Broken Strings

Four

Brock

Fame is a funny thing, like a secret, both are hard to keep – Richard Peck

Brock had never before been in the studio at Hype Records but he had to admit, however grudgingly, that it was nice. Better than nice, actually.

Warm hardwood floors ran throughout the entryway and the walls were painted a springtime green. Tasteful artwork had been put up on the walls, intermixed with images of the label's best-selling artists.

He recognized a few of them. Had even performed with a few over the years at various award shows and on tours. None of them, Brock knew, were signed to his new label.

Instead, Hype Records and Eclipse Records were co-owned by the same two men, Julio Alvarez and David Porter. Hype had been their first project together – a project that focused more on pop and alternative artists – but five years later had decided to branch out in the country scene. They chose not to rebrand Hype but instead created a second label, Eclipse Records, of which Brock Mason was now an artist.

Brock had taken the weekend to recoup his losses. He'd had a particularly snide conversation with the label execs at Frontier Records, angry at the fact that he'd never been told that his contract being sold was a possibility. He felt blindsided and pissed off, but there was little they could do about it now.

So, he'd spent the rest of his time researching. Looking into the owners of his new label and the execs they had working under them. From what he could tell, they seemed like decent guys. Brock had even reached out to one of the bands in L.A. who were signed to Hype in order to get a real account of what he was in for.

Miles Eaton of Imagine Reality – a pop-alternative band that had developed their roots and chosen to stay in L.A. – only had great things to say about Julio and David. The others he'd spoken to, which included two-time Grammy winner Kennedy Collins, said the same.

It was a good sign about the way that Julio and David liked to run things. Brock still wasn't thrilled about how things had gone down but after a long conversation with his parents, he'd come to see that things could have been much worse. At the very least, he still had a recording contract that was good for two more albums.

After that, well...He'd crossed that bridge when he came to it.

"Mr. Mason?" the receptionist said, calling over to him from behind the pristine white desk she sat at. Brock slid off of the leather armchair in the foyer and rose to his feet. "They're ready for you now."

"Thanks."

He followed her through a pair of sliding glass doors to the right of the desk and then into an elevator. It was a short ride to the third floor and then he was being led down a hallway and into a board room where two men waited.

Brock recognized Julio Alvarez and David Porter easily from the photos he'd seen online. Julio was tall and slim with dark hair and eyes. David was the exact opposite, short and stocky, blond and blue-eyed. They were both dressed smartly but hadn't opted for stuffy suits, instead wearing sport jackets and jeans. What struck Brock the most about them was the way that they seemed happy to see him. Welcoming and warm.

"Brock Mason!" David said, lunging out of the chair he'd been in to shake Brock's hand. "How wonderful to meet you in the flesh."

"It's great to meet you too," Brock said with as much truth and sincerity as he could muster. "Thank you for inviting me here."

Not like he'd had a choice in attending since Des would have flayed him alive if he'd missed this meeting, but whatever.

Julio was a little more reserved than his business partner but didn't greet Brock any less warmly. "We're very excited to have you joining us."