From A Producer To A Global Superstar

Chapter 542: I Think We Found The Hole

The first person Dayo visited was Wayne, it felt appropriate. If there was anybody inside JD Records who could get away with speaking to him like a normal human being, it was Wayne.’ Like that was even a thing’

The studio door was half open when Dayo arrived. Music drifted softly into the hallway it was a piano melody that passed through though unfinished the sound was soothing he could spot a thing or two that needed correcti..... he quickly shook of the though he was here for another thing couldn’t allow himself to get carried away.

Wayne sat alone inside the room with his feet resting on another chair, one hand balancing a coffee cup while the other adjusted levels on the mixing console.

The moment he noticed Dayo standing in the doorway, his face lit up. "There he is."

Dayo shook his head. "You make it sound like I’ve been missing."

Wayne laughed. "You have been missing."

"I was gone for a few weeks and you saw me just yesterday"

Wayne looked offended fully ignoring the last sentence. "A few weeks?"

He pointed dramatically toward the ceiling."Do you hear this?"

"Hear what?" Dayo looked confused.

"The lies." Wayne said with a wide smile plastered around his face

Dayo groaned. "I literally own this company."

Wayne stood and spread his arms. "Exactly. Which is why it would be nice if the owner occasionally visited the building."

The smile that followed removed any real sting from the words. Wayne crossed the room and pulled him into a quick hug before stepping back.

It wasn’t awkward they were far past that stage after all they were almost together as Dayo was a producer and his mentor so he thought him everything and still does so that they were are piratically best of friends in a wired way.

"Sit down."

Dayo dropped into the chair opposite him the studio looked almost identical to how it had years ago but now the equipment was better, the screens were larger. But somehow the room still felt like the early days.

Like ambition and caffeine had simply become more expensive.

Wayne lowered the music. "So." He leaned back.

"To what do I owe the honor?"

Dayo smiled. "I wanted to follow up on yesterday."

Wayne immediately understood the smile softened slightly. "Ah" the room became quieter.

Not tense Just thoughtful, with Wayne rubbed his jaw. "I figured that’s why you were making the rounds."

Dayo nodded. "You had time to think about it?"

"I did." Wayne looked toward the ceiling for a moment.

"I actually spent more time thinking about it than I expected."

"And?"

Wayne exhaled. "And honestly, I got nothing."

Dayo waited.

Wayne continued. "I replayed conversations." he pointed toward his head.

"Way too many conversations."

"Then I started questioning myself."

He laughed.

"Then I started questioning whether I was questioning myself correctly."

Dayo chuckled. "Sounds exhausting."

"It was." Then Wayne became serious. "I never talked about Luna."

He paused.

"I never talked about Jennifer I definitely never talked about you being Jennifer’s father."

Dayo watched him quietly.

Wayne wasn’t defensive.

Wasn’t nervous.

He genuinely looked disappointed that he couldn’t help more. "What I remember most," Wayne said slowly, "is how happy you looked."

Dayo blinked. "What?"

"When you showed us the pictures" Wayne leaned forward.

"....."

Realization crossed Dayo’s face.

Wayne nodded. "Yeah I remember that."

The producer smiled."Trust me you looked different and as much as i wanted to go home and brag to my wife about how happy you were i knew it wasn’t in my right and the matter is too sensitive to."

Dayo laughed softly as he absorbed all what Wayne said before saying "I didn’t look that different."

"You absolutely did." Wayne pointed at him.

"Half the company thought somebody replaced you."

"You’re exaggerating." shrugged but even he couldn’t deny it if he wanted to

"I’m not, For the first time since I’ve known you, you looked like somebody whose life wasn’t on fire." Wayne’s smile widened.

"....."

That hit harder than Dayo expected.

Wayne noticed and smiled "You know something funny?"

Dayo raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I think everybody was happy for you."

Wayne continued before Dayo could respond. "We don’t always understand what you’re doing, we definitely don’t always know where you disappear to."

"But we’ve known you long enough."

He shrugged.

"People wanted that for you."

Dayo looked down at the coffee cup sitting on the desk.

For a moment he saw Luna and Jennifer with the farm animal play mat in the living room. A life that felt impossibly distant from conference rooms and hard drives.

Wayne’s voice pulled him back. "For what it’s worth, I don’t think it was me."

Dayo nodded. "I know."

Wayne laughed. "That’s not exactly reassuring."

"It wasn’t supposed to be."

They both smiled.

The conversation drifted naturally after that.

Music, artists, projects and the usual things. By the time Dayo stood to leave, Wayne seemed lighter.

