15 What! A messenger?

She entered the office and stood waiting for him.

She stared around for a while before she heard the door creak from behind, then he walked in.

There was a big wall clock behind Henry's office seat, the seat was made of black leather. The table was made of black glass. The wall had the HIJ logo engraved on it. She marveled at the beauty of the office. It was painted with a dark blue color. The curtain of the office was printed with the company logo on it. On the table, there were documents neatly arranged and CD plates in their packs.

"You can sit down," he said walking in.

"Thank you," she replied him pulling out a chair to seat while he walked to his seat opposite hers.

His face didn't show any emotion and Ella sat uncomfortably, he noticed her discomfort and smiled a little which relieved her. And she returned the smile.

"I am impressed with your performance," he said giving a pause. "And you'll get signed in my company but we have rules here," he said with a serious look on his face. She cringed in fear.

"Before you get signed, you'll have to work here for two weeks, to know if you will be loyal to the company."

"Okay," she replied processing all he just said.

He looked into her eyes and saw a confused expression on her face.

"You'll work as a messenger for this company and after the two-weeks, you'll get to sign the contract deal." He said waiting for her to reply.

"What!!" she exclaimed. "A messenger?" she asked like she didn't hear him the first time.

"Yes, a messenger." He repeated.

"That's just how we do things here, to know if you can work with us."

"Is this how other record labels sign deals with new artists? Or he's trying to punish me?" She wondered. "Okay since I am this close and he has approved my song and said I would be signed in, then I shouldn't doubt right" she was lost in thoughts.

"Okay, that's wouldn't be a problem," she said after staying quiet for a while. "When do I start the work?" she asked him reluctantly.

"By Monday," he said briefly.

"As a messenger what would I be doing specifically? She asked.

"By Monday you'll know. You can leave now," he ordered. She stood up and said thank you taking her leave when his voice stopped her from opening the door. "Work starts by 8 am, be punctual".

She turned around to listen to him and walked out when he was done. She saw William seating by the secretary's table going through his phone.

"Hey," she called out to William in a calm tone. "Thank you for waiting for me." She said.

"Did you get to sign a contract?" he asked eagerly. "Not yet," she said discussing what happened in the office with him as they went outside.

"How can he ask you to be a messenger?" he exclaimed amazed. I" think I should go back to talk to him." William said in a raised voice but she restrained him.

"Don't worry, it's just two weeks. It won't be so long." She said trying to convince herself.

"I hope I get to see you some other time," William said giving her a friendly hug.

"Yeah sure," she replied.

They stood in front of the building, as she brought out her phone to order an Uber. Then he interrupted her saying he wanted to drop her off and also know her place.

"Okay thank you, you're so kind." She said looking at him and smiling.

They got into the car and covered a distance when he asked her how she felt when she was in the studio. Then they talked about the reaction of the audience in the studio. She talked about her experience there and how she noticed everyone applauded her except Henry.

In the middle of their conversation, his phone rang. He looked at the caller and ignored the call. And put the phone back in his pocket.

Ella noticed he ignored the call but she kept her cool, not asking any questions.

The phone rang again and William looked at Ella, he found her eyes gaze at him then he picked the call.

"What is it?" he answered rudely. "I am driving. When I get home I'll call back." He said not waiting for a response and ended the call.

Ella looked confused, who could be calling him? Then she decided to ask out of curiosity.

"Who was that?" she asked looking at his face but he didn't look back. He just focused his attention on the steering.

"A friend, you don't need to bother yourself about," he said bluntly. She didn't want to get involved so she just said okay and looked away, looking out the window.

William notices she was quiet and decided to play her song. The music brought back her attention and they both sang along. Although she was surprised he knew most of the lines.

He dropped her off at her house and waved goodbye. She waved back at him smiling broadly.