For the years that he’d been away, he thought seeing most of the band together would make him see red. Well, all he could feel right now was how uncomfortable this suit was.

He looked around the table, his eyes landing on Sam. He didn’t look much different. His hair was longer now, just below his ears. The boyish looks he sported hadn’t aged, no doubt securing him a spot on popular teen magazines. There should have been a time when he was too old to be sought after like most young men were. Everyone had an expiration date, but Sam had outlasted them all.

Marshall sat down beside Grant. He pulled out the seat next to him for Jamie.

Jamie made a show of walking to the other side where there were more empty seats. He sat down across from Marshall and pretended he didn’t see the eye roll Marshall couldn’t resist from doing.

There should have been more to their reunion. He thought when he would see them all together again that it was spark some sort of remembrance or that he at least would have a small inkling of happiness of the old days. There wasn’t anything like that. All he felt when he looked at all of them, including Adam and Eddie, he couldn’t feel a damn thing. He didn’t care about any of them anymore. That should have been a relief. They never cared about him so why would he care about them?

But it solidified that there was nothing to be resurrected from the lives they lived before. Live Warnings was a band long dead that management was trying to bring back like a freak experiment.

Eddie clasped his hands on the table. He was a tall man with a thick belly and a clean shaved face. His hair was thinning, wispy blond hair that Jamie couldn’t ever remember ever looking good. It wasn’t the man’s fault and it never made Jamie feel differently about him. Though Eddie was his favorite out of all the assholes in the department, that wasn’t saying much when he hated every single last one of them. There was simply no winning him over.

“It’s good to see you all together again,” Eddie said as he glanced around the table. There was a brief second where his eyes fell on Jamie and Jamie could have sworn he saw a flicker of annoyance on Eddie’s face.

Jamie narrowed his eyes, leaned back in the chair until he was only supported by the back two legs. Eddie skipping over him, meeting Marshall’s eyes and there was a small nod from Marshall. It could have been nothing, but Jamie knew when he was suspicious there was always something going on. He was good at picking little things out since it was usually him who did the same.

Eddie opened the folder in front of him. It was a matte black with the management’s circle logo on the front. From where Jamie was sitting, he couldn’t make out what the files were inside of the folder. He could imagine they were another binding contract he would have to sign. Another step he had to take to get his money and to not lose everything left he owned. They had him strung up by all limbs and if they wanted to make him dance, it was as easy as snapping their fingers.

He pulled out the first set of documents from the folder. “As you may know, your initial contract doesn’t end until you’ve completed another album. The verdict had been that the band would split after the fourth and make a settlement.”

Marshall leaned forward, signaling to Eddie to speak. Eddie nodded.

“Are you suggesting we make another album?”

Sam fiddled with the ring on his finger. Jamie glanced at it. The silver ring on his thumb was the same he wore when they first met. It was worn at the edges, the engraved writing faded, but he could picture the small letters perfectly. They spelled out Love. It was as corny as Sam himself.

Jamie looked away. His hand was itching to get a cigarette between his fingers. A glass of brandy wouldn’t hurt either. A dose of pills and a hit of a joint too. All things might be better after he followed the nightly routine.

Adam decided jut in. It would have been better if he’d kept his mouth shut.

“If we’re technically speaking, you have to make another album. Per your contract.” Adam’s mouth twitched as he tried to keep the smug look off his face.

Jamie glared at him. The small twink of a guy got off on scamming people. It was no wonder he was working under this management. The label just threw money at these guys to keep their contracted artists under wraps. The label was just as bad as the middlemen.

Eddie put his hand up. “What Adam means is that we can’t release you from your individual contracts until you’ve completed your co-signed one.”

“If I may…” Sam coughed. All eyes went to him as he straightedges in his seat.

Jamie stared at the spot in front of Sam. He was wearing a white button-down shirt with a cream-colored jacket. It wasn’t the style Marshall would have approved for the meeting. Way too relaxed and fresh off the runway for the professional environment.

He ran his tongue over the front of his teeth as a bad taste entered his mouth.

“I know this might be a shock to you all. It wasn’t my intention to cause trouble,” Sam said while leaning closer to the table. His voice was soft, melodic, yet it traveled across the room. “The contract—as it stands now—prevents me from releasing my own album.”

Jamie folded his hands behind his head, still balancing on the two back legs of the chair, and gave out a loud snort.