None of them react to my answer, clearly schooled in making sure they’re not giving anything away. Dax looks at Rascal. “Let’s say you’re the winner at the end of this whole thing,” Rascal begins. “You go home to pack up for your move to Los Angeles, and you find a winning lottery ticket worth ten million dollars that you bought before you left. What do you do?”
“I give that ticket to my Auntie Jean, the woman who raised me, and I get the fuck on the road toward LA,” I say.
Brody chuckles at my answer, and he’s next. “How many sandwiches have you eaten off the floor?”
I look up at the ceiling for a second as I mentally calculate. “In my whole life? Because I was a dirty kid.”
That earns me another chuckle, but nobody responds.
“In my adult life, I’d have to admit I’ve always been too fucked up to remember. I don’t make a habit of eating off the floor, but when you’re wasted and hungry, well, beggars can’t be choosers. I’d estimate maybe five or six times.”
Adam nods and asks the next question. “What’s your biggest weakness?”
Lexi Weber.
I don’t say that, but it’s what immediately springs to mind.
“I have a hard time letting people get close. It springs back to a tough childhood and situation with my parents.” I don’t say more. If they want to know more, they can ask when I’m part of the band. It’s not something I want to talk about on the show, anyway.
Dax asks the final question. “Why should we pick you over Lexi and Tyler?”
“Over Tyler because I’m a better bassist.” That earns me a laugh. “But over Lexi...I’m not sure you should actually choose me over Lexi.”
All four men look surprised by my response, ruining their stony expressions.
I blow out a breath. “You know, I said I didn’t come here to make friends, and I didn’t. But I do need to be honest. Lexi is an amazing bassist, and she has a voice like I’ve never heard before. She can write the hell out of a song. If I had to tell you to choose me, I’d say it’s because I’m a better fit when it comes to personality. It’ll be easy for me to fill a man’s shoes, while they might be a little big on her.” I glance around, and they seem to get my metaphor.
“She’ll have the constant jealousy from your adoring fans. She might face jealousy from the women in your life. That won’t be easy for her, but she’s one of the strongest women I’ve ever met.” It’s then that I realize I’m not just airing my opinion. I’m bleeding my feelings for her aloud to these guys. She’s my competition, and it would do me well to remember that. Yet I still need to be honest. “When it comes to talent, she should win. But I know there are other factors at play, and that’s why I’m here, still fighting.”
“Thank you, Gage,” Dax says, and the others echo.
I stand to leave, but then I turn around. “Thank you, Dax, Adam, Brody, and Will. I hope we’ll get the chance to celebrate together soon.”
CHAPTER 42: LEXI
Ben pulls me into a confessional as soon as Gage is carted off for his interview. It’s just as well, though. Since Tyler and I would be separated while we wait for Gage anyway, at least this gives me someone to talk to.
“What kinds of questions do you think they’ll ask?” he asks me.
I shrug. “I have no idea. I imagine it’ll be sort of like a job interview.”
“Have you been on a lot of job interviews?”
I shake my head. “Now that I think about it, I don’t know if I’ve ever been on an actual job interview before. I’ve been playing music for ages. I waitressed in college, but I didn’t really have an interview for that.”
“What’s your degree in?” he asks.
“Music theory.” I rub my hands on my thighs nervously. “I thought about being a music teacher for a while, but I never got my teaching credentials. I’ve done a lot of private lessons, but that was all word of mouth, so there weren’t any interviews there, either. That’s pretty much the extent of my job experience.”
His line of questioning is making me nervous to face the four guys who might be my bandmates in a few days.
He lets me go after a few more minutes on the hot seat, and I pace in the family room—my quarantine room, so to speak. Tyler’s down in the basement. As soon as Gage leaves the producer’s office, I’m next.
I stop and stare out the window.
Usually I can look out over a beach and feel a sort of peaceful serenity, but today that’s not the overwhelming feeling I’m getting.
Today the sea is turbulent and chaotic, much like my thoughts.
Gage walks out. Our eyes meet, and he presses his lips together before he looks away, head down, and walks past me and out of the room.
After a few moments, the door to the production office opens. “Come on in, Lexi,” Dax says.
I draw in a deep breath, hold it for a five count, and then release it as I walk through the door into the firing squad. They’re all sitting on one side of a conference table, and the single chair that presumably Gage just vacated looks lonely on the opposite side of the table.
“Take a seat,” Dax says with a smile, and I pull out the chair and sit. “We’re going to ask you five questions. They’ll be the same five questions we asked Gage, the same five we’ll ask Tyler. Any questions before we begin?”
I shake my head, and he nods. “Great. First question: what will you bring to MFB both personally and professionally?”
“Personally, you’ll get me.” I give them a cheesy smile. “I’ve done my best to show who I am throughout the course of this competition. As the only woman here, I’m proud that I beat out seven men so far to land in the top three. I think you’ve gotten a glimpse of my strength. I think you’ve seen that rumors and big mouths and other people won’t distract me from my focus.”
I nod pointedly to the door that Gage walked through just before I did, and then I continue. “I’m driven and ambitious, and I’ll do everything I can to contribute to the band. Professionally, you’ll get someone who can play bass, but also someone who can musically step in wherever I’m needed, whether that’s on another instrument or as a back-up vocalist. And I know you all have important women in your lives, women who are integral to this band, but you’ll have a woman’s musical perspective on things, too, whether it’s lyrics or melodies or something as simple as merchandise.”
They all nod, and I wish I knew what they were thinking. Their expressions give nothing away.
Rascal goes next. “Let’s say you’re the winner at the end of this whole thing. While you’re back in Nashville packing up to move to Los Angeles, you find a winning lottery ticket worth ten million dollars that you bought before you left. What do you do?”
I raise both brows. “I cash it and use a portion of it to pay someone to pack all my stuff for me. I hate packing.”
Dax and Adam laugh.
“I’d pay off my parents’ mortgage and my own student loans. I’d give my parents a little nest egg and treat myself to a little shopping spree. I’d deposit the rest into savings, and then I’d head out to LA.”