BXBX NOVEL Chapter 22: Perform at 200% or else!
However, just when he was approaching the bar\'s doors, he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket.
By this point, Tristan had bought himself a second phone for his Pop-star identity, and when Tristan pulled it out, he saw the bar\'s administrator\'s name on screen.
Instead of replying, Tristan hurried through the personnel\'s entrance into the bar and walked toward the main bar\'s hall, from where the administrator was calling.
He immediately noticed an unusual activity in the bar as the waiters were cleaning the tables with twice the effort.
A table in the center of the bar had been covered with a tablecloth, and four plates were already put there, together with plenty of cutlery. The waiters made the table look like it was from a fancy restaurant, not from a bar!
At his approach, the administrator—who also often worked as a barman—almost jumped with anger and relief and slammed the phone receiver down.
"Gemello! For hell\'s sake, where were you? Did you HAVE to pick today specifically to be late?"
From the look on the administrator\'s face, he was about to pull his hair off before Tristan appeared.
"My apologies—"
"Forget it! Mr. Pierce said that there are going to be extremely important guests arriving in… fifteen minutes now. Get into his office before he skinned us both alive so he could explain to you what to do!"
Tristan obeyed the command, wondering to himself if the threat of skinning was metaphorical or literal, considering who Pierce actually was.
Inside the Pierce\'s office, Tristan was immediately pinned down with a dagger-sharp glare.
"Finally! Being a young talent gives you no excuse to be tardy, Mr. Gemello," Pierce hissed. "If this conduct repeats itself, you can forget about your week\'s salary, you understand?"
Tristan had never seen Pierce so livid. He bowed his head in submission, although his spine stayed ramrod straight in quiet defiance, and no fear showed on his features.
"Yes, Mr. Pierce."
"Because of a sudden change of plans, today the owner of this bar, Mr. Leon Clavon, will hold a meeting with an important business partner of his." Pierce grit his teeth. The shift in schedule gave him a lot of headache.
"We must make sure that neither of them is at all disappointed. And what\'s important, Mr. Clavon\'s guest is a big lover of music and owns his own talent agency. Gemello, you must play your best today. Maybe our normal visitors can\'t tell the difference between good and bad music, but this man is different, and it\'s vital that he\'s pleased. Vital."
The way Pierce said the last word made Tristan sure that if he failed, his body would be found in some ditch tomorrow, without skin.
\'Fuck… I didn\'t even get my reward and gang acceptance from doing the assassination mission, and now I have to perform at my 200%? No break whatsoever. However, if that person owns a talent agency, it can be an opportunity. If the agency is any good. What kind of talent agency owner has deals with gangsters?\'
It was dejecting, but at the same time, Tristan\'s fingers twitched with excitement at the challenge. He looked Pierce in the eye.
"I don\'t care if this guest is an expert, I won\'t make him leave disappointed, Mr. Pierce. But I hope I will get a bonus for this."
Pierce scoffed.
"Bonus? You were late today! I only close my eyes on this because I need you out there, playing. But fine, fine. Impress the guests, and I will give you one thousand dollars. Fail, and…"
Pierce fell silent, but the meaning was pretty clear. At best, Tristan will be fired. At worst, he will be fired at.
Tristan nodded again, and with Pierce\'s silent permission, left the office. He went straight to the piano, sat on the stool, and opened his status.
[======]
[Tristan Gemello (Tristan Hayes)]
[Current identity: Pop-star. Second identity: Criminal.]
[Pop-star rank: Opened The Door.]
[Criminal rank: Nobody.]
[Pop-star Points: 430]
[Criminal Points: 950]
[===Attributes===]
[Appearance: 34]
[Charisma: 31]
[Fearsomeness: 28]
[Strength: 19]
[Dexterity: 24]
[Toughness: 42]
[===Skills===]
[Singing: 179]
[Dancing: 8]
[Playing guitar: 164]
[Music theory: 21]
[Music production: 8]
[Acting: 392]
[Songwriting: 14]
[Voice control: 53]
[Stage presence: 137]
[Playing piano: 246]
[Video editing: 201]
[Sneaking: 628]
[Close-quarters combat: 457]
[Observation: 673]
[Driving: 16]
[Pickpocketing: 530]
[Firearms shooting: 1]
[===Talents===]
[Clark Kent Effect] [Partially Sleepless]
[======]
His stats for main musical skills were much lower than for his criminal skills.
Tristan had planned to change that after getting PP for advancing in the gang—that would definitely improve his rank and give him a reward. However, now he didn\'t have time.
\'Should I put more points into the piano skill?\' he thought.
After a moment of thought, Tristan put 100 points into it. 346 total skill points should be good enough.
He didn\'t have the time to hesitate more or spend the rest of the points.
The doors leading into the bar opened, and four people walked inside. Two men, each of them with a pretty and young woman on their arm.
In front walked a tall, broad-shouldered and muscular man. His blond, curled hair fell to his shoulders like a mane. He was dressed in a sand-yellow suit, and walked like the king of the world. Next to him, his girlfriend looked like a tiny canary.
Leon Clavon. Truly, a man who liked his name so much, and who was called Leon, could look no different.
Except, Tristan immediately noticed that his luxurious hair was a high-quality wig. With his build, the man had to be on steroids and bald.
And behind Leon was his complete opposite—a short, plump, balding man with a sheen of sweat on his forehead. The young woman who walked arm in arm with him was way out of his league.
Pierce himself walked out to meet them.
"Welcome, Mr. Clavon, Mr. Garstean. The table had been prepared for you. Please, enjoy your dinner—and would you like to have some live music?"