From A Producer To A Global Superstar-Chapter 425: Dayo Move

The room was quieter than usual, but it wasn’t empty. There were still calls coming in, still messages stacking up, still movement around them, but none of it touched him. Dayo sat back in his chair, one arm resting on the armrest, the other loosely holding his phone without looking at it. His gaze wasn’t fixed on anything in particular, but it wasn’t drifting either. He was thinking, and Sharon could tell the difference.

She stood by the table for a moment, watching him, trying to read where his head was without interrupting too early. The last conversation with Davido had confirmed what they both already suspected, but hearing it directly had changed the weight of it. It wasn’t speculation anymore. It was real, structured, and already in motion.

She exhaled slowly, then stepped closer.

"So what now?" she asked, keeping her tone steady.

Dayo didn’t answer immediately. He leaned forward slightly, placing his phone on the table, then rested his hands together, fingers loosely interlocked. When he finally looked up at her, there was no frustration in his expression, no visible pressure. Just focus.

"We don’t chase them," he said.

Sharon frowned slightly. "Even now?"

"Especially now."

She pulled a chair and sat down across from him, still trying to follow his angle. "They’re blocking access," she said. "Not just slowing things down. Completely shutting doors."

"They’re shutting the obvious doors," he replied. "That’s different."

She paused, thinking about that.

"You expected this?" she asked.

"I expected resistance," he said. "Not this exact shape, but something close to it I always have more than. One plan so...yes."

Her brows tightened slightly. "This isn’t small resistance."

"I know."

The calm in his voice didn’t change, and that was the part that unsettled her a little. Not because it was wrong, but because it meant he was already moving ahead of it.

She leaned back slightly. "So what are you seeing that I’m not?" she asked.

Dayo shifted in his seat, reaching for the tablet on the table. He unlocked it and turned it toward her, pulling up a list of names she had been working through earlier.

"Walk me through the first set again," he said. "The ones that accepted before they pulled back."

Sharon leaned forward, glancing at the screen. "BNXN," she said. "Victony. Blaqbonez. Lojay. A couple others."

"And the second group?"

She scrolled slightly. "Same pattern. Initial interest, then withdrawal."

"Now check their affiliations," he said.

She already knew where he was going, but she followed through anyway, opening another tab and pulling up label details. As she started going through them, her expression shifted slowly.

"Most of them are tied to international structures," she said. "Distribution, partnerships, some fully signed."

"U.S.?" he asked.

She nodded. "Majority."

Dayo leaned back again, letting that settle without saying anything immediately.

Sharon looked up at him. "You think it’s coming from there?"

"I think it’s not starting here," he replied.

She held his gaze for a second longer, then leaned back in her chair, processing it.

"That narrows it down," she said quietly.

"It does."

There was a short silence, not heavy, but focused.

Sharon crossed her arms lightly. "You have a name in mind," she said.

Dayo didn’t answer immediately this time. He looked down briefly, then back up, and the shift in his expression was subtle but clear.

"Not just a name," he said. "A pattern I’ve seen before."

She waited.

He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the table now.

"Korea," he said.

That made her pause.

"What about it?" she asked.

"That didn’t happen randomly," he continued. "The resistance, the pushback, the way things tried to close in before they opened up again. It followed the same structure."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she started connecting it.

"You’re saying this is similar?"

"I’m saying it’s controlled," he replied. "From outside the immediate space."

Sharon sat still for a moment, then exhaled quietly.

"And there’s only one person who moves like that around you," she said.

Dayo didn’t respond with words this time. He didn’t need to.

The silence confirmed it.

Sharon looked away briefly, shaking her head slightly. "I thought he backed off after everything that happened."

"He doesn’t back off," Dayo said calmly. "He adjusts."

That landed heavier than anything else he had said so far.

She leaned forward again, resting her elbows on her knees now. "So what’s the play here?" she asked. "Because if this is him, then this isn’t just about Nigeria anymore."

"It never was," Dayo replied.

She looked at him again, searching for something in his expression, but all she found was clarity.

"And you’re still this calm?" she asked.

He gave a small, almost unnoticeable shrug. "There’s nothing to react to yet."

