1. Ozyris Brentley #2
"Let me holla at you for a second, Unc," I said, walking over to him while King hopped down and ran off toward the living room to find his tablet.
Unc wiped his hands on the towel hanging off his shoulder and gave me his full attention. "What's up, nephew?"
"I just wanna make sure King got everything he needs while I'm gone."
"Boy, I already got the fridge full. Got his little pouches, his fruit, all the stuff he like. Don't worry about that."
"And if something happens and y'all can't reach me, you got Simone and Gin's number too, right?"
He laughed, shaking his head at me.
"Ozyris. I practically raised you and your brother. I think I know what I'm doing." He reached over and patted me on the shoulder.
I couldn't help but laugh with him. "Yeah. You right."
No cap, at times, it was hard to even look at Unc. He looked so much like his brother, my pops, but he ain't lie. He did what he could, never even hesitated, so I was sure King would be more than okay.
It wasn't that I didn't trust him. It was just that every time I left, I felt bad.
"I appreciate you, Unc, more than you'll ever know."
"Lil' nigga, you getting soft on me?" he teased, punching me in the chest playfully.
"Man, hell nah. You know what the fuck going on." I kidded, and Ginger gave me a look.
"Uh… language!" she corrected me again, same as she had in the bedroom.
"My bad, baby. Damn," I said, and she looked like she was about to huff and puff and blow a bunch of fucking houses down.
I laughed and walked into the living room, where King was sitting on the couch, locked into some game on his tablet.
"Come here, man," I said, and he looked up and grinned before hopping off the couch and running toward me. I scooped him up and gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek.
He immediately wiped it off with the back of his hand, scrunching his face up. "Ewww."
"Man, don't wipe off my kiss like that." I laughed and set him back down on his feet. "I'm leaving for my birthday trip with Auntie Ginger, remember?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "You gonna miss me?"
"Course I'm gonna miss you, King."
"I'll miss you too. I always miss you when you're gone for a long time." He paused, and then he asked it, quiet, like he wasn't sure if he should. "Are you sure you're coming back?"
That damn near broke me right there in the middle of the living room. I felt my throat tighten up, and I had to blink a few times to keep it together. I looked over at Unc, who was standing nearby watching us, then back down at King.
"Yeah, man," I said, crouching down to his level. "I'ma always come back for you. Every time."
I held my hand out, and we did our little handshake, the one we made up together, ending with me rubbing the top of his head.
"Catch you later. Love you," I told him.
"Love you too, Uncle Ozy."
I stood up and had to take a second because a nigga wasn't trying to cry.
Luckily, Opal walked in from the hallway right on time, dressed sharp as always, her silver hair pinned up neat.
"Good morning, Mr. Love. Happy birthday." She wrapped me in a hug and pressed a kiss to my cheek, and it felt like getting a hug from somebody's grandmother, but I never minded it.
"Thank you, Opal. You got everything under control for the interviews today?"
"I have it all covered. We've got about six young ladies coming in and one young man."
I laughed. "Nah, we don't need no manny."
She swatted at my arm, giving me a look. "Oh, don't be so close-minded. I'll interview him just like everybody else, take my notes, and I'll make the most appropriate decision for King. I have your best interest at heart. You know that."
"I know, I know. I'm just playing with you."
My phone started ringing right as Simone came through with our bags, wheeling them toward the front door.
I glanced at the screen and saw it was Derez, so I answered it, walking outside behind Ginger, who already had her phone up, filming herself for her page and talking a mile a minute to her followers about the trip.
"What's good?" I said into the phone, standing at the open door of the truck while the driver waited.
"Ozy Love. Happy birthday, man. Look, I'm hyped you finally getting back in the studio. New album, new tour, all that!”
Thanks, bruh, and yeah, I'm ready."
There was a slight pause, and I could hear him doing something on his end.
“Good…so, listen, I was going through some old files, pulling stuff together for the label meeting, and I came across a track from that weekend.
The Ozy Love Weekend Experience. It ain't got a title on it, though.
" He paused. "And I know you were supposed to be recording that with Ginger, but that doesn't sound like Ginger on there. "
I had no idea what he was talkin' 'bout. "Let me hear it right quick."
"Hold up." I heard him typing, then a few seconds of quiet before he came back. "Alright, here it is."
I put him on speaker, and the second her voice came through, my whole chest went tight. That smooth, sultry, angelic voice belonged to a woman I’d never forget.
"Damn," I said, more to myself than to him. "Yeah, that wasn't Ginger."
"Who was that?"
I cleared my throat. "That was one of the girls who won the contest. She could sing her ass off, so I brought her in the booth to help me work through some of the kinks on that record. We never finished it, though."
“Oh, right… it’s coming back to me now,” Derez said, and then I heard him typing again.
“We never finished editing the documentary out of respect for you while you were grieving, but if you’re cool with it, we can still roll this out.”
The mention of the documentary brought it all rushing back.
I paused for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah, I mean, that's straight."
"Aight, bet. Well, you enjoy your—"
"Can you, uh… send me a clip of me and shawty in the booth?"
"Yup, I'll have the editor do it. Probably in about an hour or so."
"Bet."
"Anyway, happy birthday, man. Have fun in Costa Rica, and when you get back, we back to work."
"Yeah, you already know," I said, and we hung up as I climbed into the truck beside Ginger.
She was just wrapping up her live, blowing a kiss to the camera. "Alright, y'all, I love you. Catch me on the beach in Costa Rica with my man." She turned the camera toward me, and I gave a little smile before she ended it, then leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
"What was that call about?"
"Nothing, just Derez talking to me about getting back to work when we get back."
"That's so exciting, babe. I'm so happy you're getting back to what you love." She went right back to her phone.
Simone climbed in a second later after the driver got the last of the bags loaded. "Alright, all the luggage is in the car. I've got my checklist. Do you guys want me to go over everything, make sure we've got it all?"
"Nah, we good," I said. "I'm pretty sure we got everything."
"Okay, sounds good." She tapped the driver's seat lightly. "We can head out."
The truck pulled off, soft music playing through the speakers, and for a while, it was quiet, just the sound of the road and Ginger scrolling through her phone. About ten or fifteen minutes in, Simone let out a gasp.
"Oh my God."
"What?" I asked, frowning.
She looked up slowly, a nervous look on her face. "Sir, I don't want to upset you on your birthday, but—"
"Man, what's wrong?"
"Corven Athletic just pulled out of your deal. They're saying they're going in a different direction with the new campaign, wanting to lean into fresher, younger faces." She handed her phone to me, and I read it myself.
An eight-figure deal gone, just like that.
I felt the heat rise up in my chest before I even fully processed it, and I slammed the phone down onto the seat hard enough that Ginger jumped.
"I'm sorry," Simone said quickly, reaching over to grab her phone back. "I-I didn't mean to upset you."
I rubbed my hand down my face, pissed and confused as fuck. “It’s not on you, Simone… my bad,” I apologized, my mind racing like a muthafucka.
Fresh new faces? Man, what the fuck?
"Baby, it's okay," Ginger said, rubbing my arm. "You'll find something better."
I wasn't trying to hear that right then, so I just looked out the window and pulled my arm away from her. I was pissed enough that I didn’t want nobody talking to me right then.
By the time we rolled onto the private ramp and pulled up planeside beside the jet, there was already a small crowd of paparazzi with their cameras up and fans who’d somehow found out we’d be there.