Chapter Sixteen #2
“She’s not back, we found her notebook,” Carla replied, watching the hope in his eyes dissipate.
“I helped Dexter make a couple of the verses more masculine and Bobbi hopped on the chorus. We can always replace her, but I don’t think she sounds that bad.
With the help of a sound coach, she can be the next Tyler. ”
“Get the fuck outta here,” Darryl laughed. “I wouldn’t put her on a muthafuckin’ jingle to sell rat poison, let alone a song. Give me the notebook.”
“What?” Dexter finally spoke up. The notebook full of unreleased songs was his way back to the top. If Darryl didn’t want them, then he planned to shop them around.
“Tyler’s notebook. Give it to me. I can pass a couple of the songs to Amber. She has a nice voice, and Tyler writes nothing but hits. It’s a no-brainer, I can turn her into a star overnight.”
Standing to his feet, Darryl adjusted his tie and walked to the other side of the room. The request for the notebook wasn’t quite a request as much as a demand.
“Dex, you’re in the hole for over two million dollars. Fucking around with me, your great-grandkids will be paying for your mistakes. I wasn’t asking for shit, give me the notebook.” Darryl snapped his fingers.
“This gone make us even though, right?” Dexter asked, holding the notebook in the air. “If I give you this, then I shouldn’t owe you anything.”
“Nah, this will just spare your fucking life.” Darryl snatched the notebook from him.
“Carla, you’re walking on thin ice. I don’t give a fuck how good you suck my dick, my money is something I don’t play about.
You let the best thing that ever happened to this company get away and you think you’re about to leverage with me over some shit that’s rightfully mine? ”
“Man, this some bullshit,” Dexter muttered.
“Yea, well you’re officially dropped from the label.” Darryl tapped on the table. “You’re dead weight and without Tyler, you ain’t shit.”
“What?” Dex jumped up, knocking his chair over. “I got a contract; you can’t drop me like that. You gone have to buy me out or something.”
“Buy you out?” Darryl guffawed. “I wouldn’t buy you a five-cent piece of Bazooka gum.”
“Wait a minute, guys, let’s talk about this.” Carla stood up. “Darryl, he did something good, that has to be worth something.”
“He’s supposed to get praised for stealing his ex-girlfriend's music?”
“I didn’t steal shit.” Dexter frowned. “She left it.”
“Yea, well it’s mine now. Yall are both dismissed. Dex, call my assistant to set up a payment plan, and I’ll be holding onto your car for collateral.”
“Man, what the fuck?” Dexter threw his hands in the air. “I’m not giving up my whip. You gone have to pry these keys out my fucking hand. This some bullshit. I brought Tyler to you. That should have wiped my slate clean.”
“And it did, but you started getting advances on albums that didn’t sell over 1,000 units. You asked for tours that didn’t make it past the second state, and you’ve racked up more damage fees than anyone on the label. You’re in the hole, my boy.”
“D, let’s be fair,” Carla begged.
“Fair?” Darryl knew she had to be joking. “I cut my own mama off. You think I feel sorry for a nigga that stole from his woman to make a quick buck. Drop the keys on the table and have a good day.”
“I’m not dropping shit.” Dexter stood his ground.
“Lil nigga, I’m not about to tussle with you. You’re either going to give up them keys willingly, or them niggas standing outside this office is going to take them, break about ten bones in your body, and drop yo ass off near the Detroit River. Your choice.”
“This some bullshit,” Dexter grumbled, removing his keys from his pocket and throwing them on the table. He didn’t bother saying anything to Darryl or Carla before storming out of the office. Dexter couldn’t wait to get his hands on Tyler. He blamed her for everything that was happening to him.
When the door closed, Carla rose from her seat and adjusted her skirt. She opened her mouth to say something, but Darryl beat her to the punch by holding up his finger.
"So, you was trying to extort me with this nigga?” He thumbed his nose.
“What? No.” Carla shook her head. “I’m trying to be the peacemaker.”
“Peacemaker my ass. You should have brought me the fucking notebook instead of having your blow-up doll looking daughter sing on a demo.”
“I thought-”
“You thought you was about to turn her into a star, huh? Now that your niece is out of the picture, you were about to make your daughter the puppet?” Darryl cocked his head to the side.
“No, but Bobbi-
“Bobbi is a fucking hoe and every nigga I know done had their hands in her draws. That’s the difference between her and Tyler.
