Chapter 24
24
Love_Drive_Draft1.doc
Word count update: 9,402
Right after Wale leaves, I set up my new laptop, feeling more determined to finish my draft. But I don’t have the single-minded focus of the night before. Were Wale and I slowly finding our way back together? And do I even want us to get back together? Is it too soon? And I still can’t believe that I haven’t told him about Kojo. I am a knot of emotions as I attempt to write.
One hour and three clunky pages later, my phone flashes with a number I do not recognize. I set aside my half-eaten plate of sausage, bacon and pancakes drizzled with maple syrup.
‘Hello?’ I answer with caution. Having worked at a call centre, I’m sceptical of cold calls.
‘Hi, Temi. It’s Fonzo.’
‘Oh. Hey, Fonzo.’ He must have got my number from Wale. ‘How’s it going?’ I ask.
‘Yeah, good. Sorry you didn’t get around to interviewing me yesterday.’
I’m wincing over a sentence I’ve just read. It takes me a second to reply. ‘Oh, um, you don’t have to apologize. The restaurant was too noisy to do an interview anyway. Are you calling for us to arrange another time?’ Because I ’ m kind of in the middle of a crisis!
‘Actually, no,’ he says, to my relief. ‘But I can message you the days I’m free. Quick question – have you spoken to Wale today at all?’
‘Yeah, he came by about an hour ago. Why?’
‘Did he mention his meeting with Spotify?’
‘Yeah. But he didn’t tell me much about it other than it’s later on today. Why? What’s up?’
Fonzo lets out an audible breath that tells me he’s concerned. ‘Okay, I’m not sure if I’m jumping the gun here,’ he says. ‘But he posted on his Instagram that he’s excited about this meeting. And then, Kojo reposted it on his stories with the caption, “These streets are not ready for us.” Do you think …?’
There’s a knot of dread in the pit of my stomach. In the past, a few contestants from The Villa have been offered Spotify deals. Deals which included creating their own podcast.
‘But I spoke to Wale last night and he didn’t exactly seem enthusiastic about it,’ I say.
‘Maybe Kojo managed to persuade him,’ Fonzo says. ‘Or maybe it’s something else and Kojo is getting ahead of himself.’
I let out an irritated sigh. The timing of this news is inconvenient.
‘It’s probably nothing,’ Fonzo is now saying. ‘But I just thought I’d call you because you seemed to also think a podcast with Kojo is a terrible idea, and I haven’t been able to get through to him.’
‘He’s at a photoshoot,’ I say, remembering.
And then something hits me.
I know where Wale is. He mentioned the shoot is in Vauxhall, opposite Bonsai’s office. I used to walk past the studio every day on my way to work.
Maybe this is a sign that I should go speak to him. If Wale goes ahead with this podcast, it can set him back – who knows what toxic masculinity BS will come out of Kojo’s mouth. And he needs to know what type of person Kojo is before it’s too late.
‘Fonzo, hold on a sec.’ Bringing my phone away from my ear, I glance at the time. It’s only been about an hour since Wale left. He is probably still at the shoot – hair and make-up take ages. He looked out for me this morning. He didn’t have to. He didn’t have to come by with brunch, make me pancakes. And he certainly didn’t have to buy me a new laptop.
But he did.
Because he cares.
I might be about to make a stupid decision or I could be about to make a very brave one.
I return my phone to my ear. ‘Fonzo, leave it with me.’