Listening to her new single banging away in the crowded
club, Anna couldn’t help the feeling of pride wash through her. ‘My big break
may be here’, she thought to herself as she watched the fairly large group of
people on the dance floor gyrate to the rhythm of her song which was fast becoming
a hit. Just recently she was mentioned as one of the upcoming acts to watch out
for on the biggest radio station in the country.
“Ladies and gentlemen”, a voice blared from the
speakers as the music lowered in the background, “Welcome on stage, the hot and
sexy, Nalyyyyyaaaaaaaa!!!!!”
Nalya was her stage name. The crowd went into frenzy
as Anna took to the microphone to perform another of her new single. Although
the song was freshly out of the studio, not one person stood still all through
her performance, even the bartenders were not left out, everyone screamed and
danced as Anna did her thing. “This could be it, please God let this be it”,
Anna silently prayed while she went on thrilling the crowd. As she went back to
her seat by the bar stand, chants of Nalya, Nalya rented the air and Anna knew
deep down within her that she had scored a big one.
“Hi Nalya, that was a good one”, a deep voice resonated
by her side, Anna turned round to find herself staring at the disarmingly
handsome Jusky. Jusky was the owner of the biggest record label in the country;
he was one of the most respected persons in the country too. Rumour had it that
he was nursing a political ambition and many believed he will succeed if the
time came.
“Thank you”, said Anna in a rather excited
tone. It was not everyday people came in contact with the admired businessman.
“You are such a talented and sexy young
lady”, came Jusky
“Thank you”, Anna replied again
“Can I
have the honour of taking you out to dinner tomorrow evening?” Jusky asked
“That will be nice” Anna replied
“8pm at The Cellar?” Jusky asked
“That’s fine, I’ll be there” Anna managed to
stammer
She couldn’t believe her ears, the almighty Jusky had
just asked her out to dinner and she had accepted. He was every girl’s dream;
tall, dark, handsome and his were pockets well loaded. Elsie her roommate and best
friend will be green with envy when she told her this. Elsie, a great admirer
of Jusky was supposed to accompany her to club Blaze for her performance that
night but couldn’t make it for some family reasons. She imagined the look of
surprise and unbelief on Elsie’s face as she narrated her encounter with Jusky
to her.
“Elsie”, Anna
muttered to herself, “Your girl is going places”.
………………………………………………….
When the car pulled up by The Cellar, the next evening,
Anna was beside herself with joy, she had never been in a 3 star restaurant all
her life, let alone a 5 star one. Elsie had helped dress her up for the evening
and she felt really special with the way she looked.
Dinner with Jusky was such a treat; she was pampered
by the every smiling waiter and Jusky on the other hand, the perfect gentleman.
“How will you like to be signed onto my label?” Jusky
asked abruptly, jolting Anna out of her thoughts
“Are you serious?” a surprised Anna asked
“Yes” replied Jusky
“I have got to be dreaming, thank you so much for the
opportunity”, Anna blurted out.
Dinner over, Jusky reached out for his Burberry alligator
skin briefcase and pulled out some papers which he handed over to Anna. “Your
passport to stardom” he said, “Go through them carefully and sign on them if
you are satisfied with the terms”.
An excited Anna glossed through the papers she had in
her hand, her eyes lit with joy when she saw the benefits; N10M
one-off payment, a brand new Rav4 SUV, a rented duplex in the posh area of the
city, an annual wardrobe makeover, an annual vacation and many freebies. Anna
couldn’t believe her eyes, “what did Jusky mean ok with the terms”, she mused
at his ‘naivety’. How did he expect she was going to let this bag of goodies
pass her by? Hastily, she signed the papers and handed them back to Jusky.
Five months later, living the life she had always
dreamed of, Anna received a telephone call that would change her life forever.
It was from the Personal Assistant to the Managing Director of the largest
Telcom Company on the continent. The Company was offering to pay Anna 10M USD
to use one of her hit songs as their theme song for their brand which was about
to be launched in the country. Anna couldn’t believe her ears. If she thought
she was already in paradise, she had just been proven wrong. She couldn’t wait
to share the good news with Jusky. She quickly put a call through to him and that
was when scales fell off her eyes, she had no right to the song in question.
“What do you mean I have no right to my song?” a
bewildered Anna screamed over the phone
“Well, you don’t anymore” Jusky replied
“I wrote that song myself, that is my life you are
talking about” Anna screamed
“Then, you signed your life away, if you like” Jusky
responded
“Have you gone crazy Jusky, what do you mean?” Anna
screamed even louder
“It’s all in the papers you signed” Jusky replied cooly
“What stupid papers?” Anna had lost her cool
“I will send you fresh copies in case you have
misplaced yours”, Jusky replied and dropped the phone.
It was a hysteric Anna that read through the portion
of the papers Jusky had ‘graciously’ underlined to catch her attention. She had
hurriedly appended her signature in an agreement to transfer ALL of her rights in
the hit song and her music album to Jusky’s record label.
10M USD could not be compared to the peanuts Jusky had
given to her in her ignorance. How naive she had been. Who was going to wake
her up from this nightmare she had become entangled in?
EVEN
IN THE MOST BASIC DEALINGS IN LIFE, COSON SAYS, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND INSIST ON
THEM!!!!
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