At first, Raven barely noticed Troy come in; she vaguely heard the door creak, and played a bum note. She stood up as he walked across to her, and shook his hand. She greeted him with a smile and a quiet, deep "hi", showing him to a seat.

She could really feel the "shake" in his handshake. Yes, sure, Raven's hands weren't exactly the daintiest things to hold, but she could tell that he was a little nervous. She knew the feeling, she'd left the music industry and returned many a time, and getting back on board, even with old friends like Dark Blue Music, was always difficult. You never knew what was coming next in this world. Raven had gone through her share of surprises, not all of them good ones - but she remained optimistic.

As he sat down, she fell back into her seat, and sat up. "Now, first things first, gotta say how pleased I am that y'all wanna work with me!" Raven spoke genuinely, her voice heightening a little, and her smile felt as inked on as her tattoos. "I was lookin' for a new project too, and y'all came along just at the right time. It'll be great to get back into management again. Just sayin'."

She paused and looked at him more seriously. "I got the contracts on the table, which we'll need to sign - but first of all, I'll need to know what sorta thing you're plannin', musically, if it's gonna be much different, and what help you want from me. I'm here the same as before; I'm your team leader, alongside your producer - Eric, I believe? - and label if you have one." She shuddered slightly at the idea of working alongside some label owners, and really hoped she didn't come across those. Raven, enemy of the labels, she thought. "I'm here to get y'all back in the game, catch y'all when you fall, promote, and befriend. In return I don't ask for you to be a superstar, but I ask for you to try. I don't need a string of chart-toppers, neither you nor I control the public; but I do need a client who's willin' to get his music out there, and to really make a good go of it. Do y'all reckon you got that kinda determination?"

She hobbled over to the table with the contracts on and picked up a pen. She smiled as she flicked it in her fingers.

OOC : Thanks (: haha.

Raven sat and listened to what Troy had to say. She didn't know how he associated her with honesty, and swallowed hard to hold back a laugh - nobody else would. However, she agreed with what he said. Music associated not with fame or frills and fancies, but with raw emotion. That's what she had always believed that music was about; making the listener feel something. She couldn't believe how much he was complimenting her power as a manager, she never knew that she was such a driving force behind Reckoner.

Then she heard the words, "Chaos Records". She listened to the rest of what he was saying, but the word "Chaos" hung in the air, echoing around her mind. She started to panic.

"Chaos Records, eh?" she said, trying to keep her composure. "I just need to make a call."

She ran off to the next room, got out her mobile and called Jimmy Bishop, her own manager.
"Hello, Jimmy's love-line."
Despite everything, she giggled a little at how he answered his personal mobile. "Howdy, it's Raves."
"Hey Ravenah! I thought you were busy today?"
"I can't do it."
"What? Of course you can! You were an excellent manager before."
"He wants to sign with .... Chaos Records." She started to shake.
"And the problem is?"
"Scott!" she shouted. "I'm not gonna work closely with him, am I?"
"Raven. Remember when Kash and I got a divorce, and we both came back into work the next day? We mostly kept away from each other, but when I needed to talk about finances, I talked to her as if nothing had happened. Just like, if you need to talk to Scott about Troy, that would be the beginning, the middle and the end of the conversation. You don't need to be friends with Scott, just work together for the sake of the artist."
Her lip started to tremble. "Troy asked me never to give up on him."
"Then don't. Simple as that."
"What if Scott tells Troy not to work with me?"
"Then he's being unprofessional. If so, Chaos wasn't worth going to anyway. But you're not going to be like that. Never give up on him, just like he said."
"Right! Thanks Jimmy."
"You go girl!"

She returned to the room Troy was in, standing up straight, and feeling much less scared at the prospect of working with Scott H. She sat down and took a deep breath. "If a deal with Chaos Records is what y'all want, that's what you're gonna get," she said. "I reckon I can do that for y'all!" She smiled at the memory of why Jimmy matched Raven with Reckoner in the first place. Strange how silly things like that can work out so well, she thought.

Raven looked straight at Troy. "I'm never gonna let you down," she said. She started walking over to the contracts. "If y'all want me as a guest musician, I can help; if y'all want me as a friend, I can be that too, for sure. I ain't in it for the money - heck, I'm part of Moronic Changeling, I hardly need the extra cash. I'm doin' this for you."

She handed him the contracts. "Read through, there shouldn't be any problem, but never sign anything without lookin' first. Let me know if there's anything wrong." She looked deep into his eyes and smiled. "Pun intended or not, I totally reckon we can do this!"

Raven knew, instinctively, that he would sign it without a lawyer's help; she knew that Troy was smart enough to read the small print, but also that she, with Jimmy's help, had drawn up a good plan. After Troy had read and signed, she skim-read what she had written and scrawled the letters "REGAN JESSICA ROBBINS" and today's date on the papers.

She was surprised at the hug - she wasn't sure whether this crossed any lines. As professionals, possibly, but they were friends, right? She didn't get hugged very often, being as she was quite intimidating to look at. So she wasn't going to let this one go. She held onto Troy, looking over the top of his head and out of the window.

"I guess you're all mine, and it's a two-way street, yeah? I'm yours and won't let y'all down either."

As she shook his hand to seal the deal, she had forgotten all about the anxiety she had felt to do with Chaos Records. She was going to do a damn good job for Troy, no matter what.