Sitting up, I ran my hand down my face and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. I saw Mischief sent me a text saying he and Ishmael fought over Sammi. I just shook my head because my brother was fucking up.
I didn’t know whom to believe with that Brooke shit, because Kordell swore Mischief fucked her, and Mischief said he didn’t. But Kordell had a witness, which was my dad, and even though my dad wasn’t shit and probably couldn’t be trusted, I didn’t see a possible motive for him to lie about this. I just prayed that neither Ishmael nor Kordell let them two hoes come between us as a family and as business partners.
“Erynne!” I called out, climbing out of the bed and grabbing my boxers from the floor. I slipped them on, and then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and clean my face with a hot towel. “Erynne!”
I came out to the kitchen and saw her making breakfast food, looking good enough to eat her damn self. Her mocha complexion looked buttery smooth, and the simple ass dress she had on hugged her slim thick frame perfectly. She had her hair tied up into a ball sitting on her head, so when I got close to her, I kissed her neck.
“You ain’t hear me calling you?”
“No.” She moved from my embrace and took the bacon from the skillet to put on the serving platter.
“What I do now?”
She walked past me and went to put the French toast, bacon, and eggs on the kitchen table. I took a seat as she removed the pitcher of orange juice from the fridge, and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet before bringing it all to the table. I watched her as I stuffed some of the bacon into my mouth, and it was obvious she was upset. Her pretty ass face was balled up.
“Erynne, what the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I don’t want to date you anymore until you file for divorce.”
Sighing heavily, I put down the second piece of bacon and stared at her. “Erynne, I told you I need some time. Baby, I can’t just—”
“Yes you can. You can start the process. The only reason you haven’t is because you don’t want to.”
“So you want me to divorce my wife, and then what? I mean what the fuck happened? Last night I was deep in that pussy and you were cool.”
“I had time to think this morning, and I realized that if you want us to be together, then you need to start the divorce proceedings. If not, then we can end whatever we’re doing.”
“You’re serious right now?”
“Very.” She slammed the syrup down onto the table.
“Aight, Erynne.”
“What does that mean? Are you gonna get rid of the bitch or not? Because if you think you’re gonna be fucking me and then running home—”
“I said aight! You’ll find out what the fuck it means soon enough.”
I wanted to be with Erynne’s ass, but I wasn’t one to make decisions in haste. I liked to process shit and make sure that I wasn’t making choices based off of a temporary feeling. And as much as I liked Erynne, wasn’t nobody about to make me do shit before I wanted to do it.
We ate in silence, and then I went to take a shower in one of the extra bathrooms. After slipping on my clothes, I left the apartment without saying another word to her. She’d high-key pissed me off trying to give me an ultimatum, even though I understood where she was coming from. But the problem was that she saw herself as a mistress on the sidelines, and that wasn’t even the damn case. Whatever though, I wasn’t rushing shit and if Erynne and I were meant then we’d be.
I decided to stop by my house to get my gallon of water and to drop my dirty clothes off in the hamper. I was gonna be in the studio with Kordell and Mischief for a couple hours, and then Kordell and I were gonna chop it up about our meeting tomorrow.
“Chaz, can you talk to me for a second?” Jade asked as soon as I walked into the apartment. Closing the door behind myself, I locked it and then sat down on the couch.
“About what?”
“This! What’s happening! You’re never here with me and if you think I don’t know where you are, then I’m insulted at how stupid you think I am!” She sat next to me.
“Aye look, I think we just need to separate for a little bit and see if we even wanna keep this shit going, Jade. I mean, you didn’t seem to give a fuck about how late I stayed out until recently.”
“Neither of us were trying—”
“Neither of us were trying?” I finally turned my body a little to look at her. “Jade, I did try, but I admit I got tired of this shit being one sided. And you still can’t even admit to me that you killed my child.”
“I didn’t! I miscarried!”
“You miscarried,” I repeated and laughed. “I just don’t believe that shit, baby. It came out of left field, and you waited to tell me the shit happened. As your husband, I would think you or some kind of nurse would have called me from the hospital.” I turned away from her, pressing my elbows into my knees as I stared straight ahead in deep thought.
When I had my mind made up about something, there was no way you could change it. In my heart I knew Jade had gotten an abortion. The look of sadness on her face when she told me she was pregnant, made it evident that she wanted nothing to do with the baby inside of her. I mean she looked so damn depressed before she told me, that I thought she was about to say she had a fucking STD.
“Chaz, I just—”
“Jade, I need some time to think. All my life, I have only been about one woman at a time. Right now I’m struggling to stay married to you. I’m trying to be strong about this shit, and honor the vow I made to you in front of God, but it’s hard. At this moment, honestly, I wanna be with somebody else, but out of respect for our marriage, I’m just gonna take some time to figure this shit out before making any moves.”
“So you’re admitting that you wanna be with her and not me?”
