Chapter 33: The Faintest Idea

A day had passed since Niall’s interview at HTA.

Not the least bit bothered that they hadn’t gotten back to him, he simply buried himself in finetuning [Polaroid] for the next couple days.

With the improvements to his vocals, the young artist had opted to re-record the song over and over, adding little things like backing vocals and harmonies, layering his vocals and hums atop themselves till he got the perfect take.

As a result, the living room of his already small apartment had gotten particularly cramped.

The acoustic guitar was one thing. The medium-sized digital piano, audio interface and condenser microphone on a new table in a corner of the room were another.

Adding to the claustrophobic nature of it all was all the heavy blankets, pillows and thick clothes that Niall had tossed around the room to cage in the sounds and prevent any echo of sorts.

As one would expect though, Niall had gained yet another icon when he’d started messing with the piano in an effort to make the right tune to accompany the acoustic melody.

Sadly, as it had been his first time actually using the instrument, the grade of the new music keyboard icon had landed him solidly in the bronze category.

Niall however, wasn’t bothered by it. He could always work on improving it later.

In the meantime, he needed a soft chord progression to not just mirror the acoustic strings, but equally lay the song’s foundation and accentuate it.

In a way, he wanted the tune to gradually evolve in layers along with the lyrics of the song.

That way, it could perfectly mirror its transformation from bare and intimate to full and emotionally rich with just the right touch of joie de vivre.

And though it was all easier said than done, Niall had put in the work for the next two days to get exactly what he’d wanted and then combined them all using his DAW.

By the fourth day, [Polaroid] was a full-fledged track that sounded like it came straight out of a professional recording studio.

In fact, Niall had used his Gift of Discernment to assess it. Having compared it against the original which had a hue of silver with flickering traces of gold, the polished version exuded a golden hue with frequent streaks of platinum.

Currently seated before his laptop though, the young man navigated over to one of the highest rated digital music distribution platforms; CoreTunes.

Since most major streaming platforms didn’t allow for direct uploads onto their apps, this was the viable route he had to take.

In any case, after reviewing through all three plans the platform offered--Rising Artist, Breakout Artist and Professional Plan--Niall went for the Breakout Artist Plan which cost him about $54.99 per year.

With it, not only would his song would have an unlimited distribution to most--if not all--major streaming platforms like GrooveBox, E-Tunes and Melody Mix, it would also be pitched into an editorial playlist, hence increasing its visibility to listeners who might have similar music taste.

It also helped that he would be getting a 100% royalty from streaming revenues--albeit 80% was all he would be getting from the revenue from social platforms--it was a tradeoff Niall was perfectly fine with.

Afterall, the music distributors did have to sustain their business model one way or the other.

Upon submitting his song for review, Niall leaned back into his couch whilst letting out a sigh of accomplishment.

Though it would take roughly two weeks before his song got onto the major streaming platforms, that was fine by him.

Simply being in complete creative control of his music, gave him a genuine peace of mind.

Glancing around the room though, a realization naturally dawned on him.

He’d been so focused on elevating [Polaroid] to new heights, he’d more or less ignored his natural habitat.

"Yikes," he muttered to himself as he got up, picking up the nearest cloth and folding it neatly.

"I’d better clean up."

And so he did, clearing up the living the room in the next couple minutes.

Vacuuming the whole apartment a few minutes after, Niall made his way into the bathroom and took a much needed, well-deserved bath.

It was only after he’d dressed up a couple minutes later and made his way into the kitchen in mild hunger that he’d realized that he hadn’t actually eaten a single meal, or slept in the past four days.

Blinking to himself, and at his scanty fridge, Niall quietly remarked with a chastising squint;

"I might be blessed, but let’s not push our luck."

Deciding to head out to the supermarket to restock, Niall grabbed his phone and car keys, slipped into his most comfortable loafers and headed out.

About an hour later, he was stepping out the doors of the supermarket, grocery bags in hands whilst munching on a wafer stick.

It was also then that his phone began vibrating in his pocket.

Placing the bags into his vehicle, Niall retrieved the device.

Checking to see whom was calling, his face lit up in an instant.

Though he had no idea why it had taken a couple days, HTA was finally getting back to him.

*

Victor gazed at the contracts on his table for a fairly long while, seemingly awaiting the arrival of someone as he gently twirled his chair in a back-and-forth semi-circular arc.

Honestly, if anyone had ever told him he would fight so hard for the opportunity to work with a talent, especially when his more experienced agents were equally pining for said talent, he’d have called bullshit several times over.

Not because he was prideful as to believe certain talents were below him to work with or for, but rather because he wasn’t the type to overexert than was necessary or required.

