Chapter 32 - Luminous Records, Leaving With Georgie

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3rd POV

"....." Georgie stared at Fenley, who was sipping her iced tea awkwardly. "…It's a beautiful day, right?" Georgie said, attempting to break the silence.

"Oh, you better shut up." Mary said, turning to Rosie. "So, my boy here is going to be part of a company that you haven't even established yet?" She then looked at Fenley. "And you knew about this? You're his teacher."

Fenley looked guilty. "I'm sorry, but I just want what's best for Georgie… He has the talent to become a singer."

"Of course, he does!" Mary snorted at Fenley.

"…Alright, let's stay calm here." Rosie interjected, trying to defuse the situation. "I know Fenley might've been a little—"

"A little?!" Mary interrupted.

"…Right… She feels guilty, but her intentions are good." Rosie continued. "I don't know what kind of talent Georgie has, but Fenley asked for my help to support him…"

Mary fell silent, listening to Rosie. "...She didn't contact me after we graduated, and then when she does? It's just to ask for my help!" Rosie's voice grew angry as she vented about Fenley, who only reached out when she needed assistance instead of hanging out or even grabbing a drink together.

"…Alright, calm down." Mary said, glancing awkwardly at Georgie, whose chance to voice her frustrations had been overtaken by Rosie's outburst. Fenley looked apologetically at her friend. "Alright… I'm sorry, okay… We'll go to a bar later." she said, rubbing Rosie's back.

"I came here to discuss what this 'company' plans to do for me and what I'll get out of it… but I didn't expect to start on such barren ground." Georgie said, rubbing his forehead before turning to Rosie. "So… what do you want to do?"

"…Honestly? I want to do it." Rosie admitted with a sigh. "…But we don't have any experience with this." she added, glancing at Fenley, who sighed as well.

"So… you two are starting a company together? A music label?" Georgie asked, looking between Fenley and Rosie. "Are you going to quit teaching?" he asked Fenley.

"Well… if this works out, maybe I'll stop teaching?" Fenley replied, then corrected herself. "…Well, I've made up my mind. I'll quit teaching and focus on the company." she declared, looking at Rosie, who grinned widely.

"GOOD!" Rosie exclaimed, clearly thrilled by Fenley's decision, before turning to Georgie. "So? What do you think?"

"I think… you need to reconsider this." Mary said, eyeing them both with concern. She glanced at Georgie, who hadn't said a word and was staring at them. Mary hoped Georgie wouldn't make a rash decision.

Georgie remained silent, his gaze making Rosie and Fenley a bit nervous. They had no idea what he was thinking. The words Georgie spoke next would change both their lives.

"…I want to be a partner." Georgie said simply, looking at both of them.

"…What?" Rosie asked in disbelief.

"I want to be a partner, you know? A shareholder, a boss." Georgie clarified.

"…No." Rosie said flatly, staring at Georgie. Fenley said nothing, just listening as the tension between Georgie and Rosie grew. Though Fenley had only acted as a bridge to connect them, she couldn't avoid the sparks flying from Rosie's fiery words.

"I can't believe you'd trust this lunatic." Rosie said sharply.

"….." Georgie said nothing, letting Rosie say her piece.

"I'm sacrificing my house to build this company—or technically, a company I'm about to build. Do you have anything to invest? No. Fenley has musical instruments we can use to set up a studio. And what do you have?" Rosie challenged.

Mary looked furious and ready to explode, but Georgie's hand gently held hers, calming her.

"…I have myself." Georgie replied calmly, staring at both of them.

"….." Rosie was speechless, as was Fenley.

"What the hell?!" Rosie yelled, about to continue her tirade, but Georgie raised a hand to stop her.

"…I know it's hard for you to trust me, and I understand this is a tough decision. Honestly… if I want to do this, I want to do it my way. Miss Fenley saw something in me and believed in me, and you trust Miss Fenley—not me, but her." Georgie said, smiling at Fenley.

"…I know the entertainment world is… dark. I don't want to get lost in that darkness. I want to bring light to my listeners. Yeah, it's so cringe, but I just… love music." Georgie continued. "If I'm just going to be a corporate slave and follow their every word, I'd rather create my own record label—or just sing for my family."

He paused, looking at both of them. "…I can make myself famous quickly. Do you believe that? Or I can make this company big—huge."

"….." Rosie stayed silent, glancing at Fenley, who was smiling at Georgie. Rosie noticed something in Fenley's gaze but brushed it off to focus on Georgie.

"…How can you be so confident?" Rosie asked.

Georgie smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Because I've got nothing to lose."

"….." Rosie twitched her lips and glanced at Fenley, who nodded.

"Alright… I hope you won't disappoint me." Rosie finally said, smiling at Georgie. "Honestly, I just wanted to see how serious you were. I had already made up my mind when talking to Fenley earlier. She said she wanted to start a music label—which I thought was incredibly stupid."

