“Oh, hell.” Mabel threw the dish towel she held down to the floor. “I didn’t raise you to—”
“To what?” Clever raised his hands in the air. “To starve? To scrape for everything I have? I was resourceful. Last time I checked, that wasn’t a bad thing.”
“It is when you use people.” Efrem put his hand on Hyde’s shoulder.
Hyde appreciated the support from his family at this time.
“We’re family. Tassia is a sweet girl and mega talented. You shouldn’t have threatened her like that.” Efrem shook his head. “You’re nothing but a bully.”
“No. I’m a damn good manager.” He glared at Hyde. “And father.”
Mabel cackled. “Father? You and Hyde’s mother parted ways, and you left Hyde here for us to raise. What we failed to do with you we more than made up for in Hyde.”
He kissed his grandmother’s cheek. “Thanks, Grammy. But I did let you down in one way. I should have never have let Tassia go thinking I didn’t have her back. I love her.”
He heard a gasp behind him and couldn’t tell if it came from Efrem or Mabel.
“Love won’t put fans in seats or food on your table.” Clever crossed his arms over his chest.
“Sure. But at the end of the day, I need someone to confide in, to be in my corner, to love. If all you have in your life is the work I’m putting in for you and nothing else, I feel sorry for you.” Hyde took a step closer to the man who gave him life.
Clever laughed. “You feel sorry for me? Please. I’m fine. I made you.”
Hyde shook his head. “Stop saying that. You got me to the right places at the right time, but I did the work. I took the vocal lessons and dance lessons and tutoring and did all the touring and interviews and promotions. You rode my back the entire time. And I believed you. Every damn word. You made me believe that I was nothing. Everything you said back at my house brought me back to how I felt when I was a kid, where I thought I was nothing without putting others down. As soon as I saw Tassia’s hurt look and watched her leave me, I knew better.” He took a deep breath. “It’s taken me a long time to get to this point but I think I can say it.”
“What? Are you firing me? Is that what this weak-ass intervention is about?” Clever got in Hyde’s face.
“I was going to tell you I love you, man.” Hyde had to step out of himself as the performer and look at the man before him. “Tassia told me what Granddaddy told her about you and my mother, how you struggled. It must have been hard for a young man to raise a baby on his own. You sacrificed your time to take me to auditions and did everything you could to make sure I made it. Good or bad, you did do a lot for me. I recognize that. You got me to where I am today. I’m not unappreciative of your efforts.” To show his father the sincerity of his words, he pulled him in for a hug. “I do love you.”
Clever hesitated before he reciprocated the hug. “Thank you, Hyde.”
Hyde pulled back from him and nodded. “And you are right. I am firing you.”
Clever’s eyes went wide.
“I need to go in a new direction with my career that you don’t seem to be on board with. Plus, I don’t like your management style. It’ll work for newbies coming up in the business. At this point in my life, I don’t need to hustle as hard as you want me to. You don’t see Beyoncé out there doing as much as I do, and she’s doing pretty well for herself.”
“You ungrateful—”
Hyde held up his hand. “Oh, no. I am grateful, which is something you haven’t fathomed for yourself.”
“You tell him.” Mabel nudged Hyde’s arm to egg him on.
“For as hard as I have worked for you for all these years, I have yet to hear a thank you or any kind of gratitude from you.”
“You expect me to kiss your ass or something?” Clever took several steps back.
“A thank you would go a long way.” Hyde released another deep breath. “I’m letting you go as my manager, but I hope we can work on our relationship.” He put his arm around his grandfather. “All of us.”
Clever glared at them but said nothing. Then he must have collected his thoughts enough to spew more venom. “Everything I did, I did for you. Getting you paired up with the blonde, not hiring someone who would outshine you, the stories about her songwriting.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back all that shit up.” Hyde felt his blood turn to lava. “Let’s start back from the beginning of what you just said.”
Clever released an exasperated sigh like all of this bored him. “On that TV show, the writing team wanted to pair you up with that gal.”
“Tassia?” Efrem scratched his head.
Clever nodded. “Yeah. I knew she had an incredible voice and would outshine you. What did I always tell you about getting outshined?”
Hyde recalled his last conversation he and Tassia had had back as children on the show. His father had that kind of thinking drilled in his head even back then.
“I, instead, got them to aim their focus on you and Christina. I thought her cute and bubbly personality would bring you up a bit, and it did. I also planted the seed that maybe it was time to rotate Tassia off the show, or at least lessen her part. But they weren’t having it. Then her father came up and had ideas of his own, and eventually he talked himself out of keeping her there, which worked for me.”
“But not me.” Hyde put his hand to his chest. “I’ve sung with her. We would have been amazing together.”
“Woulda, coulda, shoulda.” Clever shrugged.
“What about the audition?” Hyde barely remembered her auditioning for him back when he concentrated on the writing.
