3. Myome #2
When I glanced over, he already had his gaze pointed in my direction. He smiled, shook his head, and looked back at the road. I didn’t say anything. I just took another drink from my cup and looked out the window.
When we got to Allison’s office, my nerves came back. Drix hopped out without a word. I sat in my seat for a little longer while I tried to beat my nerves down. Drix looked back at me. I took a few deep breaths.
He circled his truck and yanked the door open.
“You gon’ get out?” he asked.
“Yeah. I just… nerves,” I finished lamely.
“Man, nobody is going to shred your contract over this shit.”
“You sure about that?”
“If yo’ shit is fire, you gon’ always find work in this community. Just know that.” He nudged his head toward the building. “Come on. Let’s do this.”
I took another deep breath then nodded.
Drix helped me out. We grabbed all the things I’d ordered and made a slow walk to the building. We stood silently in the elevator the entire ride, and when we got to the second from the top floor, Allison's receptionist looked like she’d seen a ghost.
“Hey. I’m here for—”
She cut me off. “Allison and the team are ready for you in the boardroom.”
“Thanks,” I deadpanned.
I adjusted my posture to stand straight and led Drix to the boardroom. When I pushed the door open, I saw Allison sitting at the head of the table with Retta and Charm on either side of her while a beautiful woman and Rome sat at the other end of the table across from each other.
“Hey,” I said awkwardly.
“Happy to have you join us.” Allison gave me a smile that let me know I was on the fucking chopping block, but I pretended not to notice.
I handed everyone their usual drinks and set the food I’d gotten in the center. Rome immediately reached for a sandwich.
I sat beside Charm who reached for my hand as soon as I was settled and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
Drix sat at the other head of the table. He nudged his head to the seat on his right side. Rome and who I assumed was his manager climbed up and moved to his side. He didn’t look at either of them. His eyes were focused on Allison instead.
“Alright. Let us hear it.” He leaned back in his seat, looking both slightly uninterested and larger than life.
“Well, whatever happened before the club is making the rounds on Skroll,” Allison stated.
“But,” Drix’s manager quickly inserted. “The post about being married has somewhat made it a little less of a big deal.”
“A little less of a big deal?” Allison repeated and scoffed. “This shit could—”
Drix cut her off. “Ay, watch yo’ tone when you speak to my sister.”
My eyes jumped back to the woman beside him.
Now that he’d said it, they resembled each other.
All three of them—Drix, Rome and their sister—had the same deep brown skin.
She didn’t have light brown eyes like the men, however she looked younger than both of them.
Her hair was cut into an above shoulder bob with beautiful bangs that framed her face.
She wore a dainty necklace that resembled the smaller chains Rome and Drix wore.
Allison swallowed.
“Well, anyway.” His sister cleared her throat. “Allison and I spoke on the phone this morning and we wanted to run an idea by both of you.”
“Alright,” Drix said. “Let’s hear it.”
“Hear me all the way out before you comment,” she said quietly.
Drix nodded once and she continued. “Well, I looked into it and it turns out your marriage is legal. The two of you are officially married, and even though Skroll is in an uproar right now, we believe there’s still a chance we can fix all of this.
Drix, you have a reputation of being a hardhead and womanizer with a short temper.
What better way to show you respect women than by not only being married but proving you’re a loving and devoted husband?
Women love a man who is hard on the outside and sweet on the inside for the right woman. It sells fantasy.”
Drix lifted an eyebrow. “And?”
“And Radiant Reverie is struggling with promo, so what’s a better promotional pitch than one of their singers being on the arm of one of the most well-known and sought after producers in the game,” Allison offered.
“We can all benefit from this,” his sister said.
“Our downloads have already tripled,” Allison added.
“So, you guys want us to stay married?” I looked around the table. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. We think it could be a great look for both of you.”
Drix turned and looked at his sister. He leaned into her and she immediately started speaking into his ear. Rome climbed up to wedge himself between them and be part of their conversation.
I turned toward Allison.
“Are y’all serious about this?”
“Yep. It was actually Chandler’s idea.” Allison smiled.
“She thinks it can help Drix out as much as it can help us, and Myome, it is a hundred percent helping us. We’ve gained over five thousand followers since last night and our downloads and purchases have tripled.
We have radio shows that wouldn’t even accept your demo calling to interview you. This could be amazing for us.”
I looked at Charm and Retta. “What do y’all think?”
“I think you should do it,” Charm said immediately. “Like Allison said, it’s a good look for our numbers. Besides, who the hell is complaining about being matched up with Drix for a husband?”
“And if she doesn’t want to be married to him, why can’t it be me?” Retta clapped her hands over her chest.
“Because they’re literally already married.” Charm sucked her teeth.
“So?”
“So find a different producer to try,” I snapped.
“Well, damn. I’m glad we didn’t let anything get between us.” She rolled her eyes.
I forced a smile.
“Alright.” Drix’s voice snapped us into conversation and we all turned to give him our attention. “Let’s do it.” He tossed his pen and caught it. “Let’s agree on staying married then.”
He looked at me, as did his sister, Rome, and Allison.
They waited with bated breath while I thought about my choices.
Allison was right. People famously said all publicity was good publicity and we were going to release our first album in less than a year.
I took a deep breath and swallowed.
“Let’s do it,” I agreed.
