"Cut. Okay, let's start that back, Meg," Collins, the producer said quickly, hitting buttons on both the soundboard and her computer.
Domino, her bandmate, groaned from somewhere next to her and Zoey reached out blindly, ruffling Dom's short hair.
Billie, their lead singer, stood somewhere nearby, undoubtedly with crossed arms and a tapping toe, watching Meg intensely. Billie had always been a basketcase during recording sessions, and this album was proving to be no different.
The door to the sitting area opened. Zoey turned to see who was interrupting them. Long, elegantly straightened dark hair gave away the culprit: Vero De Luca, Billie's girlfriend.
Zoey glanced to see that Billie still had her back to the door, watching Meg, who was nailing take after take, but Collins was keeping none of them.
"I brought reserves," she whispered. "Billie said no to cocaine, so I brought the next best thing."
"Whiskey?" Domino asked hopefully.
Vero laughed. "Don't you wish," she said, holding up a gigantic coffee carafe in one hand and a six-pack of energy drinks in the other.
"You are a goddess," Zoey said, reaching toward her without standing up.
She had been hesitant at first when Billie started dating Vero. In fact, she had accidentally caused a breakup between them by encouraging Vero's ex-girlfriend to try to win her back. The lesbian world was much too small.
They had been a band since college, but Zoey was still navigating the perils and pitfalls of queer life. She knew much more about The L Word, Tegan and Sara, and Kristen Stewart’s love life than most lesbians she knew.
As the token straight woman in The Shrikes, she was often in a supporting role. And that was fine. She was happy to be an ally to her gay friends. As the biological daughter of a black woman and a Filipino father, she understood "otherness" unlike most.
She had been adopted and raised by two well-meaning white suburbanites in Nebraska, she truly, truly knew what it was like to be the odd one out.
She had used her looks to her advantage, though, once the fashion editorials had started rolling in. She was repped by IMG models, had been on the cover of Italian Vogue, and had walked in a handful of shows over the past few years.
And in The Shrikes, a band of misfit queer women, she was definitely the odd one out, but not because of her race. Still, her bandmates had never feel as though she was any different for it. They were her true family, and she cherished how they had all accepted her even though she wasn’t gay — the backwards irony was, of course, not lost on her.
She grabbed her empty coffee cup and refilled it from the cardboard carafe.
"Oh, baby, I didn't even see you there," Billie said, wrapping her arms around Vero.
Zoey watched, curious. She had never had a real relationship. She had dated her fair share, but no one more than six months. She had certainly never looked at someone — or been looked at — quite like Billie looked at Vero.
"Is that coffee?" Meg said through her microphone.
"Damnit Meg, we almost had it," Collins snapped.
Domino and Billie exchanged a look.
Collins was one of the most respected producers in LA and definitely the most expensive one that their label would allow, but whoa, she could be an asshole.
"Uh, sorry, but this is like the seventh time I've nailed it so I'm going to have some fucking coffee," Meg said.
Zoey frowned, trying to hide her amusement behind her coffee cup. Meg was typically very sweet, though she could be blunt, apparently everyone had hit their limit with Collins.
Collins sighed. "I get paid by the hour, take your time," she said.
Domino mouthed to Zoey, "Makes sense."
Zoey smirked, grinning. Her phone lit up beside her on the sofa with a picture of a woman with bleached hair wearing a gas station trucker hat they had found in Arkansas on their last tour — their manager, Micah.
"Is that Mike?" Domino said, pointing to Zoey's phone. She grabbed it without waiting for an answer.
"Yo Mikey, we're being held hostage by Collins, save us," Domino said into the receiver.
A grin crossed Domino's face. She handed the phone to Collins. "It's for you," she said, handing the phone toward the producer.
Vero giggled behind her cup and Billie wrapped an arm around her, presumably to quiet her.
Meg appeared beside them, taking the cup out of Zoey's hand to gulp the hot liquid down in one fell swoop.
Collins turned towards them, handing the phone back to Zoey.
"We're breaking for the night, but tomorrow we're starting on 'Midnight,' so get ready, Zo," Collins said, clearing her throat again.
Zo? They were on nickname basis now? Or did Collins just not know her name?
Thank God for Micah. She was off in meetings for the band in New York for the next few days, but she was obviously feeling guilty about leaving the band without management.
Billie turned toward Zoey. "Oh, I'm so excited for that. Your first lead songwriting credit!"
Zoey's stomach swarmed with nerves. "Okay," she squeaked and the rest of the women laughed.
Domino clapped her on the shoulder. "It's a gorgeous song. I'm excited," she said.
'Midnight' was a song she had written at the last minute, replacing another song idea in her head. Once she got the beginning inklings of 'Midnight,' it was all over. She had written the song in about fifteen minutes and had the main chords in under an hour, as though it had always existed and she was just a vessel for getting it on paper.
"I still don't know if it’s the right tone for the album," Zoey began, feeling unsure of herself.
Collins sighed. "It fits. It’s a good song. If it wasn’t the right tone for the album, it’ll get cut from the final list. It’s not a big deal," she said with a touch of irritability in her voice.
The woman could even make compliments sound mean.
'Midnight' had come to her just a few weeks before, a few days after her surprise New Year's Eve kiss with Pia. When the band had heard it and asked her about its inspiration, she had told them the kissing bandit had been a man she didn't know.
Apparently, they had bought the lie.
Upon hearing the story, Vero had even offered to call Madonna to get the guest list so they could begin to narrow it down.
Zoey had tried her hardest to talk her out of that idea, for fear that any list with her name and Pia's name would be too obvious — even though she knew they’d never guess something so outrageous.
As it was, once they started doing the promotional tour, they'd be on Pia's show. Apparently she had worked out a deal with Micah and the record label to release their first single on the show. The idea of it made Zoey’s stomach swirl with nerves.
Pia's show had the kind of rabid fan base that could really make the album explode in popularity.
She hadn't gotten all of the details of the release, given that the album wasn't even finished, and it was months away, and that even the mere mention of Pia's name made her blush to such a degree that she had to excuse herself from the room and go outside.
"I'm excited for Collins to have a new target in the morning," Meg whispered with a wink to the group.
"I can hear you," Collins said, her back turned as she fiddled with the computer.