Chapter 2 #2
Kiara Da’vi was the biggest act of tonight’s show.
She was the headliner and Dynasty Records’ most viral artist. TikTok had blown the bubbling rapper and mumble singer out of the water lately, but with the rise in popularity came an inflation in ego.
The star was late, and if Stassi didn’t get her on that stage soon, the entire night would be a bust. She didn’t want to have to call Day to fix this.
“Helloooo? Am I talking to myself? Where’s my goddamn headliner?” Stassi shouted into the headset.
“Her manager says they’re en route. ETA is 15 minutes, but she isn’t stage ready.
” It was the worst thing that the production assistant could have told her.
Glam would take the singer another two hours.
There was no way the audience would wait that long.
Stassi beelined for the dressing rooms where the house glam team was set up.
She knocked on the door out of courtesy but didn’t wait for permission before entering.
“Hey, ladies, I’m Stassi. I’m producing the show tonight. Which one of you is on hair and has lace wigs on hand?”
“I have wigs, but I was about to get out of here. The label only paid me for one look tonight. Why, what do you need?”
Stassi sighed in relief. “What’s your name?”
“Everybody calls me MiMi,” the girl replied.
“Well, MiMi, I need you to stay and prep one wig on the mannequin for Kiara Da’vi. She normally rocks blonde. You got any colored units?”
“If you got green, I got color,” MiMi replied, rubbing her fingers together. “Cuz this is feeling like overtime.”
“I’ll double your rate, sis. I’ma make sure the label takes good care of you.
Come see me at the end of the night. Can you get a blonde wig wand curled in half an hour?
” Stassi asked. She opened her Instagram and went to Kiara Da’vi’s page, then showed MiMi.
“This is how she normally wears her hair. Can you emulate that?”
“I got you,” MiMi answered.
“Thank you. I’ll send her back when she arrives.” With one problem resolved, she felt her chest lighten some, but sure enough, the small win was short-lived.
“Stassi, do we have a permit on hand? Fire department is trying to shut us down.” When the voice came through her headset, she groaned. Stassi wanted to snatch that bitch off her head. Good news never came through. It was always someone paging her to tell her something catastrophic.
She felt like she was being pulled in a million different directions. Every time she put out one fire, another sprouted out of thin air. She was juggling a million balls, and if she dropped even one, she would fail.
“No, they are not! Do not let them in! I’m on my way to the front!” Stassi shouted as she hightailed it through the venue. Her toes screamed in excruciating pain from the high heels she was wearing. If she had known she would end up working, she would have worn sneakers.
“Wait! Wait!” she shouted as she neared the door.
“I’m sorry, sir, can you step over here for a moment so we can discuss this?
” she asked as she moved out of the doorway.
I’m Anastassia. I’m the producer of this show.
I can assure you we have a permit for this event.
Why exactly are you threatening to shut us down, and what can I do to stop that from happening? ”
“What’s the point of applying for the permit if you aren’t going to follow the law?
You’re over capacity. If the parking lot is any indication, I’d say by about 30%.
Cars are spilling out into the street, and you’ve got people parking in the fire lane,” the fireman said.
He was pleased. His tone was impatient, and she needed all the patience she could get tonight.
“Okay; what if we start towing the cars that are in the street and in the fire lane? That’ll clear some of the crowd out.
” Stassi hated to ruin somebody’s night like that, but it was either sacrifice a few or the whole damn crowd was going home.
“I just need another two hours to close out this show. Please. I’m desperate here, and I’m at your mercy. ”
The fireman removed his helmet, and Stassi was instantly taken aback.
The man underneath this suit was so handsome that she was instantly distracted.
He was the type of Black man that hadn’t been seen since the 90s.
Brown-skinned, tall, with dark eyes that were made to stare into.
He was fine, and his fine ass was about to shut her down.
“I…umm…” Stassi shook her head, refocusing as she grasped at straws. “Please. The owners of this event had to leave. His son died tonight. I was left in charge. If I fuck this up…” Stassi sighed in frustration. “I just can’t fuck this up.”
