I felt a text message go off from my cell phone, and Toni stopped me from looking at who it was from. “It’s just your baby trying to figure out if you’re with me. Don’t worry, I sent a text before you pulled up in the driveway to let him know you were in good hands.”
I was aching for the release, even though Derrick had already worked me this morning. I was in heat now, and a flood of lustful thoughts came crashing through, leaving me nowhere to turn. Toni was relentless in her pursuit, already spreading my legs in the beach chair.
The heat from my skin betrayed me as I fought with my own sense of loyalty to Derrick against the obvious sexual attraction – and God knows what else I was feeling – that I had for Toni.
I wanted to give in to her… and him.
But acting on my desires was something that I wasn’t ready to do yet because it was the downfall of my relationship with Troy. In hindsight, I did it because he had already burned me over the course of the relationship.
Two wrongs don’t make it right, but it felt damn good when I got my revenge.
This, however, was different.
This felt… delicious… salacious… and I liked it.
My phone began singing as Toni moved to caress and kiss my nipples. I looked at the image on the phone and saw Derrick’s face staring at me. I answered it, even though Toni worked her tongue on my skin.
“Hey, baby,” I tried to take as much of the sex out of my voice as I could, but Toni slid past my navel and was breathing on my lips. “How was the shoot?”
“It was good, except for this one dude that fucked with the vibe of the shoot, but it’s all gravy, I had him humble before it was all done,” Derrick answered as I stifled a moan. “Put me on speaker, I know you’re still with Toni.”
“How did you… know I was… still here?” I struggled to ask, feeling the tip of Toni’s tongue flicking across my clit with expert skill.
“GPS on my truck, baby girl, now put me on speaker,” he demanded, which only turned me on more with the mood I was in.
After I switched the phone to speaker, Derrick said, “Hi, baby, does she taste as good as I told you she does?”
“Yes, daddy, she’s sweet and tasty, just like you said,” Toni cooed over the phone, locking eyes with me to convince me that Derrick wasn’t pissed about what was happening. “Can I have her, too?”
Wait a minute… too?
I felt like I was being captured, and I wasn’t sure I liked the feeling at that moment.
“D, baby, you’re not upset about this?” I honestly asked him, trying to keep from screaming because Toni was back at it, making me wetter by the second. “Please tell me you’re okay?”
“I guess Toni never got the chance to tell you she texted me to tell me she was planning on seducing you when you came over?” I felt his voice drop a few octaves, adding to the lust that already washed over me. “Just let it go, baby, it’s okay…“
I finally succumbed to what I wanted… completely.
“Cori, are you okay?”
Toni stared at me, trying to figure out the expression on my face.
I was completely flushed, and my skin was hot. I knew I couldn’t recover from whatever my mind just put me through, and I’m sure Toni could read it all over me.
“Yeah, Toni, I think I’m fine.” I said as I tried to recover from my daydream. “What were you saying?”
“I was telling you that you were going to the funeral to be the support that Derrick needs.” Toni re-iterated, her eyes just as intense as they were before my mind went elsewhere. “He’s really into you, Cori. I’ve been around him longer than anyone, and I know when he’s falling.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. I really, really was into him, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to say I was in love with him yet. But it wasn’t like I wasn’t heading in that direction fast.
“Then I’ll be there.” I stated.
“Good, because I didn’t want to have to kill you for trying to come up with some crazy excuse to explain why you’re not there,” she laughed, taking some of the sting out of the seriousness I thought she was trying to be.
Toni looked at me again, this time with a quizzical look on her face. “Cori, are you sure you’re okay? You have this look like you were trying to shake something off that had crossed your mind.”
I blushed, realizing that my facial expressions and my body betrayed me big time. I didn’t want to give myself away any more than I already had, but I had a pitiful poker face when it came to what I wanted.
Toni sort of smirked at me, almost as if she could read my thoughts at that moment.
I smiled nervously as the battle between my mind and body continued, deciding between telling her what my body wanted or my mind overriding the decision because it was not the time to give in to the things that I wanted her to do to me.
She winked at me, and I wanted to believe that I wasn’t dreaming this time, but after my last fantasy got to me, I didn’t want to take the chance. If she wanted me as badly as I thought she did, she was going to have to make her move.
Toni walked over to take my glass from my hand, and in that instant, we were close enough to kiss.
She grinned at me, glancing over my face, and I felt naked around her, wanting to open everything to her. I haven’t felt that way in a long time when it came to a woman. It scared me to wonder what might happen next.
She brushed her lips against mine, daring me to take things further. My body trembled as the
urge to kiss her became too much to bear.
Before I could finally make up my mind to follow through on my impulse, Toni kissed my neck and whispered in my ear, “I know you do, and I do, too. There will be another time soon, I promise.”
She walked behind the bar and started making another drink. “Now, let’s enjoy the rest of this beautiful day, shall we? We can talk about some more pleasant things… like your signing?”
~Cori~
Signing day.
We’d been waiting for this moment for the past three years.
