“I’m looking for a Lillian Ainsworth-Cisneros. Is she available?”
“Oh! Of course! One moment!” The sound of a hand covering the receiver followed, along with some muffled ‘sweeties.’ Heh. “Here she is!” I could hear the wink in her voice.
“Hello? Lilly speaking.” Even her hellos were in tune.
“Was that your mom?”
“Y-yeah, sorry about her. She’s the original fangirl.” Lilly chuckled nervously.
“No need to apologize. That’s what moms are supposed to do.” My mom was like that too. I ran a hand through my hair to push the loose brown strands from my eyes, then I took a slow, deep breath to assure my composure. “If she doesn’t believe in you, who will, right?”
“Well, I’m still hoping you might.” Her words were far more confident than the shaking in her voice implied.
“Yeah, about that... “ I tried to hide the smile from my tone. “I talked to acquisitions. I even pitched your case to the CEO.”
“And… they were excited? Maybe? Hopefully?”
“Do you want the good news first or the bad news?”
“Good news. Then can you phrase the bad news so it sounds positive?”
I found myself laughing without my permission. This had to be the least professional recruitment call of all time, but talking to Lilly like this just seemed so natural. I wasn’t sure she was capable of being more serious than this. “Sure. So the good news is… they’re going to give you another chance.”
“HOLY SHIT. Sorry- I mean, holy shoot. Or, uh… Wow, that’s great news!”
God she’s so awkward. What am I getting myself into. “On one condition.” I interrupted before she could celebrate too vigorously.
“I would literally offer the whole office daily blow jobs if it gets me another shot.”
“Good to know.” And that might be necessary. “Considering your current skillset, we’re taking a big chance on you. But the reality is that… you’re going to be a lot of work. As such, our offer is going to be a bit lower than you might expect.” Which is still horrifyingly in the six figures, for the record. It’ll be fine... It’ll ALL be fine… “You’ll be working exclusively with me through the process, as resources are limited. I’ll double as both your manager and your writer.”
“I see.” The voice on the other side of the line sounded somehow disappointed. “How many other artists have you worked with?”
“You’ll be my first.” I suppose I can’t really blame her for asking, but if she had any idea what I was risking to get her, she could have offered a touch more excitement and confidence. Beggars can’t be choosers and all. That goes for me, too, right now. “But I assure you I have great mentors and I’ll definitely do everything in my power to get your voice out into the world.”
“Alright, I’ll trust you.” Her words sent a light tingle up my spine. “Just show me the dotted line, and you can have my soul.”
“I look forward to working with you.” I wasn’t looking to own her soul at the time, but I couldn’t shake this odd feeling that it would cost us both much more than that.