Chapter 109

The jet touched down and Pearl and the guys stood up and got their things. "This private jet shit is nice." Blake said.

"Things are going to be different now. Expect things to be different. Life is going to change. Expect it to be like the night at the hotel after your first gig in New York City. Our small city in Michigan is so much better than the big cities when it comes to paparazzi. Here at the airport, we have a separate area that we go through. Less lines. Less security. It's better for avoiding media." Rhys explained.

They exited the plane and cars were waiting for them to take them to their hotel. When they arrived, Rhys' warning rang true. Someone had tipped them off to where they were staying. A large crowd of paparazzi formed at the entrance to the hotel. They pulled up and made their way in, pushing through the crowd. They had reserved the entire 27th floor of the Langham hotel for their three night stay. Rhys and Pearl were staying in the Presidential suite with Blake and Iris and there were 4 other king suites connected to their room for the rest of the band and Jim. They ordered dinner in and settled for the night. They had GMA early the next day and rest was important.

"What?" Pearl asked. She had heard John the first time but she needed him to repeat it. "Yes. They only want to interview you after the performance. They said the rest of the band is not required."

"I'm not doing that. It's all of us or none of us." Pearl said. John let out a sigh. They were 45 minutes from sound check and he didn't have time for this.

"I will see what I can do." He said and hurried off.

Pearl was backstage in hair and makeup and her nerves were through the roof. It was their first television appearance and with her shy nature, she was already near a panic attack and the idea of only her being interviewed was too much. And it wasn't right.

"Ok. I talked to them. They are ok with the band being on set with you as long as you are willing to do the interview with them."

It was the best he could do and she knew it. This was about Rhys and it was sad that the media had no shame.

Their performance of their single sounded great. The sound techs on the show knew their shit. They even dubbed in the other instruments and keyboard Jax had mixed post production. After their set, Pearl and the guys had only a few minutes to touch themselves up before the interview. "You'll do great. I love you." Rhys said backstage as she walked out and sat down.

"Wow! What a performance!" The anchor began. "Number one downloaded single in the US right now, Poems for Wolves are the new hot band in the rock genre. That must feel pretty great?"

The anchor looked at Pearl. John had given her some pre-determined questions and this was one of them. "It feels amazing. We are just some small town garage jamming kids that got lucky. It's amazing to share our lyrics and style and have people like it and relate to it. It's surreal."

"When will the album hit?" The anchor asked. Another question she was prepared for. "We are hoping by March. April at the latest. And if all goes well, a tour beginning in July or August." Pearl smiled at the camera after she spoke.

"That sounds like a great plan! And everyone has been buzzing about another exciting thing. Your marriage to actor Holden Tomlinson. How did you meet?" The anchor was now not asking questions she was prepared for. Pearl paused.

"By pure luck, honestly. I didn't know he was an actor and he didn't know I was a musician. We met completely randomly and as ourselves. It was quite fortuitous." The anchor smiled and said, "That is definitely a rare thing and hard to believe, many see something like this and think negatively of the person that isn't famous." Pearl knew what she was insinuating. The anchor continued. "Especially with the article that just came out today discussing a recent company being willed to you. A David Powers saying that you purposely used him and took advantage of his situation to manipulate his father and take ownership of his company. It's an interesting read. I was hoping you could comment on that?" The anchor wasn't smiling now. And neither was Pearl. She was completely taken by surprise and knew nothing about the article or David bashing her. She looked behind the cameras to see John and Rhys, both shocked and Rhys's anger brewing.

Pearl started to speak.

"That's a complete lie. And our attorney will be looking into this for a defamation suit. Pearl is the most caring and upstanding person I know. She was thrown into the entire company thing because she was being used as a pawn between a highly dysfunctional father and son. It's sad really. And I find it interesting and highly unprofessional that you surprised us with this on live television."Dylan interrupted.

The entire studio fell silent.

"Thank you for coming on today and good luck with the album."

And they cut.

The anchor stood up and walked away without saying anything to them.