Page 2 of Clueless
“You’ve tried to reach out to her since you’ve been out?”
“Yeah, sure.But she won’t have anything to do with me.”
It still hurt like hell, knowing I had a kid living in the same city who wouldn’t even give me a chance.Granted, I’d been a deadbeat loser for most of my life, but I’d been working hard to change the past four years.
“You pay child support?”
“Yeah, I’ve been working overtime so I could triple up on child support to make up for all the years I missed.”I didn’t expect money to pave the way to a relationship with my daughter, but I figured it couldn’t hurt my cause.
“That’s commendable.”
“It’s the least I can do, since I bailed on her.”
“You didn’t exactly bail on her.You didn’t have a choice?—”
“I chose to commit those crimes.”Sure, I’d been a dumbass kid at the time, trying like hell to act like a tough guy, and fit in with his new street family, but I still did the crimes and deserved every day of my sentence.
“You’re right, you did.But you didn’t know your girlfriend was pregnant when you did those things.Would it have made a difference, knowing you were going to be a father?”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
Luc tapped a gold pen against his desk while studying me.“I sure as hell didn’t expect this when I asked you in here today.You’re not on social media, so I didn’t do much digging into your background.Your buddy posted those videos of you singing, right?The ones that went viral.”
“Yeah.”
“And I’m guessing we’re not the first label to reach out?”
“No, you’re not.”
“You haven’t accepted any other offers though?”
“Uh no, but you’ve heard my story.No way would fans get behind my music once they found out about my background.And I refuse to live a lie or keep my past a secret.”
“I respect that,” Luc said, setting his booted feet on the corner of his desk as he tipped his swivel chair back, looking thoughtful.“I’ll have to talk to Avery McCall.She’d be your publicist.She could help us spin this story so fans would see you as a guy who’d made mistakes and was trying to do better.”
“Wait a second.”I held my hand up.“You’re still thinking about signing me?”
“Why not?”
“Uh, because I just told you I served twelve years?That my kid wants nothing to do with me?—”
“You’re honest,” Luc said, pointing a finger at me.“I like that.Most artists would have come in here and tried to cover up a past like yours, but you came right out with it.I think you’re raw, real, authentic.”He snapped his fingers.“And people are eating up authenticity these days, my friend.”
“If you say so.”He was the professional, but it was hard for me to believe people would pay good money to see a guy with gang tattoos and a rap sheet like mine.
“What about your family?”Luc asked.“They still in the picture?”
I nodded.“Yeah, my folks kicked me out of the house when I was seventeen ‘cause I got mixed up with drugs and they weren’t having it.That’s how I got into the whole gang scene.I needed money.Drugs.Food.A roof over my head.They looked out for me, became my family.”
“You keep in touch with any of them?”Luc asked, looking concerned for the first time.
“No, they didn’t have much use for me once I got sentenced.Haven’t heard from any of them in years.”
“Good.”He nodded.“That’s a good thing.And you’re not mixed up in anything now, that might cause a problem?”
I shook my head.“No, man.I’ve been trying to repair my relationship with my family.My folks, my little sister.She was so young when I went away, I missed out on a lot with her.Graduation.Wedding.The day her twins were born.I’m trying to make up for that.And become a man my daughter might actually want to know.”
Luc smiled.“Sounds like you’re on the right track.And you never know, if she starts hearing her daddy on the radio, she might reach out to you.”
