Before I could respond, the door was pushed open and Jay walked in. It didn’t take long for him to realize the tension in the room.
“What’s up, fellas?”
Spinna spoke up. “This nigga is threatening to end the meeting if I don’t leave.”
“And why is that wrong? If she needs representation, we can call her manager or lawyer. As far as I’m concerned, the two of you are nothing more than coworkers,” Jay stated as he took a seat on the couch.
“This is some bullshit. Why the hell is everything such a big secret now?”
“Spinna, I’m not about to go back and forth with you in my own shit. Serenity is a grown ass woman who’s sat in many meetings by herself. Why would this be any different? At the end of the day, business is business. And if you wanna keep the business you have with me, I suggest you sit in the studio session you’re getting paid to be in next door.”
Like the bitch ass nigga he was, Spinna stormed out. Depending on what was said, I had half a mind to decline this whole deal just because of him. I didn’t like to turn down business, but I wouldn’t fuck up my reputation on Spinna’s behalf. Serenity’s career was doing well, but she wasn’t the person I wanted to work with when it came to R&B anyway. Once everyone settled, the meeting started. From the way Serenity spoke nervously, I could tell our chemistry wouldn’t mix. At the end of the day, Spinna was her nigga, so there would always be tension between us.
“We both know this partnership won’t be good. Spinna is too involved and I don’t need his influence interrupting my flow when it comes to the music. I think you’re a dope artist, but we wouldn’t mesh well at this point. If anything changes down the line, we can revisit the possibility of working together, but I’m not the right fit now,” I stated honestly.
“I understand. I’ll definitely keep you in mind. Thanks for your time, Shane.”
When she left the room, Jay rested his elbows right below the soundboard and rubbed his temples. This wasn’t the outcome he expected, but I didn’t care enough to sympathize.
“He’s gonna fuck up her career and she doesn’t see it. Right now, people are loving her and I need to keep that momentum going. This isn’t your problem; I’m just talkin’ out loud. Thank you for coming anyway. You’re truly one of the best producers in the game right now.”
“I appreciate that, man. You’re a man who always beats the odds, so I’m sure you’ll figure it out when it comes to her career. I just hope she listens to your advice.”
Standing, I said my parting words to Jay before leaving. Right before I could get out, I heard hushed voices in the hallway. When I looked in their direction, the sight of Deontay and Spinna put a crazed smile on my face. Deontay had seenme with Celeste more than once and I was sure he was being a bitch and running that information down to Spinna. If they were having casual conversation, there would be no need to whisper. When the two felt my presence, I gave both a nod before pushing the door open. Whenever it made it back to me that Deontay had indeed told Spinna about me and Celeste would be the day I pulled up and beat his ass. The ass whooping was already long overdue and I’d make sure he was aware I’d been sparing him.
Looking at my phone for the time, I decided to stop by Celeste’s favorite Chinese restaurant to get her lunch. From our past conversations, she informed me that she didn’t always have time to step away and eat. She was busy getting things ready for the new location, so I figured I’d task myself with making sure she had food in her system. As expected, the restaurant was busy from the lunch rush. Once I had our food, I headed to Luxe Addiction. When the sound of the door alarm went off, I was met with two pairs of eyes.
“Hello, welcome in,” the man I knew as Erick greeted.
This would be my first time meeting him, but I knew of him since he was Celeste’s only employee outside of her best friend.
“It’s okay, Erick. He’s here for me,” Celeste said as she approached.
“What’s good, beautiful? I figured you haven’t gone out to lunch, so I brought you a little something.”
She tried to hide her smile, but I’d already caught it. Pulling her in with my free hand, I hugged her and kissed her lips before letting her free.
“Thank you, baby. I was just telling Erick I needed to find something to eat. It’s been a busy day,” she expressed before introducing us.
The first time I came into Luxe Addiction, when I’d brought my mother, I honestly hadn’t paid too much attention to the items since I was stuck on reminding my mother that I wasn’ttrying to be in the same store for too long. Now that I was back, I was able to take everything in. Everything about the store gave high quality. The name was a perfect fit. She’d informed me that she designed the shoe selection herself and I was fucking with it. Although the shoes weren’t name brand, they were made of such good materials that I had to do a few double takes. Before we reached her office, we passed a room that held inventory.
When I saw a woman standing in front of a computer, I knew this had to be Celeste’s best friend. When she felt our presence, she looked up.
“Well, hello.”
From the way she and Celeste grinned at one another, I knew Jade was probably well aware of who I was. If she was smiling, I assumed whatever Celeste had told her about me was good.
“How you doing, Jade? My lady talks about you all the time. I appreciate you for working with her. Most friends wouldn’t be able to handle a boss and employee relationship, but you do it with ease,” I admitted.
“I’d do anything in the world for Celeste. This girl is like my sister. Helping her build her dream wasn’t even a second thought. As long as she knows I won’t be clocked in until ten at the earliest, we’ll never have any issues,” Jade joked.
From our exchange, I could tell why they had been friends for so long. Celeste was headstrong and so was Jade. She gave me the vibe that she was a woman who held her own. After a few more words, Jade got back to what she was doing and Celeste and I were finally in her office.
“I like the vibe in here. The three of you seem to work well together,” I said as I set the food on her desk.
“We do. I was so hesitant about hiring someone else, but Erick is a really good fit. I’m getting used to working with him, but I need to hire someone else to help with online orders. Jadedoes what she can and gets a good number of orders out in a day, but it’s still too much for only her.”
“How many orders are you getting? Is it in your budget to hire another person?”
