Two and Half Men - Reborn as Jake Harper

Chapter 112 

It had been two days since Marshmello's album dropped. The morning sun was coming in through the windows, casting a soft light over everything.

That morning, I was at Carly's house. The four of us—me, Laura, Carly, and Sam—were sprawled out in the living room watching TV. Bella, Carly's dog, was resting her head in my lap.

On the TV, a street reporter was speaking with a bright smile: "Marshmello's album, Joytime, has already sold over 2.5 million copies, breaking several records and turning into a Multi-Platinum album in just two days"

The shot switched to a reporter standing next to a long line of buyers outside a music store.

"As you can see," she said, holding her mic and gesturing behind her, "even after two days, there are still lines forming to buy his album."

The camera then cut back to the studio, where the anchor turned to a seated commentator.

"It's clearly an immense phenomenon," the anchor said. "Tell us a bit more about the album, would you?"

The commentator nodded. "The Joytime album has 18 tracks, more than usual, including Friendzone and Titanium featuring Sia, I Need Your Love, Burn and Outside featuring Ellie Goulding, and On the Floor featuring J.Lo."

And he finished, "Happier, Alone, Faded, Hear Me Now, Waiting for Love, Summer, Blame, Wake me Up, The Nights, My Way, Fast Cars, and Are You with Me."

I thought to myself, The Nights (Avicii), My Way (Calvin Harris), Fast Car (Jonas Blue), and Are You with Me (Lost Frequencies)—those last four were used to promote the album.

The anchor then asked, "And are we still no closer to knowing who Marshmello really is?"

The commentator replied, "Yes. Months ago, every week a new name would pop up. Now, it's daily. So even if the real Marshmello came forward, would we actually believe it?"

The anchor followed up, "Would we need an official statement from the company that manages him?"

"Even that might not be enough," the commentator answered. "The company has already made statements like 'might be this one,' 'maybe this one is,' or 'no, no, no, this time this one can possibly be...' They would need to launch a major campaign, clearly revealing the name, to make everyone believe it."

I chuckled. Yeah, Susie—my PR commander—is a troll (she will probably hit me if I said this to her). Well, she said that in this scenario, the best thing is to just play dumb.

Besides, Regina's dad is friends with Rupert Murdoch, and Pepper has other powerful connections. That kind of strategy hasn't caused any major backlash for Marshmello.

The anchor leaned in slightly. "What about the premium version of the CD? Any updates on that?"

The commentator smiled. "The release is scheduled for mid-August, and we've got some hot news about one of the tracks—it will feature Christina Aguilera."

The recording with Christina Aguilera was done yesterday, with the song 'Feel This Moment'(Pitbull). Pepper purposely leaked this info.

"Still makes me numb sometimes, that it's you," Laura said, looking at me.

"Yes," Carly agreed. "So many people trying to figure it out, and he's right here..."

"...with my dog in his lap," she added.

"Nah, I think it's okay," Sam said, completely unfazed, by my side.

Laura turned to her. "So, Sam, what's going on with you, want to talk about it?"

Sam had been acting a little different this morning.

She ruffed a little and said, "My sister's comin' home for a few days and I'm peeved off about it, okay?"

"It's just three days. You can deal with it," Carly chimed in.

"Wait, you have a sister?" I asked, surprised, turning my head to her.

"Yeah, Melanie," Sam replied.

"This isn't one of your pranks, like the ones you pulled on Freddie, is it?" I asked.

Freddie is very gullible, so Sam pranked him a few times this vacation (all harmless).

"No, she really has a sister," Carly said. "But Sam hates to talk about her."

Laura and I gave her the same exact look—an unspoken 'why?'

"My twin goes to a fancy boarding school, on a scholarship, she gets perfect grades, never gets in trouble, always has clean hair. She makes me sick," Sam explained.

"Oh, come on, she's sweet," Carly argued.

"Wait, wait," I said, raising a hand. "There's a twin of Sam, and we got the bad one?"

Sam gave me a few light punches.

"I'm joking, I'm joking," I added quickly, pulling her into an embrace.

After I let her go, I said, "I don't know if I want to meet her. A nerdy goody two-shoes Sam? Eww, gives me the creeps."

"Right?!" Sam agreed enthusiastically.

We bumped fists and followed it up with a high-five.

"You two... what am I gonna do with you two..." Carly murmured, shaking her head.

Just then, my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen and saw Pepper's name.

"Sorry, guys," I said, standing up. "I gotta take this."

I stepped out of the room to answer the call.

"Hi, Pepper."

"Hello, Jake. I'm calling to talk about the deal with Britney. There are two things. First—she liked both songs we offered, the feature on 'Symphony' (Clean Bandit) and 'Toxic'. But she wants to keep 'Toxic' as her own and have you feature in it instead."

"I'm okay with that," I said.

Toxic was probably Britney's most famous song, and it didn't blend that well with Marshmello's sound—not that I was trying too hard to make everything fit. 'Burn' and 'On the Floor' didn't either.

"And the second?" I asked.

"That's more of a personal request," Pepper replied. "She wants to meet you—without the helmet. She's even willing to sign NDAs with very specific clauses."

"Huh." That caught me off guard. "I don't really know what to think about it... I'm not against it. What's your opinion, Pepper?"

"I talked to Susie," she said. "We think it could be a good move to build a relationship with her. And if she does something stupid, we already have countermeasures ready to diffuse the situation. It's your call..."

"But you don't need to decide now. The first point was the main one to close the deal. That part we can sign. If you're not comfortable with the meeting later, we can cancel it."

"Okay. That went faster than I expected." I said

"Jake, you sold 2.5 million copies in two days. Even she can't do that. And her plan is to release her album later this year, after finishing recording in August. Her agent was the one who encouraged her to accept the deal."

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A/N: Any idea of a song Britney could sing (feat)? The ones I picked feels a bit off (there will be more in the future), but it is what it is

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