Different Circles

“That is not our concern,” Doolittle said. “You are contractually obligated at this point to come to an agreement with us on touring. This is our terms of the agreement. We will not be changing them.”

Pauline rolled her eyes. “Frowley, talk some sense into these people,” she told him. “You know as well as I do that offering terms of a contract that guarantees one of the parties will go into debt is not considered good faith negotiation.”

“I know no such thing,” Frowley said smoothly. “Especially when you consider the profits that KVA will enjoy from the ridiculously low royalty rate you negotiated for in the MD&P contract. Your net profit will be in the black.”

“Not when you factor in the costs we incurred in producing the CDs in the first place,” Jake said.

“Again,” Doolittle said, “your cost of production is not our concern.”

“We’re not going to agree to sixty-five percent and one hundred percent of tour costs,” Pauline told them. “I don’t even have to consult with my partners to tell you that. We will not go into the red just so you greedy fucks can rake it in.”

“Then your MD&P contract will be in a state of breach,” Frowley said. “We were quite clear on that point when we went over that contract. You agreed to abide by that clause and you signed your names on the line. If you fail to come to an agreement on touring, we will file suit demanding payment for all revenue from CD sales and touring, plus legal fees and perhaps even punitive damages.”

“I got your fuckin’ punitive damages right here,” Matt said, grabbing his crotch and squeezing it a few times.

Jake and Pauline both gave him sharp looks. Matt had been specifically instructed to keep his mouth shut during this meeting so he would not blurt something out that would hurt their cause.

“I’m sorry you feel you are being treated unfairly,” Doolittle told them. “But our terms for touring are not negotiable. You can either agree to them or face the consequences.”

Jake and Pauline looked at each other and then exchanged a nod. “I guess this meeting is at an end,” she said. “Further discussion is pointless.”

“You cannot simply ignore this issue,” Crow said. “We will file suit if no agreement is reached.”

“We need a few days to discuss this,” Pauline said. “How about we meet again on Friday afternoon?”

“Very well,” Doolittle said. “Friday at two o’clock. But be advised, we will not be changing our position. And if you do not come to terms by the end of this month, we will begin legal proceedings.”

“Understood,” Pauline said.

A minute later, she, Jake, Matt, and Nerdly were out the door and heading for their vehicles.

Friday afternoon, the same players met in the same room for the meeting. Crow, Bailey, and Doolittle all had smirks of triumph on their faces as Matt, Jake, Pauline, and Nerdly sat down at the table. Even Frowley had a smirk on his face. It seemed he had gotten over his suspicions that a game was afoot. This was okay with the KVA people and Matt. They were quite looking forward to seeing those smirks wiped away.

“We have just one question for you,” Doolittle said, not even bothering with the pleasantries. “Are you here to agree with our terms? If the answer is no, then this meeting is over.”

“The answer is no,” Pauline said simply.

Doolittle shook his head and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Why didn’t you just tell us that on the phone yesterday?” he asked. “You could have saved all of us a lot of time.”

“Our position was made very clear,” Crow added. “You agree to our terms or you face legal action.”

“You simply have no room for negotiating here, Pauline,” Frowley informed her. “The contract you signed is quite clear on this point.”

“Yeah ... well, that’s what we want to talk about today,” Pauline said. “It turns out that the contract we signed is not quite as clear as you think it is.”

“Excuse me?” Frowley said. “It is in black and white and has been notarized. KVA will come to terms on a touring contract or the MD&P contract is in breach and you are liable for the profits National would have been reasonably entitled to.”

“Yeah, it does say that in the contract,” Pauline agreed. “But I’ve developed some new information since we last met.”

“New information?” asked Bailey.

“That is correct,” she said. “Did you know that you can access the entirety of the law libraries for both Harvard and Stanford on the internet? Nerdly here showed me how to do it.”

“This is a good time to be alive,” Nerdly said.

“It’s been a few years since I had to do legal research on the scale I’ve been doing it these past few days, but it really is like riding a bicycle. In fact, it’s even easier than riding a bicycle now that there are things like search boxes and cross-referencing tools.”

“What are you trying to pull?” asked Frowley, his concerned expression starting to make a return visit.

“I was just doing my due diligence as a member of the bar and a partner in the entity known as KVA Records,” Pauline said. “You see, I knew that something about that MD&P contract smelled bad.”