One week later, October 7th, 2015 Tuesday
Mahlani
I woke up to my alarm going off. I rolled over checking the time on my phone. It was 8:45am and I sighed getting out of bed. Ken was at football practice from 8am-5pm which I was so thankful for. My interview was set at 10:30am. I stretched and walked to the bathroom turning on the shower. Before I got in the shower I brushed my teeth. I stripped from my clothing and then stepped into the shower. I washed up with my favorite body wash that smelled like roses. It smelled so sweet.
After 15 minutes I stepped out the shower and wrapped a towel around my body. I placed lotion on, deodorant, and I made sure I washed and moisturized my face. Luckily I already picked out my outfit for the interview. A red pencil skirt, white shirt, and a red blazer to match the skirt. I wanted to be comfortable and give my feet a break from heels so I decided on some white flats. I went into the bathroom and put on red lipsyick and mascara. I didn't have any scars or bruises so I was finally able to have a bare face (no foundation).
I brushed my hair into a sleek back bun. I made sure I looked decent and sprayed on my favorite perfume from Victoria's Secret. I grabbed my black purse and my phone. I checked the time and saw that it was going on 9:30. I grabbed a banana and ate it. I grabbed a bottle of water and my keys off of the counter. I walked out the door and made sure to lock the door.
I got into my Range Rover and made my way towards OVO Sound Office Building. I placed the address into the GPS on my phone. I arrived there within 25 minutes. I checked the time and saw it was 10:03. I got out the car and placed my purse over my shoulder. I walked inside and looked around amazed. I went up to the front desk and saw a lady sitting there. She smiled at me.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" She asked while I returned the smile before speaking.
"Good morning, I'm here for an interview at 10:30. My name is Mahlani Bertilli." I told her.
"Ahh yes, you can go ahead and head up there now. The elevators are right across there." She said painting to the elevators. "You're gonna go to the 7th floor and it'll be the big room right in front of you as soon as you get off." She explained.
"Okay thank you." I said smiling.
"My pleasure." I walked to the elevator and pressed the up button. The elevator dinged and I stepped on pressing the 7. I played with my hands starting to get a little nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I sighed and tried to calm myself down by thinking happy thoughts and staying positive. I looked up and saw that I was only on the 5th floor but the elevator stopped and opened. A couple of people walked on. I grabbed my phone out of my purse making sure it was on silent and I place sit back in my purse. The elevator stopped on 7.
"Excuse me." I said getting off the elevator. I saw the big meeting room in front of me and I sighed. I opened the door and sat down. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 10:15. I was sitting at the end of the table and I heard the door open. I looked over and I saw Aubrey. We looked at each other and smiled.
"Hey you." I said giggling and standing up. We hugged and I took in his scent.
"Hey Mahlani." He said sitting in the chair next to me. "Are you ready for your interview?" He asked me as I sat down.
"I am, but I'm really nervous because I don't know what to expect." I said sighing.
"Don't worry, everything is gonna go fine. You'll do good trust me." He said.
"Okay, thank you I needed that." I said.
"You look good." He said looking me up and down. I blushed a little while smiling.
"Thank you." I said. I looked up and saw a couple more people coming in. I saw the man from the store, Noah walk in last. He looked at me and smiled.
"Good morning Mahlani." He said shaking my hand.
"Good morning Noah." I said.
"Okay let's get this interview started." Noah said pulling out a couple of papers while everyone did the same. "Where did you grow up?" He asked me.
"I was born and raised here in Toronto and I've been living here ever since." I replied.
"How did you decide that you wanted to go into the music business? By the way my name is Grace." Grace asked me.
"Ever since I was 8 years old, I loved singing and writing music. It wasn't one of those situations like 'oh it's just a girl thing, all girls want to be singers.' Singing and making my own music has just always stuck with me throughout the years. Being in the music business has just always been my passion and been heavy on my heart." I said while everyone nodded and seemed to be enjoying my interview.
"What genre of music do you consider your work to be to be and who are your major influences?" Aubrey asked me. I looked at him and got butterflies but I answered the question.
"I would definitely say Hip Hop, R&B, and Pop, but as I continue to do more I would love to do different genres and be different from everyone else. My major influences are Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Drake, and definitely Tory Lanez." I replied shaking my head.
"Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?" Aubrey said asking me another question. I could tell by the look on his face, he was very interested.
"Definitely. In my music I like for people to feel my emotions. What I've been through, the emotion in my voice. My music tells a story of what I've been through and how I feel towards a person, a group of people, etc." I responded.