Before Fenley could protest, Rosie continued, "She wouldn't stop talking about you. Oh, that's right… she said she found a diamond in the dirt!"

Georgie chuckled, laughing at Fenley. "So, I'm dirty, huh?" Fenley blushed at the comment. Mary, noticing the atmosphere had calmed, spoke up cheerfully. "So… my child is a boss now?"

"What boss? 'WE' don't even have a company yet!" Rosie waved her hand dismissively. "We need to register this as a record label first. I'll give you 15% of the shares, Fenley gets 25%, and I'll hold 60%."

Georgie sipped his water. "Sure… I'll be an artist slash producer at this Copper Star Records! But let's hold that thought until our lawyers meet." He sounded enthusiastic, but Rosie and Fenley immediately cut him off.

"Hold on! Since when did we agree on that name?" Fenley asked, annoyed.

"What? Do you have a better idea?" Georgie teased.

Mary chimed in with a suggestion, "How about Faithful Sounds Records? That's a great name, right?"

"What? Are we a church choir? No way!" Rosie shot it down without hesitation, leaving Mary visibly annoyed. She glared at Georgie, who averted his gaze, avoiding her wrath. And because he didn't like it too.

"How about Luminous Records?" Fenley suggested, looking at Georgie.

Georgie smiled. "I like it." he replied, while Mary whispered to him, "What's 'luminous' mean?"

"It means 'bright' or 'shining,'" Georgie explained without breaking eye contact with Fenley.

"I like it too." Rosie added, cutting off Georgie's gaze at Fenley.

Georgie turned to Rosie. "Alright… back to the main question—how rich are you?"

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Georgie's POV

After a long conversation with Fenley and Rosie, Mary and I headed home under the setting sun. Rosie and Fenley wanted to continue discussing the company, but Mary insisted I needed to leave.

"…Were you serious about what you said?" Mary asked, glancing at me. "What? Which part?" I asked, confused after so much talk we have today.

"About making yourself famous quickly? Or when you said you could make the company huge?" Mary pressed.

"…Of course, I was bluffing." I admitted with a grin.

Mary twitched her lips, "Of course…."

"Well… good music lasts forever." I said with a shrug. "Besides, it's better than signing with a big company and becoming their puppet."

"But wouldn't it be faster to get famous by joining a major label?" Mary countered.

I smirked. "Oh, so you think I'm going to be a superstar?"

"Of course." Mary replied, smiling warmly. Her simple words filled my heart with a sense of comfort.

"Of course, I'll become a star and make my family proud." I said confidently, closing my eyes. "...Even if I have to sweat blood." I murmured softly.

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3rd POV

(Flashback to when Mary and Georgie left to meet Rosie and Fenley)

"Mary, I'm home." George called out, stepping inside. He was met with the sight of Missy crying in Connie's arms.

"What happened?!" he demanded.

Veronica, her eyes red from tears, stood beside Sheldon, handing George a piece of paper. It had Mary's handwriting: I'm leaving with Georgie.

"…What does this mean?" George tried to stay calm, but his voice wavered. Everyone in the room stared at him. He turned to Connie. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Well, when I arrived with them, we couldn't find Georgie or Mary. All we found were clothes strewn around…" Connie explained hesitantly.

George sighed in disbelief. Mary had left, and with Georgie, no less. "So? Have you contacted Pastor Jeff or anyone else?"

"I did." Connie replied, but Missy interrupted with a wail, "Georgie's leaving! It's all your fault!!"

She sobbed, blaming George, who looked utterly bewildered.

Connie shot George a look to stay calm. She couldn't believe Mary had left, especially with Georgie. George took a deep breath, turning to Veronica. "…Why are you crying?"

"I don't know!" Veronica replied, sounding frustrated. "I'm just sad!".

Sheldon sighed. "Mom and Georgie will come back. They love us, and they wouldn't leave us without a reason." He remained calm outwardly but was growing anxious after waiting so long for them.

"There's nothing to worry about." Connie reassured. "I checked Mary's clothes and things—she didn't take anything. They'll come back."

George nodded. "Of course, they will." He tried to change the mood. "So, who wants some pizza?"

"I WANT CHEESE PIZZA… AND GEORGIE!!" Missy cried again.

Sheldon sighed. "I want sausage, mushroom, and olives."

"Alright. Cheese pizza and whatever Sheldon ordered." George said, glancing at Connie before looking at Veronica. "Does pizza sound good to you?"

"What?" Veronica seemed surprised. She hadn't expected to be included in their dinner plans. "It's fine. Thanks."

"Alright." George said, heading out to order pizza. "We'll eat and wait for Mary and Georgie to come home."

"GEORGIE!!" Missy screamed again at the mention of his name.

"Or… we can shout and cry at each other." George remarked sarcastically, only for Sheldon to chime in. "No, I don't want to cry. Why would I cry like this idiot?"

George bit his lip, refraining from responding, and went off to place the pizza order.