Backstage Demands Read Free Page A

probably shouldn't be allowed out of the house, much less on a stage to be worshiped by a bunch of drooling zombie fans.”
    Rick pulled a few dollar bills out of his pocket and placed them by his drink. He quickly registered that Jen was surprised that he was tipping so heavily. Everyone was always surprised that he tipped heavily. It was kind of annoying, but not nearly as annoying as the Collective hiring what amounted to a personal assistant or nanny to look after him without even bothering to consult him first. It was the kind of thing that just didn't fly with Rick at all.
    “I'm fucking out of here,” he said. “You can try and follow me to convince me otherwise, but it probably won't work. Not that you won't have time. Because I don't have a car, I have to walk my ass all the way across town. Do you have any idea how not fun that is for me? So not only did I get jerked around today, but I'm being forced to exercise? Do you have any idea how much punk rockers hate being healthy?”
    With that, Rick turned and left. Tod nodded at him as he did, a faint smile on his lips. Tod must have heard the whole thing, and that was fine with Rick. Let Tod tell the rest of his fucking jerk off band mates that were part of this little set up know how badly he reacted to the whole thing. Let the fucking bartender tell the rest of the band how badly this had all gone. As he flung the door open, Rick felt free for the first time in a very long time.

Chapter 4
     
    As Jen watched Rick storm out of the bar, she couldn't help but feel her heart sink. What was she supposed to do now? There was no way she'd be able to talk Rick back into the whole doing the gig today thing along with doing the tour in a few days. Or could she?
    “If you are going to try to talk him into it maybe you should follow him home,” Tod said. “I mean, it isn't really that far anyway. He was just saying that shit to be dramatic. It's maybe a twenty-minute walk. He just always takes the bus so he assumes it actually takes forever to make it down here.”
    Jen nodded, paid her tab, and headed toward the door.
    “Wait a second,” she said. “Do you happen to know where he lives?”
    The bartender, Tod, who she'd known for years, looked hesitant. That wasn't something that she was used to seeing. Normally people were quick to trust her. It made her wonder if Rick was the kind of guy that was not only a bad boy but also kind of dangerous.
    “Will I be all right to go and drop in on him?” she asked. “I want to get there first and be waiting on the steps kind of thing. Maybe I'll bring some booze or something.”
    Tod thought about it for a second.
    “You know what, fuck it, I'll tell you where he lives,” Tod said, reaching for a napkin to write on. “Why the fuck wouldn't I tell you? It's not like you're going to kill him or anything. And he isn't going to get crazy or anything like that. And also, I'll tell you something else. But, you aren't going to like to hear it. So maybe you'd just better find out on your own.”
    Jen raised an eyebrow.
    “How about you just tell me?” she asked.
    “All right,” Tod said. “I'm pretty sure the event is going to be moved to tomorrow. All the people that were going to attend are hung up on the fact that there is a solidarity protest with the Black Lives Matter movement going on at the same time and the promoters are going to move it so that it isn't a bust. Since the band pretty much doesn't have shit going on anyway, it shouldn't be a big deal.”
    “How do you know this?” Jen asked.
    “Easy,” Tod said. “I do all the booking for this place.”
    Jen mentally kicked herself for forgetting that you never knew who was really running the shows behind the scenes in the music industry. What a rookie mistake.
    “Don't worry, I'm not offended that you didn't know that I'm the dude running things here. I don't put on airs like most people. I just show up, clock in, do my job, and I guess I also give out