Chapter 13 #3
Hooded eyes that would rip a woman’s heart from her chest and lips that promised the most intense orgasms unfairly teased every woman within range.
He wasn’t a flashy man but even his laid back appearance turned heads.
Dark jeans and a hoodie covered his body while retro OG 1s were on his feet.
The shit was basic as hell but on Asao needed a spotlight because he was just that damn fine.
“I don’t know how you messed that up. I would have fucked and sucked his ass on demand to keep my spot. Shit, I might see if he’ll let me.” Tori glared at Asia who filled the seat next to her.
“Bitch, walk light. That’s disrespectful as hell.”
“No boo, what’s disrespectful is how you had that fine ass man and lost him.
That is not your man, so he’s fair game.
” Asia smiled like she was joking, but if the opportunity presented itself to get Asao’s attention, she wouldn’t hesitate to take it.
She brushed off Tori’s glare and crossed her legs before taking a dainty sip of the mixed drink she was nursing.
Until she had a guaranteed sponsor for the next one, Asia took her time.
The women were waiting patiently to return to their respective places around B-Syde after he’d cleared the booth to have a private conversation with Asao.
No matter how hard Tori strained to listen, the music was too loud while Asao and B-Syde’s voices were too low for her to pick up anything they were saying.
The only way Tori had been privy to Asao’s phone conversation was due to leaving the bathroom just in time to catch the call.
When he ended the call and she walked up smiling, feeling hopeful, he tossed her a nod and walked off just in time for Asia to step out of the bathroom and catch the way he’d dismissed Tori.
Now she was fuming, trying to come up with a way to save face.
“Isn’t that ol’ girl you used to fuck?”
Asao didn’t have to send his attention in Tori’s direction to know she was who B-Syde was referencing.
He felt her eyes blazing all over him. He also knew Tori had been eavesdropping on his conversation with Samari but that was her issue not his.
As long as she moved accordingly, she wouldn’t see his dark side.
“My girl?” was all he said and the understanding brought a smirk to B-Syde’s face.
There was only one woman the streets could attach to Asao and no one mentioned her name nor did they mention the bodies that’d dropped in the weeks that followed the night he’d lost her.
Asao didn’t think about her, talk about her, or want the things he knew he would have had with her because it hurt too much.
He also no longer believed he deserved them but recently he found himself selfishly wanting them with Samari.
“’Nough said.” B-Syde stated, then motioned toward the woman heading their way. “There she goes.”
This time Asao followed his boy’s line of sight and locked in on the thick-framed woman heading toward them with a smile on her face and a sway of her hips that had the attention of every man she passed.
Unlike a few hours prior when he’d seen her at Cobra Records, Kolby was dressed casually in ripped jeans that hugged her fat ass and thick thighs.
A crop top exposed a strip of brown skin around her waist. The hoops that pierced her nipples made an impression against the thin spandex material that barely contained her breasts.
Her body was nice, so Asao allowed himself a minute to admire it before his focus was trained on the envelope in her hand.
When she reached their section, the envelope was extended to Asao before Kolby settled next to him and smiled seductively when she crossed one leg over the other.
She then leaned forward, lifting the bottle of Black Ops sitting on the table.
She poured a glass and brought it to her lips while B-Syde grinned from the spot next to her.
“You just gon’ drink my shit and not even speak?”
“I just had your dick in my mouth this morning, do I need to speak to you before I drink this?”
Asao smirked and shook his head before he addressed Kolby. “This everything?”
“Yep. Contracts for all the artists on Cobra.”
“Bet, ’preciate that.” He leaned back, removed a thick fold of cash from his pocket, and counted out the agreed amount for the information she provided. Asao respected her hood hustle and valued what he now had access to.
“Keep that. I want to negotiate something else.”
“I know good and damn well you better not be about to negotiate having his dick in your mouth,” B-Syde stated with a hint of amusement in his tone.
Kolby sucked her teeth and grilled him before smiling seductively at Asao just to annoy her part-time man.
They had no ties or commitments but she fucked with B-Syde heavy, and contrary to what most would think, Kolby didn’t sleep around.
She was solid, which was one of the reasons he kept her close.
“I want a job.”
Asao’s thick brows pinched. “A job?”
Kolby nodded. “What I just gave you and that bullshit ass contract Cobra paid to have drafted means his label is about to fall. He is already broke and fucking with you he’s about to be in a situation there’s no way to climb out of.
When it all falls apart, I’m left trying to figure out what’s next.
