54. Emotions 🥹

I can't believe it's already Wednesday and so much has happened. Just two more days before my first televised performance. Once I was able to get a break from rehearsals, I called Monica to give her all the details. Being the petty investigator that she is, she suggested that I ignore Aja Frost for the way she deceived me.

"And you still need to move out of that house!" Monica barked.

I quickly blinked my eyes. "Ma'am, where is all this attitude coming from?"

Monica took a deep breath. "You remember the YouTuber I was talking to?"

"Yeah."

"It's not gonna work out. So, I won't be flying to Atlanta, anymore."

I grinned, "Does that mean you can fly out to me, and--"

"No! You need to come back home. Actually, you need to do a music video for your new song so I can do a reaction, because you bring in a pretty penny for ya girl," she joked.

"Monica, I am over here trying to figure out how I'm going to make it through this live performance on Friday."

"Oh, yeah! I'm going to react to that, too. Are you going to wear that same silver wig or something else?"

Welp, I've lost her! I ended the call with my cousin and ate a light snack before finishing up my rehearsals. Just when I thought I was going to walk out the building and jump in the car with Maximo, I ran into Aja Frost.

"Jae, my love!" She ran and hugged me.

"Aja," I cringed.

She released me. "Where are you headed? Do you have time to talk?"

We went to the office on the 18th floor, sitting in our familiar chairs. I could only imagine what Aja has to tell me.

"I gathered up the courage to talk to Ricky yesterday, and I wished I'd done it sooner. He's been doing everything he can to make sure the video disappears. He told me that there's still a chance that I can do the Super Bowl commercial and get some of my sponsors back."

"That's good, Aja. I'm happy for you." I looked at the time on my phone.

Aja continued, "Without even asking, he told me about the hacker that you told me you heard about. Well, she's one of his exes. She used to work for him and Anaya. In so many words, he was thinking that Anaya hired her to deaden his career. It's a theory, but I don't doubt it. Anaya would love to be the CEO and President of RiSe Records."

Hmm... if these puzzle pieces were starting to make a picture, would it make sense that the hacker is Jaylei or Jaylei was working with the hacker?

Aja added, "Then when Ricky was about to give me more information, Anaya came barging in his office. I ended up leaving. As I was walking past the receptionist's desk, she was looking at me strangely while texting on her phone. So I went over to her and asked for a pen and a sheet of paper. When she put her phone down, I saw that she had sent a text to Anaya."

I asked, "Ricky's receptionist was texting Anaya?"

Aja chuckled, "Yes, yes, yes! So I became desperate. I was like 'I don't have time to write this schedule out.' Then, I asked her if she could print out a copy of my schedule for tomorrow. When she got up and walked over to the printer, I took a picture of her phone. Take a look at this." Aja passed me her phone.

On the screen was a photo of the receptionist's phone. The texts were between Anaya and the receptionists.

- Aja's been in Ricky's office for more than 15 minutes.

- I'm on my way.

- She's leaving the office now.

I bucked my eyes, "His receptionist was telling on him."

"Get this - Anaya hired her. One thing you should never doubt is Anaya's knowledge. This woman knew intimate things about me when I first met her. It was like she was a fly on my wall. When I was dating Ricky, she was always around," Aja said, "I've already talked with my lawyer and given them all the evidence."

I gave Aja back her phone. "What evidence?"

"Ricky bought me a car for my birthday when we were dating. A few weeks later, I was rear-ended, and the mechanic found cameras and tracking devices on my car. I thought it was a stalker so I didn't tell Ricky. Besides, we'd already broken up. I hired a private investigator and he found out that a woman had been following me. She was good at disguising herself, but she wasn't too smart about her travels. The main places she visited were the Rivers' mansion, Ricky's condo, and the RiSe Tower. I know for a fact she was dating Ricky and one of the Rivers' brothers."

"This was two years ago?" I asked as I tried to calculate in my head.

Aja replied, "It was actually. I listened to that recording - the one I played for you, and I remembered that Ricky said her name. He called her Lee. It's short for Leiona."

Where have I heard that name before?

"Long, long, long story short. She's the hacker, Anaya hired her, and I'm suing Anaya for violation of my privacy."

As if I was about to have a vision like That's So Raven, I said aloud, "Jayleiona Saner."

Aja narrowed her eyes at me. "Who?"

"Oh, my gosh, Aja! She was Zeke's assistant. I think she was the one who stole my song and sold it to RiSe Records moreso Anaya."

Aja covered her mouth. "This just turned into something bigger than I expected. Jae, it's time to call your lawyer."

I'm so glad I didn't listen to Monica or Zeke, because Aja Frost had me skating on ice with all this beautifully disgusting information. Oh, Anaya, you're about to get served!

The drive back home felt longer than usual. As much as I wanted to go straight to bed, I knew I had to call my lawyer as soon as I got in my room. When Maximo parked the car, I got out before he could help me.

"Have a good night!"

"Night, Maximo!" I froze when I saw Zeke standing at the front door. I walked up to him. "Are we going out to eat or something?" I smiled at him.