"That’s not true," she said. "He just cut off your access to half the industry."

"He redirected it," Dayo corrected. "Not cut it off."

She let out a short breath, almost a quiet laugh. "That’s one way to look at it."

"It’s the accurate way," he said.

Another pause followed, but this one felt different. Less tension, more recalibration.

Sharon sat back again. "So if we’re not chasing artists, and we’re not forcing collaborations, what are we doing?"

Dayo didn’t answer immediately. He reached for his phone again, glanced at it briefly this time, then set it back down.

"We change the entry point," he said.

She tilted her head slightly. "Meaning?"

"Meaning we don’t start from where they’re blocking," he replied. "We start from where they can’t."

She watched him carefully now. "And where is that?"

He looked at her for a second, then leaned back fully in his chair.

"Not here," he said.

That made her pause.

"What do you mean not here?" she asked.

Dayo didn’t rush the explanation. He let the idea sit for a second before continuing.

"They’re expecting me to push forward from here," he said. "To keep moving inside the same space they’re controlling."

"And you’re not going to."

"No."

She studied him. "Then where?"

He tapped his fingers lightly against the armrest once, then stopped.

"We step out," he said.

Sharon frowned slightly. "Out as in?"

"Out as in completely," he replied. "Temporarily."

She blinked once, trying to process that.

"You’re leaving Nigeria?" she asked.

"For now."

That answer came too smoothly for it to be a reaction.

"You already decided this," she said.

"I’ve been considering it," he replied.

She shook her head slightly. "And you didn’t think to mention it?"

"I was waiting to see if it was necessary."

"And now it is?"

"Yes."

She leaned back again, running a hand lightly through her hair. "You know how that’s going to look, right?"

"I do."

"They’re going to think you backed off."

"They already think that," he said.

That stopped her for a second.

"You’re playing into it," she said.

"I’m letting them believe what they already want to believe," he corrected.

Sharon watched him quietly now.

"And while they’re thinking that?" she asked.

Dayo’s gaze didn’t shift.

"We work."

There was no emphasis, but it carried weight anyway.

She nodded slowly. "Okay," she said. "So where are we stepping out to?"

"The U.S.," he replied.

"That makes sense," she said. "Your base, your network, your team."

"And something else," he added.

She looked at him again. "What?"

"The competition."

That caught her attention immediately.

"The one with your brother’s company?" she asked.

He nodded.

"That’s in two weeks," she said.

"I know."

"And you want to prepare for that now?"

"I’ve been preparing," he said. "This just aligns the timeline."

She leaned forward again, interest replacing concern now.

"So this isn’t just a move away from here," she said. "It’s a move into something else."

"Yes."

She nodded slowly. "That actually works," she admitted. "From the outside, it looks like a shift in focus. Not a reaction."

"That’s the point."

She exhaled again, this time with a slight smile. "You really don’t waste moves."

Dayo didn’t respond to that.

Instead, he leaned forward slightly.

"I need you to set something up," he said.

She straightened immediately. "What?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Two producers," he said. "Local. Strong understanding of the sound."

She nodded. "Names?"

"I’ll send them," he replied. "Reach out, set up a meeting."

"For here?"

"For now," he said. "Then we move."

She raised a brow. "You’re bringing them to the U.S.?"

"Yes."

"That’s going to raise questions."

"Only if we answer them," he said.

She smiled slightly at that. "Fair."

She picked up her tablet, already noting things down.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Keep everything else quiet," he added. "No announcements. No signals."

"So we just... disappear?"

"For a bit," he said.

She looked up at him again. "You’re sure about this?"

Dayo held her gaze, steady and certain.

"Yes."

That was enough.

Sharon nodded once, then stood up, already moving into action.

"I’ll start making the calls," she said.

As she walked out, the room settled again, but it didn’t feel like pause anymore.

It felt like transition.

Dayo remained seated for a few seconds longer, then stood up slowly, adjusting his jacket slightly as he moved toward the window.

Outside, the city was still active, still loud, still moving at its usual pace.

Nothing had changed on the surface.

But under it, everything had already shifted.

And he was already moving ahead of it.