Chapter 174: New Party, Old Friends
[Chapter 174: New Party, Old Friends]
"What's with the fighting again?"
"It's not because of Ryan, is it?"
"Aren't they both engaged now?"
"Yeah, what on earth is Taylor thinking?"
The staff members gathered a short distance away, whispering amongst themselves.
"You need to clear this up today!" Taylor said as she was cornered, clearly agitated and raising her hand as if to strike.
Ryan stepped forward and grabbed Taylor's arm. This was different from the last private gathering; this was backstage at the Grammys. If the argument escalated into a brawl, it would surely reflect poorly on Taylor.
"Let go of me!" Taylor whispered sharply, frustration evident.
After a moment of hesitation, Miley Cyrus caught her chance, breaking free and quickly escaping the scene. Her team members rushed to support her as she bolted.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's go talk to someone in charge," Ryan said quietly to Taylor.
With that, Taylor relaxed her body, turning and heading directly to the assistant director with Ryan at her side.
...
"I refuse to perform with her!" Taylor cried, recounting what had occurred. "I was just using the restroom, and she dragged Ryan into the storage room!"
As for Ryan, he remained unusually silent, letting Taylor take the lead. His speaking up would have only added fuel to the fire.
The assistant director glanced toward Ryan.
"I held my ground!" Ryan nodded quickly. As a seasoned veteran, he certainly knew where his boundaries lay, even if they were a bit flexible.
Watching as Taylor became more and more animated, the assistant director felt a twinge of sympathy. Eventually, he led both of them to the director.
After grasping the situation, the director looked helplessly at the producer sitting beside him.
"The order of performances and time, including guests, is strictly controlled, down to the second. It's not something anyone can just change at will," producer Kenneth Ehrlich said, his brow furrowing as he heard Taylor's demands.
"Maybe I can have her come back to apologize; this might just be a misunderstanding," the director suggested, still hoping Taylor would let it go.
Seeing that the situation was about to brush over, Ryan immediately spoke up, his expression serious. "This is partly my fault too. I didn't maintain the necessary distance from her. She approached me to discuss a collaboration and asked to speak privately, which led to everything that followed..."
Ryan's comments confirmed Taylor's concerns and fanned the flames further, leading Taylor to choke with tears.
This left the assistant director, director, and producer feeling a bit helpless.
"If you need to adjust for personal reasons, it can be done, but you have to understand, if one person changes, everyone else might have to as well, and in the end, this could mean you lose your chance to perform," Kenneth Ehrlich continued, keeping it official.
Taylor immediately recounted Ryan's advice on how to handle situations like this. "Regardless, I can't perform with her anymore."
"Let's discuss this more, and we'll notify you within the next few days," Kenneth Ehrlich replied.
...
"Why didn't you let me hit her? Are you worried about me hurting her?" Taylor said, sulking on the way back to the hotel with Ryan.
"Believe me, if I let you do that, Kenneth Ehrlich wouldn't let you perform this year," Ryan pointed out.
"She's the one who grabbed me first, look." Taylor pulled down her collar, revealing a complete lack of any marks.
"I can help you get back at her," Ryan teased.
"Don't you dare!" Taylor scolded.
"From now on, you absolutely can't defend her!"
"No problem, behind the scenes I won't stop you at all. I'll even help hold her hands so you can unleash your fury," Ryan added.
"And you can't have any contact with her!"
"I'll never collaborate with her in my life!"
Taylor then listed out her demands.
"What do I need to collaborate with her for? Her voice is terrible, and she's not even that attractive; she has all sorts of bad habits," Ryan agreed, nodding continuously.
"Now we're getting somewhere!" Taylor said, her smile returning.
...
Backstage, the producer and both directors were discussing the situation.
"It's understandable that Taylor doesn't want to collaborate; she's been through this with her more than once."
"What are the proposed changes?" producer Kenneth Ehrlich asked the directors. "In the original plan, she was just a guest performer. Fifteen is Taylor's own song, but if it's just her singing solo, it wouldn't convey the song's theme of friendship as well. I think we should let Taylor switch to a different song," the assistant director suggested.
"Or we could find a new collaborator for her," the director chimed in.
"If we want to emphasize the theme of friendship, we need someone of a similar age as Taylor. At this point, where are we going to find someone new?" The assistant director appeared depressed.
Kenneth Ehrlich thought for a moment. "Let's try to find a new collaborator first. If that doesn't work, we'll have Taylor change songs."
...
As the days until the Grammys grew shorter, Taylor began to show signs of nerves.
"What's taking so long for news?" This phrase seemed to escape her lips more frequently.
"Maybe they're still discussing it," Ryan said as he shut his laptop. The production of the new song Hymn for the Weekend was halfway through.
"Should I have Scott check in on it?" Ryan suggested.
Scott had previously surfaced his connections with old colleagues to assist Ryan's awards publicity, and was swamped with work.
Taylor nodded.
...
About an hour later, Ryan received a response from Scott.
"The assistant director said the director is looking for your new partner, but time is running out. You need to start working on a new performance piece," Ryan conveyed.
"Yay!" Taylor jumped up excitedly; Ryan's earlier plan had evidently borne fruit.
"I'm going to sing Superman; I'm going to confess my feelings to you live!" Taylor said, touching Ryan's cheek.
Once that song was performed, it would be enough to sweep away any lingering doubts about their relationship and dispel conspiracy theories.
In the following days, Taylor began preparing new songs and reached out to Nathan Chapman to start fresh arrangements, leaning towards a country music version similar to her prior Fearless tracks.
...
"Taylor, we've both been invited to a private party hosted by Clive Davis tomorrow night to celebrate the Grammys," Ryan said after ending his call with Scott.
"Who else is invited?" Taylor asked as she walked over, her face covered with a skincare mask.
"Almost everyone attending the Grammys: every singer and a few high executives in the music industry from Los Angeles," Ryan replied.
The Grammys were practically an annual industry gala, complete with after-parties and "pre-parties."
"I'm not really interested, shouldn't we skip it?" Taylor considered aloud, revealing her aversion to such events, finding them lacking in substance. She had gained fame primarily through her talent rather than networking with industry bigwigs; she certainly didn't want to conduct herself like a politician.
"But I think you should go, Ryan," Taylor tried.
"Aren't you afraid that I won't come home all night? Just a heads up, Miley might also be there," Ryan casually warned.
"Then I'm definitely going! What time tomorrow? I need to get ready ahead of time!" Taylor immediately changed her mind.
...
"Who is Clive Davis, do you know?" Taylor asked as she closed her makeup mirror in the car.
"He's a well-known producer, A&R manager, and record company executive who just became the Chief Creative Officer of Sony Music Group this year," Ryan informed her.
Clive Davis was quite the figure in the industry, even higher than Jimmy Iovine and LA Reid.
"He's discovered artists like Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Whitney Houston, and many top rock bands from the '60s and '70s. He's known as 'The Man with the Golden Ear,' and Leona Lewis is the flagship female artist under him."
Leona's promotional efforts in the American market were managed by Clive's J Records.
"Does this mean Leona and Simon will also be there tonight? Perfect, you can continue discussing collaborations with her," Taylor replied, nodding.
...
When Ryan and Taylor arrived at the party, they found themselves at Clive Davis's private estate, which was as luxurious as an old palace, spacious enough for all the guests that evening.
The person greeting Ryan and Taylor was somewhat unexpected.
"Mr. Rivers and Mrs. Rivers, welcome," Scooter smiled as they entered.
*****
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