He was the reason she was where she needed to be. Not only had he given the rhythm to her heart back, he was also steppingbehind her in ways she’d never even considered possible. The only other person who had ever given her that was Sheree.
“You know I love you, right?” Samari said as soon as they reached the tour bus.
“Hoe yes, what’s not to love?. Look at me.” Sheree moved a hand over the fitted dress that hugged her curves which she’d paired with platform, lace-up leather boots. “I am so damn lovable.”
“So now you’re poppin’ your shit.” Samari grinned and stepped out of the way while one of the guards opened the door to the bus, walked inside, and made sure it was clear before he stepped off and waved them on.
Samari settled on the sofa, dropped her head back, and smiled, fully processing the moment. It was surreal. One man had changed the course of her life and she still didn’t fully understand how she was so lucky. She wouldn’t question how she’d gotten here or why. That meant questioning whether or not she deserved it. She did. Samari had worked for her place, survived the broken heart and devastation from having it all snatched away, and suffered in silence, never praying on the next person’s downfall.
Not even Cobra’s, because as horrible as he had been to her, she had to take accountability for her actions. Being naïve only got her so far. She’d fucked up, wanting it so bad, she’d taken it however it came. Just so happened the success she wanted got delivered with a hefty price attached. She would be smarter this time around. The past lessons learned were very hard, devastating, but lessons nonetheless.
“Ohh, let me get this too. This is the ‘I just fucked ’em up with my voice and my songs, now I need to nap’ type of footage…”
Sheree removed her phone from her small crossbody but her elation dissipated the minute her eyes danced across her screen. She had back to back texts from Cantor and her heartdropped. Sheree’s mind immediately went to something terrible happening to him or their daughter, which had her fingers moving across the device until she had a call in progress. Cantor had Jomie for the day, spending time while giving his wife the ability to support her closest friend and now she was fearful that there had been a problem.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Is Jomie okay?”
Samari’s eyes flew open. She sat up, looking at Sheree, feeling the same panic coursed through her system from the concern in her girl’s voice. She listened, picking up details that had her brows pinching.
“No, is it bad?” Sheree asked before she cursed under her breath. “Okay, let me call you back. Thank you. No, I’ll let you know after we figure this out.”
“What was that? Is Jomie okay?”
“Um, yes, she’s fine,” Sheree said quietly, but quickly lowered her eyes and swiped at her phone again. This time she pulled up Baller Alert and her stomach knotted.
“Then what’s going on?”
Sheree didn’t respond because she was too focused on reading the headline.Samari Janaé, fully exposed.
The video was blurred but there was no denying it was her friend. It was also very clear what she was doing and who she was with. Sheree nervously lifted her eyes…
“Sheree, what’s going on?”
“Um…”
“Please stop saying um and just tell me?” Samari began to panic because she felt dread settling in the pit of her stomach. Whatever Sheree was looking at was about her.
“It’s a video…ofyou…”
Samari’s mind began to spiral.
“With someone…”
The first thing that came to mind was the night she had been with Asao in the booth. They’d had sex and it was recorded but he promised there weren’t any cameras.
Please, please, please don’t let that be it, she thought as she extended a hand, requesting the phone Sheree held. Betrayal from another man she allowed herself to trust would kill her spirit and crush her soul.
“Maybe we should…” Sheree started but Samari shook her head.
“Let me see. Whatever you’re looking at is already out there. You keeping it away from me is not protecting me.”
Sheree’s eyes dropped to the device before she leaned forward and handed it over. When she had the phone and realized what was on the screen, every muscle in her body locked tightly and her brain moved at a lightning speed.
How? Is that why he reached out, to tell me he was leaking that video. Was he trying to give me a chance to stop him? Did he want money? How many people have seen this? How many people were watching it while I was on stage? How many people who knew that video was out there had commented their thoughts and were judging me?
“I…I have to go,” Samari rushed out and stood at the same time.
“What? No. Let’s just…”
