A week passed quickly. During that time, Dayo began teaching his younger brother martial arts, something that surprised everyone in his family—especially his father. His father instantly recognized it as a standard martial art used by soldiers. When he asked where Dayo had learned it, Dayo gave him the excuse that the gym instructor he had learnt from was an ex-military man who had taught him.
Janet, curious and unwilling to be left out, also said she wanted to learn. Dayo agreed, since he had a bit of spare time during the day.
Most of his time, however, was divided between going to the studio to work on the beat for the competition with Wayne and spending time with his family. Since Dayo already knew exactly how the beat should sound, creating it didn't take him long. Once it was done, all that remained was to wait for Wayne to record his own version of the song they had chosen for Lois.
While waiting, Dayo dedicated more hours to his family and their restaurant. He introduced changes to the menu and rearranged the seating layout—small adjustments that surprised his mother. He also added new dishes, personally teaching them to Jerry, the head chef, who couldn't stop singing Dayo's praises.
But Dayo didn't stop there. He gave the restaurant a light makeover and introduced something new: videos of him cooking and singing. He also began inviting guests to dine while he was present.
The results were remarkable. Dayo's good looks, combined with his talent for both singing and cooking, attracted attention. Many of the new customers who came were women, and they began idolizing him, though a few men came as well, and none of them left disappointed. His dishes didn't just look good, they tasted fantastic.
The increased demand was so overwhelming that they had to hire three additional staff members to keep up with the influx of guests, especially at night. Dayo also introduced a special "Couples Night" at the restaurant, where he would perform live for couples while they dined. The response was mind-blowing—the reservations were fully booked for an entire month within the week.
As expected, his social media exploded. His TikTok followers surged past 100,000, his Instagram followers climbed to 95,457, and his Twitter followers reached 46,489.
The hype was perfect for promotion, and Dayo used it to his advantage. He did a duet with Lois—he played the piano while she sang. Their skills complemented each other, and the performance helped promote her as well. What most people didn't know was that Dayo was using these sessions to study her voice, her style, and even her personality.
The public mistook their closeness as a sign they were dating. Dayo didn't bother denying it, not because it was true, but because the rumor would keep Lois in the spotlight until he was ready to reveal the truth.
Valery and Wayne were quietly stunned. In their years in the industry, they had rarely seen such a carefully executed publicity move pulled off without a single mistake. Dayo kept an air of mystery about their "relationship," and it worked.
The second week came, and today was the day Dayo would start recording Lois's song. The previous week, it was Wayne's turn to work with Lois, and he was impressed with Wayne's skills. His morning began the same way it often did—an early jog with Jeffrey, joined by Janet a little later. Afterward came martial arts practice.
Janet was learning judo, a style more practical for women, while Jeffrey was being trained in mixed martial arts. Weeks of training and a controlled diet had already left Jeffrey looking a bit more muscular.
After training, Dayo dropped the two off at school and then drove straight to the label, which was only about thirty minutes away.
"So, Lois, tell us what it's like working so closely with the boss?" a female staff member asked.
Lois, who had been the center of attention lately, smirked slightly. "What can I say? He's… okay, I guess."
She enjoyed the curiosity and attention but kept her tone modest. Overdoing it could cause unnecessary problems, and she had learned from her time with Dayo that, though fun and easygoing at times, he was strict and principled when it came to work.
They gossiped for a while before Dayo walked in, wearing neatly pressed black trousers and a crisp white shirt with the first two buttons undone. His steps were calm—not too fast, not too slow.
"Lois, meet me in the recording studio. Let's get started," Dayo said after greeting the staff.
Inside the studio, Valery and Wayne were already seated with a few other staff members. Dayo took the central ergonomic swivel chair, the studio's lights dimming to a soft blue glow. In front of him, the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) interface filled the large screen. Below it sat his custom Akai MPK249 MIDI controller.
He inserted a USB flash drive into the audio interface, opened the Ableton Live project file, and made a few quick adjustments to the master volume. His fingers moved with precision as he activated the monitoring channels, checked the compression and EQ balance, and confirmed the reverb settings on the auxiliary tracks.
Looking through the glass into the recording booth, he addressed Lois. "I'm going to play you the instrumental. Just hum along—get a feel for the flow. We'll do a rough vocal scratch afterward, alright?"
Lois, slightly nervous but mostly excited, gave a thumbs-up.
Without further words, Dayo pressed the space bar.
The studio monitors lit up with sound.
It began with a warm analog pad—lush and cinematic. A filtered arpeggiator slowly crept in, pulsing like a heartbeat. Then came the kick: deep, tight, perfectly side-chained to a silky 808 bassline. A faint, warped vocal chop echoed in the background, haunting and ethereal.
Wayne's smug look disappeared in less than five seconds.
Next came the layered rhythm—syncopated hi-hats, organic claps, and a subtle snare roll that seemed to anticipate every beat. The panning automation made the entire track feel alive, surrounding the room.
Valery blinked in disbelief. "Jesus," she whispered.
Wayne leaned forward, his jaw tightening. He couldn't believe Dayo had produced this. The difference between his instrumental beat and Dayo's was like night and day, heaven and earth.
In the booth, Lois unconsciously tightened her grip on the headphones, eyes closed as she hummed along. Her voice blended into the melody as if the instrumental had been created just for her.
When the track faded out, the room stayed silent for a moment.
Valery was the first to speak. "What… in the actual hell did I just hear?"
Dayo turned slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Just a warm-up."
Wayne shook his head slowly. "That beat… you made it?"
"Who else would it be?" Dayo replied with a smirk.
Even the studio tech in the corner clapped quietly. "This is grade-A production."
Lois pulled off her headphones, cheeks flushed. "Can we run it again? I want to hum through the second verse too."
Dayo gave a small smile. "Let's do it."