Chapter 54

Pearl and the band met at the airport and were happily surprised that their seats had been upgraded to first class by Jason. The flight was full of laughs and excitement, which was exactly what Pearl needed. When they arrived in New York, they saw a woman holding a sign, waving her arms and welcoming their band.

"Welcome, Poems for Wolves!" She was young, full of energy, Pearl was guessing possibly an intern. "Hey! I'm Iris! I'm from Epic and I'm your personal assistant this weekend! We have a car waiting."

Pearl could already see Blake's wheels turning as he put his arm around her and said, "They pulled out ALL the stops. A gorgeous woman to be around all weekend? Alright!"

Pearl looked at Dylan. He was obviously uncomfortable and she could see his introversion beginning to show. She was overwhelmed as well and the trip was just beginning.

Iris escorted them through a side door and out into an alley where a stretch Escalade was parked. Whoa! "This is where we pick up all of our signed and potentially signed artists that come into town to record." Iris said, seeing the shock on their faces. "This is insane!" John said, grinning.

Iris offered them a drink once inside, and Blake grabbed a bottle of scotch from the booze arsenal. Iris and began telling them about their itinerary for the next two days. They were heading straight to the studio to meet with Jason first and then to their hotel to get settled for a bit. Apparently Jax liked to work at night, so their demo work would begin that night. There was no time to get settled. They were there to work and as awesome as this treatment was, they had to stay focused.

"I think Blake will have a bottled water, right Blake?" Pearl said, not smiling. "Yea, right. Water for sure." Blake said, he knew it was the right choice, but was still obviously disappointed. Tony was taking selfie's and face timing his girlfriend. Dylan just sat by the window, in silence. "You ok?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. You?" He asked, not taking his eyes from the city.

"I'm nervous. But I'm ok." She replied.

They stopped in front of a big building with gray pillars that looked like something out of a dream.

They had arrived.

Iris led them inside and up to a floor with offices. Jason greeted them in the lobby area. "Hello and welcome! I'm so glad you were all able to be here on such short notice. Jax will be meeting us in the studio this evening. I thought we all could meet here first. I've taken the liberty of ordering catering for you. Please come in and have some lunch while we chat." He led them into a large conference room with tables set up in a buffet style service. There were several catering workers from a place called Bartleby and Sage, serving sandwiches and various dishes that made Pearl's stomach growl. All fresh and colorful. It smelled delicious.

They all sat at a large round table and discussed ideas with Jason. Jason's take was that their heavier songs needed Jax's unique take. Jason didn't just see them as a standard rock band. Pearl's voice, in his opinion, was more soul like. Vintage. Even a bit bluegrass. He wanted to sign bands that weren't the stereotypical sounding rock bands, and he believed they had the talent and style to be more. He wanted to bring old school rock vibes combined with the "hipster/bluegrass movement"that he claimed was really ramping up in popularity. He wanted to be the one to revolutionize this sound and their band was one of the three that he had high hopes of making that possible.

After the meeting, Iris escorted them back to the car outside and to their hotel. Iris said Jason insisted on the Baccarat. It was across the street from the museum of Modern Art and minutes away from Central Park. The lobby was insane. Beautiful chandeliers with curtains draped on walls. Glass cabinet displays. Pearl was afraid to walk to close to anything for fear she might break something. They each had a King Suite and it was truly like being in a fairytale. Pearl's room was beautiful, with black, white and red modern decor, a four post bed and a couch in front of large windows to the city. She looked out and took a deep breath. At 35, her life was finally beginning.