Chapter 22
22
I’ve still not had the chance to speak to Wale. On the way to my flat, he received a call from Breezy Brett – a young, charismatic comedian who is currently taking social media by storm. Wale had somehow roped him into being the MC at the gala, so he was ringing to discuss details.
‘Sorry about that,’ he says after he ends the call. We’re now parked up outside my flat.
‘Breezy Brett, yeah?’ I nudge him in the arm and accidentally cop a feel of his muscles. ‘Look at you!’
Wale bats a hand as if it’s not a big deal. It is a big deal.
‘I’m proud of you,’ I say, filling in the silence.
Wale snorts. ‘Thanks, Temi, but all I did was send him a DM.’
‘I guess being blue-tick certified does help. Hey, reckon you can get Zendaya to get back to me?’
Wale stares at me, aghast. ‘Tell me you did not slide into Zendaya’s DMs.’
‘What?’ I shrug. ‘I’m a fan. And I like her box braids.’
Wale snorts again. ‘Yeah, mate, you’re definitely staying unread.’
I laugh, and for a moment I remember how normal this was – to just sit in his car and chill. The vibe between us is so nice, it’s tempting to ignore the Kojo situation. I open my mouth but Wale gets in first.
‘Sorry, Tems,’ he says. ‘Mind if I use your bathroom real quick?’
While Wale is in the toilet, I pace my kitchen, rehearsing in my head what to say. My breathing is faster than usual. I did not expect to be this nervous.
‘Thanks,’ I hear him say from behind me. I whip around. Wale is standing by the entrance, his hands in his pockets. After a beat, he says, ‘I guess I should get going.’
‘Are you sure you want to do the podcast?’ My words tumble out in a flurry. ‘I mean, you already have a lot on.’
Wale blows air out of his cheeks. Something tells me he is still uncertain.
‘It’s a sticky situation,’ he says eventually. ‘On the one hand, I want to support my boy – it’s all he ever talks about and he wants to get into media. But on the other … I dunno. Maybe I’ll revisit it after the gala.’
‘I don’t think you should do it.’ My words shoot out like an arrow.
A frown appears between Wale’s brows. He folds his arms and looks at me. ‘Why? Because you don’t like Kojo?’
‘Wale, the man is sexist. He called women bitches!’
‘Fair enough,’ he says. ‘He shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.’
‘And he talks too much. You wouldn’t be able to get a word in edgeways. Wale, I hate to be the one who tells you this, but I don’t think Kojo even likes you. He’s just using you for what you can do for him.’
My words must have cut deep because Wale breathes out heavily through his nose. ‘You don’t know him, Temi,’ he says defensively.
‘No, you don’t know him. He—’
‘Look, I know the guy is far from perfect but he’s been there for me at my lowest—’
‘What? He showed you how to lift weights. Wooow.’
Wale looks hurt.
‘Sorry, I …’ This is not the way I planned to tell him. I lick my lips and try to recompose myself. And just as I take a breath, my phone buzzes.
I glance down at the counter. A notification has popped up on the screen. I have an email from Mayee. My heart pounds faster.
‘I’m so sorry but it’s my agent. I have to read this.’ With a trembling hand, I pick up my phone.
Hi Temi,
Hope the ghostwriting job is going well. I can’t believe Greg’s celeb client is Wale Bandele!
Quick update – a new editor called Dionne Watts has recently joined Ocean Books. I know Dionne personally and she is a ferocious romcom reader. We met up earlier today and I pitched Love Drive . She absolutely loves the premise and is desperate to see an early draft ASAP! Can you send me what you’ve done either tomorrow or first thing Monday? In the meantime, she’ll read Wildest Dreams – I can’t guarantee she’ll go for it but who knows?
I hope this news is encouraging and a massive well done for pulling yourself up by the bootstraps. I know these last several months haven’t been easy. It’s working with determined authors like you that makes my job even more delightful.
Fervently awaiting your manuscript!
Best wishes,
Mayee
‘Holy crap,’ I say to myself.
‘Temi, you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.’
My legs turn into jelly. I make a grab for the counter, one hand on my chest.