“Bet. Then, can we get the room?” Drix’s eyes drifted to Charm and Retta. “I want to talk specifics in private.”
They looked at Allison who nodded. Retta rolled her eyes. She and Charm hopped up. Charm gave my shoulder a light squeeze then they left the room and I exhaled.
“Chandler, Myome.” Drix nudged his head in my direction. “Myome, this is my sister, Chandler.”
She gave me a small smile and partial wave I returned.
“Go ahead,” he said and clasped his hands on the table in front of himself.
“We want a prenup signed immediately, going both ways of course,” Chandler stated.
“That’s fine.” I agreed immediately. I didn’t want this man’s money anyway.
“Your bills and debt are yours. Drix’s bills and debt will be his. You’ll both keep your own homes and cars. He’s expecting you to attend four interviews of his choosing, complete with photoshoots if required, and attend at least three public outings on his arm.”
“Okay.”
The things he was asking would help me out too. Shit, probably more than it would help him. There was no reason to not do any interviews or photoshoots with him. I’d been doing fine financially, even though I didn’t have a lot of money saved. I’d be able to stay afloat.
“And if you have a man or boyfriend or whatever, if any proof of cheating leaks, this is done with.”
“And he’s gon’ die,” Drix added. “I’m not the type of man to get disrespected, especially in public.”
“No boyfriend to speak of,” I said simply. “And what about you?”
“What about me?” he asked.
“If you get caught up with someone, is all of this over?”
“I ain’t in the business of holding women hostage; so you really can leave whenever the fuck you feel ready. If I slip up and you want to deal with that shit, that’s on you, but I ain’t doing it.”
“Okay.” I chuckled under my breath but left it there.
“We have demands of our own,” Allison said.
“Okay.” Chandler grabbed a pen and threw open the little black book in front of her.
“We want interviews of my choosing done too.”
“Okay. Drix will do…” Chandler glanced at him. He held up two fingers. “Two public interviews of your choice.
I looked at Allison who nodded.
“We also want Drix to take an active part in promoting our album when it’s released by showing up to the album release and at least two concerts.”
“I can do that,” Drix said simply.
“And we want a feature.”
“Hell nah.” He chuckled. “I don’t give those out. My mothafuckin’ blood brother don’t have me on his shit. I’m not budging on that.”
Allison clenched her jaw. “We just think—”
“Ay, we ain’t compromising on this shit. So what do you want to do?”
Allison looked at me. I shrugged.
“Then, we want another instrumental on top of the one we’ve already purchased.”
“I can do that.” He nodded once.
“Okay.” Allison leaned into me. “Is there anything else you want?”
“I don’t want to look stupid in the media,” I blurted. “I know you said you didn’t want to be disrespected and I don’t want that either.”
“Alright.” He nodded once.
“That’s it.” I cleared my throat and looked at Allison who nodded.
“If we think of anything else, we’ll reach out.”
“Well, in the meantime, I have a prenup in hand,” Chandler announced. “I had it drafted this morning when I saw the video.” She pushed up from her seat, walked over, and set a few sheets of paper on the table in front of me.
I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed a pen from the table and scribbled my name on the vacant lines.
“You don’t want counsel before just signing?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nope. I don’t want Drix’s money and he has much more than me so I’m not worried about him trying to swindle me out of mine.”
“Okay.”
Chandler took the papers over to Drix who signed each of his lines.
“Congratulations, you two,” she stated.
Drix scoffed. I forced a smile.
Allison clapped her hands. “Chandler and I will get together and coordinate your first public outing and let you know, but in the meantime, y’all are free to go.”
“Okay.” I pushed up from my seat.
“Welcome to the family,” Rome sang. Drix reached over and popped Rome in the arm, which just made him laugh loudly. “What y’all doing for the honeymoon?”
“Well, I’m gon’ beat you the fuck up and Myome gon’ watch,” Drix replied seriously. “Shit. You ain’t read the tabloids? We might end up jumping yo’ lil stupid ass.”
Rome laughed loudly and a smile slowly crossed Drix’s face at the sound, but he shook his head and pushed away from the table. He climbed to his feet then gave a side hug to Chandler.
“Thank you for everything,” he told her.
“Of course.” She looked up at him. “I’ll call you later.”
“Alright.” He looked at me. “You need a ride home?”
“Nah. I think I want to stay and sit in with Allison and Chandler if that’s okay.”
“Sure. You can sit in,” Chandler said instantly. “That would actually be great. We can start working on a soft rollout.”
“Bet. I’m out.” Drix hit his brother on the back of his shoulder then headed out.
“You.” Chandler shot Rome a look. “Get out.”
“Alright.” Rome hopped up. “I’ll get with you when you’re done saving Drix.”
Rome leaned down and hugged Chandler. Then he stretched and looked at me.
“It was nice seeing you, sister-in-law.”
I snickered and rolled my eyes.
I liked Rome so far. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with him but he seemed nice and like he just went with the flow mostly. It was obvious that the ladies’ man reputation he had in public wasn’t just a persona. He seemed naturally funny and charismatic.
“Nice seeing you too, Rome.“
He reached across the table, grabbed a napkin, and stacked a few donuts. He snagged a sandwich too.
“Have a great day, ladies.” He sauntered out.
Chandler snickered under her breath.
“Okay.” She clasped her hands on the table. “Let’s do this.”