From the next day, Aiden’s life got busier with all the shows he was doing. He would wake up early to sing at a wedding and end the night with a show in a bar.

Other than that, there was also the audition that he was preparing for.

He had gotten a short script that was a whole scene. He read it every time he got a chance to understand better the character he would audition for.

He kept one eye on his system and his acting skill, which was just a step away from breaking into Intermediate Grade 1.

Aiden was very curious to see what new skills he would get after breaking through, especially because of the effects of him getting his singing skill to evolve into Intermediate Grade 1.

His singing had changed entirely, got a lot better than before, and he could use his empathy skill a lot easier.

He was hoping for the same thing to happen to his acting.

On Friday, two days before the audition, Aiden was in the car with Wade, drinking Tea. It was still early in the morning, and he was a bit sleepy.

Taking a sip out of the cup that he had bought at a coffee shop, he couldn’t help but grumble, “I don’t know why they call it Chai Tea. Chai basically means Tea, so it’s like saying Tea Tea.”

“Well, Cultural differences.” Wade chuckled. “They may have failed to understand what it means. Not like people care.”

Aiden shook his head and glanced outside. The weather was a little bit cloudy. It was the middle of September, and winter was still two months away.

“Anyway, I’ve never been a model for a clothing brand. Do you have any tips?”

Aiden said, turning towards Wade. Today, they were going to a studio for a photo shoot for an endorsement.  _.

As he had gotten famous, brands and companies had started to keep an eye on him. Aiden was handsome, and he was also getting popular at a rapid pace, someone perfect for brands.

One of them, a clothing brand, had contacted Wade about an endorsement deal, and he had agreed after checking out the contract.

These endorsements were always a great way to earn a lot of money in a short amount of time.

“I have been to a few. Nothing much. The photographer tells you to give poses and take a photo. That goes for the whole day with different clothes.” He said before suddenly adding. “Obviously, it’s also a great chance to score a fun night if you are modelling with someone. I have seen a lot of models getting frisky in the middle of the photoshoot.”

He laughed after saying that but sadly, Aiden didn’t really have time to get frisky with anyone.

“I have my audition on Sunday, so I’m going to practise tomorrow. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t allow time to get frisky.”

“You can do all that after getting famous. Be successful when you are young. It’s harder when you are old, divorced, and haggard like me.”

Wade replied as he turned around a corner. Aiden didn’t say anything and hoped everything would go well today.

***

“Move your hands a bit like this. No, you are doing it wrong. Yes, yes, like that.”

Click! Click!

The sound of a camera clicking rang out as a white light flashed in front of Aiden. He was currently in the middle of the photoshoot while the photographer made him do a lot of different poses.

There were a lot of times the photographer, a middle-aged Briton, got irked but in the end, Aiden was able to give a good pose.

He was modelling for a clothing brand called ‘ZXO’.

Aiden didn’t even know how to spell it properly, but he was getting paid 70k dollars just for one day, so he was gladly putting in the effort to learn a bit of modelling.

‘I wonder if the system has a modelling skill.’

He thought, making another pose. The extent of the ability his system had was always a fascinating topic for him, and he was sure that he didn’t even know 10 percent of it properly.

Even the reason he got the system magically. Aiden didn’t know, and he could only be grateful.

“Okay, let’s take a break for lunch!”

The photographer said, sweeping off sweat from his forehead. The staff dispersed at those words, and one staff member came to take off the white jacket he was wearing that was especially meant for the shoot.

Aiden didn’t know how much it cost, but it felt nice while wearing it.

“Aiden, come here.”

Suddenly, Wade called him out, standing in the far right corner. Aiden walked towards him, wondering what he needed, and saw a woman standing with him.

She looked to be in her mid-20s, around the same as Aiden’s age and had night-black hair. At the same time, she was giving out a weird aura that made people nervous in front of her.

As he stared at her, Wade introduced her to him.

“Her name is Skye Ellison, the CEO, and owner of ZXO.” Aiden widened his eyes hearing that, but Wade wasn’t finished. “She wants to have lunch with you.”

***

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. As pleased as I am to sit here, I am also curious to know why you wish to have lunch with me?”

Aiden asked, staring at Skye. They were currently sitting in a French restaurant that was near the studio.

It even seemed to be an expensive one, but all of his attention was on Skye. He felt it was really weird that she had called him out on lunch.

‘I don’t think she just likes me, and it’s a date.’

That was the most basic reasoning one would get in this situation, but it was based more on fantasy than anything. Of course, stuff like that happens, but Aiden didn’t feel like Skye had those kinds of intentions.

“Why do you think I invited you?” She asked, smiling.

“I don’t think it’s something like a date, and you are interested in me.”

“Why can’t I be?”

“You don’t seem to be. You’re a busy lady, and I just had a photoshoot for your company’s clothes. I’m not dense. I am sure there’s something important to discuss.”

Skye laughed hearing that. It seemed to her that Aiden wasn’t really a stupid guy. At least he was straightforward enough to ask.

“Well, you are quite right. I just wanted to meet you to know what kind of a person you are. Think of it as trying to see if someone is good enough to invest in. When you buy a house, you visit it to see if it’s nice enough for you to spend money on, right?”

Although he found that analogy a bit weird, Aiden did understand what Skye was saying.

In simpler words, she was checking him out to know if he was a person that was worth spending money on.

“So it’s indeed related to the endorsements,” Aiden replied, and she nodded. “I thought it was more about numbers.”

Skye smiled and replied, “It is about numbers, but your personality matters a lot to me. My brand endorsing you is basically associating ourselves with you, and ZXO isn’t a prominent brand yet, but we want to keep a good image. So I am here to ensure that the celeb we associate ourselves with is at least smart enough not to provoke scandals and unnecessary attention for us.”

In a way, Skye was telling him that she had decided to have lunch with him to see if he was smart enough. 

It was more of gauging his personality.

“I’m not really a celebrity.”

Aiden replied. His reply wasn’t in the sense of being humble. He really meant that. He was nowhere close to being a true celebrity.

“Maybe not currently, but in the future, for sure,” Skye replied. “You have achieved a lot in a short time. First, just after getting into X-Star, you got famous, and now you even have a song out with a famous singer. All within just four months, and I do find you as someone with good potential.”

“I worked for years to prove myself in those four months.”

Aiden replied, and Skye nodded her head. It was hard to tell her thoughts from her expression, but Aiden did notice a satisfactory glint in her eyes

As the food arrived, her eyes didn’t leave his face. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, he tried to shift the conversation towards business again.

“So, will ZXO keep associating itself with me going forward?”

“There’s still much to think about, if I’m being frank,” Skye replied without wasting time. “We want to grow with a celebrity, in a way that the celebrity’s growth is associated with the company, so we work with people we identify as someone who might be big in the future. But people are very fickle, especially in an industry where money and fame can get you anything.”

Aiden realised that Skye was being very frank with him. Her words weren’t something extraordinary but just the truth.

For example, Aaron, the main lead of [Shadows of War]. He was a big star, but at this point, he had made it a habit to sleep with random women, not thinking about many things.

Although Hollywood was very lenient towards guys like him, it was only a matter of time before he caused a big scandal.

It might not affect him a lot as there would be producers who would still want to work with him. But the brands and companies are very sensitive, especially if they are paying exorbitant amounts.

“So, what do you think of me? Am I worth investing in?”

Aiden asked, and Skye just smiled before replying.

“We will see about that.”

…

//DreamNote//

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