Page 13 of Disrespectfully, Relic
Relic’s attention shifted to his dispersed workers in passing before he scratched at his brow, signaling his departure and for them to watch his rear. By the time Relic made it to the lounge’s exit, he felt a presence nearing him that he didn’t acknowledge—he merely pushed open the door and held it for her.
Sojourney tossed him a dubious glance as she ambled outside while hugging herself to combat the frosty night air. Her fingers pinched at the sleeve of her sweatsuit as she dragged her dusty Converse down the lot towards her beat up car that she hoped Relic didn’t get a good look at. The corner of his mouth rose while watching her leave.
Relic was ninety-nine percent certain; he’d procured his newest artist.
“So, what do you think, Saucy?”
Relic glanced at Sojourney, gauging her expression as they stood in front of the soundboard near Calm and Pierre, listening to Tekken create magic in the booth. When they’d initially arrived at the studio, Relic wanted to wring every fucking neck in the room because his folks had ruined his first impression on her.
A cloud of smoke had greeted them when he entered the studio with his guest of honor. Liquor bottles and blunts were in rotation, food was being passed around, and his folks, who’d popped up unbeknownst to him, were in the middle of a damn sing-along. Relic had shut that shit down. He’d poured himself a shot to settle his brewing irritation and then put his artists to work. His youngest on the label spitting like he had a point to prove was redeeming his small but mighty team.
Sojourney bobbed her head before admitting, “I like this track. This one seems more authentic to his style.”
“That’s because he’s spitting off the top of his dome.” Pierre lifted his head from the plate of food he was smashing to point at the glass barrier before divulging, “That ain’t what I wrote for him.”
That revelation made Relic glance over his shoulder at his little cousin, Temilade, on the couch with the girls before he set his sights on Tekken exiting the booth. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize where the young bull’s sudden aptitude for spitting like a vet in the rap game had stemmed from.
“If all it takes is my little cousin getting under yo fucking skin for you to do that, I should let her come up here more often,” he ragged on Tekken, making Calm stifle a laugh. Relic’s cold gaze fixed on his audio engineer and beat maker. “And what the hell are you laughing at, half ass producer? Put on an instrumental. Sojourney, go ‘head and show these slacking ass niggas what real talent looks like.”
“Goddamn! Why we gotta be all that?” Pierre bellowed around a mouthful of food, affronted.
Relic ignored him and kept his eyes trained on Sojourney as she strolled into the booth, settling the headphones over her ears with a calmness that told him, it wasn’t her first time recording.
“You know, you don’t have to tear them down to build her up, right?”
That second complaint came from a woman that made Relic’s mouth twitch. He fiddled with his wristwatch, never tearing his attention away from the star in the booth, even though that voice mere feet away that chided him was a big fucking distraction. It made him want to focus on her instead of his money maker, and that was bad for business.
Kennedy had been dead silent and tucked off in the corner since he’d entered the room. He had hoped that she’d remain there until his departure. Relic had done his best to avoid too many interactions with Tekken’s aunt, but his family made it damn near impossible.
Savvy designating her as his salon manager had put her back on his radar, and the fact that she was tight with both his brothers’ girls made the chances of keeping his distance slim to none. Jahleel’s meddling didn’t help. No matter how hard he tried to ignore her presence, she was right there, invading his goddamn space. His only solace was that she usually didn’t acknowledge him either.
“Don’t tell me what I don’t have to do. Do you want to run this?” He entertained her against his better judgment, and she snorted a laugh.
“Gladly, and I bet I’ll do it better. They’re men, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need validation or reassurance like any woman you add to your roster. Just because they don’t have a pussy you can fuck on doesn’t give you the right to talk to them out the side of your neck.”
Her insinuation made Relic’s mouth stretch into an easy smile before he finally gave her the attention she was seeking. Kennedy had a hand propped on her hip with her half-scarred face balled up, ready to argue her stance, but confusion morphed her features the longer she assessed his beguiled expression. Relic could tell; he’d made her second guess her statement.
“You think, because she has a pussy that makes me treat her better? Yea, you don’t know shit about me, baby, and it shows.”
“I know enough about your ass.”
“Like what?” he challenged, his amused tone vanishing as he faced her.
A crack in her hard demeanor surfaced, but she glued it together before he could blink and matched his gaze with squared shoulders. He almost asked her, who’d taught her that shit. Those chocolate, upturned eyes that he liked better than his own matched his energy until he folded, bending to place his mouth near her ear while clenching a hand at her waist.
“I didn’t take you for the gossiping type, cheri. Don’t bring shit up about me if you can’t repeat it with your chest the next time.”
He squeezed her side harder than necessary and then turned away, dismissing her with that warning. Kennedy gawked because he had her fucked up.
Her glare bore into the side of his sculpted, handsome face while she debated whether to curse his ass out, or to inquire about the name he’d called her for a second time.Cheri.
Before she got the chance to do either, enchanting vocals sent her eyes drifting to the acoustic window where she ogled Sojourney blasting crisp, mind-blowing melodies that quieted the chatty room. Kennedy shuddered when a cool finger tapped her chin, picking it up from where she’d dropped it on the ground.
“That’s why I said what I said. Not because she has a pussy that I could easily get without having to play nice.” Relic made that known before he requested, “Let me talk to you outside for a minute.”
“Is it about business?”
“It’s about what it’s about. Step out for me.”
