Nine Volt Heart by Annie Pearson Page A

use holding an expensive charade. I will just work in a
friendly way with Karl on how you pay your way out of the contract. And I will
make sure no major label ever gambles on you again.”
    “I’m here to do the work, and I’m committed to deliver what
I owe, as quickly as possible.”
    “Beautiful. And you will do all the work necessary to make
this next album as successful as the last.”
    I wanted to curl into a ball and rock like a child until I
felt safe.
    “Jason, you need to do the interviews, make the videos, and
appear in public. Sixty or eighty minutes of tracks aren’t much better than
dead air if you won’t promote it.”
    “You have the beautiful Dominique to do that. She loves it.
Point a camera or a microphone in her direction, and she’ll get you all the
publicity you could want from an artist.”
    “For true success, you need to do the same, Jason.”
    “Her last video was quite popular.”
    “That isn’t the video that first sold people on Woman at the Well . It was the earlier concert videos that
you did—both your soulful acoustic number and that rocking piece with the whole
band. Best live-action video of the year.”
    “Second place only.”
    “You’re quite photogenic, Jason. The camera loves you, and
women of all ages appreciate it. At least women over seventeen. Younger girls
find you too masculine, but our market studies show that men aren’t put off by
your brand of masculinity. Albion Records couldn’t hope for a product that
tests better in both markets.”
    “You did a market study on my effing face? I’m a product?”
    “You’ve been in the business too long to be naïve about
this.”
    “OK. Your request for small assurances is proving to be a
real bundle. Let’s see if I have it: turn in a marketable album.”
    “On time. Finished tracks no later than the second of June.”
    “I can do that.”
    “You are one of the few in the industry who could turn
tracks around that fast, Jason. I’ve got production and distribution lined up
to get to market in support of your effort.”
    “Do radio, TV, and video, with my best side turned toward
the camera.”
    “With your face, you don’t have to worry about the best
side.”
    “I can tell where the rest of this is headed. Tour. I have
to play on stage with Dominique.”
    “Even you have to admit that logic is inescapable. The first
date is June twenty-seventh in L.A. I gave Karl a list of all dates yesterday.”
    “Escaping Dominique is all I care about, Ephraim. You can’t
force me back into everyday life with her.”
    “After you finish rehearsing for the road, you’ll see her
only a couple of hours every second or third day. The monitors and rest of the
stage gear should help you keep a distance.”
    “What else, Ephraim? If you’re going to wrap your hands
around my balls and squeeze, let’s get done with it.”
    “Sign another contract to record with me.”
    “Are you insane? After I get Dominique to let go of me, I
won’t come near either of you.”
    “Not with Dominique. She needs to find her own band. It is
too hard to adapt your material to her voice. Just you. I want you and whatever
musicians are working with you. Ian, I assume, will never go away. I hope Toby
will stay. Who else have you gathered?”
    “I can’t believe your effing gall, Ephraim. I spent the
winter approving more than a million dollars in charge-backs from your
recording company. I had to pay for half of Dominique’s tits-and-ass video and
all the publicist’s fees. What was that about? I could have Cynthia and her
cousin do publicity and booking, like we always did before, and not pay a
quarter of a million bucks for it.”
    “You never sold three million CDs with Cynthia doing your
publicity.”
    “So you want the rights to all my future work, in addition
to walking off with my wife.”
    “You didn’t want her by the time she went walking with me.”
    “I don’t know what you see in her. It makes me think less