Chapter 25 #2
“Aw, nah,” he scoff-laughed, and then he scoff-laughed again, louder and faker, and then he did it again, even louder and even faker. “That? Nah, nah. Nobody ever became a king without some opposition. I had to say that to feed your fire. Deep down, all along, I knew you had it in you.”
Stephen Shale was a genuinely rare musical talent, a vocal virtuoso, and bless his heart, painfully gullible. “Aw, you mean it? You really thought so?”
“Psh. Of course, brother. You’re about to tear up this city. How’s it feel to become a king, my man?”
“Aw, I think it feels swell.”
Julie wasn’t having it. “Look, dude, I’m as happy as anyone to see you lost the stupid fucking durag, but… what the hell are you doing here?”
Kingmaker turned back to give her an elbow bump. “Here to check in on your conquest. Not to mention the hot supermodel girlfriend you were after.”
“Ugh, dude, shut up,” Julie said, a hand over her face. I smiled dryly at him.
“You must be the illustrious Kingmaker,” I said. “Julie’s always told me she’d be ashamed of the association if I ever met you.”
He put his hands out like he was DJing on an invisible deck. “A king like Julie ain’t ashamed of nothing.”
“I’m really fucking ashamed,” Julie said.
“Well, Mr. Kingmaker, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said, “and as you can see, the plan is progressing along nicely. Though, what’s this about Julie wanting a hot supermodel girlfriend?”
“It’s nothing,” Julie said too quickly. Stephen Shale looked dumbstruck.
“Wait, Miss Boss, are you… you and Ms. Warrick, you…”
Amber looked wide-eyed at him. “Dude, you didn’t notice she’s pining for her?”
“Shush!” Julie said. Kingmaker ignored her.
“Aw, she didn’t tell you? Back in our first consultation, Julie said she wanted to score a hot supermodel girlfriend.”
“Kingmaker!” Julie shot hotly. “He’s just saying things, please don’t—”
“Then she goes to her first networking event, meets a hot supermodel, and you wouldn’t believe this. Snapped at me when I called you the hot supermodel. She had me write down a list of all your best attributes like how you’re funny and smart—”
“I did not ask you to make that—I specifically told you not to write it down!” Julie screeched while Amber was now clasping a hand over her mouth in laughter. Kingmaker jabbed his thumb towards the ceiling.
“I got it upstairs in my clients folder, if you wanna take a look.”
“No! Do not—I swear to god if you show Helena that document I will rip it in half and then rip you in half—”
Julie was so cute like this. I smiled wider. “I’d love to see it.”
“Helena!” Julie pleaded, looking like she’d wither and die. Kingmaker puffed his chest out.
“Solid, yeah, just give me one second.”
“Don’t you—Kingmaker!” Julie called after him, but once he’d left the room, she melted into her hands, groaning. “Why did you say yes?”
“Well, quite simply, it’s because I want to see it,” I said.
“Helena Warrick.”
“Wait,” Stephen said, “so you two are a couple?”
“No,” Julie protested. “Just… we’re just working…”
Amber whispered something in his ear. He flushed deeper. “Oh,” he said.
“Did you not even realize Julie was gay?” Amber said, and Stephen shrugged.
“I don’t like to assume.”
“Yeah, neither did I, until I heard her say literally one thing about Helena.”
“Amber. Oh my god, everyone,” Julie groaned.
To make matters worse still for poor Houdini who couldn’t seem to escape, Kingmaker got back with a diagram that he held up out of her reach when she tried to snatch it, handing it to me.
“Oh, let’s see,” I said, taking far too much delight in the situation as I took the document from him.
HELENA WARRICK – HOT MODEL
FUNNY
CLEVER
INTELLIGENT
CHARMING
MAKES YOU FEEL LISTENED TO
FOR FUCK’S SAKE DON’T WRIT
He’d scribbled the last one out. I think I could figure out the conversation that had happened. “Helena Warrick,” I said, narrating it aloud. “Hot model, funny, clever—”
“Amber,” Julie said, “please, dude, you gotta do this, you just gotta kill me.”
“Right now?” Amber said. “I’m having way too much fun.”
“I hate you all,” Julie groaned into her hands.
“Well, not me, you don’t,” I said lightly. “I hear you think I’m funny, clever, intelligent, charming, and that I make you feel listened to.”
She made a sound halfway between angry groan and horse whinny. She was probably about to shut down. I handed the document back to Kingmaker.
“I appreciate the detailed recordkeeping,” I said. “Very well-planned.”
“They don’t let just anyone be a kingmaker,” he said.
“They apparently fucking do,” Julie said.
“Oh, you know something?” Stephen said, standing up taller. “I just realized, this song, it almost kinda suits Ms. Branch and Ms. Warrick, now that I’m thinking about it.”
“How about that,” Amber said.
“I have gotta tell my momma about this,” he said.
“Tell her I said hello,” I said, and he looked like he’d just won the lottery.
“Aight, team, settle down,” Kingmaker said. “I’m here to talk strategy, yo.”
“Dude, take your strategy somewhere else,” Julie said. He ignored her. He seemed to do that a lot.
“I hear you’re organizing a whole event around this stuff. Big expansion for that Krysten Adesina person’s app, launch party, industry mixer, the whole shebang.”
“How’d you even find out about that?” Julie said.
“I got my sources, man. An’ I told you success was guaranteed, so I’m here to pitch in. For something like this, you gotta manifest it. We get the whole city to believe in this, I swear, it’s gonna go wild.”
“You are not my marketing manager,” Julie said.
“C’mon, I’m serious,” he said. “S’the least I can do. I’m making a king out of you. I’ve got my network. We gonna push this to make sure everyone knows about it, and then Krysten Adesina will have her market proof it’s a go.”
“Well,” I said, “we can certainly use all the help we can get.”
Julie gave me a desperate look. “Helena, don’t do this.”
“Any publicity is good publicity,” I said, which seemed to actually sway her a little. Kingmaker didn’t seem to understand I was insulting him, posing on the invisible turntables again.
“Trust me on this. When I want people to hear something, the people hear it. This will be a festival fit for a king, yo.”
“Ugh, dude.” Julie rubbed her forehead. Kingmaker pointed at her.
“Go grab the networks folder from my office.”
“What do I look like, your assistant?”
“You’ve been my assistant.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Still, she went, complaining the whole way, and Kingmaker turned back to me.
“She’s a good kid,” he said. I bit back a smile.
“You just sent her to get her out of earshot?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Just saying, you can trust her. With anything. She’s got a fire in her belly. And… really likes you, too. I kept telling her not to work with you, that it’d backfire. She just kept wanting to bring you into Jewel.”
I felt warmth budding in my chest, even as I tried to fight it. I smiled wider.
“I’ve heard you’re a self-styled life coach. So I guess you want to advise me on my love life?”
“Nah, nah, just…” He scratched his head, suddenly less Kingmaker and more just a guy.
I wondered what his actual name was. Probably something underwhelming.
“Julie’s my friend. An’ I know she really cares about you.
So I just wanna see it go well. Ah, forget it.
” He stepped back, just as Julie came storming down the hall and into the room.
“Dude, there’s no networks folder.”
“Yeah, that’s my B, I forgot I had it with me,” Kingmaker said, pulling a folder from—actually, I genuinely wasn’t sure where from—and Julie threw her hands up.
“Ugh, fuck off, man.”
“My man Stephen Shale is a hell of a talent,” Kingmaker said, flipping open the folder. “We better make sure we can use that. Let’s figure out a plan now.”