Page 276 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

I claw the side of my seat so hard

my nail pokes a hole through the leather,

then I let out a scream.

Nothing's helping.

So I relapse and rub myself raw.

I’m disgusting.

Dirt under my fingernails.

But I can’t stop.

I rip off my panties.

Give myself orgasm after orgasm,

the next as weak as the last,

none making me numb,

none giving me relief,

time passing by,

could be minutes,

could be an hour,

I don’t know how many.

// 10:12 AM - SOUNDWAVE RECORDS - MIDTOWN, NYC //

The elevator to Soundwave Records opens, and I step out of it dressed for the part, makeup near perfect with the plant tucked safely into a new terracotta pot, both of us walking right into a chaotic mosh pit.

Every face in the lobby is panicked.

Phones shriek.

Assistants yell across partitions.

Shoulders collide. Papers slip.

Someone’s swearing into a headset.

Then Raymond cuts through it, heading straight toward me, black hair combed back from a creased forehead, eyes shadowed on a serious face, steam coming off his broad shoulders.

“We got a situation,” he grits out. He points to the conference room with a haste in his pace. “Emergency meeting. Now.”

I turn on my heel to follow, my heart beating faster as I enter the conference room behind him.

The door shuts,

muting the chaos from the lobby.

Inside, it’s cold, quiet, white, sterile.