Iused my feet to twist myself from side to side with the perfect view of the city in the distance. The Lennox Building was one of the skyscrapers in the city, so being on the twentieth floor had its perks. That day, I was meeting with my mother to talk about the communications from the label.
For the past ten years, I’d given Legacy Ent. all of me. I’d poured everything into my music. And when it came to my image, I was always willing to do whatever they felt would push me closer to stardom. It wasn’t one of those situations where it didn’t work, because it did. I was the highest-streamed R&B artist in the world. The ladies loved me. With popularity came more expectations and responsibilities. With the way my life hit a 180 in the last sixty days, I had to reevaluate my commitments. Some things weren’t as important to me anymore.
Art came through the door with a grin. I stood to dap him up. I remained standing when I heard my mama coming. She always had the same even cadence, and since she always wore heels, I never had to guess when she was coming. I straightened my posture as she came through the door.
She smiled when she saw me. We moved to close the distance at the same time. I opened my arms for a hug. “Well, it surelyfeels good to finally lay eyes on you,” she joked. She placed a kiss on my cheek before releasing herself from my embrace.
I cheesed with a shrug. “It’s okay that you missed me. I missed you too, lady.”
Raven Thompson was the woman I had to thank for being who I became. She was my mother’s childhood best friend. She adopted me when my mother had to be admitted, but she’s also the woman who decided to send Rhapsody into the system. He was labeled the problem child, and she felt the safer option was to only take me in.
For a long time, I was pissed off at her about her decision. I should’ve hated her guts, but she gave me a good life. Would it have been better with my brother by my side? Hell yeah, of course. I was still thankful for her though because, at the end of the day, I was a child. Nobody cared what I had to say or how I felt about it. Her choices were her own to live with and make peace with.
She motioned to the seats, and we all sat down. She wasted no time diving right into the questions she really wanted to know. “So, you found your brother?” She sounded nervous, like she was worried about him tracking her down and causing her harm.
I nodded while thrumming my fingers on the top of my desk. “I did,” I replied, keeping it vague. She didn’t need to know everything about Rhapsody. She didn’t want to be a part of his life in the first place. “I don’t want to talk about him though. Just know he’s good.”
Her eyes rolled to the back of her head before she huffed out a breath. Shutting down that conversation didn’t keep her from switching topics and asking more questions though. “Okay, can we talk about this girl you’ve been posting then?”
The corners of my mouth lifted of their own accord. I gave a simple shrug. “All you need to know is that I love her, and she’s not going anywhere.”
She plopped back in her seat, tucking her fingers under her chin. “Something is different about you,” she noted. Her eyes squinted as if she could read me by staring harder.
I chuckled. “I’ve had to grow up in a different way since being here, which brings me to the whole point of this meeting. I want to cut ties with Legacy Entertainment,” I said boldly. I kept my tone firm and even, so she knew I wasn’t fucking around. I’d thought long and hard about this. It was my career, . . . my legacy, . . . and it was time for it to become something new, something I would be proud to leave behind.
The color drained from her face as she sat forward. “Excuse me. You want to do what?”
“I’ve grown into a new man since I’ve been in Solaire. The kind of music I was doing no longer aligns with who I am. I have people looking up to me, and I would rather be someone they admire than a charming Playboy known as a heartbreaker. I’ve always gone along with whatever image required, but I’m not that desperate anymore. I want to sing songs that fulfill me on a deeper level—music that will live beyond this toxic culture, music that lasts, and people talk about it like they do artists and songs from the 70’s.”
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish before she dropped her head into her hand like I was giving her a headache. “Symphony . . .”
“This is what I want to do. It’s not about the money and the fame anymore.”
“Are you sure? Legacy Ent. isn’t going to take this well.”
I shrugged. “That’s not my problem. The timing is perfect because I know we were in the process of renegotiating mycontract. I’ve fulfilled my obligations; therefore, leaving now will not be seen as bad business.”
She leaned around me to look at Art. I’d forgotten his ass was even in the room. “Did you know anything about this?”
He shook his head. “Nah, this my first time hearing of it, but I support whatever he wants to do next.”
Art worked as my manager, while my mother was head of publicity. They worked well together, and I had their expertise to thank for making it so far. I would’ve loved to keep them on my staff as I made this transition, but if we had to part ways professionally, that was cool too. We would always be family.
She released a shaky breath, allowing her posture to relax once more. “Well, I guess we’re going independent.”
I let myself into Leigh’s crib, using my key. Iylah and I practically lived there. I didn’t like being far from her, so it just made the most sense instead of paying for the Airbnb. Even though she tried to fight me on it, I was paying her bills and, honestly, was thinking about what was next for us. I knew where my career was going, so I wanted to focus on the direction my relationship was going.
My eyes landed on my girls lying out on the couch, watchingMeet the Robinsons. Iylah was obsessed since the very first time we played it for her; it was her childhood obsession movie. I couldn’t say shit because, for me, it was Mulan. I watched that movie so much that the DVD stopped working.
At first, I didn’t say anything as I stood there, watching them. I knew I’d made the right decision earlier. I was where I needed to be pouring my time and energy into. When the time was right, I would return to music, but for the moment, I was needed there.
“Oh, hey, you’re home,” Leigh said when she noticed me standing there.
Hearing the wordhomeslip from her lips made my heart race. I walked over to them and plopped down on the couch. They both moved at the same time to lie on me in some way. Leigh snuggled against my side while Iylah placed her feet on my lap. I kissed Leigh’s forehead. Her hair was a matted mess, and she was dressed down in her period pajamas. I knew what kind of mood she was in instantly. She probably didn’t even know I noticed everything about her—like, when she was on her cycle, she always wore the same outfit.
“You okay?” I inquired, placing another kiss on her forehead.
She sighed, sinking deeper into me. “I guess. If I take Doodle’s hair down and wash it, will you do mine? We have a hair appointment tomorrow. I do not have the energy to do it all, and I still have to cook dinner.” Her voice became heavy with emotion. She was on the verge of tears, so I was quick to offer a solution.