But I’m leaving with all his contacts, knowledge of how the industry works, and relationships with people who would be an asset to you. ”
The seriousness of her tone had Asao considering what she was offering but he also had to state the obvious.
“This also proves your loyalty is to the person paying for it.”
“You don’t have to trust her. I’m putting my name on the line. She’s solid, fam. The only reason you have that…” B-Syde motioned to the envelope his boy held. “is because of me. You do right by her, she’s going to stay down.”
Asao’s eyes darted from his boy to Kolby. Having her on his team would damn sure be an asset, so he nodded. “Aight, let me run that by Niles and Dom to see how they feel about bringing you on. What are you trying to do?”
“Whatever you need, but A&R is where my heart lands. I’m the one who found most of the artists on the label and I tried to look out for them as much as I could but there was only so much I could do.
Talk to them and they’ll vouch for me. That’s my way of making things right.
I hope you can fix that for them, or at the very least, let them move on. ”
Asao nodded in understanding before he placed the money on the table in front of Kolby. He was a man of his word who paid what he owed. Whether or not she left with the money was on her.
“Thank you.” She motioned toward the stack of bills. “And just so you know, you have him sweating. The attorney he uses for all of his shady ass deals refused to do the contract he sent you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mitchell and Drew were who handled the deal when he sold her masters. Cobra told me what he wanted in the contract he was doing for you and to email the details to them. They emailed back and asked if Cobra had re-acquired ownership of the masters, and if so, to send them proof. Otherwise they couldn’t write the contract because handling this contract knowing Cobra didn’t have ownership would make them liable for fraud and they could face disbarment. ”
“You got that email?” Asao was amused at how easily this shit was playing out and falling right into his hands. He’d never placed himself in a position to need anything, because need controlled folks’ ethics and morals, which Cobra was proving.
“I printed it and put it in there too. Also gave you the contact for Mase Davidson’s attorney. Figured you’d want that too.”
“Damn, your ass was really trying to get on my boy’s payroll.” B-Syde chuckled before blazing the blunt he lifted from the table.
“Mind your business.” Kolby cut her eyes his way.
“Don’t act brand new, because until my dick no longer finds its way to your mouth, you are my business,” B-Syde said smugly and she rolled her eyes. Asao chuckled and lifted from the space he occupied.
“This shit sounds personal. I’ll let y’all have this.”
He dapped his boy, thanked Kolby, and left their section. Before he could make it to the door, Tori was grabbing his arm but the look he delivered had her releasing him like his body was on fire.
“Can we talk?”
“Nah…” he said coolly with no emotion and proceeded to walk away but Tori stepped in front of him.
“What did I do? Why are you mad at me?” she pouted, hoping he would grant her grace.
“Don’t mistake me not fucking with you with being mad. The fuck I need to be mad about?”
She tensed at how emotionless he delivered the response. There was no care or empath. Regardless, she kept pushing. “But I don’t understand why? You at least owe me that.”
He smirked and looked her up and down. “I don’t owe you shit, but let’s be real, you know exactly why this didn’t work.
Own that and move around.” The warning glare paired with his words was enough to make Tori fall back.
She watched him leave, and with every step he took, her heart dropped a few more inches.
She pulled herself together and zoned in on her next target. Tori made her way back to the section B-Syde occupied, rolling her eyes at Asia who was damn near sitting in his lap. She settled next to the thick chocolate beauty who’d had Asao’s attention and looked her up and down.
“What were you talking to Asao about?”
Kolby smirked and took her time removing her eyes from the device in her hand before she focused on Tori. She had no clue who Tori was but assumed the unwarranted conversation was fueled by jealousy based on the exchange she’d just witnessed. “And who are you?”
“His girlfriend.” The lie barely survived the transfer from her mouth but Tori held firm to it.
Kolby didn’t know much about Asao because he wasn’t her business to focus on but what she did know from B-Syde was Asao was in pursuit of someone other than Tori. “You really think you need to be asking me questions that your man should be giving you answers to?”
“Bitch, I’m asking you,” Tori hissed but the threat didn’t deliver as intended because Kolby laughed in her face, finished what was left in her glass, then lifted the money Asao had left on the table.
“Baby, if you have to check another woman behind your man, he isn’t your man.” Kolby smirked and walked away.
When B-Syde noticed Tori was about to react, he delivered a lazy warning. “Bruh, chill with that before you get your feelings hurt.”
After suffering enough embarrassment for one night, Tori decided to let it go, grabbed the bottle of Black Ops, and poured a glass. She damn sure planned on revisiting the issue.