Limelight

Chapter Three

~~Opportunity of a Lifetime~~

When doing something with just the right incentive, it can push you into doing the best you could have ever done in any other scenario because that incentive is usually the thing that holds your entire life in the balance of your future or your happiness. Usually, something that you cannot bear to lose or have destroyed because it'll break you.

In this case, this incentive was the chance of a lifetime opportunity to sign with a world-famous record company and pursue a life she had always dreamed of in performing and it holds all of the above. So when Aaliyah was given the chance to perform, she performed her heart out, literally poured her soul out into her music so that her voice rang with such emotion it reverberated through the entire hall and resonated with the guests that attended, making them look up to the stage where she sat by the piano with awe.

During her one-hour break, Aaliyah was swarmed by fancy guests to sing her praises. "You were wonderful."

"Spectacular," Said a tall dripped-out, middle-aged man in an Armani suit, a gold chain, and matching watch, "How do I not know who you are?"

Flattered, Aaliyah laughed nervously. "You tell me," She replied, staring up at the man, his dark eyes shining with brilliance, like a hawk, "Thank you so much."

The man grinned and dipped into his inside breast pocket to pull out a business card and flicked it over to her slickly like a professional businessman. "My name is Riley Mckernon, I'm a top manager and representative of Mckernon Management. Run by my father, as you can probably tell. I don't think you've heard of me, but I've represented artists from Orla to Kai Baker—"

"Oh, I'm in love with Orla's new album," Aaliyah gushed, smiling widely up at Riley, "You seem like a big deal."

"In the little leagues maybe," A feminine voice called out in a sly voice. A middle-aged woman dressed in a gold wrap dress and a blonde chignon appeared alongside a man in a much cheaper suit than either of the other two, "Evening Mckernon." She said nodding curtly at Riley, who returned the nod with a tight smile.

"Tarnowski," Riley said before looking back to Aaliyah with a smile, "You have my contact. I hope to hear from you soon." Aaliyah smiled back pleasantly nodding at him as he slid away back into the crowd.

"We were very impressed with your performance," The man in the suit said with a wide grin, "You are beautiful and talented and exactly what we're looking for at Passion Vocal Records."

The woman raised a hand in front of the man's face and she pulled a smile at Aaliyah. She couldn't help but feel intimidated by the woman; she oozed power and influence and Aaliyah couldn't help but feel two inches tall before her, even though she was three inches taller than her. "I'm Beatrice Tarnowski," She said stretching her hand out. Aaliyah hesitated for a moment before taking her hand in a firm shake, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Like, my assistant said, you were wonderful. Who are you?"

"My name's..." She started before pausing. Aaliyah knew that this was a formal introduction to the world, she had always been Aaliyah Victors, and she hated it. She hated being tied to people who never loved her, she hated being a nobody. Aaliyah Victors barely existed. She wanted more. She wanted to matter more than anything, and maybe that started with a little reinvention.

She met Beatrice's dubious expression and cocked brow with a smile as she straightened. "I'm Lia," She said, "And thank you so much for the compliment. It means a lot."

"It's no problem, Lia," Beatrice replied with a slow smirk like she had sunk her claws into her prey, "I would love to have you sign a record deal with Passion Vocal. I'm sure you've heard of us, I'm Head of A&R over there and very impressed with your talents, you rocked the audience and I'm sure you'll sell millions—"