Chapter 3 #2
As he did, the gun on his side became visible, and at first it scared me.
But then I realized that I was a Texan, and everybody and their mama carried weapons.
Hell, we didn’t even have to have them concealed at this point.
Instead of focusing on the gun, I decided to think about what questions I wanted to ask him.
I honestly wasn’t prepared to ask him anything, but I could tell from the look on his face that he expected me to.
“Okay, I guess I want to know how many artists I’ll be working with?”
“All of them. We currently have about twenty, but only five or seven will require most of your time. And, I’ll be honest, some are easier to handle than others.
Some you’ll forget they’re there, while the others will make you regret taking this job.
Musicians are like children. Some are better behaved than others.
I’ll be there to help you handle them, but most of the direction will come from you.
Especially when it comes to branding and marketing. ”
What he said didn’t scare me one bit. I was more than used to dealing with crazy celebrities who thought the world owed them everything.
I was glad that I’d be able to work my own system and get his support where needed.
In my previous job, we had a lot of rules and guidelines that we had to work within, and sometimes they worked, and other times they didn’t.
“Next question,” he said, pulling his ringing phone out of his pocket.
From the way his face turned up as he looked at it, I could tell that it was a woman, and most likely a woman that he didn’t want to hear from. He was way too fine to be making such faces, but I guessed some people brought the worst out of you without you being able to control it.
“Um, okay. Will it always just be you and me working together, especially when we have to travel somewhere? I’m assuming there’s travel involved with this job.”
“That’s technically two questions, but I’ll let you make it. But, yeah, for the most part, it’ll be you and me. I mean, clearly, there are other people in the office, but for the most part, you’ll be working with me. I promise to keep everything professional, though.”
It took every bit of control that I had to ensure that my face didn’t show what I was feeling inside.
I knew that I shouldn’t have been bothered by him saying that we’d keep everything professional, but I was.
It wasn’t what he said, it was how he said it.
Was he trying to say that I wasn’t his type or something?
That was the way that he made it sound. Which was crazy because I didn’t need to be his type to do my job, and well, at that.
But, as much as I wanted to address it, I knew that I couldn’t.
I didn’t want to get on his bad side before I got the job.
“Uh, okay, I guess my last question is,” I started, but stopped as I thought a little harder about what I wanted my last question for him to be. Once it came to me, I took a deep breath and asked.
“What happens if, try as we might, we can’t get along and have to end the contract before the six months are up?”
Pulling on his beard, he replied after a few seconds, “Giving up isn’t an option. So, if that happens, I suggest you figure out what you’re doing to piss me off and stop doing it. Now, that’s your three questions. Do you have clothes that you can wear to work, or do you need my help with that?”
“No, I have clothes that I can wear. But thank you for the offer, though.”
“Good. Here’s your contract. Read it thoroughly, and if you agree to the terms, then I’ll see you at eight tomorrow,” he said, getting up and heading back to the front door.
“Okay, thank you. I’ll take a look at it tonight and see you first thing in the morning.”
Turning around, he said, “Don’t take a look at it. Read it, word for word. Trust me, you don’t want to get into business with me without knowing what you’re signing up for. Because once you’re under contract, then you’re there. Now, lock up and get some rest.”
With that, he left out, and after I locked the door, I ran over to where I’d set the contract and began reading through it.
Something about the way he warned me to read it made me realize I needed to do just that.
Most people didn’t warn you about something like that, so I wasn’t sure if he was admirable for doing so, or if he was truly giving me a warning about how crazy things could get once I signed my name on that dotted line.
“These are some really crazy clauses,” I said, reading through the last two pages of the contract.
I’d never seen some of these things in a contract before, but I guessed that in our line of business, they all made sense.
It honestly didn’t matter what he had in there.
I was signing it. I needed this job, and there was no way I was going to turn it down.
As long as I didn’t have to do anything illegal or freaky, I could work through it.
Besides, these were musicians. The most they did was tear up hotel rooms and stuff like that.
It wasn’t as though I’d have to clean up murder scandals or anything closely related.
After deciding that I’d read everything that I needed to in order to know that I wasn’t signing my life away, I signed the papers, put them in my bag, and began looking at my clothes to see what I wanted to wear to work.
I knew I had to pull out my best power suit for the first day.
I needed to make a good impression on him since the last time I was there, I’d shown my ass.
I didn’t want him to have flashbacks about how we first met.
“Hello?” I asked, answering the phone on the first ring for Zaveah.
“Bitch! What the fuck is going on over there? I’ve called your phone like ten times since that man popped up at your door. Did you give him some pussy for the job or what?”
Laughing, I shook my head. She could definitely be a little out there if you let her.
“What? No! I’m desperate, but I’m not selling my pussy for a job.
I will happily sit on the couch with my parents every night watching reruns of Martin after my shift at Walmart before I do some goofy shit like that. ”
Laughing, she replied, “Alright, I was just making sure. So, what happened, though? Did he offer you a job at his label or what?”
“Yes, he did. He’s giving me a six-month work trial to prove myself worthy of the position. In addition to helping with PR, I’ll also be his personal assistant. I’m a little nervous, though. I know I can handle the PR side of things. It’s being his assistant that scares me.”
“You’ve been an assistant before you had your own office, so what’s the big deal?”
“He’s the big deal, Zaveah! This is Sincere Hall.
I did my research before I went up there, and in addition to the artists he’ll have me working with, he’s a big deal himself.
His name carries so much weight, and I know that if I can do this job right, whether I stay with his company or not, I’ll be able to get a job anywhere I want to. ”
“I’m sorry, friend, I’m not seeing the problem.”
“Girl! That man is going to turn me every which way but loose over the course of these six months, I can feel it. He isn’t going to make this job easy for me, and since he said failing isn’t an option, I’m not sure how I’m going to handle the pressure without going insane.”
“You just gotta stay focused on the goal, friend. You need this job to put you back on the map. And, if he’s as big a deal as you say he is, then by the time you finish working there, everybody who rejected you will be right back knocking on your door.
You’ll be able to walk into offices and name your price. ”
Sighing, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to make it make sense to her.
I knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime, but damn, it was going to truly make me work for it.
Even if I weren’t in the current predicament that I found myself in, working for someone like Sincere Hill was a game-changing career move.
And, it was going to give me experience in an industry that I’d never worked in before.
While all celebrities were the same for the most part, the bigger agencies liked to see how you handled things for a variety of different clients.
I just had to mentally prepare myself to handle the journey I was about to embark on.
I knew that Sincere was going to be a lot to deal with, so I just had to prepare myself to deal with whatever he threw my way.
However, something in my gut told me there was no preparing for the whirlwind that would be my life for the next six months.
After going through different outfit options with Zaveah, I called my parents and told them about the job.
They were both happy for me and told me to remember who I was.
I let them go after a few minutes because I needed to be well-rested and didn’t want to take up too much of their alone time.
Once I finished my call, prepped everything I’d need for work tomorrow, and took my shower, I set my alarm and climbed into bed.
“Hilltop Records, here I come,” I said, smiling as I slid my eye mask down and wrapped my arms around my pillow.