I looked at her out the corner of my eye and saw her cheeks were bloodshot red. I was always honest with everyone, and I was starting to see that maybe I needed to keep some shit to myself. Her hearing that I yearned for another bitch had her in her feelings. I didn’t feel like Jade loved me like I had loved her all this time, but shit, maybe I was wrong. Right now as I looked at her, I could tell my words had broken her heart, so I was gonna ease up a little bit and not be so brash.
“Come here.” I scooted closer to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. She buried her face into my chest and cried violently. “Jade, baby, I love you, I do. I just don’t know if I can stay married to you.”
“You won’t even give me a chance to prove that this can work!”
“I know, and that’s why I’m saying just back up off me a little bit. I’m not saying let’s divorce, but let’s take a little break for a minute. I need it to collect my thoughts.”
Shit was moving too fast for me. In less than a year, my marriage had crumbled and I had it bad for a new bitch. Some days I wanted Erynne to do some shit that would make me not wanna fuck with her, but it never happened. Even when she got on my last fucking nerve like she did this morning, I still wanted her over Jade; over any other bitch. I just didn’t understand why God would let me marry Jade, knowing someone like Erynne was out there. She was the woman I’d been looking for ever since I started fucking. But maybe there was a reason God put Jade and I together, and I didn’t want to ignore that.
I got so deep in my thoughts, that I hadn’t realized Jade was on her knees and pulling on my sweats to reveal my dick.
“Nah, get up off the floor.” I roughly pried her hands from my pants line, and then helped her get off her knees. Her head game was crazy, and I knew she was gonna try to use that shit to keep me here for a little longer. “I’m gonna go see my aunt before I go to the studio.” I stood up. I planned to eat breakfast but I needed to get up out of here before we ended up in bed together.
“Are you coming back tonight?”
I knew I didn’t want to go see Erynne because she was gonna have an attitude, so I replied, “Yeah, but I’m gonna sleep in the guest bedroom.”
&nb
sp; Before she could say anything, I was out of the door again.
I made it to my aunt’s place in Beverly Hills, and parked anywhere because it was just a big ass wide driveway. As I looked over her house, I thought about how my father was only good for one thing: money. He set it out for my aunt and her husband, my uncle Gordon.
Gordon owned a construction business that my dad gave him the startup money for. He was pretty rich from it, and then he made a killing off that upscale ass apartment building in West Hollywood that Erynne stayed in. His life was good, but I just wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing I owed half of my success to another man.
Getting out of the car, I hit the alarm and then used my key to enter. I smelled some weird shit, and I knew my aunt was probably making one of her clean you out teas or pies. She was always whipping shit up that she swore would detox your body.
“Hey, pretty lady,” I greeted my aunt who was in the kitchen stirring some burgundy shit with a wooden spoon.
“Hi, handsome!” she came around the counter to hug me, and I bent down some so she could kiss my forehead. “Want some prune berry iced tea?”
“Hell nah,” I said, sliding onto the barstool. She fell out laughing, before getting a glass filled with ice, and pouring the drink over it. “I need to talk to you, Doreen.”
“You need to talk? You never need to talk. You’ve always had your stuff together.” She took a sip of her tea and I frowned just thinking about how nasty it probably was.
“I think I want to get a divorce.”
“From your beloved Jade? I never thought I’d hear this.” She placed her elbows on the counter and leaned down on it. “You used to worship the ground her pretty self walked on.”
“I know, and I want to get back to that, but I don’t know if I can. I met another girl, and I tried, auntie, I really did. I cut her off, twice, but I couldn’t forget about her. And now she lives in L.A., and… I know this shit is fucked up.”
“Well let me ask you something, did Jade change? Were you happy before you met this girl?”
“Yeah, you know she changed. She used to really have my back, encouraging me and always coming to my shows and shit. But for the past eight or nine months, it was like she couldn’t stand the sight of me. But now that I’m looking at someone else, she’s all of a sudden acting like I’m the love of her fucking life. She’s making this shit hard for me.”
“As you know, I don’t like the idea of divorce because I feel like you young people get them for any little thing. If the sun sets too early, you guys file for divorce. But I know you, Chaz, and if you want a divorce from a girl you loved as much as you loved Jade, you have a good reason.”
Kordell
Today was a big day for me, and I didn’t need to think about shit else. Chaz and I had a meeting with Static Records, and if all went well, then we’d probably be signing contracts today.
My brother and I already agreed that we wouldn’t be taking any monetary advances, because if shit went left and we couldn’t pay it back, we’d be just like them artists that you saw once and never again. My brother and I had worked too hard for this shit to let some label fuck it up.
“Alright, so if they offer a contract, we need to have a lawyer look over the shit first,” Ishmael explained as the three of us sat in the lobby.
“Yeah, we know,” Chaz replied.
I kept silent because my anxious ass was ready to sign on the dotted line. Then again, I knew having a lawyer go through it with a fine-toothed comb was a better idea. This needed to go as smoothly as possible.
“Chaz, Kordell, Ishmael, you guys can come to the back now,” some white girl came out of the big glass door smiling widely.
