I sat up in a jump and stammered, "Good evening. No, it's no problem at all."

"I'm glad to hear that," the man replied. "I was in the Business Administration project presentation of Saitama University a couple of days ago, the reason being that I was already interested in your company. I wanted to make sure you had a proper vision for it before recommending it to the CEO. It took me these last few days to convince him, that's why I'm calling at this time."

No words came to my mind. I didn't even know what to think. I hadn't heard about Archilands Records before. What if it was a scam? Or maybe they just wanted to use us to get more popular. Maybe it was a mistake.

The man laughed nervously, "I apologize, I always talk too much before asking: are you interested in this proposal?"

"I still don't know much about it."

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to make a decision now. It'll be better to discuss it in person. Let's have coffee tomorrow morning."

About to tell him I didn't like coffee, I realized he was just suggesting a place to talk.

"Sure," I replied. "Where should we meet?"

We chose a place along the outskirts of the center of the city so it wasn't too crowded or too expensive. The call ended and I went straight to search for their company on the QNet. It wasn't amongst the best ones, but it had dealt with pretty popular artists. There was no sign of bad business practices either.

I spent the rest of the night checking the company's status in detail and thinking about what the best course of action was, even though I still didn't know what the proposal was.

I hadn't slept at all when it was time to get ready. Luckily, we were going to meet quite early so that it would not impact our work schedule.

Before going out, I sent Aki a message to tell her I wasn't going to be home. Then I headed to the monorail station and arrived a couple of streets away from the café we had chosen. I arrived a few minutes early, so he wasn't there yet. I sat down and a waitress approached me. I told her I was waiting for someone and she walked away. Seeing human employees at a café was a rare sight, to say the least.

The representative walked through the door at the exact time we had planned to meet. I recognized him thanks to the business card he sent me the previous night. He wore a very nice suit, while I wore my casual outfit.

He approached the table for two I was sitting at and greeted me, "Good morning. I hope you haven't been waiting for long."

I stood up and we bowed at each other. "Only for a couple of minutes," I replied.

The man smiled before we sat down. We hadn't even begun to talk again when the same waitress from before approached our table.

"Good morning. Do you wish to order something?" she asked.

"An expresso, please," the man answered.

"A donut," I said. I wasn't even hungry because of the nerves, yet I didn't want to give a bad impression.

"Right away," the waitress smiled and walked away.

The man and I stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. It was becoming awkward, so I tried to think of something to break the ice. Luckily, he talked first.

"May I assume you researched our company?"

"I did."

"Splendid. We are constantly looking for exciting opportunities with new artists. Our goal is not to be the number one music company, our goal is to help these new artists to grow and reach heights they wouldn't reach alone for any reason: exposure, management, opportunities, money, etc."

So, he saw that GIMA is about to go bankrupt and wants to help on that side. What's the catch?

"You must be thinking: what is the catch? Obviously, Archilands Records doesn't do things for free; we are a company that also needs to survive, after all. And you are not an artist, you're a settled company with employees and artists."

The conversation suddenly came to a halt.

"So?" I wondered.

"So, may I send you a copy of the contract?"

"Sure."

My glasses recognized the command and a document with forty-eight pages appeared on the screen. I scrolled through it as the man talked again.

"The catch is that Galactical Idols Management Agency would operate under Archilands Records umbrella."

I stopped reading and looked at him, sitting in front of me. "Does that mean that GIMA would merge with the Archilands Records company?"

"Not exactly. GIMA would remain a company with its own employees, directors, and facilities. The difference is that it would operate under AR's direction, meaning you would get all the help and security AR can offer."

I stayed silent to think for a moment. "Then, I would remain GIMA's CEO."

"Correct," he smirked.

"What about the decisions I make? Would they need to get AR's approval?"

His smirk weakened a little. "Yes."

"It means that AR would become the owner of GIMA, including its employees and facilities."

He hesitated to answer, "Yes, that would be the case. Please take a look at the contract, it is more detailed than the answers I can give you since it is a legal settlement."

I resumed reading the contract. As I did, the waitress brought our orders, but I couldn't even think about giving my donut a bite.

The more I read the contract, the less I liked the terms. They all made sense from the point of view of a company. Archilands Records was about to make a big move and they wanted to assure their security, but that meant GIMA was going to get less favorable results.

Several minutes flew by and I wasn't able to form a decision. I also felt bad for making the man wait.

"I'm sorry, I can't decide now," I apologized. "Could you give me more time to think about it?"

"Well, AR's CEO is somewhat impatient about these arrangements. The most I can give you is a day before he backs away from the deal."

"That's enough."

He smiled and stood up. "Thank you for listening to our proposal. I know it isn't a pleasant decision to make but, sometimes, they are necessary. I'll be waiting for your call. Have a nice day."

"You too."

He walked out of the café and I stared down at the table. I remembered I had a donut to eat, but I didn't want to stay any longer. I took the donut and headed back to my apartment. I was so distracted thinking about the contract the whole way that I forgot I was holding a donut. I put it down on the table when I arrived and sat on the bed.

Knowing I wouldn't calm down and only having a couple of hours before work, I called the lawyer we had worked with before.

"Good morning, Mr. Miyahara. How have you been?"

"In a rollercoaster of emotions."

He took a moment to reply, "Did you get into another spot of legal trouble?"

"Not exactly. Can I send you a contract for you to review?"

Even though most contracts specified they were confidential, they could be shared with a lawyer for review purposes. They didn't specify that but, fortunately, I had learned that from Haru.

"Please go ahead," the lawyer replied. "It's just that I'm a little busy right now. It'll take me a couple of days to get to it."

"Could you review it for this evening? I'll pay extra."

"It's not about the money, Mr. Miyahara." He stayed silent for a moment. "Alright, I'll call you back this evening, no need to pay extra."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

The afternoon flew by. I didn't leave the office for anything and I was more serious than usual. I was sure that everyone noticed that something was off, yet no one asked about it, which I appreciated. They all brainstormed about a second album, increasing the pressure I felt to not let them down.

The workday ended and, for the first time in a long while, Tomokazu walked with Aki, Umi, and me back home. Tomokazu and Umi stepped into the building where their apartments were and Aki and I headed to ours.

"Are you coming tonight?" Aki smirked at me as we approached the building where her apartment was.

I glanced at her. "I'm sorry, I need to do something."

"Something you can't tell me about?"

"I can, it's just that I want to have an answer before doing so."

Out of nowhere, she gave me a peck on the cheek and smiled, "Then I'll wait. Call me when you're free."

"I will."

She let go of my hand and stepped into the building.

I walked down one more street to arrive at the next building, then took the elevator up to my apartment.

I was in the middle of taking a shower when my glasses rang with a call. I walked out of the bathroom only wearing a towel and put my glasses on to see that it was the lawyer that was calling.