From A Producer To A Global Superstar-Chapter 396: Michael Hands

Michael’s office was built to make people uncomfortable without saying anything.

The glass walls were clean and wide, stretching from one end of the room to the other. The city below looked distant from where he sat, reduced to lines of moving light and quiet buildings that no longer mattered once you were high enough. The desk in front of him was organized to the point where nothing felt out of place. Tablet to the left. Laptop to the right. Phone centered.

Everything had a position.

Everything had a reason.

Michael sat back in his chair, eyes fixed on the tablet as the same clip played again. Davido’s voice entered, the beat followed, and the short moment ended before it could fully settle.

He tapped the screen and replayed it.

He had already seen it before.

More than once.

He was not watching for enjoyment.

He was studying it.

The angle. The reaction. The way the clip was cut. The way it was spreading.

His thumb paused on the screen before he leaned back slowly.

"So you’ve moved again."

His voice was low, controlled, and directed at no one in particular.

The tablet refreshed automatically.

More posts.

More comments.

More reactions.

He glanced to the second screen beside him. Numbers were climbing steadily. Engagement from Nigeria had spiked faster than expected. The spread was not local. It was expanding.

By his side Clara stood there quietly after handing the report over to Michael.

Michael’s expression did not change, but his eyes stayed on the numbers longer this time.

If the full song dropped on its own and carried momentum the way this teaser already was, it would become a point of focus across multiple markets. That kind of attention was difficult to control once it started moving.

He reached for his phone.

The number was not labeled.

The line connected after a short delay.

"Yes."

The voice on the other end was careful from the start.

Michael leaned back again, one hand resting lightly on the armrest.

"You’ve seen it."

A short pause.

"We’ve seen the reports."

Michael nodded slightly, though the other person could not see him.

"Then you understand the situation."

Another pause.

"We understand there’s a collaboration."

Michael’s tone remained steady.

"He’s entering your space."

The answer came back measured.

"Our space is international."

Michael did not react to the wording.

"Don’t change the point."

The silence that followed carried weight.

The man on the other end adjusted his tone.

"What exactly do you want?" A hint of fear could be heard from his voice.

Michael did not rush his answer.

He looked back at the tablet, then at the engagement numbers again.

"Stop it."

That was clear.

No explanation attached.

The response came almost immediately.

"We can’t do that."

Michael did not move.

"Explain."

The voice on the other end slowed down, choosing each word more carefully now.

"Davido is one of our highest performing artists. Blocking a collaboration at this stage without justification creates unnecessary problems."

Michael tapped his finger lightly on the armrest.

"What kind of problems?"

"Contract issues. Public reaction. Internal friction."

Michael added the missing piece himself.

"And revenue."

The man did not deny it.

"Yes."

Michael leaned forward slightly.

"So you’re protecting your position."

"We’re managing risk that is best avoided."

Michael allowed a brief silence.

Then he shifted direction.

"If you can’t stop the collaboration, then reduce what it can do."

The man did not respond immediately.

He was listening.

Michael continued.

"The teaser is already moving. The attention is building. If the song drops on its own, it becomes the center of conversation."

"That’s how releases work and the plan," the man replied.

"Not always," Michael said calmly.

Another pause.

Then the man asked, "What are you suggesting?"

Michael leaned back again.

"Don’t give it space."

Silence.

"Be clear."

"Release everything together."

The words landed properly this time.

The man on the other end understood immediately.

"The album and the song at the same time."

"Yes."

"That splits attention."

Michael did not respond.

He didn’t need to.

The thought was already forming on the other end.

"If the collaboration doesn’t get its own window, the focus gets divided," the man continued.

"Yes."

The man exhaled slowly.

"That changes how the audience processes it."

Michael remained still.

"It also protects the album from being overshadowed by a single track."

That was the justification building itself.

Michael watched the city lights outside for a second before speaking again.

"You don’t need to block anything."

Another pause.

"Just control how it lands."

The call went quiet again.

The man was thinking.

Not rejecting.

Not arguing.

Reframing.

"We would need to adjust the rollout plan," he said after a moment.

"Do it."

"It’s not that simple."

Michael’s tone did not rise.

"Then make it simple."

The weight behind the words settled into the call.

No threat.

No raised voice.

Just pressure but threat was there and he knew it.

The man spoke again.

"We would have to convince him."

"Then convince him."

Michael did not elaborate.

He knew how these conversations worked.

If the idea could be justified internally, it would be executed.

The man on the other end finally said, "We’ll handle it."

The man sighed ad he knew he had no choice but to concur and if he doesn’t what awaits him was not going to good he knew Michael was just calm and if he refuse outright all that await him was total destruction for his label.

