Chapter 7 #2
Kier didn’t look at any of them. Instead, he stepped forward, gave the room a quick observation, and spoke.
“Nigga’s ain’t hungry! Can’t be.” The music stopped, and bodies started to slowly scatter.
“Tell me something. Is this what I pay y’all for?
Van, is the edit done on that new club hit, or the underground mixtape? ”
“Nah, bro.”
“Ain’t no bro, nigga, we ain’t friends on studio time. Are you working or partying?”
“You got it, Stone, my bad.” Van stood and started gesturing for what appeared to be his party to leave. Apologies piled up as some of the men left, dapping up Kier in the process. Apparently, they weren’t moving fast enough because before long, Kier snapped.
“Aye y’all gotta get the fuck out.”
Immediately, everyone scurried out, all except one woman.
Kier’s back was to her as he gathered disinfectant wipes and spray.
Kier began wiping down surfaces, and I helped, much to his dismay.
He turned on an air purifier and he appeared to somewhat calm down.
But I on the other hand was trying to figure out why this lady was still lingering.
She stood, leaning against the door frame. I watched her as she watched him.
“Hey, Stone. I see you’re back in town?”
His posture stiffened, immediately signaling my antennas. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Working, Stone. Same as you.”
“Nah, your lab is down the hall.”
“You wanna tal-”
“I don’t.” He cut her off before she could finish her question.
“Maybe next time,” she smiled, looking at me but never fully acknowledging me.
The smile was polite enough, but it carried some familiarity that made my instincts sharpen. Whoever she was, she knew Kier well enough to speak to him without hesitation. The real surprise wasn’t that she tried, more so how quickly he shut the door on the conversation.
I assumed she was someone within the industry, but I couldn’t tell. His irritation could have been with her, or with the lack of professionalism in the room. Either way, I’d never seen him fuming this way. But her presence made me feel a way.
He turned an inch toward me. “You straight?”
“Yes, I’m okay.”
Something about the way he handled the room made me relax a little.
We walked into the chaos together, and it was clear it wasn’t acceptable to him.
I didn’t have to wonder what Kier would do during studio time because it was clear partying wasn’t it.
Kier pulled up a chair for me, and I sat down.
Then, he pressed a button, and the booth door opened.
Legacee stepped out.
Every nervous thought I’d had about half-naked women evaporated, replaced by something else entirely.
“Hold up,” I breathed. “Wait a minute!
“You know who that is?” Kier asked, glancing at me.
“Don’t let the bougie fool you,” I said, trying to sound casual and failing. “I’m a fan. That’s Legacee.”
“Now how you know this nigga and you ain’t know me?”
Legacee’s attention landed on me, and the smile that spread across his face was charming. “Aye, who this?” He grabbed my hand and kissed it.
“Off limits, nigga. This Sibley,” Kier smirked.
“Nice to meet you. How did my cousin convince you to come to the studio?”
“Cousin?”
“Yeah, the machine behind the man,” he replied.
“Sibley kicking with me for a minute. She is also a marketing strategist.”
“You got ideas? Let me hear ’em.”
I was star-struck and flabbergasted, knowing Kier was related to and the producer of one of my favorite artists. My heart beat hard, but my brain clicked into work mode the way it always does when somebody puts the spotlight on me.
I cleared my throat. “Your die-hard fans, like myself, know you. But you want the die-hards plus the new ones. The old way of promoting isn’t enough anymore. People want access, drama-free access, and not in a corny way.”
“So, what you saying?” Legacee asked, leaning in.
“A short docuseries around performances,” I continued.
“Studio moments or traveling. You walking through the hotel, or stepping into the venue. Anything behind the scenes you know, just really setting the tone. It doesn’t have to be overproduced, just consistent content that makes people feel like they’re inside the moment with you.
And you need someone who can tease your movement without giving everything away.
A celebrity blogger who can keep fans tapped in and anticipating what’s next. ”
Legacee nodded slowly. “That’s hard. We don’t fuck with too many people and damn near don’t trust folks.” He dapped up with Kier, who nodded in agreement. “But either way, this is all good advice. I’m fuckin with it. Can we put her on payroll?” He asked, looking at Kier.
“That’s on her.” Kier diverted the question back to me.
I shook my head. “Not me. My girl Treasure is who you want for that. She’s got the platform, the following, and the personality. I promise you she will grind. I’m more behind the scenes, so I can connect you to the right people.”
Legacee smiled wider. “I like that. Stone, get her girl number.”
“Cool, text her, Si. See if she can get here in a couple of days. I’ll send the jet if I need to.”
When Legacee went back into the booth, Kier leaned in near my ear.
“Never would have guessed you were a Legacee fan. What’s his best album?”
“Legacy,” I said immediately. “Legacy, for sure.”
“Word.” Kier smiled like that confirmed something. “I produced that whole album.”
My eyes widened before I could stop them. “You did not—”
“I did. I see you in your zone, huh? Tossing out ideas and giving tips. You take work seriously, I see.”
“All passions should be taken seriously.”
“They should.”
For a second I studied his face, trying to figure out if he meant the studio… or something bigger than that. Kier rarely wasted words, which meant when he did say something like that, it usually carried more intention than he cared to explain.
I watched Kier work. He played a few tracks for Legacee though they never decided on anything in particular. We were there for a few hours, which felt more like five minutes. When it was time to leave, I cried on the inside. I was enjoying myself more than I thought I would.
On the way out, the paparazzi caught us again.
The flashes weren’t as aggressive, but they were there.
I tensed up at the sensation of being watched, captured, and turned into a story for entertainment.
I assumed he felt my hesitancy, because Kier’s hand slid to the small of my back as we walked, guiding me toward the truck.
He didn’t rush me or appear irritated. Inside the truck, he reached over and turned my face slightly toward him with two fingers under my chin.
Kier watched me for a second, studying my expression, the way he tended to do when he knew I was overthinking about something.
His thumb brushed across my chin before he dropped his hand.
“What’s on your mind? Cameras bothering you again?”
“A little, but that’s not it.”
“Talk to me, Si.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m using Treasure to put space between us. I didn’t invite her out here for that very reason. But it’s looking like she’ll be coming anyway.”
“You didn’t invite her out here, I did.”
“Yeah, but-”
“And besides… I know you wanna be around me.”
“How you figure?”
“I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not paying attention.”
“Let me guess, it’s in my eyes, huh?” I joked.
“Nah, it’s in your body. You press your lips together, like you are trying not to bite them. And your breathing, yeah, you don’t control that as well as you think.”
I swallowed as heat crept into my cheeks and down my neck. I lifted my braids and threw them over one shoulder, hoping to get some relief from Kier. “That’s just ridiculous.”
“You just ain’t ready to admit what you feel yet.”
There wasn’t much I could say without proving his point, so I said nothing. He pulled out of the parking lot and glanced over at me again. I kept my eyes on the road, but his words sat with me.
The irritating part was how calm he said it, as if it was obvious.
And the part I didn’t like was… he wasn’t wrong.
Kier noticed things, especially the ones you don’t think anyone’s paying attention to.
I shifted in my seat, reminding myself of the same quiet rule I’d been keeping all summer: relax and let it be.
The problem was, Kier Stone had a way of making that feel less certain every time he looked at me like that.
Not me falling this hard and this fast, Lord!