Over the next few days, Lucas found himself adjusting to life in his new house. The spaciousness and the swimming pool were still novelties, but he was gradually getting used to them. His security team and driver seed to be settling in nicely as well.
However, the publicity surrounding his new address brought its own set of challenges. Suspicious individuals began loitering outside the property, much to Lucas's frustration.
"Another group of weirdos out there," Jack reported one morning.
Lucas sighed. "I've called the police, but it's like playing whack-a-mole. They just keep coming back."
Neil had taken the situation seriously, hiring additional guards to work under Jack and Simon. The beefed-up security team maintained a constant vigilant presence outside the house.
"Better safe than sorry," Neil had said when Lucas questioned the need for so many guards. "After those stalking incidents, we can't be too careful."
Despite the outside world's intrusions, Lucas found solace in his new built-in recording studio. He'd been spending hours there, watching tutorials on independent music production and using his "Mind Workshop" ability to rapidly absorb the intricacies of editing and mixing software.
One evening, as he puzzled over a particularly tricky bit of mixing, Lucas realized he needed expert help.
"Ti to call in the pros," he muttered, reaching for his phone to contact a freelance sound engineer online.
Lucas scrolled through freelancer profiles online, finally settling on one that caught his eye. He initiated a Skype call, and when the video connected, he was t with a look of utter disbelief.
The freelancer, a young Asian man nad Jackson, stared at his screen, mouth agape. "No way... Is this so kind of prank?"
Lucas couldn't help but chuckle. "I assure you, it's not a prank."
Jackson squinted at his screen, skepticism written all over his face. "Right, and I'm Brad Pitt. You're what, a lookalike? Because there's no way Lucas Knight is calling so random sound engineer on Skype."
"I promise you, I'm the real deal," Lucas insisted, holding up his driver's license to the cara.
Jackson leaned in, studying the ID closely. "Okay, so you've got a fake ID. Impressive commitnt to the bit, I'll give you that."
Lucas sighed, realizing this might take a while. "Alright, how about this? Check my official Twitter account. I'll post sothing right now."
He quickly tweeted: "Having a Skype call with a very skeptical sound engineer. Hi, Jackson!"
Jackson's phone buzzed. He glanced at it, then back at the screen, his eyes widening. "Holy... it is you. But... why? How?"
Lucas grinned. "Because I need help with a song, and you ca highly recomnded. Now, can we talk about music, or do you need more convincing?"
Jackson shook his head, still looking dazed. "No, no... I an, yes. Music. Right. I can do that. Just... give a second to process this."
As Jackson took a mont to collect himself, Lucas couldn't help but feel amused. Fa was a strange thing indeed.
It took a few more minutes of back-and-forth before Jackson finally accepted the reality of the situation. "Okay, okay. I'm working with Lucas Knight. Cool. I can be cool about this," he muttered, more to himself than to Lucas.
Lucas grinned. "Alright, now that we've established I'm real, want to hear about this song?"
Jackson nodded eagerly, professionalism kicking in despite his lingering awe. "Yes, yes. What have you got for ?"
Lucas sent over the audio files, explaining his vision for the song.
They dove into the technical aspects, with Jackson offering suggestions and Lucas soaking up the knowledge. It was a surreal experience for both - a Hollywood A-lister and a freelance sound engineer from halfway across the world, collaborating on a love song.
As they wrapped up their first session, Jackson couldn't help but shake his head in amazent. "Man, wait till I tell my mom about this. She's never going to believe ."
Lucas laughed. "Tell her I said hi. And thanks, Jackson. Looking forward to working with you on this."
As the call ended, Lucas leaned back in his chair, a smile playing on his lips.
This whole music production thing was turning out to be quite interesting.
***
Two weeks of intense work later, Lucas finally felt satisfied with the song. As he welcod Neil at the entrance, his manager let out an appreciative whistle.
"Look at you, Mr. Hoowner," Neil teased, glancing around the foyer.
Lucas shrugged, a hint of sheepishness in his voice. "If not for Jennifer, I wouldn't have bought a two-million-dollar house."
Neil snorted. "Damn, you're cheap. Most stingy client I've ever had."
"I prefer 'financially responsible,'" Lucas shot back with a grin.
"So, what's new besides the fancy digs?" Neil asked, following Lucas deeper into the house.
"Actually, I just finished a song," Lucas said, trying to sound casual.
Neil's eyebrows shot up. "No kidding? Can I have a listen?"
