Beautiful Noise

Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

E zren.

One hour turned to two and then three. The first call I received was from my manager Ty West. My career was pretty self sufficient after years in the industry so he didn’t have to be as hands on with me like he had years ago, but Ty still did his thing. He definitely earned his money so I wasn’t surprised he was the first call.

After going over all the leaked information, which was mostly about Kori, he asked me one question and one question only. “Is she important to you?”

I answered yes without hesitation. I didn’t know what was between me and Kori. This was new. Even though I felt things for her that blossomed out of nowhere, I trusted those feelings and wanted to further explore where this could go. I didn’t give a fuck what the world thought or expected.

After I confirmed what he was already thinking, Ty simply stated with confidence, “Then we’ll make it work.”

That was it. This was why I fucked with Ty. Most people would have demanded I cut my losses to salvage my image. Women were a dime a dozen. Ty knew me. He understood that if I was claiming Kori then there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to steer me away from this shitstorm. Knowing your client was good management.

After Ty, the calls continued. My publicist, my social media team, my image consultants, and lastly Ty’s investigator, Wil, hit my line with the final blow that pissed me the fuck off. The person responsible for exposing Kori’s life online…

Chantel Dior, owner of Elite Cleaners.

“You have enough evidence?”

“More than enough. The emails where she solicited several outlets, the confirmation from the one that agreed to pay, the money transfer where they did, and the email where the file was sent after the payment was recorded.”

“And it’s federal because the information was posted online, right?”

“Yes. All she has to do is file the report and we’ll do the rest. I’ll turn over everything I have. I assume she’ll want to press charges.”

“We haven’t discussed how to navigate this yet, but I’ll make sure she does. Did you obtain what you have legally?”

“No,” he said confidently. “But as far as the authorities are concerned, everything I have was delivered to me by an anonymous source.”

“I don’t give a damn as long as it doesn’t come back to us.”

“It won’t, Ty would fucking kill me, Ezren.”

I smirked because he would if my mother didn’t get to him first.

“Let me go talk to her. I’ll let you know what she decides.”

“I’ll be on standby.”

I ended the call only to answer the one which followed. “I assume you’re working on this?” was the first thing out of my mother’s mouth. I smiled at her shifting into protective mode for Kori.

“As much as I can.”

“There is no as much as you can, Ezren. Make some calls and get it done.”

“I’ve already handled most of it. I know who leaked Kori’s personal information and now I just need to get her on board with filing an official report.”

“She’s opposed?”

She’s probably packing her things to get as far away from me as she can and the only way I can keep her here is to make this go away.

“Not sure, I haven’t talked to her about the options yet. As soon as everything went live, my phone was ringing off the hook. I’ve been doing recon for the past couple hours.”

“You haven’t checked on her?”

“Not since she found out.”

“Ezren.” Her tone was threatening and I chuckled.

“Ma, relax. I have the situation under control and I have Kori covered.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.”

“You doubting me?” She didn’t need to, I doubted myself. I exhaled a sigh but yanked a hand down my face and tugged at my beard before my eyes moved to the door of my studio. I came down here for privacy just in case anything got exposed that I didn’t need Kori to hear right away. She was already devastated enough.

“Yes, if it means you aren’t making sure she’s okay.” I laughed dryly. “So, how is she?”

“Upset, naturally. If you want to get off my line then I can go make her feel better.”

“This is your fault, so of course I’m placing blame.”

“Are you forgetting your role in this?”

“My role?”

“Yes, your role. Allowing a random woman to live in my house without permission, coaching her on ways to seduce me with food, and pushing us into this situation is all you. This is your fault, not mine.”

“You took her to dinner without taking the necessary precautions. How did you think this would play out? You’re not an average guy that can take his girlfriend to a cozy dinner without having safeguards set in place.”

Girlfriend?

She was right, but in my defense, I didn’t know shit about dating, but had I thought things through, I would’ve had Kori fully vetted, and precautions in place to deal with anything connected to her life. The problem was, with Kori, I wasn’t thinking. I was just fucking living in the moment.

“Ma, I love you, but if the point of this call is to place blame for things I couldn’t control and didn’t play a part with setting in motion, then I’m gonna have to ask you to focus your energy elsewhere. I have more important things to do.”

She was quiet for a minute and I felt bad. I hadn’t raised my voice but I wasn’t in the mood for this shit and my priority right now was to go see about Kori. This call was delaying the plan.

“You’re right, take care of my girl and if I can help, let me know. I’ll be home in a few days and you’ll be my first stop.”

I smirked, shaking my head. My mother had a soft spot for Kori but I understood why because so did I.

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to make this right.”

“I hope so.”

