Rhythm and Ray: A DJ’s Journey

[Chapter 96: Making the First Move]

When Ryan stepped out of the lounge, he spotted Karlie Kloss waiting at the door. Just as he expected, the music festival had put the after-party access on lock, and Karlie was using her connections to get in.

"Ryan..." she forced a smile.

Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a smile; more like a stretched grin. She attempted to start a conversation about the after-party scene, then bounced over to talk about Ryan's recent performance -- all of it felt a bit awkward.

Ryan exchanged a glance with Daddario beside him. Daddario flashed a sympathetic smile.

He had seen plenty of girls approach him like this. Every time he toured a new city, someone would slide up to him, trying to make a connection through casual chatter. Some even made their intentions clear -- it was all about wanting to get in his good graces, in the most literal sense of the term.

"If Ryan needs anything in the future, he'll reach out to you," Daddario chimed in, cutting off Karlie and ending their conversation.

"Oh, sorry! You probably have a busy schedule. Anyway, sorry to bother you," Karlie realized what was happening and moved aside, letting them through.

...

As Ryan and Daddario wandered around the venue, they found it pretty dull and were ready to leave. That's when Ryan spotted Karlie again, looking somewhat lost. She was standing next to the Backstreet Boys, seemingly waiting to snag some signatures.

Ryan turned to Daddario and said a few words before Daddario walked over to introduce Karlie to the group. Not only did he help her get those signatures, but he also made sure she got a photo with Katy Perry.

Katy was around five foot six, and Karlie stood at an impressive six feet tall. To make the photo work, Karlie had to crouch down a bit.

Did she just smile? Ryan realized she was beaming and noticed a cute mole on her right cheek. Her face already looked small relative to her height.

After the photo op, Katy handed Karlie a small gift -- a keychain charm of her own -- and they exchanged numbers, which Ryan found pretty cool.

Karlie looked pleasantly surprised and stole a glance at Ryan, shyly waving him over.

Ryan nodded and turned to leave with Daddario.

...

"Got Karlie's number down. Should I ask her to come over tonight?" Daddario asked while driving.

"Just because I noticed a girl on the street doesn't mean I'm asking her to come over!" Ryan laughed. He sometimes wondered if Daddario thought he couldn't do something as simple as making small talk.

"So what else could it mean?" Daddario replied matter-of-factly.

"You've been on a weird streak lately. You need to get it together," Ryan suddenly said.

This wasn't the first time Daddario had been bringing up other women and treating it casually.

"I mean, I'm a fan of the DJ line-up too -- why don't you help me snag some signatures from them?" Daddario mumbled.

"Feeling jealous, huh?" Ryan smirked.

"Why would I be jealous?" Daddario pressed on, pressing the gas.

...

Once they got back to the hotel room, Ryan turned on the TV, but Daddario didn't leave like she typically did.

Ryan gestured for her to call it a day.

"My room doesn't have a TV," Daddario shot back, grabbing the remote.

Before Ryan could say anything, he got distracted by a live broadcast.

It was an hour-long special airing across all three major networks titled "Live at Stand Up to Cancer." It was nearing the end, with fifteen top female singers on stage, singing Just Stand Up! to encourage donations.

Coincidentally, this theme song was co-written by big names in the industry, BabyFace and L.A. Reid, both recognized powerhouses -- BabyFace with numerous Grammys to his name, considered the godfather of R&B, and L.A. Reid, his golden partner.

Leading the group was Mariah Carey, followed by Beyonce, Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Carrie Underwood, Nicole Scherzinger, and several revered figures from country, R&B, and rock -- spanning all generations.

Leona Lewis joined, sharing the second verse with Fergie. Their duet completely overshadowed Rihanna and Fergie, who seemed to turn into wallflowers.

...

"Where's Taylor Swift?" Ryan blurted out.

"She's too young to get breast cancer," Daddario replied confidently, at least in this instance, Taylor had escaped the grim realities.

"Do you still have something in line with Leona for promotions?" Daddario asked.

