Rise To Stardom - Chapter 182

Chapter 182: Running Tube Men
Two big, fairly overweight producers in a nice looking formal shirts and suit pants were seated behind a desk, one with suspenders and a tie and the other in a suit jacket.

Both were conversing and laughing in a well-furnished office until they heard the landline ringing.

Picking it up, the man in suspenders spoke with the receptionist over the phone;

[It’s Five Fusion. They’re here to meet you regarding that new song and its music video.]

“Oh yes, we’ve been expecting them. Send them up.”

[Alright sir.]

A few seconds later, both men watched as five handsome-looking guys strolled into the office;

“Dogs! I’m so glad to see you!” the guy in a suit jacket stated in excitement.

“We have names, you know?” Kyle casually corrected as he and the rest of the guys sat down on the plush couches in the office.

“Carl, Steven, Ryan, Joe and Kite!” the producer in suspenders pointed to each of them in excitement.

“It’s Kyle.” Kyle corrected again.

“Whatever you say kiddo!” the suspender guy brushed him aside while the rest of his buds, shrugged in acceptance.

“Now, we know you just came back from your record shattering tour but, time waits for no man!” the suited producer retrieved a wall frame from underneath his desk to which he then added as he showed the picture in the frame to them;

“We’ve prepared the biggest stage for your next hit song!”

“Looks cool.” Ryan and Joe, both of whom were seating on the same couch, responded in unison, their voices and expression chill as the rest of their buds nodded in agreement.

“What about the song though?” Carl asked this time, fingers tapping on the couch as he crossed his legs with a relaxed gaze.

In response to his words, the suspender producer spoke;

“That’s the problem. We’re yet to find a good song!”

“Okay…” Steven commented this time, his tone slightly wary as he glanced over to a slightly perturbed Carl who was seated by him for a brief moment.

“Songwriter gu- uh, I mean Bennie and Fred. Come in with the songwriting board!” the suited producer called out this time, and almost instantaneously, two nerdy-looking guys, walked in with a large, colored dart board separated into perfect fractions.

At this point, Kyle whom was seated alone on the far left couch, leaned in and whispered to his buds;

“Should we be worried? I think we should.”

No sooner had he said that, the two guys introduced the concept they were going for nervously.

“Uh, this is a songwriting board.” Bennie adjusted his glasses a bit as he handed over a bunch of darts to the guys, after which he then went to spin said board.

“We… uh… we use it when we’re… uh… not sure what type of song to write…” Fred nervously fiddled with his palms as he gestured to the board, seemingly telling the boys to throw the darts.

“Go on dogs. Throw it!” Suit producer eagerly urged.

Glancing over to each other, still not sure if this was even remotely sane, they did as they were told;

And when the darts landed on the board, three darts clustered on a word; Electric; while the other two, landed on another; Fried.

“The Electric, Fried Song?” Kyle stated out loud, noticeably confused, same as his other buddies who were even more confused.

However, before Bennie and Fred, or even Suspender and Suit could speak, the Secretary walked in with a tray of drinks in her hands.

And no sooner had the five guys seen her, they instantly froze, enamored by her beauty.

“And CUT! That’s a wrap!”

–

No sooner had Maria declared that, all four guys were released from their frozen state, their movements back to normal.

At the same time, the small production crew, gave them a small round of applause, to which they all simply gave a light bow in response.

However, not even a few seconds passed when Ryan, tried his hardest to suppress a chuckle.

“Pft!”

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Carl, Joe, Steven and Maria, including a few other people on set and even Owen who were obviously around, burst into laughter, much to Kyle’s acceptance.

“Honestly guys…” he couldn’t help but sigh in resignation.

“It’s not even that funny!” he added defensively, one that only served to make them all laugh even harder as they kept staring at him.

“Sure, Mademoiselle Kestis!” Ryan pitched in as Kyle, dressed in formal female clothes with a wig and some make-up, covered his face in embarrassment, his cheeks reddening by the second.

This, only served to add even more hilarity to his current situation.

A few minutes later though, having already had their fill, Carl then spoke properly;

“I must say, that’s the most fun I’ve ever had, shooting a music video.”

“But unfortunately I have to get going. Wish I could stay around and hang out but, I do have a business meeting to attend to.” he apologized with an explanation, exchanging handshakes with everyone properly, only to then kiss Kyle on the back of his hand like lady to mess with him;

“My fair, lady.”

Another round of laughter erupted.

…

…

…

Thirty, bored and single, Sarah lay on her bed sideways as she kept scrolling down the list, the screen of her phone reflecting on her light-brown irises.

Valentines was already around the corner but the lady chose to stay cooped up in her room, dialing up her introverted nature to the absolute max.

Never having had a good experience with dating, especially since most of the guys she had gone on dates with, rejected her every blessed time because she apparently, wasn’t good enough, Sarah had long since, padlocked her heart.

And it’s not as if she didn’t try to search herself to check if she really was at fault but, after years and years of introspection, the lady came to realization that she really, just had bad luck with dating.

That was it. Period.

Also, maybe she should’ve steered clear of the dating apps…

Yeah.

She should’ve.

