Erica Clifford - Completed

Thirty three

I'd been in here for at least 3 hours now, working through all the work I needed to catch up on after 2 days out of office. I was moving through it a lot quicker than I had been before. I wasn't keeping it slow and getting distracted. I don't know what it was but I was so focused on getting it done ASAP.  

The knock on the door didn't even pull me away, i turned my head but continued typing. 

"It's open!" I turned my head back quickly, reading everything I'd typed and making sure it was right. I turned my head back quickly and smiled at Levi. "Hey." 

"I thought I'd find you down here somewhere. You disappeared and no one could get hold of you." 

"Oh sorry, I'm trying to catch up. I'm nearly done though if you want to sit. I'm just on a roll with getting on top of things." 

I heard the couch cushions adjust as he sat down. A comfortable silence fell between us. Just the sound of my typing quickly. 

"How long have you been sat in silence?" He chuckled, obviously getting uncomfortable. 

"Since I sat down." I turned to see his face. "Put something on if you want. I won't be too long." I nodded behind me to the laptop hooked up to the speaker system in here. It held everything record in all the studios on this one. I knew that there was some really good stuff on there. 

"Why does this file say Erica's album?" 

"Oh shit." I stopped typing again and spun the chair around. "Um- so I know we said I'd tell my dad I was still thinking about it but." 

"But you told him you wanted to put it out didn't you?" He chuckled and I heard one of the songs kick in over the speakers. 

"I did. It just came out that way." 

"What did he say?" He stood up and walked over to me, my head followed him so I was know craning my neck backwards as his body towered over me. 

"He was happy. Asked me if I knew when I wanted to put it out." 

"Do you?"

"Yeah." 

"When." 

"In like 2 and a half weeks." 

"Jesus." 

"I know, hence me working my arse off now, I've still got some bits I need to record. I'm missing 2 or 3 songs, he wants me to sign off on things he's had sat for years. Album names, colour schemes. All sorts." I sighed and sat back in the chair. "Why do I do this to myself?" I laughed and he chuckled, bending his knees down so he was at me height. 

Sitting forward in my chair, I put my head on his shoulder and sighed again, breathing in his aftershave on the next inhale. Intoxicating. 

"What do you need to record?"

"I've got some pieces that are almost there and I just need to finish them off. Then I need to go through all of my songs, see if there's any I can throw together. If not I'll need to write them." 

"Which ones need working on. Let me help. Let me take something off your plate baby." I lifted my head up and he put his hands on both sides of my face. "Don't drown yourself, I'm right here." I took in a deep breathe and a small smile pulled at my lips. 

"You don't have to Lee." 

"I want to." He let go, leaning and pulling the laptop onto his knees as he sat cross legged with his back to me. The screen was tilted back and he reopened the file. "Which ones do you need help with?" 

"The last 2." I leaned down and touched them on the screen. "They just sound off. I can't pin point it."

"Hand me the headphones. Let me listen and see whilst you work." He pointed at the headphones beside me and I handed them to him. "Okay now go finish what you were doing." His hands landed on the wheels of the chair pushing me backwards so I had to. I turned around and took my attention back to my emails. 

I could hear the music playing loud through the headphones. It wasn't distracting. I trusted him to be able to point out where I could push to do better. I'd seen him do it with my songs before. One of the songs he's looking at was the one I was writing when he first bought me lunch. That song had been a PAIN. I loved it. It was intense and deep, but it had taken me days to get the lyrics right and now the actual music was just not coming together for me. 

I finished the last email and moved to the things dad had text me to check out. This datapoint for this was huge. I had no idea he'd already put this much work into it. Everything was pretty much done. 

"Oh my god." I whispered to myself as I looked over CD mock ups, Tour destination lists, stage layouts, potential ads and a plan he'd edited 2 hours ago on how he wanted to put it out.  He was pulling out all the stops. He wanted my face EVERYWHERE for the next 2 weeks. Billboards, snippets of my songs on the radio, social media. The full 9 yards. Jesus. I didn't know what to say. That's a lot. I guess he is having to cram it all into 2 weeks? 

I typed in a note. 

'maybe we tone it down a bit? Something more subtle. If we do something catchy. Don't say who sings it but get that tune pushed out all over social media, make it go viral, then we drop the single and it's a smash. We did it we Callie last year. Worked really well and put her on the map all over the world, not just the UK.' 

I saved the document and closed it down, texting dad. 

Okay, I've added an idea. I'm working on some more recording stuff now though so laptop and phone's off if you need me.

I did as I said, turning the laptop and phone of and standing up, stretching my arms above my head. I was so tight from being hunched over for hours. I needed a bubble bath. And a long, deep sleep.  

Slowly, I brought myself down to the floor beside Levi, laying my head on his shoulder. He was fully focused on the music, his eyes closed, furrowing his brow. He got it too. There was just something not quite right about it. It wasn't connecting well. It was missing something. 

He pulled his headphones off the ear beside me and turned to face me as I sat up straight. 

"They're definitely missing something." His lips grazed the top of my forehead and his hot breathe fanned my face. "Don't worry baby, we'll work it out."