Behind The Spotlight Chapter 174
The atmosphere was a bit awkward until the next applicant arrived. Even though Collin's mood was not good, he did his best in leading the event by asking questions and maintaining professionalism.
Much to his disappointment, none of the applicants passed his criteria, which made the entire day feel like a waste of time. He clocked out and left the company. He received a text message and confirmed his next destination, letting out a small sigh as he walked.
There was a bar on the next street where music bands could play their songs.
Collin found a parking spot and walked to the bar. At the entrance, he saw Arnold waiting for him, leaning casually like he owned the place.
"I have no idea why you're asking me these stupid requests, but I trust you."
Being an agent with a wide network, Arnold easily found the right people.
"You're the one who asked me that you're looking for a client. You said you're interested in signing a musician because you're jealous of me."
"Who won't be? You got Princess Chantal making millions, of course I'm jealous." Arnold said it with righteousness.
Collin chuckled and shook his head. As expected, this guy was really shameless and somehow honest about it. He easily admitted that he was jealous.
Earlier, Collin texted Arnold to intercept Mikael Wagner and talk to him. He left some instructions that even he wasn't sure would make sense to others.
Out of all the people he knew, Arnold was probably the only person he could trust regarding Mikael's career, which spoke volumes about their friendship. Besides, Arnold also knew about Collin's unique ability to discern a person's bad behavior. They had been friends since high school, after all.
Arnold was confused about the instructions Collin gave him, but he trusted him. Collin was not the type of guy who would prank him, especially about potential clients.
"I have no idea why you told me to find a band for Mikael to perform with. I thought this guy was an actor, why did you ask a band for him?"
"Intuition."
"Your intuition is always out of this world, but I trust your intuition."
Collin smiled. He was happy to have a friend like Arnold, even though Arnold was a bastard sometimes.
"I found a band that recently lost its vocalist. They said they have a performance in this bar, so I brought Mikael here."
The band's trick was to invite a singer from the audience to sing with them. But tonight, it seemed that their performance would be different.
"I talked to the band and convinced them to let Mikael lead them. I paid $500 to convince them, which hurt my wallet, by the way."
"Why are you telling me that? I'm not going to reimburse you, not even a single cent."
"Tch," Arnold clicked his tongue. Before going to the bar, Arnold had watched Mikael sing. The guy could sing, but Arnold didn't get any goosebumps or X-factor. It was average at best, nothing magical. Hence, Arnold was confused about this whole shenanigan.
Since high school, he had trusted Collin's intuition, and it had been spot-on most of the time. So even though tonight's event was confusing, he went along with it. Besides, he was indeed looking for a profitable client.
Now that he was a father, he wanted to work hard for his daughter. In fact, he already set up a trust fund for her. He gained a strong motivation to work hard. He was actually happy that he had become an executive with 1% ANT share.
They entered the bar after paying the ticket. This bar focused on rock and roll, with loud speakers and neon lights everywhere.
"What's the name of the band, and when are they going to perform?" Collin asked while observing the crowd.
"The name is Pulse Static. They will perform after this band, so we don't have to wait long."
...
...
...
Mikael Wagner took a deep breath. His hands couldn't help but tremble because everything felt unreal.
A few hours ago, someone called his phone. He was surprised because it was only a few minutes after his audition had ended and someone was already looking for him.
The agent introduced himself as Arnold. He gave his business card, and Mikael confirmed his position, which was an executive! Mikael was so shocked when he heard that. He thought William might have helped him, a misunderstanding that would be cleared a few days later.
Mikael couldn't believe that an executive was looking for him. Things even escalated when he learned that Arnold was Jolyne Robs' talent agent!
If that knowledge already shocked him, Mikael would be further surprised once he learned that Arnold and Jolyne were actually married.
Anyway, for some reason, Arnold was more interested in his music career than his acting capabilities. Arnold even asked him to sing, but Mikael couldn't read the agent's expression when he sang, making him even more nervous.
A few minutes later, Arnold excused himself. When he returned, Arnold said that he had one last instruction for him, which was to sing in a rock band, a completely unexpected twist.
Mikael was confused but decided to take the deal. This was a rare chance to be a client of an executive, and he couldn't afford to hesitate.
They went to a bar, and Arnold convinced a band with no vocalist to perform with him. It was on the spot, and Mikael didn't even have the chance to prepare. He was just shoved into a band like that.
"Hey, Mr. Vocalist, don't be nervous. We have been performing without a singer. We just invite someone from the crowd. Sometimes we get lucky by finding someone who can sing, sometimes not. Anyway, if we get booed, just don't take it seriously because it happens all the time."
The drummer in the band teased Mikael. He was already happy to get $150 tonight. He had no idea why this was happening, perhaps someone was pranking the vocalist, but it didn't matter. The band received $500, and they divided it into three, with the remaining $50 for pizza later, so they already considered it a good night.
Their band consisted of a guitarist, a drummer, and a bassist. Their vocalist had decided to sign with a record label a few months ago, although it seemed to be a failure.
Anyway, the bar was owned by a close friend, so they could perform every weekend. They just invited someone in the audience to sing with them. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not, and they learned to accept that.
This time, since they were paid, they talked to Mikael about the three songs they were going to perform, and it seemed that Mikael knew the songs and remembered their lyrics.
---
[Author's Note: Thank you guys for all of your support, it really means a lot to me. Also, there's a 50% discount on my Patreon for the first ten subscribers because I just reached the 100th chapter on my other novel, Reincarnated as a Fisherman and a Dad.]