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“Maryam!!!!” Carmen shouted so loudly that I screamed as a reflex reaction. “Oh, my God! A miracle! It’s a miracle!”
“Jesus! Why have you been screaming at me on the phone lately?!” I yelled at her. Honestly, I thought my eardrums would burst.
“Sorry. Drew just sent us a response. We’re in!”
“What?” Probably didn’t hear her correctly.
“You heard me. They want to sign you, my girl!”
I still processed my thoughts for a second, trying to come to terms with what Carmen said. They still wanted me? Why? What did that man want from me? There couldn’t be a good reason, right? Did Drew manage to convince him that I would be a good fit for the company? Razor seemed uninterested in me and barely gave me any positive feedback.
“Did you not hear what I said?!” Carmen, still high on the news, asked. “Drew sent the email and said he’d send word of when we’d come to the office to sign officially. We’ll still have to give him the name of our lawyer and discuss how much you’ll be paid and the way you’ll be paid. You know, royalties and all that. They’re taking a big risk with us here. Honestly, I thought we blew it.”
I did, too.
“Yeah. I’m just… still surprised. What did Razor say?”
“He didn’t mention him in the email. That doesn’t matter because if they agreed to sign you, then Ronald Razor agreed to it. Just focus on being happy and reveling in the moment. This is what you’ve worked for all your life, Maryam. It would be horrible for you to do all that just to not soak in the moment when it finally arrives.” Carmen spoke the truth.
I’d been so hung up on the chase of a seemingly impossible dream that when it finally came to pass, I still couldn’t believe it because the chase had been all I knew. Part of it was because of how the meeting with the CEO and COO went, but also … I’d already resigned. I’d given up the possibility that this would come to pass, and for that low to turn into a phenomenal high … yes! I could finally feel the emotions in me ready to erupt. Was I allowed to feel this happy? Could I finally let out the fears of failure and not making it in this zingy city?
“Oh, my Gaaaaaaaaaahhhhd!!!” I screamed in a pitch so high, I’m sure I cracked a glass somewhere.
“Damn!” Now it was Carmen’s turn to complain about my volume, but I didn’t care. Crying for the second time in just a few hours, I let the tears flow out with reckless abandon. Heck, I welcomed them because this time, they were tears of joy. Some people spend an entire lifetime training, learning, taking disappointment, and still carrying on … just to feel a moment like this. That moment when it all comes together; a nexus of convergence that ties your life in one nice bow, making you feel complete. I didn’t know for how long I screamed and screamed and flung my hands. At some point, I forgot Carmen was on the phone and I threw it into the bed. I started dancing and singing my favorite songs. The real work started soon, to prove I was worthy to be at the highest stage of the music industry, but today? Today, I dance, revel, and enjoy. Today, I breathe in the moment … I live.
Chapter five
Ronald Razor’s POV
Itriedandfailednot to look at her joy as she held the pain with her eyes as round as a ball, the excitement clear for all to see. As someone working in the business and ruthless side of things, especially in the music industry, I usually met people who masked their true intentions with smiles and wiles. When you had money and influence at my level, everyone came across as the enemy or a potential enemy. Was it an exhausting way to live? Hell yeah. But it kept me safe and led me to the top.
But her, I didn’t catch a scent of that on Maryam Carey. She was honest… even to a fault. She wore her heart on her sleeve, which many people might say made her naïve, but I didn’t think so. She looked so pure to me while signing the contract. Other than she and I, the other people in the conference room watching the events unfold were our respective lawyers, Drew, and Carmen. After she finished signing, everyone but me clapped.
“Congratulations, girl! I knew you could do it!” Carmen said with a huge smile, hugging her. I liked the fact that their relationship was good. Too many agents tried to take advantage of the talent in our business.
“Welcome to the family, Maryam,” Drew added, still clapping.
She looked so happy, giggling like a little girl, and covering her mouth due to shyness. Wow. What a stunning young lady. I simply stared at her, watching every nicety of her face and hands. The way her eyes closed while she smiled from ear to ear, the crinkles at the corners forming, and those pink lips broadening with the smile. Watching her happy made me want to smile as well. As she looked at everyone to show her gratitude, her eyes glanced at mine for a moment. When she saw me, her smile waned, and she quickly had a scared look.
Wait. Was she afraid of me? No, she can't be. I felt bad that I’d made her feel this way. Anyway, regardless of what happened in the past or how magnetic her allure was, the current reality remained that we worked in the same company. Being the latest talent to be signed to RRR, I needed to keep things 100% professional. But things being professional and her hating me aren’t the same thing.
“Thanks, guys,” she said, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the moment. “And thank you, Mr. Razor, for giving me this opportunity. I’ll do my best to prove to you that I was worth this investment.”
“That’s good. I’m happy to have you in the company.” Glancing at Drew, I gave him the look to move to the next part.
“Okay, now that we’re done, would you like to follow us to the studio where we can have a snippet of what you’ve been working on?” Drew said to them.
We’d told them to bring something for us to work with within the week from when we sent Carmen the email and now. They agreed, so I wanted to see what she had. I guessed it would be one of my songs already in the works but not out on her music accounts yet. With an artist being signed to our label, we now needed to work studiously with her to create and promote her music. But before we could market anything, we needed her album cycle or mixtape to have an idea of what the label was working with.
After hearing at least one song, Gale, our recording engineer, would have a clearer idea of what to do. She had said on YouTube that when it came to music, she didn’t like the commercialized nature of songs now, and her style suited that. As a company focused on profit as we are on talent, though, we’d have to try and make it at least more receptible to as large a fanbase as possible while keeping the integrity that won her a good following by her OG fans. This meant one or more back and forth between us and her camp on the tracks that would be in her first album.
“Sure thing.” She practically jumped from her seat, and we went down to the recording area. On entering the studio, I saw Gale and two other guys seated. He stood up after seeing me and shook my hand.
“Hey, Ronald. This the lady?” he asked.
“Yeah. Gale, this is Maryam. He’ll be the recording engineer. Maryam, Gale,” I introduced them to one another.
“Nice to meet you, Gale,” Maryam said while they shook hands.
