Page 151 of Stolen Hearts
The struggles.
The addiction in my eyes.
All captured in the footage.
One thing that made it less painful was not having to watch it with Laura or Brian. Thankfully, Laura had gone into labor a week early, and Brian was out shooting another film, but surprisingly wasn’t at the birth.
Alfonso managed to do a convincing job though, impressing the studios so much that they’ve opted for a full theatrical release rather than going straight to streaming. He also wanted to set upa global promotional tour and move the film forward, feeling it could compete in the upcoming awards season. Which is why I need this break more than ever. The fourth quarter of my planner is looking busier than it’s ever done before.
The label staff shares looks of concern. An unnerving feeling rises in my chest at the clash. I’ve been dreading this more than the choice of the lead single, despite Connie and John’s reassurances that it won’t be a problem.
Leah leans forward, notes something down on the handout, and pushes it aside.
“Don’t you worry that both projects being released at the same time will overshadow each other?”
Connie unbuttons her blazer and speaks up, already prepared for the pushback.
“The looks, the opportunities, the exposure will be amazing. We’ve already got a handful of magazine covers locked in, includingGQandVogue. Just think, Alexander could have a number one single, album, and film simultaneously. He’d only be the third male to do it after Prince did it in 1984 and Will Smith in 1997.”
Connie’s eyes glisten as John follows up, working like a tag team in a wrestling match.
“And if he did, it’d be the first time a Universal artist has achieved the feat,” John says, playing right into their Achilles heel. They want that feather in their cap.
Leah and the CEO exchange a look and Leah nods.
“Right. It’d be good to be connected with the team over there then, to coordinate our strategies and promotional schedules.”
“No problem, I’ll loop you in with them now.”
John grabs his phone and fires out an email, while Connie smiles and pats the back of my hand, allowing the tightness in my chest to subside.
Thank God, that was easier than the single decision.
Shit.
I’ve got less than a minute before I’m due to start this live stream and I’m still a couple of minutes away from my house. And what’s worse, the white sedan tailing me isn’t giving me an inch.
I realize I’m not gonna make it to the house in time as I get to the main gate of the private community, so I drive through and pull over to let the sedan zoom past me.
I guess that means I’m doing the live stream from the car.
I try to ignore the trembling in my body as I adjust my grip on the car phone holder, pull up the app, and click on the live stream button. I pull the vinyl cover from the passenger seat, ready to announce the new album.
“Hi everyone. Today’s the day. The moment you’ll all been waiting for, speculating what I’m about to announce.” The emojis fly up the screen as the number of viewers steadily ticks up. “Well, a lot of you have already guessed the right answer, and today I’m excited to reveal that on November seventh I will be releasing my new album,Betty. This is the album cover.”
I hold the cover up to the screen, and hundreds of comments appear simultaneously, too fast for me to keep up with, but I manage to pick out a few.
“The lead single will be dropping late summer.”
“Yes,Stolen Momentswill be on there.”
The pace of the comments does nothing to stop the trembling in my body.
Who’s Betty?
Whose eye is that?
Your eyes are blue, why is this one hazel?
