67. Before You Walk Away 👟

When I got to my hotel room, Zeke and Monica were sitting on one of the beds and talking.

"And what are y'all fancying about?"

Zeke pointed at me. "That's what makes her different. She sounds like those actors back in the day."

"Her voice or her words? Because I can tell you right now, her choice in words are not by accident. She's been bitten by the love bug."

I open the hotel door just to slam it. "Can y'all not talk about me while I'm standing here. And I thought I wasn't gonna see you until after my performance tomorrow morning..." I looked at Zeke.

He stood up and walked over to me. "I had to make sure your cousin got to the room safely since she arrived before you did."

"Okay, but I didn't get a body guard."

"You're here early," Zeke replied.

Monica lightly laughed.

I cut my eyes at her, and she stopped.

Zeke walked towards me. "Leave your bags here. We gotta talk."

I rolled my luggage to the edge of my bed. I looked at Monica while I placed my purse on top of my bed. "What did you tell him?" I  whispered to her.

Monica quickly got up. "Going to the bathroom."

I growled before following Zeke out the hotel room. Two men stood in the hall. Why am I just now noticing them? I waved at them.

"Miss Jamie," they said in unison.

I forgot I didn't wear my disguise. Otherwise, I might have attracted some unwanted attention.

Zeke's room was right next to ours. He unlocked and opened the door, allowing me to walk in first.

His room had one bed instead of two, making his room more spacious.

"Have a seat anywhere." He opened the mini fridge.

I sat down on his bed and crossed my legs.

Zeke handed me a cold bottle of water.

"Thank you." I opened it and nearly drunk the whole thing. I didn't realized how thirsty I was. I sat the bottle on the night stand.

Zeke remained standing as he faced me. "What did Anaya say to you?"

"I'm going to choke Monica."

Zeke waited for me to answer his question.

I rolled my eyes. "She said she listened to my radio interview and it bored her, because I was being mysterious. She wants me to listen to her and give people more to talk about. When I tried to speak up, she told me that I would be broke as an independent artist and that I was indebted to RiSe Records. Zeke, she was rude to me. She talked to me like I was beneath her."

"Anaya talks like that to everyone. She really wants to control people, but her focus should be RiSe Records as a whole. Ricky is the one you're supposed to listen to, being that he has more experience with artists." He continued, "when I was signed to RiSe, she interfered and my dad stepped in. Ricky tried to keep the peace, but Anaya's mouth got under my dad's skin. Then, my brother started a label under Unlimited Records - the literal rival to RiSe Records."

"That was a bold move," I commented.

Unlimited Records is just as known as RiSe Records, but Unlimited has a longer list of successful artists.

"Yeah, and I wish I would've stopped it. My brother was working on his album, and I did some songs with him. This caused some legalities in my contract to be broken. Before I knew it, Ricky couldn't do anything. I had to leave RiSe."

"That's what you meant by your dad and brother taking over?"

Zeke answered, "That's the short version. It was a lot uglier than that. Anaya is easily threatened by young talent. She sees walking dollar signs not people. When the sales are increasing, she tries to keep it going. She sees all people as potential mistakes unless she can control it."

"She needs help," I spoke.

"She needs a man and some kids. I've never seen her with anybody," Zeke admitted.

I don't know why, but that made me laugh.

Zeke shook his head.

"Why didn't you warn me about her?" I asked him.

"Why didn't you tell me what she said to you?"

I lowered my head.

"You keep thinking you're alone, but I told you that I'm here to help you."

I lifted my head. "I know. I just didn't know it would be all of this extraness. I just want to sing my songs. I don't care about sales, winning awards, or meetings. It's so unnecessary."

"It's expensive. Just like you meeting a realtor."

My eyes bucked, "Monica must like you, 'cause she is telling you everything."

Zeke grinned, "I checked Maximo's driving records. Going to different residential areas screams realtor."

I folded my arms. "I'm not moving out... at least not immediately. Also, tell your brother to please leave me alone."

"What did he do?"

"He stopped me in the hall yesterday to tell me that he knows I'm Jae A.B., and that his dad loves my songs. He was hinting that he found out by spying on me."

Zeke added, "He found out a while back. Remember when he introduced you to V.C. Penman and Maxville?"

I hit my forehead. "The ghostwriters. I should've known then. Your brother is sneaky."

"He thinks he's sneaky, but he is smart. He can read people and tries to use what he learns about them against them. Fortunately, he never goes all the way. He has a heart. He's softer than me."

"And he's the rapper," I stated.

Zeke smiled, "When is your rehearsal?"

I took a deep breath. "At 1 o'clock. My stage coach, make-up artist, and stylist will be there."

Zeke asked me, "Before you walk away, will you finish this ride with me?"

I smirked, "I guess I can do two years." It was the amount of time I would be signed to RiSe Records. Short and kinda sweet.

"You're lawyer did good. One album, two years, three million dollars. Your pen game is going to triple that in less than a year."

I brightly smiled, "You think so?"

"You should look into modeling, too. I told my friend about you since you wear sunglasses. She's interested in providing you with her sunglasses for every time you walk out the house."

"Really? I'd love that."

Zeke held out his hand and I took it. "Keep that mystery. Once you lose it, the world feels like they own you."

I hugged Zeke and he hugged me back. Before leaving his room, I said, "I don't want to be in a fake relationship, anymore."

Zeke listened.

"I'd rather have a real relationship with you... as friends."

"I accept that. Tonight, I'm going to a club to network. Tomorrow morning, I'll meet you and Monica at GMA. After your interview, we'll go out for brunch or lunch."

I smiled, "That sounds great. I really appreciate you, Zeke."

"Goodnight, Jae... Jamie."

"Goodnight, Ezekiel." I quickly ran to my room before he could respond.

Monica looked at me as she chewed her food. "I know you ain't running from your fans with those two guards outside."

"No. I just called Zeke by his real name. And where did you get food from?" I walked over to her bed and admired her plate of lasagna and salad. "Can I have some?"

Monica pointed at the phone. "Unh-unh! You better call room service and get away from my plate."

I smacked my lips. "Just one bite while I wait for my food."

"Move, Jamie! I'm hungry."

I laughed at her hanger - hunger and anger. I picked up the phone and ordered food. What a way to end the day.