"Okay last question." Noah said. "Can you sing a song for us that you've written?" He said. I did a nervous smile.
"Uh- yeah sure." I said. I took a sip out of the water bottle on the table. I cleared my throat and I started to sing the song Medicine I wrote. I closed my eyes and started to sing.
How would you like it if I do the things you do
Put you on do not disturb and entertain these dudes
I'ma ride him crazy and you'll never have a clue
Give another guy everything that belongs to you
I'ma call up Brian, I'ma FaceTime Ryan
I'ma text Lorenzo and I'ma leave you cryin'
Don't get it twisted I can play this game too
How would you like it if I did the same to you, same to you, yeah?
I opened my eyes and everybody was smiling and started to clap. I smiled and blushed a little bit.
"That was amazing." Aubrey said smiling.
"Thank you." I said to him and everybody else.
"Could you step outside for a second Mahlani?" Noah said. I nodded my head.
"Yeah of course." I said getting up and stepping out the room. I was really nervous on what they were going to say. I feel like I did good but maybe they thought otherwise. After about 5 minutes I heard the door open and Aubrey peaked his head out the door. He motioned for me to come in and I sat back in the seat I was sitting in before.
"Mahlani, you are truly different and we love that about you. We know that you'll bring a lot that this label has been looking for. With all that being said, we're more than happy to sign you to OVO Sound." Noah said making me smile. I tried not to get emotional but we all know, that failed.
"Wow, thank you so much." I said as a couple of tears started to fall. Aubrey handed my end a tissue and I dabbed my eyes so I wouldn't smudge my mascara. They handed me a contract that I had to sign and walked me through everything. After about 30 minutes of everything being explained, signing a bunch of lines, and more. I was now the new face of OVO. We took a group picture and I stayed back talking to everyone. I went to Aubrey last. I smiled and he smiled back at me.
"Welcome to OVO." He said.
"Thank you." I said blushing.
"Tomorrow if you're not busy, I can take you to the studio here and you can record a couple of tracks but that's only if you want to." He said rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I'll be free tomorrow that's fine. Give me your phone." I told him. He handed it to me and I typed up my number and saved my contact.
"See you tomorrow." Aubrey told me as we hugged goodbye.
"Bye, see ya." I said walking out the netting room and going to the elevators. I pressed the down button and waited for an elevator. It finally came and I got on pressing the first floor. Once I reached the 1st floor I walked out the building. I grabbed my keys out my purse and unlocked my car doors. I placed my papers in the passengers seat. And then I placed my purse on top of it. I called Koi on Bluetooth and told her about everything. She started screaming.
"GIRL IM SO PROUD OF YOU! I TOLD YOU YOUR DREAM WOULD COME TRUE! AHHH!" She yelled. I laughed.
"Thank you Koi." I said smiling. She started telling me about her and DeMun. She said they were really hitting it off and they confirmed they were talking but they are talking it slow. Koi told me not to tell anyone because they didn't want it to be out there yet.
After about 10 more minutes we got off the phone. I checked the time and saw it was almost 1 o'clock. I decided to stop by 'Mamacita's Gourment Pizza' and grab a pizza for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking. I finally arrived home after about 45 minutes because there was a wreck and it cause traffic.
I grabbed everything and walked up to the front door unlocking it. I closed and locked the door. I sat the everything on the counter in the kitchen. I went into the room and took off my clothes and shoes. I placed the clothes in the hamper. I put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. I wiped off my lipstick and mascara. I grabbed my contract and hid it in my closet. Ken would never be able to find it. I didn't want him to know that I got signed yet. I knew he would find out soon but I was thinking about just going ahead and telling him tonight.
I went back into the kitchen and grabbed two slices of pizza and I put the box in the refrigerator. I grabbed some green grapes and cleaned them off and put them on my plate. I sat at the island and ate my food. After about 10 minutes I finally finished because I was eating slower then usual. I had a small headache and popped a Tylenol. I went back into the room and laid on the bed. I stretched and got comfortable. I started scrolling through Instagram and I saw that I was tagged in a post by OVO Sound. I saw the group picture we took earlier.
@ovosound: New face of Ovo Sound! We're happy to have you @queenmahlani
I liked the picture. I cursed and realized that this picture was about to go viral everywhere and I would need to go ahead and tell Ken. I sighed and closed my eyes.
To be continued....
Excuse any mistakes