Your niece is pure and has a good heart.
If she knew half of the shit you’ve done to her, she would have been left.
I minded my business because it didn’t interfere with me and my situation, but now, you’ve crossed the line. ”
“Darryl-
“Without Tyler and Dexter, you have no business at Oakwood, which means I have no use for you.”
“Wow, so just like that, you’re disposing of me too?” Carla’s voice cracked. “What about us?”
Foolishly, she believed what they shared was real.
Darryl took her with him when he traveled, they attended private parties, and she had no problem getting on her knees whenever he called.
Carla sat by his side while he conducted business, only speaking up when he asked about what was happening in Tyler’s life.
She was nothing more than the assistant who he fucked on the side.
Carla never asked him to leave his wife because she didn’t have to.
Darryl handled business at home, but he always came back to her and the condo they shared.
“I’m a married man, any emotional attachment you're feeling is beyond me.” Darryl held his hands up in defense as if the last five years didn’t mean anything to him, as if they didn’t mean anything to her.
“What are you saying?” Carla held her chest.
At her grown ass age, Carla had done things for Darryl that she never thought she’d do, things that she should’ve been ashamed of, but it was worth it.
The lifestyle he exposed her to was worth the cost of her soul and dignity.
With the snap of two fingers, Darryl could have her in a room closing a deal with one of his business partners.
“Come on now, sweetheart. We both knew what this shit was. It was fun while it lasted, but that’s it. Don't act like these young bitches and start spazzing out. Take this shit for what it is and move on.”
“We have a house together!” Carla screeched, coming undone. “We have a life!”
“No, sweetheart. You're staying in a condo that the label owns. That was to help you get on your feet, and I hope you’ve been saving because we’re going to need that condo back.
Let Bobbi know so she can get her shit too.
Oh, and since you and Dex buddy buddy, let him know the lease on the apartment is up.
He got thirty days to pay the next month, or his shit gone be sitting outside. ”
“I know things!” Carla barked. “I know things that could put you under the jail. You can’t just dismiss me.”
“Bitch, please. You know what I allowed you to see. Whatever you think you know is irrelevant, and if I were you, I'd shut the fuck up before you’re dragged out this bitch with your lips glued together.”
“Fuck you!” she spewed, running toward him. She didn’t even see the security team enter the room. But there they were holding her back while Darryl laughed in her face. “I hope you rot in hell, bastard.”
“We all going to hell, sweetheart. There’s just the matter of who gets there first,” Darryl called after her, followed by a thunderous laugh.
???
Downstairs, Carla was stripped of her badge and given three days to vacate the condominium. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she called Darryl everything but a child of God. He played her and now she was sitting outside looking just as stupid as she felt.
“The fuck happened to you?” Dexter asked, standing on the curb.
“Darryl bitch ass just broke things off with me,” Carla cried. “Why are you still out here?”
“I don’t have a fucking car,” he reminded her.
“Oh.”
“Bobbi’s on her way to get me.”
“Well, this was a complete shit show.” Carla wiped her face. “I can’t believe I let him play me like that.”
“Oh, you thought he loved you for real? I see where your daughter gets that delusional shit from,” Dexter chuckled. “That man been married for thirty years and his wife has him by the balls. He was never leaving her, and I hope you didn’t fall for that shit.”
“Whatever.” Carla waved him off, feeling foolish. She’d never admit that he played her.
“So what now?”
“Now I need to figure out a plan B because Darryl got me fucked up. I’m not about to lay down and take this shit. I’ve come too far to let a man try to outsmart me.”
“What about me?”
“What about you?” Carla frowned as the valet pulled up in her car. “I have my own shit to worry about; you’ll figure out something.”
“That’s fucked up, I thought you were my manager.”
“Yea, well you need to have something to be managed, and from where I'm standing, you’re assed out too.” She pulled off, leaving him standing on the curb.
Like Darryl, Carla had Dexter fucked up, but he always had a plan B and C. Pulling out his phone, Dexter pressed the last number he dialed and waited for the phone to ring.
“Hey, I was waiting on you to call,” the feminine voice answered.
“My fault, but I need to holler at you for a minute. My car down, so I’m going to Uber to you.”
“Does this visit come with dick?”
“Don’t it always?” Dexter smirked, eyeing Bobbi’s car pulling into the parking lot. “I’ll be there in a minute.” He ended the call.
???
313-446-9612
Jailbird, what time can you come out to play?