Chapter 70

"Hey! So glad you could make it!" Rhys greeted John and Janie at the door, grabbing the pizzas from their hands. John looked up to ceiling of the giant open foyer and Janie's jaw dropped looking into the living room. Rhys could tell they were a little taken aback. "It's a bit bigger than I wanted but I bought it for the library. Pearl loves books. It's how I finally won her over, chicks dig libraries." He winked, patting John's back, leading he and Janie into the kitchen.

"Hey there! Thanks for coming." Pearl said, hugging them.

"This house is amazing." Janie said. "Thank you, I'm still not used to it but I definitely am enjoying some things", Pearl said, looking out at the hot tub. Rhys choked on his beer.

They gave them a tour and Rhys took Janie to see the guest house and the pool while Janie and John stayed in the library. "Jason called. They want us to come to New York in a couple of weeks again. They want to sign us." Pearl said.

"What? That's awesome! We are going to need a lawyer. I have no idea what we are doing. Have you told the guys?"

"Not yet. I needed to talk to you first." Pearl said, looking down.

"What's up?" John said, his concern obvious.

"They think we need a manager. They said there isn't time to find one. And Jason thought he could train and hire....you."

"Me? But I'm not a manager. I'm a guitar player. I'm in the band."

"You are the band. And you're the best person for the job. We can hire another guitar player. But we can't find another you. At first I was opposed to the idea. It was a hard no. But after I thought about it, it made sense. And John, you can manage other bands, too. This isn't the trailer factory kind of job that you have. This will change your life forever."

She could see he was processing it.

"I have no connections. No experience." He said, sitting down in her new chair.

"Jason is going to work along side you until you establish yourself. He's going to get you in and show you what to do. Get you the connections. He also talked about you helping as a producer."

John seemed to be thinking it over. She meant it. It would change he and Janie's life.

"I need to talk it over with Janie." They walked out to to the living room to see Rhys telling Janie about the photograph over the mantle and how he believed in fate.

John laid everything out to Janie and Rhys.

"I think it's something you'd be great at, John. You're a natural leader and people person", Janie looked ecstatic. "And this could get us out of debt. This could change our lives. I wouldn't have to work at the cafe anymore. We could travel. You wouldn't be tied down to an one album or band. It's exciting to me." Janie was all in.

"I couldn't agree more, not that my opinion matters." Rhys said.

"Of course it does, you're family now." John said. Rhys smiled and looked very proud.

"Ok. I'll do it. The guys will be here soon, we can fill them in." John said. Pearl was relieved.

The rest of the guys showed up, except for Blake.

"I swear he texted me an hour ago, saying he was on his way here. He sounded like he was in a crowded place." Dylan said. "This place is stunning."

"Thank you, Dylan." Rhys said, and gave him a bro hug.

"Wait, there's a car parked way back by the gate. I'll go check it out." Rhys said. "I'll go with you" Pearl grabbed her jacket.

Rhys, Pearl, Dylan and John walked out to car they didn't recognize. They got closer and saw that the windows were fogged over. Rhys knocked on the window, and John tried to open the door.

"Close the door!" They heard Blake shout. But not before they saw his bare ass in the back seat.

"What the fuck?" Rhys said, cracking up. A few minutes later, Blake rolled out of the car, zipping his pants, and so did another familiar face. "Iris! Hello!" Pearl said, stifling a laugh. "Iris?" Dylan questioned.

She and Blake fixed their clothes and shut the car door. "Yeah man, she just flew in about 2 hours ago. She came to see me. We have been talking." Blake said.

"Looks like the talk went well." Rhys said and Pearl slapped his arm. "Ow", he whispered.

They all walked back to the house.

"Fucking rockstars", Rhys said under his breath. Pearl gave him a side smile.

It was a great night. They talked and celebrated their potential signing. They all loved the idea of John managing them, to Pearl's surprise. Rhys recommended an attorney and they made a plan for New York.

"I have one more surprise for you" Rhys said. "I don't think I can handle any more of those from you." She laughed.

"This one isn't just for you" he said, kissing her hand.

He asked everyone to follow him to one of the out buildings on the property. It was a large pole barn with a separate drive. There was a front porch with chairs and a outside fire place. He unlocked the door and let them inside. Pearl gasped.

He had built them a studio. There was a large mixing board and all kinds of sound and light gear. Amps. Even a brand new drum set. Blake ran over to it and started banging away. Dylan walked over to a guitar set up on a stand. "Oh my god. This is a 1959 Les Paul Standard and it's signed by Keith Richards." There was a loft over head that had a lounge area with couches and another mic set up. There was a bathroom and bar area with a fridge and kegerator. Big screens. It had been modified for sound in the room, also. It was unbelievable.

"Rhys what the fuck is all this?" Tony asked, his jaw still on the ground.

"I'm away filming a lot. So when I'm home, I want to be able to spend as much time with Pearl as possible. So you guys can rehearse here. Record here. Whatever. And you guys helped me. You supported me when I was trying to figure things out with Pearl. You accepted me as your own family. I had this renovation started pretty much right after I closed on the house. It's my gift to all of you and how sure I was about spending my life with Pearl."

Pearl didn't know what to say. She wasn't used to this. She felt sick to her stomach. She ran outside to get some fresh air. "Pearl, I'm sorry." Rhys said.

"No. Don't be sorry. No one has ever loved me like this. I haven't told you everything about my ex husband. I haven't told you about my life back then. You don't understand how much this all means to me. You don't understand how you are everything. How you are my entire world. No one has done anything even close to this for me. I don't feel like I deserve it. I don't know how to be this good for you."

"You already are." Rhys took her in his arms. "Just love me back and we will be great."

"I love you back, so much." She said.