Yet, that was exactly what had happened a couple days back.

Granted he and his colleagues were still on great terms, their meeting had been quite intense nonetheless, with each agent pushing reasons at to why they would be the best to handle Niall’s career.

This same reason, had been why they had rescheduled their delegations three different times, all because neither of them had been willing to give up on the young man.

However, no matter what Dominic and Marissa had pushed forth, Victor had done a good job of hard-countering them.

Eventually, they all ended up unequivocally agreeing that he was the most fitting to handle the new talent.

Executing a complete 180° spin with the chair, Victor looked out the floor to ceiling windows of his office.

Even now, Niall’s words from the interview stuck with him, replaying in his mind;

I know what kind of man I am, and, I know what kind of actor I want to be.

I’m also quite certain that performing intimate scenes, won’t be what gets me there.

It was very rare to see an actor so very assured of his convictions... convictions that were otherwise looked down upon in the cutthroat world of Hollywood.

But to be even more certain of the heights they could reach nonetheless despite those convictions and all the flack he would get for it, now that was even more impressive to the agent.

Half because he himself was like that, and half because of an event that once happened in his career.

Pulled from his reverie by the sharp ring of his landline, Victor reached for the receiver and answered.

"Mr. Voss," the receptionist’s voice came through, poised and professional.

"Mr. Parker has arrived. He mentioned you had a meeting scheduled?" she respectfully inquired.

"Yes, that’s correct. Please, send him up," Victor replied, his tone equally measured and concise.

Roughly a minute after he’d placed down the receiver, a rapt knock landed on his door.

"Come in," Victor curtly responded and in walked a casually dressed Niall.

"Mr. Parker. It’s a pleasure to see you again," he rose up and extended a polite handshake to which Niall obliged.

"As am I to see you. Mr.?" he received the handshake, his head tilted slightly in curiosity.

"Voss. But you can call me Victor." the agent replied and then gestured politely to the seat across him;

"Please, have a seat,"

Once again, Niall obliged, this time with an appreciative nod as he settled into it.

"So, here are the contracts," Victor gently slid both documents across the table and Niall retrieved his pen as the agent continued;

"Though they might be the same, kindly peruse through each carefully, and take your time to review them,"

"If you have any questions or concerns regarding the terms, don’t hesitate to let me know." he concluded to which Niall gave a curt, acknowledging bob of his head.

In the next hour following that, Niall pored over the contract with a scrutiny unlike any other, ensuring things were as they should be.

Though he had no doubts HTA was trustworthy given his knowledge of the future, there was no harm in being vigilant.

There was also the fact that he’d been tied to a predatory agency for so long, he was unwilling to take any chances or overlook the slightest irregularity in the clauses that could potentially come back to bite him in the ass later.

Only after he was assured that all was as it should be did he pen down his signature onto both.

Sliding over one of the contracts, Niall politely spoke;

"Thank you for your time. I look forward to working with you."

"As do I," Victor reciprocated and then asked;

"What you said at the interview... about the kind of actor you want to be,"

"Could you care to expatiate on that?"

Not the least bit bothered by his question, Niall leaned back into his chair.

For a brief moment, he seemed to be ruminating on how best to get his thoughts across.

Then, seemingly coming to a decision, he spoke;

"The fame, influence and wealth that comes with being renowned in Hollywood,"

"They’re all things I need to be acknowledged for to get to where I want,"

"But they’re not things I’ll ever want to revel in to get to where I need." he concluded.

To that, Victor folded his arms and leaned into his own chair, his thoughts unraveling the young man’s words;

’Pragmatic enough to understand that recognition opens doors to better roles, stronger bargaining power, and long-term control over his career,’

’Yet disciplined and self-aware enough to anticipate the typical Hollywood spiral of temptations that comes with it, and preempt it.’

Niall was drawing a clear line between using success and being consumed by it.

And though it seemed so easy to come to that realization on paper, it was something very few artists actually ended up practicing.

In that regard, Niall truly was a rare kind.

Afterall, it signified that he completely understood how Hollywood worked. That they rewarded visibility, status, and marketability... the fastest of which could be earned by turning to debauchery.

Yet, he was willing to earn and leverage those things... just without compromising his identity or values to chase or indulge in them.

It would be harder, yes. But he was certain he’d eventually get there in due time.

And for Victor whom was now his agent, Niall couldn’t help but ask him;

"So,"

"Just between us," he gestured with a flick of his fingers.

"Do you think you could help me achieve that?"

For the first time since they’d met, Niall watched in stunned silence as the usually reserved features of the agent lit up in an almost self-assured grin that bordered on arrogance as he replied;

"You haven’t the faintest idea."

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/Caer07