But once again, she was back on another dating app, looking for a match because honestly, despite her best efforts to convince her parents that she’d probably die an old grandma with seven cats due to her shy nature, they weren’t having any of it.

Especially her mother who was Asian and kept pestering her every blessed week for the past few years now.

‘Go out’ she’d say.

‘Meet new people’ she’d advice.

And her personal favorite;

‘I want to see my grandkids!’

However, for Sarah who couldn’t hold a proper conversation for more than one minute, that was an extremely tall task to ask of her.

“If only…” she muttered to herself with a sigh, scrolling through more and more dating profiles.

Luckily though, the lady was very stable financially, as she was a remote, full-stack developer for a big company, one that at least ensured she could live away from her parents without her mum, constantly trying to set her up with guys she felt were husband material.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of scrolling through the dating profiles, Sarah, much to even her very own surprise, actually hit it off with a guy!

[So, is 7:30pm fine by you?] her match asked.

[Yes. I don’t mind. But what about the movie? [Prom Perfect 3] or [Level Up 2]?] Sarah typed back in curiosity.

[Uh, anyone’s fine by me really. Can I, leave that up to you?] her match replied.

[Sure! I’ll pick one and let you know before we meet up.] Sarah texted, a thin smile on her lips as she and her match, texted for a few more minutes before their conversation ended naturally.

Feeling a bit more confident, Sarah having sprung up the bed to rummage through her wardrobe obsessively, chose her outfits about an hour later.

Having sorted that out, the lady then plopped back to her bed, navigating over to TweetTalk to get a feel for the movie the general public was planning to watch in Cinemas on Feb 14 in preparation for the date.

However, the first thing Sarah had ended up reading, had her widen her eyes in absolute shock!

That same news, was all it took for her to decide which movie she and her matched date would be viewing a few days from now!

…

…

…

Having completed the shooting of the music video for [Electrified] about an hour and some few minutes ago, Kyle only had one more music video left the shoot.

That of the fourth song.

It was also the one that would take the most time to shoot as it was such an expensive yet fun idea, one that Kyle knew the audience was going to love as much as that of [Electrified] which they had just rounded up.

However, as of the moment, the young man, now without the feminine make-up on his face, simply partook in a mundane conversation as he and Owen, walked to a nearby restaurant for some refreshments.

Passers-by, also didn’t seem to be surprised by his appearance as he had been around the area for close to three days now for the music video of [Electrified], hence the novelty of his presence had worn off.

“Say Kyle, do you have any Valentines plan?” Owen curiously questioned as they walked side by side, their steps relaxed.

“Nay.” the young man casually responded, brushing a few locks of hair away from his face as the late winter’s breeze ruffled his hair.

“Will probably be practicing my dance routines for the fourth music video though…” he added, his tone laid back.

“You’re not, planning to die at thirty, are you?” Owen asked with concern this time, one that had Kyle halt in his steps and swivel his head sideways to lay his assistant a very puzzled squint.

“I mean. It’s only been a couple of months since I’ve been working with you and yet, I haven’t seen you unwind even once.” the assistant raised his arms up in defense, his point valid.

“Your efficiency is off the charts don’t get me wrong but, don’t you ever get tired?” Owen worriedly commented after which he then said;

“Besides, I’d figured a man as successful as you would’ve already had a lady supporting him by now.”

“And I’m not probing here honestly, just concerned.” the assistant concluded, his tone honest and genuine, same as the expression on his features.

To that, Kyle’s gaze lingered on Owen for a few seconds, after which he then smiled warmly in response as he resumed walking;

“Thank you for caring, Owen. Truly, I appreciate it.”

“That said, I think all things will happen at their due time, really. Romance included.” he winked at the assistant who blinked a few times in slight surprise, not expecting Kyle to have humored him.

“How about you though? What are your plans for Valentines?” the young star inquired this time, a noticeable hint of interest in his tone.

To that, Owen briskly caught up to Kyle’s pace and replied with interest;

“I actually have plans to go watch [Level Up 2] in theatres with Gwen and Stuar-”

However, just before Owen could finish up his sentence, he was caught off-guard by Kyle who abruptly halted in his steps again, a slight frown on his features as he squinted his eyes.

Coming to the realization that Kyle was actually staring into the distance, the assistant did the same, curious about what his boss was looking at.

However, considering all Kyle was seeing were blurry, short, inflatable tube men, rapidly running in his direction, Owen with his near perfect eyesight, soon realized what was actually happening, causing a deep, deep scowl to form on his features.

‘What the hell are these darn paparazz-‘

Before he could even complete that sentence though, both Kyle’s and his smartphone, began to ring at the exact same time, further adding a bit more anxiety to the entire scenario.

Retrieving his phone, seeing that it was Oliver whom had traveled to New York to spend the rest of the week with Tiana, Kyle was almost about to pick up when a black van with a magazine-like logo, suddenly pulled up beside him, a bunch of reporters getting out like stormtroopers!

Quickly, Owen was about to usher Kyle into the nearest store or building before the other paparazzi running over, crowded his boss…

… but, the next few words he heard, stunned both he and Kyle himself to their very cores.

“Kyle! Kyle! How do you feel after being nominated for Best New Artist, Record of The Year and Song of The Year Awards for the 63rd Annual Grammie Awards?!”