As Dayo reached the door, Wayne spoke again.

"You know everybody was happy you called that meeting."

Dayo stopped.

Wayne shrugged. "You probably didn’t notice."

"Notice what?" looked confused but already knew what he wanted to say.

"People miss you."

Dayo stared at him.

Wayne smiled.

Then pointed toward the hallway. "Now go bother somebody else."

Dayo just shook his head ignoring his last words.

****

Ulrich’s office looked exactly like Dayo expected in a simple word controlled chaos.

Three monitors were on the screen had different graphs at least six open spreadsheets.

Then by his side a mountain of documents possibly active crises with Ulrich sitting behind his desk talking through an earpiece while typing faster than most people could think.

The moment Dayo entered, Ulrich pointed toward a chair without looking up.

Dayo sat.

The conversation continued for about few seconds before Ulrich finally ended the call in a bit of a rush.

He leaned back dramatically. "Look who finally remembered he owns a company."

Dayo sighed. "Is this going to be a theme today?"

"It’s an important theme." Ulrich said like he was stating a fact.

"You people are impossible."

"No." Ulrich pointed at him. "You’re impossible."

The exchange lasted another minute before both men laughed, years of friendship had worn away most formalities.

Eventually Ulrich folded his arms. "So leak conversation huh ?."

Dayo nodded. "Yes leak conversation."

Ulrich became serious immediately unlike Wayne, he already knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"I talked to somebody."

A small knot tightened inside Dayo’s chest.

"Who?"

"My wife."

The tension disappeared instantly.

Ulrich noticed. "You thought that was going somewhere else."

"It could have." Dayo shrugged.

"It couldn’t." Ulrich shook his head.

"After the meeting I went home and brought it up."

Dayo listened quietly.

Ulrich continued.

"Then after what you said yesterday, I went back and asked her directly."

"Seriously."

"And?"

"She said no."

Dayo nodded.

"And you believe her."

"I do."

The answer came immediately.

No hesitation.Dayo trusted Ulrich’s judgment.

If Ulrich trusted her, that was enough. "If you trust her, I trust her."

The assistant CEO stared at him then shook his head.

"What?" Dayo asked confused

Ulrich laughed. "That’s actually annoying."

Dayo frowned. "Why?"

"Because normal people don’t do that."

"Do what?"

"Trust people that completely."Dayo opened his mouth then closed it.

Ulrich leaned forward. "You know your biggest problem?"

Dayo sighed. "Everybody keeps telling me I have one."

"You have several." Ulrich said bluntly.

"Thank you."

"But the biggest one is simple." Ulrich pointed toward him. "You trust people completely, then you refuse to rely on them."

The statement landed harder than expected. Mostly because Felix had said something similar probably Valerie too maybe with a different words but it all meant the same thing.

Ulrich shook his head. "You carry everything yourself. You disappear you solve problems. Then you come back looking exhausted and act surprised when people are worried."

Dayo rubbed his forehead. "This is starting to feel coordinated."

"It isn’t."

"That’s somehow worse." Ulrich laughed.

Then the humor faded.

"For what it’s worth, we’re still here."

"And I appreciate that."

Dayo laughed then left.

****

Valerie’s office felt different from the rest of the building, cleaner, calmer and more organized. Which was impressive considering she was currently managing an international expansion.

When Dayo entered, Valerie was already on a call.

She pointed toward a chair.

Dayo sat quietly.

Five minutes later the call ended.

Valerie immediately smiled.

"My favorite visitor."

Dayo groaned "You too?"

"What?"

"The disappearing jokes."

"They aren’t jokes." She laughed. "They’re observations."

Dayo shook his head.

Valerie studied him for a while. "You know, I used to see you every day."

"I still come here."

"Briefly."

"That counts."

"No."

The CEO folded her arms. "It doesn’t."

The conversation quickly shifted into familiar territory.

Luna.

Jennifer.

Fatherhood.

Valerie seemed to enjoy embarrassing him far more than necessary.

Eventually she leaned back.

"I have a question."

Dayo already knew what was coming.

"Have you told Jennifer that your office exists?"

"She’s one."

"I’m just asking."

Dayo sighed. "You’re impossible too."

Valerie looked pleased. Eventually the conversation shifted toward the real reason for the visit.

She immediately became serious.

"No. No conversations. No accidental mentions No loose discussions I have checked my memories."

Dayo nodded. Then noticed something. Valerie was studying him.

The way she evaluated difficult situations. Finally she spoke."How bad is it?"

The question caught him slightly off guard.