Lucas nodded, leading Neil to his recording studio. As they entered, Neil's eyes widened.
"You made a song here?" he asked, clearly impressed.
"Yep," Lucas confird. "Even hired a freelance sound engineer to help out."
Neil shook his head in disbelief. "Full of surprises, aren't you? Alright, let's hear this song."
Lucas hit play, and the gentle lody of "Kiss " filled the studio. Neil closed his eyes, letting the music wash over him. As the final notes faded away, he nodded approvingly.
"Damn, kid. That's not half bad," Neil said, a nostalgic smile playing on his lips. "Takes back to my younger days, chasing after my high school crush."
Lucas grinned, relieved by the positive response.
Neil's expression turned thoughtful. "But you don't have a record label now, and the major labels' offers don't suit you. So where do you think you'll release this?"
Lucas chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Why limit myself? I can still release the song without them."
Neil's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm going to release it on Spotify as an independent artist," Lucas explained. "No need to be tied down by the major labels."
"You're kidding, right? Lucas Knight, going indie?"
Lucas shrugged. "Why not? It's my music, my way. Plus, it'll be an interesting experint, don't you think?"
Neil chuckled, shaking his head. "It's your call, kid. Not like you've got anything to lose anyway." He paused, then added, "Want to make so calls about promoting the song? I've got contacts who could really get the ball rolling."
Lucas smiled, holding up a hand. "Thanks, but no need for that. I'm curious to see how many people will listen without much promotion. If it doesn't gain traction, then we can consider ramping things up."
Neil's eyebrows shot up. "Hold on. You're not thinking of going anonymous with this release, are you?"
"Not exactly," Lucas replied, a mischievous glint in his eye. "I plan to release it under the userna 'Lucid'."
Neil let out a wry chuckle. "Lucid? Seriously? You're really committed to this whole mysterious indie artist thing, aren't you?"
Lucas chuckled, his eyes lighting up. "It's more interesting this way. I want to see if I can rise to popularity under a different identity."
Neil shook his head, amused. "Alright, superstar. Let's see how this experint of yours plays out."
***
A few hours later, Lucas sat at his computer, navigating through Spotify's artist platform. He uploaded the song under the na 'Lucid', double-checking everything before finally clicking 'Publish'.
"And now we wait," he muttered, leaning back in his chair.
Throughout the day, Lucas found himself repeatedly checking the stats, watching as the listener count slowly ticked up. A few dozen people had stumbled upon the song - a modest start, but enough to keep Lucas glued to his screen.
Across town, in a small apartnt, Johnny hit play on 'Lucid's' new release. As the lody filled his room, his eyes widened.
"Holy shit," he whispered, grabbing his phone. He fired off a quick text to his group chat:
"Guys, you gotta hear this new song I found. It's by so artist called Lucid. Trust , it's fire 🔥🔥🔥"
The handful of listeners who stumbled upon the song felt like they'd struck gold. They couldn't keep it to themselves.
"Dude, you've gotta hear this," Mike texted his best friend. "So new artist called Lucid. It's like... damn, I can't even describe it."
His friend, skeptical at first, gave it a listen. "Holy crap, where'd you find this? It's amazing!"
The chain reaction continued. Maya played it for her mom during their weekly dinner.
"Who did you say this was?" her mom asked, swaying to the music.
"So new artist, Lucid. Cool, right?"
Her mom nodded, already pulling out her phone to share it with her book club.
Even the cynics were won over. Jake, known for his harsh music critiques, begrudgingly admitted, "Okay, I wasn't expecting much, but this Lucid guy... he's got sothing."
The song spread through friend groups, families, and coworkers. Each new listener approached it with low expectations, only to find themselves chard and hitting the repeat button.
***
The next morning, Lucas nearly spat out his coffee as he checked the Spotify stats. "Mother of pearl," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
Thousands of listens. The chart showing a steady upward climb. He refreshed the page, half expecting it to be a glitch, but the numbers only grew.
Switching to the Lucid email account, his eyes widened. The inbox was flooded:
"Hey Lucid, love your sound! Any plans for more tracks?"
"This is fire! 🔥 Who are you??"
"Booking agent here - interested in representation?"
Lucas closed the email tab and switched back to the Spotify stats. He let out a low whistle as he watched the numbers tick up in real-ti.
Although the song was just thousands of listeners - it was still impressive for an "unknown" artist to make so much progress in a day. And from the looks of it, the song will continue to spread, probably through the word of mouth.
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