The fireman was brooding as he stood over her. The dip in his brow expressed his irritation.
“If the fire lane and the overflow aren’t cleared out in half an hour, I’m shutting you down and writing you a citation,” he warned.
“That’s all I need! You have no idea how you just saved my life. Thank you so much for not being an asshole!” she said, smile returning as she backpedaled away from him in a hurry.
“Yeah, you’re welcome,” the man said, unenthused. “I’ma swing back around personally to make sure it’s done.”
Stassi held up praying hands and shook them in his direction. “I swear, it’ll be taken care of. Thank you!”
A voice was in her ear again, beckoning her. Stassi was a puppet on a string tonight. “What now?” she shouted into the headset. She gave the firefighter one final glance. “I’m sorry, I got to go, but thank you!”
She turned around and rushed back toward the dressing rooms. Kiara Da’vi had arrived. She heard the commotion of the up-and-coming R&B sensation before she even made it to the door. She was known for her diva-like expectations. It would take all of Stassi’s patience to put up with it.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are, sweetheart, but I don’t let randoms style my hair. This blonde wig doesn’t even fit my aesthetic.”
Stassi rolled her eyes as she paused outside the door. She didn’t knock this time. Instead, she took a deep breath before barging inside.
“Hi, Kiara, I’m Stassi. I’m running the show tonight. We need you in and out of hair and makeup in 30 minutes,” Stassi said.
“Running the show?” Kiara asked with a laugh.
“I mean, considering that my brother is a partner in this business, I’d say you don’t really run shit, sis.
More like this my show, and you didn’t even know it.
All this shit in here is done wrong. Where’s my catering?
My hair stylist? My Fiji? Matter of fact, where’s Day?
He knows what’s on my rider,” the singer shot back.
“Day isn’t here. I’m here, and rider or no rider, brother or no brother, you’re late. You have a packed house out there, and they’ve been waiting. I had the house team pre-style a wig for you and…”
“Girl, get me the boss. If Day isn’t here, where’s Demi? I’m not using no new stylist that I’ve never worked with before. No offense,” Kiara said, looking at MiMi before crossing stubborn arms over her chest.
“None taken. I’m paid regardless,” MiMi answered.
“Listen, I don’t know what Day and Demi tolerate when you work with them, but tonight I’m in charge.
You can either sit in that chair and let MiMi get you together, or you can risk letting your hair stylist start from scratch.
Your choice! But if you’re not on stage in 30 minutes, you won’t be hitting the stage at all, and you can explain to your fans why in an apology post on IG.
It won’t be me getting cleared online for flaking, so it’s on you. ”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Kiara asked.
“Let me call Day. The nigga around here, giving out fake power when he knows I call all my own shots around here. Was just in this nigga bed, I’ll be damned if I take orders from his assistant.
Ain’t you the same bitch he called the help?
” The girl snickered, and Stassi saw red.
That hit a nerve. Not only had Kiara Da’vi staked claim over Day, but she was throwing shade.
Kiara was marking the man and the territory, and Stassi felt her temper rage.
Day had just professed his affection for her in front of thousands of people, and now here another woman was throwing her weight around the room because she was clearly fucking him.
“Are you done?” Stassi asked. “You just wasted five minutes. Now, you got 25 minutes to be on stage or I’m shutting this down.
” Stassi stood her ground and kept her poker face strong.
She was rattled, but nobody in the room could tell.
She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction, but in the back of her mind, questions about Day’s relationship with this woman were nagging, and a rehash of the humiliation she had felt when he had belittled her on the radio flashed through her mind.
Stassi walked out of the room and prayed that Kiara Da’vi would comply.
Difficult-ass bitch, Stassi thought. The sooner this night was over, the better. Manning this job was a huge responsibility. She just wanted to make it through the evening without messing anything up. Demi and Day had enough to deal with without worrying about losing money tonight.