Michael ended the call without another word.

He placed the phone back on the desk and leaned back again.

The room returned to silence.

He picked up the tablet once more and played the clip again.

Davido’s voice.

The beat.

The cut.

He stopped it halfway through.

If the release happened the way it was currently building, the song would dominate conversation before anything else had time to catch up. The longer it stayed in that position, the stronger the association became.

He did not need that.

Not now.

A knock came at the door before it opened.

Another man stepped in, stopping just inside the room.

"Sir."

Michael did not turn.

"It’s already moving."

The man nodded.

"Yes."

Michael rested his hands together.

"It won’t peak the same way."

The man studied him for a moment.

"You’re sure?"

Michael finally turned slightly.

"Yes."

The answer came without hesitation.

"Because they’ll change the release."

The man understood.

"And if they don’t?"

Michael’s expression did not shift.

"They will."

The confidence in his voice was not forced.

It was based on pattern.

On how decisions were made when pressure was applied correctly.

The man nodded slowly.

"That reduces the impact."

"It reduces the peak," Michael corrected.

The difference mattered.

The man adjusted his stance.

"And Dayo?"

Michael looked back toward the tablet.

"He’ll still benefit."

"That doesn’t concern you?"

Michael shook his head slightly.

"Not in the short term."

He paused.

"What matters is how far it goes."

The man did not speak.

Michael continued.

"If it spreads too cleanly, it creates leverage."

The man nodded.

"So you limit the spread."

Michael leaned back again.

"You manage the outcome."

The room went quiet again.

The man stepped back after a moment and left without another word.

Michael remained seated.

Still.

Calm.

On the tablet, new notifications continued to appear.

The noise was building.

But it would not build the same way.

Across the city, inside a conference room far less controlled than Michael’s, the atmosphere felt different.

Two executives sat across from each other with a laptop open between them. A third person stood near the wall, scrolling through updates on his phone.

"Engagement is rising fast," the one standing said.

The man seated closest to the laptop nodded.

"We expected that."

The second executive leaned forward.

"The question is timing."

The first man tapped the keyboard and pulled up the release schedule.

"We had the single set first. Then the album."

The second man nodded.

"That was the original plan."

The man standing looked up from his phone.

"We might need to adjust."

The two seated men glanced at him.

"Based on what?" one asked.

"Based on what’s happening now," he replied, holding up his phone. "The teaser is already pulling attention."

The first executive leaned back slightly.

"That’s a good thing."

"Yes," the man said, "but if the single dominates too early, it changes how people approach the album."

The second executive frowned slightly.

"Explain."

"If the collaboration becomes the main focus, the rest of the project becomes secondary in public perception."

The room went quiet.

The first executive looked at the schedule again.

"That shifts the narrative."

The man nodded.

"Exactly."

The second executive leaned back, thinking.

"So what are you suggesting?"

The man hesitated for a moment before answering.

"We collapse the release."

The first executive looked up.

"Together?"

"Yes."

"That’s not what we agreed on."

The man shrugged slightly.

"Situations change."

The second executive folded his arms.

"And you think this is better?"

"It protects the album and the label."

The room fell silent again.

The first executive tapped the table lightly.

"We’d need to convince Davido."

The second executive nodded.

"He won’t agree easily."

The man standing spoke again.

"He might."

Both of them looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because the concern already exists."

The first executive narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You’re saying he’s already thinking about it."

The man nodded.

"Yes."

The second executive leaned forward.

"If that’s true, then the conversation becomes easier."

The first executive exhaled slowly.

"This changes everything."

The man standing lowered his phone.

"It also reduces risk."

The room settled into a decision.

No one said it directly.

But it was there.

The plan was changing.

Later that night, Davido sat in his living room, phone in hand, listening carefully.

"...it’s about protecting the album."

He didn’t interrupt.

The voice on the other end continued.

"If the collaboration dominates too early, the rest of the project won’t land the way it should."

Davido leaned back slightly.

"I hear you."

"We’re not saying the song won’t perform," the voice added. "We’re saying the timing affects how everything performs."

Davido looked down at the floor.

"And releasing both together fixes that."

"Yes."

He stayed quiet for a moment.

Because the argument wasn’t new.

It just sounded clearer now.

"Alright," he said finally.

"We’ll adjust."

Back in his office, Michael watched the numbers update again.

Slower.

Still rising.

But different.

He picked up the tablet one last time and locked the screen.

The room stayed quiet.

One move had been enough.

Not to stop anything.

But to change how far it could go.

And for now...

That was enough.