"Water would be great. Thank you."
"Of course."
She ducks down and produces a bottle of water with the Homegrown Records label on it from what must be a mini fridge beneath the desk.
"Please have a seat. Ms. Wix shouldn't be but a few minutes."
I make my way over to the seating area, and my boots sink into the plush green shag carpet. I didn't exactly know what to wear for this meeting, so I went with black slacks, a white blouse, and a black jacket that is as close to a blazer as I own. It zips up at an asymmetrical angle, and the cuffs sport thick silver buttons. My boots were the only footwear that looked remotely right with the outfit, so that's what I picked. I haven't had a lot of excess funds lately, so shoe shopping has been at the bottom of my priority list, not that it was ever near the top.
"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting." Holly's familiar voice fills the reception area as she crosses the room.
I'm glad I didn't go any fancier, because Holly's outfit is purely Nashville casual. A cream-colored sweater cinched at her waist with a thick brown belt, and skinny jeans tucked into brown heeled leather boots that come up to her knee. Gold earrings dangle to her shoulders, peeking in and out of her blond mane that looks just as good as it does on TV.
"Not at all," I say, finding my voice. "I was early. Thank you for meeting with me."
"It's my pleasure. I appreciate you coming today. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have you here. Come on back. We can get comfortable and talk."
I follow her through a door to the left of the reception desk, and find the inner offices of Homegrown are just as rustic as the outer.
"Creighton had the entire place redesigned and remodeled while I was out on maternity leave. I have no idea how in the hell he managed it, but he did. I wondered why he wouldn't let me come back to Nashville for weeks, but as always, that diabolical man had bigger plans. He knew once I got in this town, I'd find a way to get into my office."
The rough wood, heavy silver accents, and pops of red weren't what I'd expect with Creighton Karas heading up the project, but Holly continues.
"Would you believe he found my Dream Office Pinterest board that had all the pictures for inspiration? Seriously, I swear he must have worked for the CIA at some point. That board was secret, and still he managed to sniff it out and make it real, right down to the rose accents for our baby girl."
While her words would suggest she was marginally annoyed, the giant smile on her face belies them. It's clear she loves her new digs-and her husband-very much.
He's freaking terrifying, if you ask me, but then again, no one did.
We reach her corner office, where three of the four walls are solid glass. Two look out over Nashville, and the third into a nursery where a woman sits in the corner watching a tiny pink bundle sleep.
"That's Rose. Her daddy made her a princess nursery where I could watch over her while I work. The glass will frost at the touch of a button, but Crey knew I'd want to have her with me as much as possible."
"Wow. That's amazing."
"He's incredibly sweet, but don't tell him I told you. He prefers people be scared of him."
Mission accomplished, I think, but keep that to myself.
"Have a seat and we'll get down to business." She motions to a small seating area with a distressed leather love seat and two chairs.
"Thank you."
Holly grabs a file off the desk and takes the love seat, which makes me glad I picked one of the chairs.
"I know this seems kind of sudden, but that's the way this business goes. So many people become stars 'overnight' when they've actually been playing the bars and small venues for a decade. Still, when it does happen, it moves fast. So, first things first." She pins me with a direct look. "Do you want to be an overnight star? Because that's what we're fixing to do for you. Now, I have to say there are no guarantees, but in reality, with the money Homegrown is prepared to invest in you and your brand, you will be everywhere. Since Crey acquired the label, I haven't been focused on adding new talent, but more shoring up everything else. You're my first, and I refuse to have you be anything less than a major success. Get me?"
Even with her drawl, she's still talking fast enough that my brain is stumbling to keep up.
My brand?
Without waiting for an answer, Holly continues.
"Before you answer that question, let's talk about a couple other things, like do you write your own songs, or would you plan to only record songs written by others? We don't care either way, because honestly, a big chunk of the artists in this town don't write a word of their own music. But if you do write your own songs, I want to hear some of them, and will probably set you up with a seasoned songwriter so we can make sure they're all top-notch and sort out which ones could go on an album."