Fly Girl | [Novel] (Wattpad Version)

18| A New Set Of Pressures

I shrugged. "The way any rising star should feel, I guess. Lucky, excited... exhausted."

He chuckled and I gave a light smile, quickly changing the subject and asking what he wanted with me. Usually, when the producers wanted a bit more input for the direction of the songs, I was not one of the people they turned to for suggestions. We really had no input at all, but if they wanted to know how any of us felt about what they were doing, they asked Troy first, Torii second, and every now and then they'd call on Leann to see if she was comfortable with whatever rap verse they'd written for her. Something I didn't mind since that saved me from any type of blame should an idea be taken the wrong way or fail simply because our audience, or Chauncey, couldn't understand. "You know things are shifting once again. Rico Da Don signed off, while allowing y'all to keep the four songs he's already produced for y'all, but he's no longer a main producer for the album."

"Wow, sorry to hear that. He was cool." And patient with us, understanding that we were kids, and newcomers trying to learn the ropes. "Are you taking his place?"

Bishop nodded. "Yes, executive producing along with Chauncey and two others. But, I didn't call you in to discuss that."

"So, why am I here? You know how Boss Man gets if we're lollygagging; if anything, I should be memorizing the words to the song we have to record tonight."

"About that; did you notice that you'll be leading?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. It's unusual, but I guess it'll be nice to have one full lead to myself."

Putting his hands together, Bishop nodded before looking me directly in the eye. "The thing is; I've been listening to some of the songs that you girls already finished, and there's something about you guys that even Chauncey hasn't noticed yet."

"Oh? And that is?"

"You; the diamond in the ruff. Sure, Troy's got a great voice, and so does Torii; but you can tell there's a bit of training that they've gone through."

"All the more reason for them to lead it all; I've never had lessons, not singing lessons. You want me to do anything, let me play a few instruments. Piano, keyboard, drums. I can do that and feel more comfortable than singing lead."

"Why not step out of your comfort zone though?" I looked at him, a bit put off by the way he stared at me so intently. He never broke eye contact and that creeped me out just a little bit. "Your voice has this very rare and beautiful quality to it; one that can take you and the group farther than what you're all aiming for right now."

I cleared my throat, crossing one leg over the other. "Thanks for the compliment, but I'm used to how things are. Troy and Torii leading. I got a co-lead on one song with Troy, that's currently a hit, and that was enough. I mean, I'll take the one I'm leading tonight, but really, I don't want to be the one that makes or breaks the group." I also don't want to cause any issues when it's already been decided that Troy is the official lead singer.

"You're welcome. Listen, I'm just saying that I see something in you. And, after we work on this song together tonight, you'll see what I mean too. I just wanted you to know that the opportunity for more leads is there."

The way that last part of his sentence rubbed me the wrong way. Almost... almost as if he were trying to be seductive in the way that he said it. The way he smiled afterwards made him even more unattractive than I already thought he was. "At what cost, Sir?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "A favor for a favor; a, you scratch my back and I scratch your back type of thing. You'll learn soon enough Ava, if you choose not to go solo eventually, that you'll get a lot more in group situations when you put yourself out a little more for what is rightfully yours."