I ended the call and made my way to check on Kori. After a few soft knocks on the door I expected she wouldn’t answer, so I stepped inside the room and found my girl burrowed beneath the bedding. I cared about people. My parents raised me to be a compassionate and understanding person but rarely did that filter over to the women I was involved with.

Mostly because what I shared with them was temporary. So the way my heart constricted, knowing Kori was in a bad place and suffering because of me and that I was just as affected by her grief, was a true sign that she would not be temporary in my life.

I stepped out of my shoes, and eased under the comforter until I was face to face with Kori. Turbulent, conflicted eyes met mine.

“I fucked this all up.”

Her brows pinched in confusion. “How?”

“I should have known better. I know how things play out with stuff like this.” My mother’s words were in my head and I groaned internally because she was right. “I can’t do impromptu shit like going to dinner with the woman I’m feeling. Things have to be planned and precautions have to be put in place to maintain privacy. In my defense, all I could think about was a smart, beautiful, weird as fuck woman had me wanting to do normal people shit, like take her to dinner. What I did was selfish, and for that, I apologize.”

“You weren’t being selfish, Ezren. You didn’t see any of this happening,” she stated quietly.

“I agree. I didn’t see any of this happening, but I should have. I’m not new to this and usually my moves are more calculated. But where you’re concerned, I tend to act without thinking. I might not have expected this outcome but I should have. As a man who has put himself in charge of your well being, as a man who plans to be your safe space and your protector, I can’t make excuses. I really fucked this up, Ri. With you, I have to always see beyond my own selfish needs to ensure you’re covered, and with this, I didn’t. So again, I apologize.”

She blinked several times but didn’t say a word. Maybe she didn’t have a clue what to say but this wasn’t about needing anything from her other than her forgiveness for leaving her open the way I had. Causing her distress, even in the simplest form, was not something I desired. This wasn’t intentional but I was still taking full accountability for my actions.

“You can’t take blame for something that wasn’t your fault.”

“I can and will. You promised to not only give me a chance but to give us a chance. This hasn’t been a great start. Trust when I say, I’ll make up for it as best I can.”

She exhaled a sigh. “Okay, but for the record, you don’t owe me anything. This is your life, it’s who you are and blaming you for who you are is just as insane as you accepting blame for someone else’s heinous acts. You didn’t leak my information or post about me online…” She frowned slightly. “Did you?”

“Hell no. When I post about you, it will be me bragging on how I convinced your pretty ass that I’m a man you deemed worthy of giving your heart to.”

She smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

“Not until I’m sure you truly believe I’m deserving.” She had her arms tucked against her chest so her balled fists blocked her mouth. I gently moved them out the way, lifted her chin, and brushed my lips over hers. “Don’t give up on me, alright? I’m gonna figure this relationship thing out. I promise.”

After I kissed her fully, her smile grew wider. “You’re off to a good start.”

I smiled and rolled onto my back to dig my ringing phone out of my pocket. When I noticed Clay’s name as the caller, I turned back to Kori and answered.

“What’s up, Clay?”

“I need a huge favor and before you say no, try to remember all the ways I’ve done you solids in the past.”

“Oh hell nah. My answer is definitely no,” I muttered.

Clay was my man a hundred grand but this sounded weighty and like something I would regret.

“Okay then if not for me, what if the favor was for Leijah?”

“Why the hell would you think I care enough about her that she could cash in a favor? Hell, I’ve already done more than my share when it comes to her.”

The conversation seemed suspect, so Kori shifted away from me, or at least attempted to, but I dropped my arm around her waist and yanked her into my chest.

I gave Leijah a hook and did a feature I wasn’t going to see a dime from. Not that I was worried about the money. My pockets never suffered, not only because I was good at my craft, but also because I never missed an opportunity to pay it forward.

“You said you wanted her to win and she has what it takes.”

“Because she does have what it takes.”

“Then do me, or us, this solid.”

“It’s not a good time, Clay. Things are a little complicated right now…”

“Cleaning Lady Kori. I saw the post and was a little confused by how you let that happen but it proves there’s hope for you.” His tone was laced with amusement, which I didn’t appreciate.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t do women, Ess.” I opened my mouth to argue and he added, “You fuck them, yeah, but you don’t entertain them beyond the lyrics they inspire.”

“That’s not true.” My eyes flicked over to Kori, wondering if she could hear his end of the conversation.

“It’s true, fam, and if you want to prove me wrong, tell me the last time you took a woman to dinner that wasn’t set up as a publicity stunt or forced on you by your team as a business meeting. I only know of one person who managed to get that from you and we both know how that ended. To this day she believes she’s the inspiration for your greatest success.”

Shalay.

Stoned Heart .

He had a point with both. I never dated. Never been in a relationship. Never planned to be but I allowed Shalay to present the appearance that I had been and she ran with that shit for years because I didn’t care enough to shut down the rumors about her or what she inspired.