Having Derrick in the room during the meeting was even sweeter than I thought it would be.
The meeting that we had before heading over to RP Records was high energy, with Kyra leading the way, trying to keep things on the positive, no matter what.
Tracie and I managed to keep things on the professional side, but I still didn’t trust her with as far as I could throw her. But as long as she stayed out of my personal business and I stayed out of hers, things would stay solid between us.
Cheryl couldn’t stop smiling the whole morning. “I just want to tell you ladies that I am extremely proud of what you have accomplished.”
“Yeah, we can get to the mushy stuff after we sign on the dotted line, Cheryl.” I stated, causing the other girls to laugh.
“Yeah, Cori, but you can let me have my moment, too.” she replied, which was the key for us to settle down so she could talk. “You girls are like daughters to me, and watching you grow as a group has been fun to watch. Now, when we get to RP, let’s make sure that we keep it professional, regardless of what we may think will go down.”
“Come on, Cheryl, the way Cori’s been acting, this deal is a no-brainer.” Tracie mentioned, cutting her eyes at me. I just rolled my eyes because she didn’t know half the shit that she thought she knew.
“Look, you still have to sing live for these gentlemen, especially Mr. Parker, since this will be his first time laying eyes on you.” Cheryl continued. “Just make sure that you’re on your game, and we can start doing some real damage, okay?”
Candace answered that challenge with a question that shocked us, because she’d never really been so bold. “So, what are y’all gonna do with your signing bonus?”
“Cori, can we talk?”
At first, I didn’t want to have the conversation with Tracie, but after a quick second thought, I figured that we needed to clear the air between us so that things could be at least friendly between us.
>
“Okay, so, talk.” I flatly stated.
“Look, Cori, I know I stepped over the line concerning Derrick, but I didn’t want you getting hurt again.” Tracie started. “I remember how bad things got when you split with Troy, and I couldn’t let you go down that road again.”
Hearing her bringing up Troy’s name again brought back painful memories. I nearly pulled a disappearing act during that relationship, no matter how badly I tried to avoid it.
But what I didn’t consider was what happened to me within the group when I was going through that, too.
Singing flat during rehearsals…
Missing steps that I’d known for years…
And the worst part was nearly letting myself go and wrecking my body in ways that I feel ashamed of.
If it wasn’t for my girls, I don’t know what I would be doing or where I would be, and I couldn’t discount that, no matter how much I wanted to keep them out of my business.
“Tracie, you and the girls were there for me when that bullshit went down with Troy. Hell, you
kept me going when I really didn’t want to keep moving.” I admitted, a tear sliding down my cheek. “But you, nor anyone else, can be mother hen to me when I get involved with a man. I need you to understand that I still know how to handle myself, okay?”
“I can’t promise I won’t mother you, Cori. I may not always have the best ways of showing it, but you’re like a sister to me, we all are to each other.”” Tracie explained further, and I saw a small tear streak down her cheek. “But I will try to respect your privacy unless I feel it’s starting to affect our performances. If that happens, all bets are off, babe.”
“Okay, fair enough, T. But that river flows both ways, girl. If Brian starts to affect you, we’re gonna be all over you as much as you’ve been rolling on us.” I told her, making sure my stance was as clear as she’d made hers.
“Fair enough, Cori. I can live with that.”
Kyra and Candace walked by in the middle of the conversation that we were having, and Kyra nearly jumped the gun. “Okay, can you two please squash whatever madness is going on between you? Jae and I love you like sisters, but you’re going to be the death of us one day.”
Candace looked at me, then she looked at Tracie, and she grinned and winked at us. “Kyra, they’re good, girl. I think they just needed to sweat things out between them.”
“Yeah, we’re good, or at least we’re going to be, in due time.” I said to Kyra. “She was worried about Derrick hurting me, but I think she realizes that things are different, and they will be different, even if something goes wrong.”
“Well, I’ll be honest. Kyra and I were a little concerned about you, especially after that last jackass nearly fucked everything up for us.” Candace mentioned, which cracked us all up. She rarely ever cursed; in fact, we knew she was serious if she ever did curse, so it was easy to pay attention to her when she said anything with such language. “We’ll all have men in our lives one way or another, but we cannot let it affect our work. We’re on the verge of making something big happen today, and everything we do from here on out will make or break us.”
“Okay, we’re in agreement, then; work first, and then we can play later.” I stated.
“That’s what I like to hear.” Kyra smiled as we saw Cheryl heading out of the office. “Now, let’s go handle business so we can party.”
~Derrick~
“Derrick, my boy, are you busy?”
Hearing Mr. Richton’s voice over the phone wasn’t a shock to the system. I’d been waiting for his call all morning.
“Mr. Richton? No, sir, I’m not busy until later this afternoon, what’s on your mind?”
“Well, I figured that you needed to come on up for the meeting with the group that you wanted me and Parker to sign.”
Now, I didn’t expect to hear him say that.
