1 -Takin' Care of Business

~Lukas’ Point of View~

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

“Oh shit,” I mumbled, trying to get to my phone. I quickly saw that it was actually the third alarm, which was weird since I didn't hear the first two.

Something was on me, holding me down. I quickly realized it was a female’s arm and I groaned. I hadn’t meant to spend the night, that always makes them think something more is brewing. For me, there’s never anything more. 

And that’s why I always try to get busy at their place, or a hotel. I used to bring chicks home all the time, but they started getting crazy. I had one just go and change the curtains, put up pictures of her family and that was a wake up call.

I vowed years ago not to have any women outside of my actual family in my place. Too risky.

“You’re leaving,” I heard, as I pulled on my pants.

“Yeah I got a thing across town, I’m late,” I groaned, looking for my shirt.

My band was currently off tour, but our manager was getting us into a bigger picture situation. Thanks to Slade’s amazing business sense and trust fund, he and my band now owned a freaking record label of our own. I was charged with looking over the recording studio, and while I had mixed feelings about it, I was determined to rock it the fuck out.

If I could even begin to wrap my head around the whole … being a grown up with a day job thing, which really was a bunch of bull shit. I’d never had to be tied to a desk, I wasn’t even sure about how to work the phone. I wanted to be in the recording booth, mixing shit and helping to produce. Although, being in my mid 30’s if ever there was a time to learn something else I guess it's now.

I’d only have a few days with the manager down at the studio before she was popping out a kid, and it was all too much. There was a reason I became a damn rock star, I didn’t handle structure well. Slade dealt with the label and all the schedules and whatnot for the past fifteen years so we didn’t have to. Yeah I was a spoiled brat but why mess with a good thing?

“Can I see you later baby,” the girl asked, as a hand tugged on my jeans, bringing me back to reality.

“I’ll call ya,” I said, sliding into my boots and starting to haul ass. I didn’t even bother tying them. I tapped my pockets and thankfully my keys were there. I’d lost keys at a girl’s place before, it was a nightmare.

“But you don’t even have my number,” I heard, as I ran out the door. 

“No I don’t,” I said, as I hit the stairwell.

Which means you don’t have mine!

I made it home in record time and got showered then I was back out the door to hit the studio. Thankfully there was a coffee shop close by, so I grabbed a cup along with a giant box of goodies. Since bringing the pregnant chick food yesterday I was temporarily on her good graces and if that’s all it took I was gonna keep it up.

“You’re hours late,” I heard, as I fell into a chair in front of Tasha’s desk.

“But I got you theeeese,” I said, teasing, pushing the box forward.

Her eyes moved to it as she immediately began to have a look. She pulled out a long eclair and fell back in her chair, moaning. It was actually pretty hot, but I could never tell her that. 

She was pretty, what can I say? She had light brown hair with blonde highlights, a little extra weight filled out more than just her belly. Her little attitude was also kind of hot at times. But she was knocked up, like as much as it gets … ready to drop it, and I had zero clue about the father. 

But I knew right away she wasn't at all my type, she looked put together, really she looked like a mom already. It suited her, she just needed a minivan and some soccer balls. My friends didn't look like grown ups not in the sense most people our age do. But she certainly did.

“Doesn’t your man make sure you have good treats,” I asked, curiously. 

She’d not said a single word about a guy in her life and I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Nobody else had mentioned him either. I watched as she grabbed a tissue to lay down her donut. She cleared her throat and went back to being serious.

“Here are the rough schedules for the next two months,” she said, opening a planner and thrusting it at me.

“When you put something in this book, you also MUST put it on the online calendar so the engineers and everyone else know who to expect and when, got that? I haven’t even let you touch this yet, it IS your bible, you guard it with your damn life. Online isn’t enough, you must also have a hard copy at all times. You call three days before to confirm and then you also call the day before, people are stupid,” she said, standing up and taking off her jacket. 

Oh I’ve always got a hard something all right.

My eyes fell over her arms, a few scattered tattoos but nothing too big. She had a bunch of those bangle bracelets chicks like, I always take them off and throw them. Too annoying.

