"Damn, that was fast. We just agreed yesterday."
He halfway smiled, which told Asao everything he needed to know. "You already had that shit in the works."
"I know good business. You just needed a reason to agree."
Samari.
"It's not about her," Asao delivered smoothly.
This shit is completely about her.
Niles arched a brow and Asao shrugged coolly, attempting to keep his thoughts hidden. "It's not. It makes sense. Having a handful of artists who make money for us is a good look."
"It was a good look when I first brought it to you but you blew that shit off." Niles locked in on his boy. Asao was moving differently and there was not a damn ounce of uncertainty pushing through his thoughts as to what had caused Asao’sswitch up. The thought was disconcerting because his boy locked in on a woman would bring out the killer. Asao loved hard. He’d barely pulled himself out of the pits of hell because of the last woman he handed his heart to. If Niles was keeping it one hundred, this shit he was witnessing had the potential to be far worse because the last time Asao’s heart transfer had been voluntary. What he was witnessing with Samari was a straight up heist. The songbird snatched his boy’s shit. They could see it, even if Asao couldn’t.
"Nah, I didn't. I said I needed time to see how it would work," Asao lied.
Niles made a dismissive sound that wasn't exactly a grunt but dropped the argument. "What's the plan with Cobra?"
"He made money off her. Fifteen cities, twelve thousand tickets sold a night. That's an easy twenty million, of which she barely saw pennies. And production was bare minimum. She's a performer and doesn’t need much. Her voice alone sold out venues. If they paid ten grand a night to pull it all together, I'd be surprised."
"I'm not seeing how that works in your favor," Niles said.
"He made his money. If she's willing to walk, let him keep everything, then why the fuck would he object? He had no plans of pushing her anymore. That's not his thing. They've already moved on with that Nefatari chick."
"But is she willing to walk? That's her IP."
"If it means having freedom, I don't see why not."
"Would you?"
Fuck no.
"This isn't about me. My situation isn't hers. She can make more music. She can sell ten times what Cobra sold and put that money inherpocket, not his. My tour cleared eight million. We add her to the next one, we can triple that."
Niles stared at Asao, not saying shit but his thoughts were heavy as fuck. "We recorded last night. Some simple shit that turned into something I know is gonna sell. My fans and hers will eat that shit up."
"You want to go on tour with her?" Niles kept his expression neutral while he waited for Asao to respond.
"I want to help her find her space again."
"And you're sure she's gonna be cool with walking away?"
"I have to run it by her, but yeah, I think she'll be cool with it."
“What are you willing to sacrifice to gain control again?”
“Everything.”
She hadn’t hesitated. She’d meant that shit. She would give it all up to get it all back.
"When we pulling up on Cobra?" Niles didn't question Asao further. If this was what Asao was fucking with, then he was fucking with it too.
"I was gonna wait, but the more I think about it, I want to get her before word leaks that we're buying out Cap. I don't want him assuming she’s going to get her career back."
"He won't be assuming, Sao."
He shrugged. "He doesn’t need to know that."
