Rise To Stardom - Chapter 188

Chapter 188: Busy Year
Despite Widescope Records assuring Justin that the article would be taken down soon, it had been anything but easy for them to do so.

The moment they took one down, the infamous article would resurface somewhere else again, especially with TweetTalk users, keeping it trending on the social media platform by reposting said article.

At this point, one could even say that their patience was wearing out fast as they had started using more forceful methods to scrub the brutal article of the internet.

Not that it did anything to suppress the article really.

It seemed as if the internet, despite knowing that the record label was undeniably powerful, couldn’t care less as they indulged in a fun little, whack-a-mole game with them.

Day in day out, the article would reach new netizens, enough that even people whom had never heard about Justin King, came to know of him… in the worst way possible at that.

And for Sharon whose agency had tried to set her up with him previously, she was absolutely having a field day as her agent, Bianca, gave her an annoyed gaze;

“So, any passing remarks?” Sharon arched a curious eyebrow, her hands, casually tossing a printed copy of the article onto her agent’s desk as she continued;

“Honestly, if the agency decides I’m not worth shit anymore, that’s fine. Cool even. I’m tired of putting up with most of your shit, really.”

“I mean, you guys have stopped giving me my hard-earned pays and royalties so eh, might as well double down on my defiance.” the lady shrugged as she made her way out the office.

“That said, if you so much as try to set me up with one more darn sleazebag, use me as an ‘escort’ for men that are old enough to be my father or, worst of all, market me as a sex symbol to the media one more goddamn time, I will quit. Even if that means I’ll lose everything.” Sharon declared, the little hint of amusement that previously lingered in her tone, vanishing without a trace.

“Thank you for your time.” Sharon donned her loveliest smile as she headed out, the annoyed agent, unable to say a thing, she watched the lady exit the door.

Typically, Bianca would’ve had all the words to knock Sharon back to her place.

However, after the overwhelming success of [Level Up 2], a crap ton of movie scripts and roles, specifically meant for Sharon from both unknown and well-known movie directors, had started flooding her e-mails.

To put it simply, the lady, much like her co-stars, were a hot topic and her agency, Summit Talent Agency (STA), one of the more influential Hollywood agencies in the game, despite previously blacklisting her, knew it would be a bad idea for them to not market and capitalize on her current popularity.

The power, literally, was in Sharon’s hands, if only for a brief period of time.

That was why Bianca, even as she gritted her teeth while seething with anger, reeled it in and instead massaged her temples with an annoyed sigh.

Sharon on the other hand, having walked a few meters away from the door and around the corner, leaned on the wall, her shoulders sagging as a wave of relief, cascaded over her.

A few other artists and workers who sparsely littered the hallways, glanced over at the lady with slightly curious gazes as they walked past.

Staring at her hands which had been trembling before she confronted her agent and were currently still doing so as of the moment, Sharon clenched it tightly into a fist with determination.

‘This is just the start.’ she told herself, her back straightening as she made her way out of the building to head home.

And upon reaching her neighborhood, just before parking her vehicle at the garage, Sharon was surprised to notice a new letter in her mailbox, one that hadn’t been there when she headed out earlier.

Casually walking over and picking the letter up, the lady curiously opened it as she strolled into her house, her legs closing casually closing the door.

Reading the contents within it though, had Sharon widen her eyes in a mix of happy thrill, exhilaration and excitement.

* * *

(A few days later…)

As Kyle, Tyler, Jasmine and the rest of the back-up dancers bowed before the entertained audience, Maria commanded;

“And CUT! That’s a wrap!”

A unified wave of excited cheers, followed by a standing ovation of claps, cascaded over the entirety of the circus.

Stylishly flipping his top hat back onto his head, Kyle, dressed in a beautifully embroidered red and gold tail coat, reminiscent of a man in the Victorian Era, smiled at all the extras currently occupying the audience seats.

At the same time, Jasmine and Tyler, waved at everyone cheering and applauding, their chests heaving up and down, much like every other colorfully dressed back-up dancer on the stage.

Finally, the young man had finished up the shooting for the music videos.

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Currently seating on one of the benches in the audience, Kyle’s field of view, although populated with the liveliness of the extras, film crew and workers on set packing up their stuff, wasn’t focused on them at all.

| You have acted, sang and danced before everyone and impressed them! |

| You have obtained a huge amount of exp. points! |

| 5,000 exp. points have been awarded! |

| Total exp. points available (30,200) |

| Dancing has advanced from level 12 to level 13! |

| Keep dancing to improve your skills! |

With a thin smile on his lips, Kyle dismissed the notifications, just as Oliver walked up to him and said, his tone knowing;

“Think you’ll be willing to take a break now?”

“Couldn’t, even if I wanted to.” Kyle responded with a light smile as Oliver, shook his head in understanding, a light sigh escaping his lips as he sat next to his ward while speaking;

“[Tech Wiz]’s DLC, The Album’s release and The Grammies huh…”

“What a busy year…” Oliver smiled warmly, reminiscing briefly on the past when despite Kyle being busy, things were still much simpler.

