Different Circles

Meanwhile, less than a mile away at the Mirage Hotel and Casino, Matt Tisdale was in his suite on the top floor, drinking a Jack and Coke. Jerry Stillson, the CEO of Music Alive and the driving force behind the TSF, was not an unintelligent man. He was not up there with Nerdly or even Jake in the smarts department, but he had been wise enough to know that housing Jake Kingsley and Matt Tisdale in separate hotels was in everyone’s best interest.

While Matt’s band and his paramedic were downstairs playing various casino games and losing a good portion of their recent earnings in the process, Matt sat alone. As someone who had always had more money than he knew what to do with (until now anyway), he had never quite understood the appeal of gambling, so he had no real urge to engage in the activity. To him, Vegas was about partying and gash, not about games of chance played for money. And even if he were into gambling, he likely would not have been in the mood. He and the boys had gotten in at nine this morning after a long, overnight flying marathon from Rio de Janeiro to Houston and then from Houston to Las Vegas. He was tired, jetlagged, and out-of-sorts despite the nearly eight hours of sleep he’d gotten since arrival. And, to top it all off, he was now getting some less than welcome news about his financial situation.

“Will you be able to come to Los Angeles for at least a day after your performances?” asked Wesley Brimm, his tax lawyer, shortly after Matt got him on the phone.

“I guess,” Matt said. “What for?”

“I have dozens of documents that need your signature,” Wesley told him. “And there are some aspects of the case that we should really go over in person, instead of on the phone.”

“What kind of aspects?” Matt asked.

“As I said,” Wesley told him, “most are things too complex to go into on the phone, thus the reason I am requesting a personal meeting. But, in any case, I now have preliminary numbers from both the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board as to what you will owe in back taxes, interest, and penalties.”

Matt took a deep breath. “I see,” he said.

“Would you like to hear them?” Wesley asked.

“Yeah, but ... uh ... give me a minute here. I’m going to put the phone down.”

“Uh ... okay, but...”

Matt did not hear the rest of what he said because the phone was now sitting on the bar. After putting the phone down, he picked up his drink and downed the rest of it and dumped the ice out. He then picked up the bottle of Jack Daniels and poured a healthy shot that filled the glass halfway. This, he downed in one slug, feeling the warmth exploding through his body. He took a few deep breaths and then picked up the pipe and the bag of genuine California greenbud he had scored from the hotel’s concierge. He pulled off a healthy pinch, stuffed it into the pipe, put the pipe to his lips, picked up the lighter next to his cigarettes, and then fired up. He took a long healthy rip of the pot, holding the smoke deeply for nearly thirty seconds before blowing it back out. He then repeated the procedure one more time. After this, he pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit that up. He took two healthy drags. Only then did he pick the phone back up and put it to his ear.

“All right,” he said. “I’m properly braced now. Lay it on me.”

Wesley, who was by now used to dealing with Matt, simply laid it on him. “The California FTB has come to the figure of eight million, four hundred and sixteen thousand, two hundred and thirty-four dollars,” he said. “The IRS has come to the figure of twenty-six million, nine hundred twenty-seven thousand, three hundred and eleven dollars. Of course, the interest accrual on both of these amounts will continue to rise at the prime rate the longer you go without paying them.”

“Fuck me,” Matt said, shaking his head. More than thirty-four million dollars! It was worse than he had thought.

“As of this moment in time,” Wesley went on, “your yacht, your helicopter, and your Los Angeles domicile are all in escrow. When escrow closes and funding occurs, that will give you four million, sixty-three thousand, eight hundred and twelve dollars to pay toward the debt. In addition, we have firm bids on most of your guitar collection that will add another two hundred and eighteen thousand or so to that amount. And liquidation of some of your stocks, bonds, and certificates of deposit will add another two million, two hundred and twelve thousand to that, although you must remember that you will be responsible for capital gains taxes on the sale of the domicile and the investment gains on the stocks, bonds, and CDs.”

“That still leaves an assload to pay off,” Matt said.

“It does,” Wesley agreed. “And the IRS is already making preparations to garnish your royalty checks, your endorsement income checks, and to start seizing some of your other assets. Are you sure you won’t reconsider your decision not to put your house and property in Mexico up for sale?”