“Oh, she showed up again like a bad penny. With some age and experience, she sounded even better. Luckily, you weren’t paying attention and you left the decisions up to me. I couldn’t let some back-up singer outshine you. I passed on her.”
The lava in Hyde’s veins threatened to erupt. “And the songwriting stories?”
“I did know before the meeting who they had planned on pairing you up with for the duets album. I had some people make calls to that Chatty Charlie show and give them a tip that Tassia had not written all of those songs. I figured that if you worked with her, which I had kind of hoped you would, that people would think you had written all the songs and not her. And if it didn’t work out and you wanted to walk, you would have had a great reason to bail.” Clever clapped and raised his hands in the air like he had done something magical. “See. Always thinking.”
Meanwhile, Hyde stood there fuming, wondering if he punched his father right there and then if his grandparents would ever talk to him again. “Why did you want me working with Tassia if, by your own account, you didn’t want me working with her before?”
“Remember I said you were missing out on a certain demographic with your sales? I thought your association with her would have helped you snag the urban market. You would have had street cred. Fucking her has to up your status a little.”
Hyde balled his hand into a fist, ready to knock his own father’s teeth down his throat.
“You are not the child we raised.” Mabel shook her head. “Our son wouldn’t use people like that.” She gripped Hyde’s arm. “Don’t you do what he did and think it’s okay.”
Hyde patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t.” Then he brought his attention to his manager. “I knew you were a bastard, but I didn’t know you were this much of one. If you dare leak or release a picture of me and Tassia at my house, or get someone else to do your dirty work for you, I will sue you for every dime you have. Revenge porn is illegal, and Hulk Hogan didn’t do too badly for himself when he sued that magazine that posted pictures of him in bed with someone who wasn’t his wife.”
“You would do that to your father?” Clever put his hand to his chest.
“No. But I would do that to a former manager.” Hyde hugged his grandfat
her and grandmother. “I can’t stay here and argue with him. I need to hit the road and try to make up some ground with the woman I let go of again.” He approached Clever. “You now have some time on your hands since you’re basically unemployed.” He saw Clever start to say something but Hyde cut him off. “You will be compensated for your time and efforts. Trust me. It will be more than fair. And then I don’t want to see you on the business side. But I would love to see you back here for their Fourth of July celebration, and during the holidays. Even an asshole deserves some family time, as long as he can redeem himself.”
“You’re making a mistake.” Clever shook his head.
“No, you are if you don’t recognize what I’m offering. You have enough money to enjoy the rest of your life without working. Stop running and relax a little.” He patted his father’s shoulder before leaving the house. “But stay the fuck out of my personal life. You get anywhere near Tassia or say a cross word about her, I will be on you like stink on shit, and you will not like the new Hyde.”
With that done, he had another important mission to accomplish. He had to get his woman back.
* * * *
Tassia peered down at her phone when it rang again. At this point, she knew the caller. Not one to back down from a fight, she picked it up and answered it.
“Tassia.” Hyde’s voice, as usual for the last week, sounded strong. “I know you are listening to me. I haven’t backed out of the duets project. I still—”
Tassia disconnected the call. She didn’t need or want to hear Hyde’s apology or excuses. He had his chance to explain himself that last day she had been at his house. Hyde had remained quiet.
Her phone rang again. This time, Tassia wouldn’t remain quiet.
“Stop calling me.” She shook her head like he could see her. “It’s done.”
“It can’t be.” Hyde now sounded defiant. “I’m not ready to give up. I was wrong. I believe you. I should have told you that day when—”
“Yes, you should have.” She started to disconnect the call again.
“But you shouldn’t have run away from me. We need to talk. Please give us a chance.”
Tassia’s mouth hung open, but she couldn’t speak. Instead, she disconnected the call. How dare he say that she ran.
She sat on her father’s couch with her feet curled up under her and his precious TV remote in her hand. She flicked through channels until she stopped on Chatty Charlie’s show. Just like before, her image popped up next to the older man who now had on a silver jacket with purple sparkles covering it. He definitely had a favorite color.
Although she didn’t want to, she stopped to listen what this old gossip had to say about her this time.
“Oh, this poor child.” The host feigned remorse. “First she gets accused of not writing the songs she sold to lots of artists, but now the word is out that she did some riding of her own on a very well-known and popular artist.”
The audience oohed and ahhed at that bit of news. Tassia felt heat building up in her belly the longer she listened to this troll.
“My sources tell me that the two were tucked away in a secret location for weeks where the dude just hit it and quit it and left her hung out to dry. But, hey, she should be used to it by now. She got dumped by a roadie. I mean. Who gets broken up with by the guy hauling cables and speakers?” He jutted his thumb over his shoulder. “This loser here.”
The audience laughed at the same time that Tassia’s phone rang. For the past week, she had been avoiding almost all calls, even the ones from her management team. When she saw India’s name across the screen, she had to answer it.
“Don’t look at Chatty Charlie’s show.” India barely let Tassia get her greeting out before she barreled through the conversation. “It’s going to piss you off.”