I halfway expected him to let me know that Cazhe had been signed and I was on the laundry list of folks that needed to be privy to that information.
Being in on the meeting was not in my original plans.
“Sir, I don’t want to be a distraction. I’m sure you and Mr. Parker can handle this without me.” I tried to protest, but I knew it wouldn’t work because you simply do not say no to either of them.
“I already spoke with Parker, and he agrees you should be there. Besides, you can make the transition smoother with the introductions with Parker and the group.” Mr. Richton explained, as if he really needed to.
Whether I wanted to or not, I was going to be there, front and center.
“When do you want me there, sir?”
“The meeting is in 45 minutes. See you then.”
“Hello, Cheryl, it is nice to see you again.”
“It’s nice to see you, too, Derrick. I wanted to beat the girls here first so that we could talk privately.”
I was taken aback by that statement, and I wasn’t sure where she was coming from by the intent behind it.
“May I ask why, Cheryl?”
“I want a straight answer from you, Derrick. Did Mr. Parker listen to the demo, and did he see the tape of the showcase last week?” Cheryl was stone-faced as she blurted out the questions.
“Yes, he has, and he was impressed. He doesn’t cut short any trips for trivial reasons, if that’s what you’re thinking.” I answered, perturbed by the insinuation. “If they sound good to him live as they did on demo and on tape, they are prepared to offer the draft of the contract for your legal team to review.”
“Off the record.” Cheryl started, moving close enough for the conversation to be heard only by the two of us. “I hear it from the girls that you and Cori are seeing each other.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Is that why we’re here?”
My eyes narrowed, and Cheryl took a step back from me, undoubtedly noticing my posture had changed quickly. “Cheryl, your group is good, damn good, I know because I was at the showcase that night, if you remember. I’m not biased; this is business, and I don’t waste either of the big men’s time or energy when it comes to making them money.”
“Derrick, please understand—“
“I’m not done.” I cut her off, shutting her down. “I’m not even an A&R rep, but the bosses think that I have an ear for talent for some odd reason. I didn’t even want to be at this meeting because I knew that it might be uncomfortable for Cori. If you don’t want them to be here because you think I greased the wheels, then that’s fine. I have two others on speed dial that can be here within the next half-hour.”
“Alright, I just had to make sure that you were on the level, Derrick.” Cheryl replied, which took some of the edge from the tension between us. “You know how this business can be.”
“Actually, no I don’t know.” I gruffly stated, still a bit irritated that I’d been compromised. “It’s one of the reasons I stay insulated in my photography studio. The music industry is cutthroat, and I’m not in the mood for the politics of it. My private affairs are exactly that, private. Cori did nothing to persuade me to do anything, despite your thoughts to the contrary.”
“If that is the case, please accept my apology for jumping to conclusions, Derrick.” Cheryl said. “My girls deserve the shot.”
“Then let’s get it done. I will see you and the girls in the conference room in about ten minutes.” I told her as I headed inside the conference room to try and clear my head.
Mr. Parker met me before I could adjust and re-focus.
“Derrick, I wanted to talk to you about something before the group comes in for this meeting.” he said.
I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for any more talks, but I jumped into it anyway. “Yes, sir, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“It’s about the meeting that you helped to bring about, actually,” Mr. Parker began. “Rich and I talked it over, and even though you’re not exactly chomping at the bit to be a part of the A&R Department, we need to discuss compensation for the past t
wo groups that you helped with, and negotiate the compensation for this group that we’re planning to sign if all goes well today.”
“Mr. Parker, I don’t think that would be—“
“I don’t want to hear one of your legendary speeches about being part of the team, D.” Mr. Parker cut me off. “Whether you want to be in A&R or not, we’ve already established that you don’t want to, which is why I didn’t want to hear your spiel. But there are some things we need to discuss regardless. But we’ll talk about that after we get things settled after the meeting, alright?”
“Yes, sir, you know I wouldn’t argue with the boss.” I replied. “But I am quite perfectly fine where I am in the studio.”
“This I know, son, and we’ll talk about that, too.” Mr. Parker smiled, leaving me completely clueless as to what he was alluding to.
I took my seat at the table in the conference room as one of the secretaries escorted Cheryl and the group into the room.
Seeing Cori’s face made this meeting all the more bearable.
~Cori~
“I’m impressed. Very impressed.”
“I think we can put Cazhe on the map.”
Hearing those words made the past ten minutes after we finished performing completely surreal.
The fun part was watching Derrick sitting with Mr. Parker and Mr. Richton, acting like it was just another meeting in the course of his day.
Deep down, I knew he was just as excited to see how things worked out as I was.
He gave up a smile here and there, nodding to the flow of the performance, and I simply chalked it up to him trying to conduct business so that everything would be on the up and up.
Works for me, as long as the end result was what we had hoped for.
The way Mr. Parker smiled? We were in for a whole lot more.
“Ladies, I really must say that your voices are incredible, and we need to get you squared away and ready to record immediately.” he beamed as he scribbled down something to pass to Mr. Richton.
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