    We sat through two hours of legal jargon before James was satisfied we had a good deal. I stared at the framed posters on the walls of Keiron’s office as the faces of Crakt Soundzz and Cobham Street smiled down o n us.
    The record label wanted to offer us a two million dollar deal. James managed to negotiate it up to three. It was fabulous for a first album. We left in a daze, after being given a PA and an events manager. The first job we had was to do a small tour in shopping malls and other venues to get our name out there, while we were