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Donovan knocked on Monte’s door minutes later, entered, then closed it behind him. “What’s with the circus?”
“I have no idea.”
“Did you ever figure out what was bothering you about his demo?”
He nodded. “Let’s head up to the studio. There should be one that’s not in use right now.”
“The studio?” Donovan asked, puzzled.
“Yep.” He opened the door. Extending his hand, he greeted the young man. “Mr. Thomas, thank you for coming.”
“DT Spin. Yeah. Thanks, Monte. Are we ready to do this? ’Cause I’m ready to get phat paid.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Terrence could see Donovan stifling a laugh and Mrs. Lewis rolling her eyes. “There are a couple of things we need to do first. We’ll be going to the studio. Due to the limited space, your group will need to wait for you in the lobby.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure.” He turned to his group. “Y’all go ahead and wait.”
Once in the studio, Monte directed the young man into the isolation booth and gave him instructions.
“Uh...uh...I didn’t know I was gonna have to sing today. I thought we was just gonna go over the contract and stuff, you know.”
“This is the starting point for all potential clients.” Terrence joined Donovan in the control room. “Ready?”
He nodded. The music started.
Darren Thomas sang the first verse, and Terrence stopped the recording.
“Something wrong, Monte?” he asked.
“Can you explain why your voice doesn’t sound like the demo you submitted?” At the young man’s silence, he asked, “Is this actually your voice?”
“Um...it was kind of fixed a little, you know. Ain’t that how it’s done now?”
“Please come into the control room.”
Donovan gave up his seat.
“Some places may do that, but not here at RC Productions. Also, you were ten minutes late for your appointment. That is a blatant disrespect of my time. I don’t think you would be a good fit for us, but I can provide you with a list of other companies who may be a better fit.” He stood and offered his hand.
Darren Thomas came to his feet slowly and extended his hand.
Terrence reached up and pulled a sheet from a wall file. “Here’s a list of other recording labels. Good luck to you, Mr. Thomas.”
“Yeah, thanks.” He took the paper and shuffled out of the room.
Once the door closed, Donovan let out the laughter he’d been holding in. “Man, I can’t believe he thought no one would figure out he had his voice altered on the recording, if it’s even his. His voice isn’t even passable. Terrence, why did you give that boy a list? What you should have told him was to find something else to do.”
He shook his head. “Hey, there are some folks turning out that kind of music. But I have to agree with you—the voice wasn’t even close to passable.”
“Since we’ve been so busy this week, I didn’t get a chance to ask how your weekend went.”
“It was good.”
“That’s it? It was good? Come on, T, you can do better than that. I know for a fact you didn’t come back until Sunday, so it must have been better than good.”
“I enjoyed spending time with Janae. We pretty much talked the whole time.”
“Talk? That’s all? You didn’t...?”
“No, we did not, D. Didn’t I tell you she wasn’t some groupie or booty call?”
“Yeah, man. You’re really feeling this girl, aren’t you?”
He leaned back in his chair. “Yeah. But I need to keep things in perspective.”
“What does that mean? Never mind. I already know. When are you going to let go of the past? It’s been over twenty years, Terrence.”
Terrence stood and started from the room. “I have let go of the past.”
“Yeah. Right,” Donovan muttered. He pushed off the wall and followed him.
“Is everything all right, Monte? You look upset,” Mrs. Lewis noted as soon as he entered the office. “What did you do to him, Donovan?”
Donovan laughed. “Why do you always think I’ve done something to him? I didn’t do anything. Monte, will you please tell your secretary that I didn’t do anything?”
“I’m fine, Mrs. Lewis. Just have a lot on my mind right now.”
“Okay, son, if you’re sure. How did things go with that Spin character?”
“Mrs. Lewis, that boy needs to find something else to do,” Donovan cracked.
“That bad, huh?” She laughed softly.
“Worse,” Donovan confirmed.
Terrence shook his head and went into his office. This thing with Janae had gotten out of control, and he had no idea how to stop it. How in the hell was he going to stay away from her?