When she turned to put her jacket over her chair my eyes automatically went to check out her ass. She had on a cute little mint green dress, cute for a pregnant chick. Not that I ever saw many.

“Ohh hell, I gotta pee,” she said, as she wandered out. God this chick pees constantly.

I did actually already know how to use the online calendars, Angie our publicist insisted several tours ago that we all got on board with that and really it was helpful, I couldn’t argue there.

I glanced over some of the names they had scheduled, and didn’t know a single one of them. We had to get some better fucking talent in here like soon. I’d check in with my bass player later and see if he’d found any good shows to hit up.

“Tash I got those--” I heard, making me spin around. 

“Oh hey,” I heard, from a cute little brunette. 

I was up on my feet and sticking out my hand in record time, maybe a bit too eager. I prided myself on always looking good, you never know what the day will bring your way. 

“Hey yourself, I’m Lukas,” I said, shaking her hand.

“I’m Gail, kind of Tash’s go between with the studio and the label. But I travel around to our other spots too. My boyfriend is one of the engineers, Isaac,” she said, and I immediately lost interest. 

My bass player Corey had already given me an intense lecture about fucking at work, and he was one to talk. Yeah it was damn hard watching him and his new wife Pearl constantly groping each other. I was slightly jealous, Pearl was fucking hot as hell. But settling down? Married life? Nah man, not me.

“Yeah I met him, cool dude,” I said, playing it low key and sitting back down.

Gail quickly grabbed a donut and ran out like she’d get yelled at for taking it. She very well might. The rest of the day dragged on and I nearly fell asleep a few times. I knew I should pay attention but I had a very limited span for that. When Tasha seemed tense I felt like lightening the mood.

“My sister is LaTasha, but everybody calls her Tasha, is yours short for something,” I asked.

She seemed annoyed I was actually trying to make small talk with her and kind of stared me down.

“It’s Natasha so why don’t you just call me that okay,” she said, reaching for the phone.

I raised my hands like I wouldn’t protest, I was already dying to get out of here.

“So tonight we’re getting drinks with Halo, she’s a solo act we just signed. Plays guitar but she’ll need the rest of the band put together,” Tasha said, making me perk up.

“Oh yeah? Got something I can hear,” I asked, figuring it was a young thing. 

She nodded and hit a remote, suddenly some really drab and whiny chick rock hit my hears.

“Who fucking signed her? And who is writing her material? God its trash, pure trash. Whiny shit. People want something that gets them on their feet, ready to move, blood pumping. You need to feel it and the lyrics need to resonate. They don't want something that makes your ears bleed and you feel like you should be sitting on a shrink’s couch talking about how your mom gave you a curfew,” I said, shaking my head.

“I wasn’t totally thrilled either. But I get them after the ink is dry and try to make actual music out of it,” she said, clearly not happy.

“Not anymore. We’re not going to sign no talent wastes of space just for the sake of getting a body in the booth. This Halo seems like she might be able to sing but if this is all she can write we’re not even wasting studio time on this shit. We are not an emo label,” I said, scoffing. 

We had to stand up for rock and roll, there were too many sub-genres and other little bands trying to mix things up. Why fuck with a good thing? Rock … and roll. Real music. No autotune, no mixers. Real fucking intruments and real people. 

I was the only one out of my band who’d done a solo album and I hated it. I don’t know what I was thinking, but the label kept pushing one of us to do it and I’d had some shit I’d written on and off for years I thought about laying down. Stuff I just heard in my head that I wanted to make my own. But I didn’t have my boys with me for the whole process, even if Slade was, it wasn’t the same. None of us will ever go solo again.

“I need to lay down, I normally crash on the couch and have a little nap. So go do whatever you wanna do, just come back about 7 and we’ll go,” she said, standing and stretching.

Looking at the clock it was only 2:40pm but who was I to argue, plus I was starving.

“Cool, I yeah I need to-”

“Ohh! I gotta pee,” she yelled as she ran out.

Damn, I gotta get that chick a bucket or something. Maybe one of those adult diapers, are they for pregnant chicks?