Duke sat in the executive lobby of Paramour Records watching random execs strut about making deals and setting up meetings with clients, artists, and industry connections. He watched as two slick promotional flunkies – easily spotted by their uniform of choice: ragged jeans, converse, and t-shirts – were ushered into the conference room, laptops in tow, across the hall. All the while, Bud Powers' secretary made continued efforts to pretend she wasn't impressed by the fact she was sitting across her desk from one of her pop idols, the one-and-only Duke Chambers, who sat waiting patiently to be ushered into Bud's office.
“I really liked 'You Can't Pretend'," Bud's secretary said as she adjusted the headset straddling her short, spiked hair.
“What's that?" Duke asked, caught off guard by he
