I Love You No Matter What

Chapter 7: Charles

"Sounds great, Charles," Amber tells me.

"Really? I thought the lyrics are weak for the beat," I say in shock.

Amber sits in the chair in front of me at my desk. "You're too modest," she says.

"You think you're dad will like it?" I ask.

She takes my hand. "He'll love it," she promises.

"Thank you for getting me this job," I say gratefully.

"Your welcome. I can't believe you didn't come to me sooner," Amber says. "You deserve to be here."

I sit back in my chair and look around in my office. The shelves are full of records. My glass desk only holds my laptop and writing utensils. The tan walls give the room a clean look. I feel at home in the office.

"I haven't earned my keep here yet. I just need to impress an artist," I say.

"I'm sure you will," Amber assures. "Do you still want to talk to my father?"

"Let's go."

We move out of my office to go to Marcus Wall's office on the top floor. Marcus' secretary lets us into the office. We walk in and Marcus is talking on his phone. He motions for us to sit down in front of his desk. My eyes drift over to the records on the walls. Marcus has produced so many artists. He's the best person to help me start my own record label.

"Goodbye," Marcus says to the person on the phone. He hangs up the phone and turns to us. "Hey. How are you liking your job?"

"I love having this opportunity. Thank you for giving me the job. I just finished up a song for you," I answer happily.

"Let me hear it," he says.

I pull out my laptop and play the recording. Marcus listens intently. He slowly starts to smile. I can see the resemblance between him and Amber when they smile. They both have brown skin, black hair, and big eyes. Most of the time, Marcus wears a hat to cover the gray appearing in his hair.

"I love it. If you don't mind me asking, why not sing? You have an amazing voice," Marcus comments after the song is done.

"That's what the world expects. I also don't want to be on stage all the time," I explain.

Marcus nods. "I keep forgetting that our children want nothing to do with the singing industry. I mean, my own daughter is a clothes designer," he says incredulously.

Amber rolls her eyes. "Get over it," she says.

"Whatever. I'll focus on my soon to be son," Marcus says.

I shakily laugh. "Amber and I aren't dating," I say.

"Might as well," Marcus mutters under his breath. "Anyway, I am going to take this song and introduce it to some artists. I'll get back to you later. Take the rest of the day off. You've been working hard for the past month."

"Thank you Marcus," I say again.

Amber and I leave the office. "So you have the rest of the day off," Amber says once we're in the elevator.

"I guess I do," I say.

"Any plans?"

"Nope," I say with a smile.

Amber steps closer to me. "Maybe we can-"

She's interrupted by my phone ringing. I pull my phone out of my pocket. I apologetically look back at Amber. "I'm so sorry Amber. My mom wants me at the house. We should get together tomorrow. I'm not working," I suggest after hanging up.