Page 69 of Hired By My Rich Baby Daddy 2

“He’ll probably come around,” I told him. “But I kind of understand it, though. It’s probably not the easiest thing in the world living in the limelight of somebody famous, especially when that’s your own brother. So I get why he was a little apprehensive at first. I’m glad he told you, though, ’cause he looked real happy up there. And you looked like a proud brother sitting on that front row, clapping and cheesing and taking all them pictures. That was cute to me.”

He laughed low and rubbed the back of his neck. “You were watching me?”

“Not at all.” I smiled at him, and then a yawn came over me out of nowhere. I covered my mouth with the back of my hand. “Excuse me. My bad about that….I’m so damn tired…I’m gonna head to the guest house.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Goodnight, Noree.”

“Goodnight Ozy.”

The following weekend…

Ihad the headphones tight over my ears, nodding with the beat, feeling it in my chest the way I used to feel it back when music really meant something to me.

“Again,” I said into the mic, and my engineer nodded and ran the track back.

I went in again.

That time was better. Tighter. More hunger in that bitch. More pain. More of everything I’d been carrying around for the last year and some change.

I wasn’t even thinking no more. I was just singing. Letting all that shit come out of somewhere deep in my chest that I ain’t even know was still there.

Man, a nigga felt good.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like myself again. Back in my element. Back where the fuck I belonged.

I pulled the headphones off, then stepped out of the booth while the engineer played it back. I walked over to the monitors and stood there listening.

That shit was hard.

“Ozy muthafuckin’ Love!” Derez stood up, clapping slow with a big-ass grin on his face. “Damn. It really sound like you back. This album about to go crazy.”

“It’s one song, D.” I chuckled.

“One song that’s about to change the whole trajectory of Ozy Love. That baby-making music cool and all, but this right here?” He pointed toward the speakers. “This sound like some grown-man shit.”

I looked back at the monitors nodding slowly.

There was a knock at the door.

Simone went to open it, and Noree was standing in the hallway with King holding her hand.

A smile hit my face before I could stop it.

“Yo, wassup, big dawg?”

I walked over and squatted down, and King came running straight into me.

“There go my boy.” I hugged him tight, then pulled back. “You finally get to see what Unc be doing when he at work.”

His whole face lit up.

“Do I get to sing on the microphone, Uncle Ozy?”

“Hell yeah.”

I stood up and looked over at Noree. “Appreciate you bringing him.”

“Of course.” She smiled a little. “He’s been excited about it all day.”