He considered lying. Then decided against it. "Worse than anything I’ve touched before."

Valerie didn’t look surprised.

Which somehow surprised him.

Instead she nodded slowly. "Good."

Dayo blinked. "What?"

"Good."

He stared.

Valerie smiled. "Because for once you’re not trying to carry it alone."

Silence settled briefly.

Valerie had worked with him long enough to know exactly where his weaknesses lived. This was one of them.

As Dayo stood to leave, she spoke one final time.

"Whatever happens."

He paused.

She met his eyes.

"You’re not doing it by yourself this time."

The certainty in her voice left no room for argument.

Dayo simply nodded.

Then walked out.

****

Alice’s department was almost empty.

Most employees had already left for the evening.

The lights seemed dimmer.

The building quieter.

When Dayo arrived, Alice sat alone at her desk staring at a marketing report that she clearly wasn’t reading.

The moment she saw him, she straightened, too quickly and Dayo noticed immediately.

"You’re finally here."

He sat down.

The smile she gave him looked genuine.

But something underneath it felt strained.

They talked normally at first.

Campaigns.

Artist schedules.

Upcoming releases.

Work.

Safe topics.

Comfortable topics.

Yet the longer the conversation continued, the more obvious it became that something was bothering her.

Eventually Dayo decided to ask.

"You okay?"

Alice froze. Only for a second. But he caught it. That single second changed everything. She looked away.

Then sighed. "Actually..."

Dayo remained quiet.

Giving her space. Alice rubbed her hands together.

"It’s been bothering me since yesterday."

"What has?"

She hesitated.

Then looked up.

"I think I remembered something."

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Dayo didn’t interrupt.

Didn’t push.

Alice continued slowly.

"After that conversation. The one about Luna and about Jennifer."

She swallowed.

"I wasn’t doing very well."

Dayo frowned slightly.

Alice laughed weakly.

"I wasn’t angry."

"Not really."

"Just..."

She searched for the word.

"Lonely."

The honesty surprised even her.

Dayo said nothing.

Alice continued. "You disappear a lot."

The statement wasn’t accusatory.

Just true.

"I understand why. I really do. But understanding something doesn’t automatically make it easier."

Dayo nodded slowly. That felt fair.

Alice looked down. "Later that night I went drinking."

A memory surfaced behind her eyes.

"I met somebody."

Dayo waited.

"A woman named Wendy."

The name meant nothing initially.

Alice continued.

"She said she was a therapist. Career consultant. Somebody who helps people navigate stressful jobs."

The story felt ordinary. Too ordinary. Yet something about Alice’s expression suggested otherwise.

"We talked for a few times nothing serious."

Then she stopped.

A look crossed her face.Discomfort. The slow realization that something she once ignored might matter now.

Dayo leaned forward slightly. "What?"

Alice looked up. "The conversations always drifted toward bosses."

A pause.

"Leadership."

Another pause.

"Personal lives."

Her face slowly lost color.

"Oh."

Dayo didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Alice stared into the distance.

Remembering.

Really remembering.

"Wendy always asked about work."

"Always."

"At the time I thought she was being supportive."

Another realization arrived.

"And she always redirected conversations back to JD Records."

The room became completely silent.

Dayo finally asked.

"What did she look like?"

Alice described everything she could remember.

Hair.

Height.

Voice.

Accent.

Face.

Every detail.

The moment she finished, Dayo pulled out his phone.

Then called Felix.

Fifteen minutes later Felix entered carrying his laptop.

He listened carefully while Alice repeated everything.

Not once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

Felix took notes throughout.

When she finished, Dayo spoke.

"Run it on Silas Database the one we got into recently."

Felix immediately understood. No explanation needed.

The hidden surveillance access inside Silas’s infrastructure still existed.

Nobody knew that they had acceded it Not Silas. Not Michael.

Nobody.

Felix disappeared.

The waiting began.

Alice looked increasingly uncomfortable.

Eventually she spoke.

"I hope I’m not in trouble."

Dayo looked at her.

Genuinely confused.

"Why would you be in trouble?"

Alice laughed nervously.

"Because this sounds really bad."

"You were manipulated at your lowest. That doesn’t make you guilty."

The statement hit harder than he intended.

Alice looked down.

The silence stretched.

Twenty minutes later the door opened.

Felix returned.

His expression was serious.

Not angry.

Not disappointed.

Serious.

He looked at Dayo first.

Then Alice.

Finally he closed the laptop.

"I think we found the hole."

Alice’s face drained immediately.

Fear.

Shock.

Understanding.

All arriving at once.