AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sadie was next to me, hand raised to the smooth dark wood, ready to knock. The hallway was deserted but featured a row of Damian’s platinum records. He was successful; I had to give him that, but I still wasn’t super excited to start my first day as his studio assistant.
Meeting Damian the day before had left me a bit shaken. He had changed so much in the last five years. I knew I should have expected him to change. I mean, everyone changed, but I still managed to feel flustered.
My heart was beating intensely as Sadie knocked on the door, not really sure which Thalia was going to emerge in front of Damian this time. I had to remind myself that I didn’t know him anymore, not the way I used to know him. He wasn’t Damian, the new artist on the block, with shiny blue eyes filled with childlike wonder.
He was Damian Apollo, a worldwide music superstar and billionaire. Damian’s rise to success had been meteoric, and he had the business sense to capitalize on his rise, so he had staying power. Every radio station had his songs on the playlists. Up-and-coming artists cited him as their influence. Every person and their grandmother knew about him. That was who Damian Apollo was today.
My breath caught. I couldn’t tell if it was relief or disappointment when the door swung open and someone other than Damian stood on the other side. He was tall, with a friendly smile and an incredibly colorful hoodie. I breathed deeply, instantly comforted by his friendliness.
“There she is!” The mystery man greeted Sadie warmly. His eyes landed on me. “And this must be our new assistant.” He immediately stretched his hand out for me to shake.
“I’m sorry,” Sadie waved the air around her. “That was rude of me. Yes, Jackson, this is Thalia Santana. She’ll be the new studio assistant. Thalia, this is Jackson. He’s a producer extraordinaire.” Her arm kept waving, but this time in a magical sense, as if to comment on the music Jackson could create.
Jackson’s skin was as warm as his smile. It helped me to gather up my confidence and stand just a little straighter. I had this. I wasn’t going to mess this job up on the first day.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I said, trying to sound confident and certain.
But Jackson barked out a laugh.
“You don’t need to be formal around here, Thalia. Just call me Jackson, please.” He released my hand and shook his head, laughing again. “Anyway, you’re actually just in time. We’re about to get started for today.”
He stepped inside, allowing me to follow him into the studio space.
I shot one last look at Sadie, and she nodded her head for me to go inside. I took one more deep breath before entering the room, immediately being greeted by an almost freezing temperature.
“It’s…cold,” I said, crossing my arms against the chill. Who even wanted to be in a room this cold? Now I understood Jackson’s hoodie even though it was summer in California.
Jackson simply laughed as he turned up more of the dim lights of the studio so I could get my bearings.
“Yeah, well, our star likes his studios cold for some reason. You’re probably gonna have to get used to that as he requests it in all his spaces,” he advised me. “You might want to get a hoodie.” He lifted the fabric of his own as proof and laughed.
I couldn’t help but laugh along with Jackson. His energy was infectious and I thought if he was around, I might actually have a chance at making it through this job.
I took some time to analyze the space. It was absolutely huge, of course, full of state-of-the-art studio equipment on one side of the room. On the other side, close to the door, were a couple of leather couches along with a coffee and tea station in the corner. This was a studio I would have died for, in my earlier days.
The walls were wood paneled and they contrasted well with the high-tech studio equipment. It softened the feel of the space and made it all feel very…cozy and soothing. It was comfortable and I could see how it would be easy to work here.
Then, there was the actual recording booth. My jaw dropped seeing the soft glow of the space. It was painted a dark green, giving it an earthy and calm feel. The instruments were polished and gleaming, more refined than ones I had seen before. I was almost certain that just one of those guitars was worth about a year of rent. Considering this was LA, that wasn’t a small number, and it made me sway as a feeling of overwhelm raced through me.
It was just breathtaking. It was everything I had dreamed of having access to when I was younger.
“Okay, so what we’re gonna have you do…” Jackson’s voice snapped me out of my daydream. I schooled my face and forced myself to pay attention, determined to knock this out of the park.
“Sadie probably filled you in all the logistical stuff – maintenance, logs, all that.”
I nodded, and Jackson clapped his hand with a smile.
“Awesome! So I don’t have to explain all of that to you and we can skip to the fun part. What we’re gonna have you do is get the equipment ready for the artist, maybe lay out some tracks when we’re starting to record…”
I tried to pay attention as Jackson continued talking. He was incredibly informative, but the truth was, I already knew this part of the job. I’d been in this position before. The only difference now was that I wasn’t the artist. Today, I was working for the artist.
“You have some experience in music production and songwriting, right? Me and Damian butt heads sometimes and can’t always decide on how to move forward. We might call on you to be a tie-breaker since, well, you’re the only other person here. I know that’s probably an intimidating position to be in, but don’t worry too much. We both have huge egos, of course, but at the end of the day, we just want to make the music great and we’re willing to listen to other opinions.
My heart lifted a bit at this piece of information. I actually felt myself get a little excited. I wanted nothing more than to return to making music. Knowing that I might have an occasional opportunity to voice my opinion in the creative process was a little thrilling.
I mean, I would have loved to do it for anyone else but Damian Apollo, but I really didn’t have a choice here.
“I’ll be honest, Damian is really reclusive when it comes to his music. Most of the time, it’s going to be just us three. Sometimes, another producer might be pulled in, but that’s rare.” Jackson wrapped up his orientation, and my mind and stomach were whirling with the idea that I was going to be stuck in this room every day with Damian. All of a sudden, it felt a little smaller in here.