"I pushed it to next month; I'll be attending the Top DJs award ceremony too," Ryan replied.

Last time it was Ryan's schedule conflicting with Leona's work arrangements that pushed it back. The DJ magazine's Top 100 DJs voting was taking place this month too, where readers would select their favorite DJs through a voting slip to be mailed to the magazine -- an age-old method that was becoming outdated, as the magazine would be switching to online voting next year.

...

Just then, Ryan's phone buzzed. Usually, the only one calling this late was Taylor.

"How's the show?" But this time, it was Scooter on the line.

"Just the same old -- you know how live shows are in the electronic music scene. The band guys in the back are just flabbergasted," Ryan chuckled.

"Perfect! I knew you'd nail it! I didn't make a mistake with you, Ryan," Scooter replied, sounding equally excited amidst the noise on his end. He was likely throwing a party.

"By the way, I need to tell you something... for the nightclub tour next year, I'll be handing it over to another company, a new one." Ryan mentioned.

Show arrangements typically weren't included in artist contracts, and they often constituted a significant source of income.

When signing, Jesse had opted to remove the clauses on performances from the contract entirely.

But later, Scooter had reached out to Ryan, taking on that business separately.

"Why? Is it the price? I fought hard to negotiate that for you. You have no idea how much I sacrificed, or is there something else bothering you? We can always talk it over," Scooter quickly began to reason.

"I'm satisfied with your arrangements; everything's fine, but I've got a new collaborator now."

"Let me guess... AEG has been talking to you, right? But they have no clue about electronic music! You can't let them hustle you," Scooter connected the dots as Ryan mentioned the music festival organized by AEG.

"Let's not talk about this topic," Ryan responded firmly.

"Why can't we? Ryan, listen... I've given you unprecedented deals; I treated you like my own brother. I made you famous and gave you everything. Now that you think you can spread your wings, you want to kick me out?" His tone shifted quickly, becoming abrasive, and Ryan could sense the alcohol on his breath through the phone.

"During the contract period, our collaboration continues as usual," Ryan maintained his tone. Inside, he felt like this conversation wouldn't end well.

Daddario, who had been quietly watching TV, turned her head to focus on Ryan now.

"Really? That's not an attitude you should have. I'm giving you two choices: either take back what you just said, and I'll act like nothing happened, or you terminate all engagements. All performances, all promotions; every single track has to be pulled from online stores starting tomorrow," Scooter's voice was increasingly menacing.

Ryan's voice remained firm, but Scooter's tone was sharper; the booze was doing him no favors.

"You're not treating me like a fourteen-year-old kid, are you?" Ryan questioned.

"I might have had a bit to drink, but I'm very lucid. I own the master rights! You can kiss your public performance rights goodbye unless you want to look like a fool," Scooter sneered.

"Really? Why not re-record it?" Ryan shot back, feeling relieved he had taken Taylor's advice back then.

"You're playing me?!" Scooter was genuinely angry now.

"And if my tracks get pulled tomorrow, we'll break the contract immediately," Ryan said directly.

"You'll have to explain that to the judge, unless you can personally pay the penalty, which is no small change -- several million," Scooter retorted.

"Why couldn't I?" Ryan felt secure knowing he had the means now.

"Where are you getting that kind of money? Did Taylor give it to you? You two scheme together, huh... I got it -- must be Taylor's dad, that old fox, coaching you behind the scenes." Scooter seemed to suddenly understand.

While he was wrong about the mastermind, he had unwittingly tapped into Ryan's other plan, which Ryan hadn't discussed with the Big Machine owner yet.

"Oh, so you two are in cahoots! Great, now that's how you want to play, let's switch up the game," Scooter abruptly hung up.

...

Ryan set his phone down and immediately dialed Taylor's dad.

"What's going on?" Daddario leaned closer, having overheard some of Scooter's shouting earlier.

"We need to make our move now..." Ryan frowned, a bit troubled, "Scooter just made things complicated. Is Taylor home? We need to start preparing for what's next..."

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.