“It’s funny because I’ll be a few doors down from your uncle’s store. I haven’t closed the deal yet, but more than likely I’ll be renting it. It’s a steal and it meets all of my needs for my customer base.”
“That’s what’s up. You move over there, you never gon’ get rid of a nigga.”
“I promise I wouldn’t be mad about that. I could see you every day and it wouldn’t bother me at all.”
“You sure about that? Once I fall, you’re stuck with me.”
“What if you decide you don’t wanna be stuck with me?”
“Then I’ll need you to remind me of why we’re doing this shit in the first place. I don’t know what it is about you, Celeste, but I can’t leave you alone. Even with that, I’m lettin’ you know nowthat you and that nigga Spinna only got so much time to wrap this shit up and close the curtain. I can respect you doin’ what you doin’, but I’m not waiting long for that part of your life to be over.”
“I know. I would never ask you to wait anyway. I don’t wanna see you with another woman, but I know my situation is complicated. I just need you to know there’s nothing left between him and me. As far as I know, he’s out of town with Serenity at his side.”
“I’m just letting you know. Let’s watch a movie before we get into some shit you won’t be able to get yourself out of,” he said as he turned the music off and the TV on.
We settled on one of my favorite movies,The Little Rascals.By this time, my hormones had calmed and I was able to sit comfortably on Shane’s lap without being extra. My lids started getting heavy and the last thing I remembered was hearing his beating heart. It was like music to my ears and I only hoped I wouldn’t disappoint him. I didn’t want to be with Allen, but I wasn’t sure how ugly this situation would get.
CHAPTER 11
Shane
Listening to my final edit of one of the songs for Mylo’s album, I nodded in approval and played the next. Normally, I did this process in my home studio, but since no one was here to distract me, I decided to start now. A nigga had been on a high these last few days. A few nice ass checks had hit my account and I was talking to Celeste more. A part of me felt silly for pursuing a woman who technically had a nigga, but knowing the truth made it easy. I had been telling the truth when I told her I wouldn’t wait forever. I was fine with giving grace, but if I felt like she was starting to play in my face, the shit would be over. Spinna’s dumb ass was also helping her case. I saw with my own eyes that he was fucking with Serenity, which made it easier to trust Celeste.
Since that night, Celeste had come over another time. It was hard as hell to keep my dick to myself when she was in my space. She was so damn fine to me and everything about her pulled me in. When she told me about her childhood and being taken advantage of, I knew I had to be the one who protected her. I wasn’t expecting her to tell me some deep shit like that, but I was glad she felt safe enough to share. Life had taught me to hearall sides of a story before picking a side. Although I didn’t know her mother, I was side eyeing the hell out of that judgment call. There had to be much more to the story that she wasn’t telling Celeste. When the studio door opened, I turned and saw Jay. I didn’t see him around much, so if he was here, it was for a reason.
“What’s good, Shane? How you been?”
“What’s good, man? Work and more work,” I responded as I stood and shook his hand.
“Shit, you ain’t gotta tell me. A nigga stays knee deep in work these days.”
“Yeah but look at the reward. Rhythm and Bliss is pumping out more successful artists than any other label in the country right now. That’s a big ass flex.”
“Thanks, man. Your time is coming, my boy. Just wait on it. I came in here to holla at you about something.”
“What’s up?”
Taking a seat in the chair next to me, Jay sat back and relaxed before speaking.
“So, Serenity needs a switch up. She’s been workin’ with Spinna since her debut album. She’s getting ready to go on a select city tour but it’s time to start thinking about the next body of work. For me, it’s always been crucial that a sophomore album is just as good as the debut. We have to keep her audience engaged and develop her for longevity. Spinna is one of the best, but the shit he’s workin’ on for her album doesn’t stand out. It sounds like her first album and that’s gonna be a problem for sales. I don’t want the hype to die down after social media thinkpieces surface.
“Serenity has the potential to leave a huge impact in the music industry. I spoke with her and Spinna about making the change, but you’re the only person I can see getting the job done. It helps that you dabble in writing from time to time. I know youhaven’t done a full R&B album, but I know you can execute it properly,” he expressed.
Had Celeste not stumbled into my life, working with Serenity wouldn’t have been a problem. I hadn’t worked with her personally, but heard she was about business and made the most of her studio sessions. She wrote most of her own music and didn’t use autotune. I hadn’t told Jay I was in the middle of working on more R&B tunes. I had an idea whose voice I wanted, so if I worked with Serenity, everything would be made from scratch. I had no issues with her, but I just knew this would cause some type of unease between Celeste and me. She had no reason not to trust me, but Serenity was, indirectly, a soft spot. She’d unintentionally taken the fake love of Celeste’s life.
“Okay. Can I have a few days to think? I need to listen to her album to get a feel for her vibe.”
“No rush at all. Like I said, she’s getting ready for a tour now that’s about four months long. You have plenty of time to think. I would’ve had her be part of our meeting today, but she had a photoshoot and promotion in New York this week. She’s set to come back early Sunday, so I’ll plan for the three of us to meet on Monday morning. Again, no decision will have to be made at that time. I just want you two to at least be familiar with one another.”
“That’s cool. I’ll think about it for sure.”
“Thanks, man.”
As soon as Jay stood to leave, Keith, the person I was waiting on, walked in. He was an artist I’d worked with when he first stepped onto the scene, but he traded me out for Spinna. Since this was business, I planned to hear him out about why he was trying to spin the block on me. We didn’t end on bad terms or no shit like that, but to me it didn’t make sense that his album had sold over three hundred thousand units the first week as a brand-new artist. Once we greeted each other, he sat in the chairjust occupied by Jay. I was ready to go home, so I hoped his ass would get straight to the point.
“I was wondering if you’d work with me again. I’m in album mode but my momentum is slowly being killed. Spinna is my guy, but he’s been slackin’ a little bit lately and I can’t let that affect my work.”
“Slackin’ how? Your last album did numbers,” I recalled.