“Too late.” Tassia leaned on the arm of the couch and continued watching the show.
“My sources haven’t confirmed who this mystery man is.” A blacked-out silhouette appeared next to Tassia’s picture on the screen.
It didn’t escape Tassia’s notice that the image next to her looked like he wore a backward baseball cap. Damn.
“If you’ve been paying attention to pop culture recently, you know that someone else has been suspiciously missing from the scene about the same time. Folks, I’m not a mathematician, but even I know what one plus one is.” He pointed at the two images on his screen. “These two are hooking up.”
“What an asshole.” India groaned through the phone. “I have people who can break his jaw if you want me to get that going.”
When Tassia saw that the host moved on to a different celebrity, she muted the TV. “Why? If not him, it’ll be someone else. And this time, his story is not entirely untrue. Hyde did hit it and quit it.”
The look on his face when Clever detailed Hyde and her past histories together would forever be burned in her memory bank. He didn’t believe her. He didn’t trust her. How could he say he loved her if that foundation didn’t exist?
“Girl, you don’t think you meant more to him than just sex and a record?”
Tassia shook her head as though her friend could see her. “No. If I did, he would have defended me.”
“Has he called you?”
“Yes, and singing that same ‘I’m sorry’ song. I’m not hearing it.”
“Are you saying that the duets album isn’t going to happen?”
Tassia had wondered that herself until Hyde mentioned that he wanted the album to still happen. “If you talk to Hyde, he still wants to do the album. Why would I want to still work with him when he was planning on ditching me all along?”
“Hyde has been blowing up your phone wanting to get back with you. He still wants to do the album. And he apologized for what he did. Sounds like he’s done a whole lot more than Dudley did.”
“Dorian.” Not that Tassia wanted to remember that disaster of a relationship.
“And you two did the exact same thing.” India laughed. “He believed his dad. You ran home to yours. Think about that.”
Tassia didn’t want to think about that aspect of her departure.
“Do you know what your next step is going to be?” India asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.”
India huffed. “You know this. I’m your friend. If you need anything, I’m here for you.”
Tassia smiled, a first in days. “Thanks. Right now, I need to lick my wounds and heal. I’ll get back out there soon enough.”
When Burt walked into the family room, Tassia decided that now would be a good time to iron out another big issue that had been plaguing her. Now that she had some time to decompress, she had enough strength to talk to him about it.
“Hey, let me holler at you a little later. I need to have a conversation.”
“With Hyde?” Excitement filled India’s voice.
“No. My dad.” Tassia wanted to say, “The other important man in my life,” but calling Hyde important would mean he meant something to her.
Too bad he did.
“Talk to you later.” Tassia disconnected the call. She turned to Burt. “Hey, Dad.” She cut out the “Daddy” name as soon as she saw him in the airport to be picked up.
The flight home did nothing to calm her down or make her forget about Hyde. After everything she had shared with him, she would have thought he would have believed in her more. Blood is thicker than water.
“Hey, baby girl.”
Tassia winced at that name, but said nothing. “Have a seat. I need to talk to you.”
Burt took a seat and pushed his glasses up his nose. “If it’s about your obligation to do that album, you have none. You can stay here and—”
Tassia held up her hand. “I have a team of people I pay to advise me on my career.”
Burt blinked at her candor.
/> While she had her dad on the ropes, she continued. “What I need to know from the man who I employed over fifteen years ago is the truth about my show departure.”
He cocked his head. “What do you mean? I told you the truth.”
“You told me that the reason you pulled me from the show was because the producers had planned on beefing up Hyde’s part and cutting me down to a featured player part. Is that the truth?” When her father slowed to answer, she added more to the question. “If I were to call Christina, would she say the same thing?”
Not that the popular pop star would even take her call. She hadn’t spoken to her since leaving the show. Christina probably couldn’t pick Tassia out of a lineup if she had gotten arrested, even with singing the infamous hook in Aaron’s song.
“Dad, you have withheld the truth from me before under the guise of doing what’s best for me. I’m tired of people thinking I can’t handle the truth or that I’m not tough enough to take care of myself. I want the truth now or—”
“Or what?” He poked out his chest.
“Or I walk and will get back to you whenever I can.” Tassia would stand firm on her word.
She wouldn’t cut her father out of her life completely, but she wouldn’t be as available. Maybe being so dependent on him made him think she couldn’t rely on herself.
“Okay, fine. That day I talked to the producers and writing team, they had told me their idea of putting the performers together for future episodes. They were planning on pairing you up with Hyde.”
Tassia’s heart raced at finally hearing the truth from her father and knowing that she could have started the basis of a friendship and relationship with Hyde years ago. Now all that seemed like a memory.
“And why did this anger you so much that you had to pull me away from the show completely?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I could see the writing on the wall. You were the more talented one. Despite his raging success, I still think that. You would have carried him because—”
Crazy on You Page 27