It was the mark of success that Kyle days were becoming more and more congested with busy schedules so in all fairness, the agent was proud of his talent.

Almost immediately though, Oliver added, his tone of choice relaxed;

“Well, there are rumors that the Actor’s & Writer’s Guild might go on a strike this year so you may possibly get the chance to unwind, quite a bit.”

This earned raised brows of genuine surprise from Kyle who muttered out loud;

“That’s… unexpected…”

“Yeah.” Oliver nodded in agreement, after which he then switched topics;

“That said, Silver-Line Studios contacted me a few minutes ago.”

“They’re hosting a celebration party for [Level Up 2] next week and would love for you to attend.” the agent added, his gaze focused on some of the film crew a few meters away, trying to unmount a camera.

“Figured as much. Hopefully I’m chanced to.” Kyle replied honestly, a thoughtful expression on his features.

“So, do you think you might win in any of the brackets?” Oliver changed topics again by posing a curious question.

“Can’t say.” Kyle casually shrugged in response, after which he then added, a thin smile on his lips;

“I am absolutely prepared to lose in every bracket though.”

To that, Oliver chuckled a bit, gently patting Kyle on the back as a comforting silence descended between both of them.

The Grammies, was going to be taking place on the last week of March… literally just a month away from now.

The Prestigious Award Show, much like The Hollywood Star Awards, already had their own fair share of controversies over the years.

But for the most part, and surprisingly at that, they actually remained quite fair.

Still, for Kyle, The Grammies was literally, the lowest thing on his priority list.

No matter how prestigious winning the awards were, his actual goals, were what really mattered to him.

Also, considering he had a lot on his plate, it wasn’t really something that excited the young star as much as his other projects which were at the forefront.

This was why, leading up to the prestigious award event, it was going to be a pretty busy period of time for him as SpawnPoint Studio, had already begun working on the videogame’s DLC.

Plans were already being made, to have it release about a year after the base game had launched with a $19.99 price tag.

For 25+ extra hours of content, and a bit of pragmatic yet rational consideration on his part, Kyle believed it to be a relatively fair price point.

Added to that, was the fact that most of the DLC content, were all story and gameplay ideas he, Carlos and the rest of the game devs had thought of adding into the base game last year but ultimately, became way too much to stuff into the game within a reasonable time frame in preparation for this year’s Game’s Con.

As a result, they’d decided to make it into a separate DLC, one that could get as much love, care and attention to detail as the base game itself.

But even that, took second priority when his album was involved.

Promotions for said album, was majorly what Kyle would be focusing on for now, along with all the endorsement offers, adverts and the likes that he still needed to sort out.

It really was, going to be quite the busy year for Kyle.

* * *

(A month later…)

For the past month, Kyle hadn’t stepped foot into SpawnPoint Studios, owing to his busy schedule that was skewed towards album promotions, adverts, endorsements and the likes.

Today though, he was chanced.

So he made his way over, arriving at the Studio’s basement.

“Pookie~!” Sharon waved with excitement the moment she spotted him, earning raised brows from everyone in the motion capture studio.

Carlos, Oliver and Owen especially, all of whom were standing by the side so as not to interfere with the captioning process, swiveled their heads sideways to stare at the CEO who was practically unfazed by the lady’s words.

To that, Kyle, hands in his pocket, simply replied with a light smile;

“Long time no see Sharon.”

The lady had already been at the Studio for close to three weeks now, yet Kyle, hadn’t even been around to actually welcome her.

“That’s awfully cold of you? No welcome back kisses? No hugs?” Sharon whom was already before him, clad in her motion capture suit, pouted, hands resting on her hips.

“I see you’ve been having fun?” Kyle questioned instead and instantly, a beautiful smile blossomed on Sharon’s lips.

“Tons! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to play Voltress!” she beamed at him happily.

No sooner had that happened though, Dahlia called out to the lady;

“Shar, we’re about to begin!”

“Coming!” Sharon responded to the Animator, already turning on her heels before she then realized that Kyle had effortlessly evaded all her questions!

“Kyle you Charming Trickster!” she immediately pointed at him in realization.

Kyle on the other hand, simply waved at her, his smile innocent despite knowing what exactly he had done.

And unfortunately for Sharon, it was already too late to retaliate as she needed to get into character for the mocap, a few motion capture engineers tuning the equipment while the motion capture director himself, alongside Dahlia, were already giving the lady a few instructions on what she needed to do.

“She’s a daring temptress, that lady.” Kyle then explained briefly to Oliver, Carlos and Owen, all of whom had realized the dynamic between the two.

Now finding it more amusing than anything else though, all three shared a light chuckle, after which his agent then spoke;

“So, how’s your Grammy speech coming along Kyle? You know, in case you win?”

In response to that question, Kyle froze on the spot, a slight yet noticeable hint of panic in his eyes.

Seeing his reaction Oliver, Owen and Carlos couldn’t help but widen their eyes in disbelief, after which both the agent and the assistant then spoke simultaneously;

“How did you forget?! The Award Show’s tomorrow!”

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PS – Read Author’s Note.