We got up and followed her through. When she turned around to lead us to the back, I was surprised by how fat her ass was. I nudged my brother, and he already knew what I was talking about because he was cheesing and shaking his head with his eyes glued to her ass too. I ain’t never seen a snow bunny with a plump round ass like that. I was for real gon’ see what was up with her after this meeting.
“I just wanna lay on that shit.” I bit down on my lip and looked down in her eyes as she held the door to the conference room open for us.
Pretty ass face too? Hell yeah.
“This nigga,” Ishmael laughed along with Chaz.
“Have a seat, gentlemen. Teagan and Richard will be right with you.” She smiled at me as we all went to sit down at the long wooden table with a smooth finish. “Can I get you guys some water, coffee, or tea?”
“Some water, please,” Ishmael responded.
“Same,” I chimed in, and Chaz just shook his head to let her know he was fine.
A few minutes later, baby girl returned, and gave Ishmael his water. She then set a little bottle of water in front of me along with a napkin. I picked the water up to twist the cap off, and saw she’d written her name and number on it.
“Thank you… Adele,” I glanced over my shoulder and she grinned before making the shape of a phone with her hand and mouthing to call her.
I would definitely be doing that, but I hoped she knew it was only to fuck. I wasn’t interested in getting with another girl. Every bitch I gave a chance to fucked me over and I wasn’t letting that shit happen ever again. Brooke had betrayed me in the worst fucking way, and Cassie just blindsided me like a muthafucka.
Cassie thought I was stupid though and didn’t know she had another nigga. The only time a muthafucka comes out of left field with some bullshit ass reason to break up, is because they got somebody else waiting on the side. Trust me, I’ve done the shit millions of times. But at least she sucked me up and let me raw dog her before we parted ways.
After waiting for a little while longer, Adele returned with Teagan and Richard. She held the door open for them, and then went to get them some coffee like they’d asked.
“Richard Lesser,” the CEO introduced himself to us, shaking each of our hands. Teagan followed suit, and once everyone had shaken hands and said hello, we sat back down around the table. “Well, I have to say that I’m really excited to have you guys here. Teagan has been in my ear about you two for a couple months now. And I understand Mischief is your brother?” Richard smiled from ear to ear, waiting for one of us to answer.
“Yeah, he is, and he produced all of our records,” Chaz replied. I didn’t even wanna think about Mischief’s bitch ass right now, so I didn’t add anything.
“Nice, nice. He’s really talented and as I’m sure you know, he’s working with a few of our artists now.” Richard paused as Adele set the coffee cups in front of him and Teagan. Once she left the room, he took a sip and resumed. “Sorry about that. But how about we listen to some music. Teagan has been bragging ever since he went to your show so I need to hear for myself.”
“There you go.” I slid the iPod to Teagan who stood up and walked to the Bluetooth speaker. “We made this playlist especially for this meeting, so the best material is on there, no need to skip around.”
“Perfect, well prepared,” Teagan nodded as he got it going.
The five of us sat back and listened, and after the fourth track, Richard had Teagan get up and stop it. I couldn’t read his emotions like I thought I’d be able to, so the shit had me nervous. He didn’t bob his head while listening, he kind of just sat back, cupping his chin with a stern expression. I ain’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one, but I needed this shit to go right.
“So what are y’all thinking?” Chaz quizzed.
“I love the songs, they’re phenomenal. And I think another great thing is that you two are both extremely good looking. In this business, talent alone doesn’t sell anymore. If you’re not pleasing to the eye, you don’t get as far.” He squinted his eyes as he scanned Chaz and I. “I like that they can appeal to both genders. Their looks and Kordell’s singing will reel in the women, but the street lyrics and hip hop beats will grab the males.” He looked to Teagan.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking, which
is why I’ve been on you about getting them in here before some other label did.”
Nodding his head, Richard waved to someone. I looked over my shoulder, and Adele walked in with a manila folder. She placed it in front of Richard, and then took the empty coffee cups that were on the table.
“These are the contracts we’d drawn up in case we wanted to sign you, which we do. It’s for three albums, a tour for each, and an advance of $600,000 per album.
Now the tour is contingent upon the success of the album. If the album tanks, there will be no tour because honestly, who the hell is gonna come see you if you can’t even sell an album. The advances will need to be paid back once you start to receive revenue from that album. If you don’t make $600,000 or more in order to pay the label back, then we will have to sit down and figure out how you can get the money to us. But I don’t even think you will have a problem with that.
Here at Static, we only sign people that we see can make it without us, and that’s you. If you can do all you’ve done with no label, imagine what we can do for you. Just think of us as a very rich uncle,” Richard smiled and pushed the manila folder towards us.
“They’re gonna have a lawyer look over this first,” Ishmael said.
“Absolutely. Let’s chat in a week and see what’s up. If you guys decide to come on board, we will immediately get to working on pushing one of those songs you played us as a single. Then it’s to the album, which I think your brother should produce.”
“Nah, we don’t—”
“That’s perfect.” Chaz cut me off and then gave me a look. “The three of us make the best music together.”
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