Wale rushes to my side and holds me by my shoulder. All of a sudden, the kitchen is sweltering hot, and I can physically feel my cortisol levels rising.
‘Temi, speak to me. What happened?’
I struggle for air. ‘I just got an email from Mayee.’
‘Yeah, you mentioned. What did she say?’
I manage to stand upright, my hand still clutching my cramped chest as if to slow my breath. I can’t believe this is happening.
‘Remember when I told you that Mayee said I should work on a new novel?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Well, she actually set me this assignment nearly nine months ago.’
‘Okay.’
‘We caught up recently … and I kind of lied to her about how much I’d done.’
Wale goes silent. ‘How much did you tell her?’
I bite the inside of my cheek. ‘About half a novel.’
A flash of shock passes over Wale’s face before he neutralizes it. ‘And how much have you actually done?’
Closing my eyes briefly, I tilt my chin towards the ceiling. ‘Nowhere close to that … about ten per cent. And ten is being very generous.’
‘Shit,’ Wale says. ‘Sorry, do you mind if I have a look?’ He motions for my phone.
I pass it over to him and then place my hands on my head. I feel faint.
‘Oh, that’s promising. She’s also pitched Wildest Dreams .’
‘I appreciate your optimism, Wale, but what about Love Drive ?’
Wale hands me my phone back with a long, deep inhale. ‘The way I see it,’ he says, ‘you have two options. You can either tell Mayee the truth. Or make up the other forty per cent.’
‘I can’t tell Mayee the truth!’ The very thought is causing my brain to spin and send my anxiety into high gear. ‘I lied to her, Wale! She’s going to be so pissed off! Trust me, Mayee is not the type of person you mess around with. What if she dumps me?’
‘I’m sure she won’t let you go—’
‘But you don’t know that! Her reputation is on the line too.’ I shake my head. ‘Do you know what she said when she signed me? She said she doesn’t work with time-wasters. She said, and I’m not even paraphrasing, that she won’t hesitate to send them packing and has done before. And what will she tell Dionne? You read her email. She thinks I’m this role-model author.’
‘Then you send her what you can,’ Wale says calmly.
Everything is unfolding like a bad dream. I can’t see a way out. Why, why, why did I get myself into this mess? Tears welling, I cover my face.
‘Hey, hey, hey. Look at me.’ Wale gently prises my hands away and then places his palms on either side of my cheeks. As though he’s my human lifeboat, I cling on to his wrists.
‘It’s happening again.’ I start to cry. ‘I keep getting rejected.’ Bonsai , publishers … you .
The nightmare is now playing out like a prophetic vision. Mayee is on the other end of the call. ‘ Temi , I think it ’ s best if you find another agent .’
I choke on a bubble of tears and I begin to cry hysterically. I’m crying so much, I take in loud, ragged breaths.
‘Hey, breathe, breathe.’ Wale demonstrates by taking a deep inhale before slowly exhaling again. He repeats this several times, his calm, even breaths cooling my clammy skin. Eventually, I fall in sync, and just like that, my breathing steadies. In the chaos, he still finds a way to be my anchor.
‘You can do this,’ he says with that familiar conviction he’d used whenever I doubted my writing. He moves his head back so he can look me dead in the eye, his gaze locking on mine. ‘Send Mayee what you can and talk to her. She’ll understand. You can do it, Temi. I know you can.’ He wipes my wet cheeks with his palms. ‘Don’t forget – you’ve blitzed a novel before.’
My body goes cardboard stiff. Does he know about The Ultimate Payback ?
He smiles at my confusion. ‘You mentioned it in your interview,’ he says. ‘Or were you just trolling Greg?’
My shoulders sag with relief.
‘Oh. That.’ I sniff. ‘Yeah, that was a long time ago.’
‘But you still did it, didn’t you?’ He tries to get a smile out of me. ‘Which meeeans –’ he wipes another tear – ‘you, Miss Temi Ojo, have it in you to do it again. Look, let’s cool off working on the memoir for the next few days. What can I do to help? I can be your Uber Eats.’
I let out a throaty laugh. ‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ I whisper, sinking into him.
Wale holds me tightly and presses a soft kiss to the side of my head. ‘Everything will be okay. I promise.’