"No." Zeke grabbed my hand and led me to the side of the house where the pool was. "I told you I had everything taken care of. Why were you sharing information with Aja? Have you talked to your lawyer?"

How did he know I talked to Aja? Wait, it's a trick. He knows about us talking from last week not today. I folded my arms with a smirk. "Mr. Rivers, I don't know what you're talking about."

Zeke wore a stern look. "Jamie, I'm not joking. Aja's lawyer called me, and they have a case. If you work with them, this case could end RiSe Records."

"You're only thinking about Ricky Santana. Aja is going after his twin sister."

Zeke corrected me. "She's trying to get revenge by turning herself into a hero. I've been in this industry my whole life. I've told you this before, and I've warned you about it."

I argued, "Why didn't you tell me that Jaylei stole my song?"

"Because it's being taken care of the right way. If all of this comes to light, you can forget about hiding. The internet will find out your true identity, where you're from, what school you graduated from, your family members' names, and even worse, rumors will start. I tried to tell you that Aja is not innocent. She's been through the scrutiny more than once. That's why she's been saving her receipts, patiently waiting for someone like you to come along."

I started to have a bitter taste in my mouth. "You keep saying how you've tried to warn me and protect me from things, but Zeke you failed. You failed to understand that I am an adult. You cannot hide things from me, and you can't tell me what to do."

"Did you agree to be in a relationship with me? Did you agree to help me like an adult would understand?" Zeke questioned me.

I started to walk away.

"Don't call your lawyer," he demanded.

I snapped, "I can do whatever I want!" I went inside the house. He had his nerve. See, this is strike three. I'm going home.

I didn't realize that I was packing my suitcase until I heard the knocking on my door.

Zeke walked inside my room. "Why are you packing?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I could fill that I still hadn't released my anger. Yes, I was furious!

I heard the door close. Then, he removed my suitcase from my bed.

I was still like a statue as I tightly closed my eyes.

"Sit down," he calmly spoke to me.

With my head down, I did as told. My nose flared as I inhaled the heat of my rage. I was beyond mad, and it seemed to have been built-up overtime. Now, it was looking for a way out.

"Jae, you have every right to leave, but you have a live performance on Friday. Please try to focus on that. And I promise you, after the show, I'll fly you back home. I know you miss your family."

I finally looked at him. "It's not just that. It's us, too. It's this bootcamp and the acting." I took my wig off. "I thought I would be free doing what I've always wanted to do. When I was little girl, I dreamt of this life, but it's far from the fairytale I thought it would be. People are more fake, more conniving, more heartless than I can handle. I'm afraid that all the things I was struggling with before I got here will only get worse if I stay in this business."

Zeke said, "Jae, you haven't been here long. You haven't given this business a real chance."

"I would rather leave now than stay and end up like Aja. My entire perception of her as a fan was demolished in a matter of days. Like, is anything or anyone real?" I asked him.

Zeke sat next to me. "I need you now more than ever. You have two songs in the top 10. People are ready to see you perform."

I shook my head. "They don't want to see me. They want to see Jae A.B." I sighed, "I have to call my family so they can expect me in a few days."

"Do you want an easy, boring life? Or do you want an fulfilling, fun life?" Zeke asked me.

I shrugged, "I've never had either."

Zeke stood up and rubbed my arm. "Neither have I." He soon left my bedroom.

I took a deep breathe before calling the one person I wanted to hear.

"Jamie..."

I instantly smiled. "A.B." I began to cry.

"What's wrong, Jamie? What happened?"

"I'm not happy doing this. I can't do this, anymore. I don't want it. I just want to go back home and work in the bookstore for the rest of my life." I knew I was upset. I also knew that I wasn't being honest.

"Jamie," he spoke my thoughts, "You are a singer and songwriter. You don't belong behind a counter, telling people about instruments when you could be using the instrument you were gifted."

Why does he have to say this to me? Why couldn't he say he'll meet me at the airport or tell me that he wants to see me in-person?

"Jamie, you still there?"

"Yes," I replied. "I gave Aja Frost your number. Did she call you?"

"No," A.B. answered.

"Can you pray with me?" I asked him.

A.B. started the prayer, asking God to be with me and to protect me. Everything Zeke said he was doing, A.B. was praying that God would do that. Then, A.B. asked if I wanted to say anything.

"Yes," I took a deep breath. "God, I feel so lost, right now. Nothing makes sense. I pray that you help me to understand what's going on so that I can make the right decision. Bring me peace, God... please. And if there's anything that I'm doing wrong, I pray for you to tell me so that I can do right. Thank you for my family. Please keep them safe. Thank you for my A.B. Please keep him safe in Jesus' name. Amen."

"Amen," A.B. said. "Jamie, you don't have to talk, but I'll stay on the phone with you as long as you want me to."

"Thank you," I silently cried.

I refused to sound like a hyena on the phone with my future husband. Fortunately, it didn't take long for me to compose myself. A.B. said he would call tomorrow morning to check on me. We ended our call.

What an emotional day!