Last night I took Kori to dinner and didn’t fucking care that anyone attached me to her. Part of me wanted people to because it felt like the only way I could have a piece of her. Clay had a very valid fucking point so I changed the subject. “What do you need me to do?”

When he laughed, I realized I was fucked. “If I had known deflection was going to get me what I needed, I would have started with her first.”

“Are you really in a position to try me?”

He laughed again but got to the point. “Leijah has the opportunity of a lifetime. If we can make this work, she’ll get the traction she needs to jump start her career.”

“What’s the opportunity and what does it have to do with me?”

“She has a three-city tour set up. One night each location and…”

“I know good and damn well you’re not asking me to go on tour with her and I just touched down from an international run.”

“Yes and no.”

“Clay, what the fuck?”

I pulled away from Kori, tossed my legs over the side of the bed, and leaned over them with narrowed eyes landing on the floor. Clay had come through for me more times than I could count. I owed a huge part of why I was still in this to him for sending in Stoned Heart . It would be incredibly hard to tell him no, especially when I knew this was something he really needed. If he was asking, he was desperate. Clay didn’t ask for favors of this magnitude. He understood the nature of those in this business, and how everyone always had their hands out, so he rarely asked anything of me.

“Three stops. All I need is for you to do Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. I had someone lined up who would bring the crowd out but they bailed. She can carry an entire show, but in order to prove she can, I need to get tickets sold. Especially in San Antonio and Houston. They’re amphitheaters and if she can’t pull crowds there, it will look incredibly fucking bad. The person I lined up as a draw screwed me.”

“Who?”

“Grand.”

“Ah, fuck. You know he’s not reliable. Why would you bank on him?”

“I thought he had his shit together.”

“Yeah… well, he doesn’t.”

Grand was young… and wild. Talented as hell but with no discipline. His brother and manager was doing the best he could, but Grand was reckless.

“Just the Texas stops?”

“That’s it.”

“And how is that supposed to work? She’s not a headliner and I’m damn sure not an opening act.”

“She’s willing to do whatever. You can headline and she’ll perform wherever I put her. I need a crowd and Lei on stage. You can bring the crowd. She’s even offered to bypass getting paid to cover the expense of bringing you on.”

I grunted. “She can’t cover what it cost to get me on stage and if you’re asking me for a favor, there’s not enough money involved. Do I even want to know how much the tickets are running?”

“No you don’t,” he muttered. “I won’t break her heart to tell her you’ll be doing charity work, but she’s serious about this, Ess. She wants it and that’s proof she’s willing to pay her dues and do whatever.”

Fuck.

“We can share the headline. I’ll do a short set and we can perform the song I helped write for her together.”

“You don’t have to do all that. I was good with having you on stage for just the one song you have together.”

“I’ll give her three songs. She can do the rest but just know I’m banking this shit. You’re gonna owe me big time.”

“Name your price and I’ve got you.”

“You damn sure do but I’m holding onto this one for a minute. Hell, you might be producing my next project for free .”

“ Free ?”

“Yeah, a limited edition, twenty-track joint and I want first look at the next ten tracks you make.”

“Fuck, maybe I need to find someone else.”

I smirked. “That’s on you.”

He groaned. “We have New York tomorrow. Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas follow. Do I need to pay for your flight and hotel?”

“No, I can handle that. Send me the details.”

“Emailing now. Even though you're currently fucking me with this, I appreciate you agreeing.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?”

“More like family because family screws you over worse than anyone else.”

I laughed and ended the call, glancing over my shoulder to find that Kori had tucked her head under the covers again.

“You should pack.”

“Oh, sure. I can find somewhere to go. It’s probably time for me to figure out my life anyway.” She peeked from under the comforter.

“You don’t need to find anywhere to go. We’re going to Houston. Apparently I’m the opening act for an artist who had never even charted before.”

She frowned, as if not understanding. “You want me to go with you?”

“Not want, need . If I’m doing this, there has to be a reward. And since I’m not getting paid, fucking you the minute I walk off stage will be enough to placate my ego.”

Kori laughed, then flashed a broad smile. “You only want me to go to stroke your ego?”

“ Placate my ego, you’ll be stroking something else.”

“Ezren.” She shot me a hard look and I smiled.

“You want me to lie?”

“No, I want you to not be so insecure that you need sex to make you feel better about helping a struggling artist.”

I chuckled. “I’m only joking about that part. She’s good enough to hold her own but the world doesn’t know yet. I’m more than glad to help out but the timing isn’t the best.”

She frowned again. “Maybe I shouldn’t.”

“We’re not hiding, Ri. Pack and we’ll leave in the morning. That will give us a day to just chill and you can show me the spot where you fell in love with spoken word.”

“Why?”

“I told you I want it all. Even the things you’re not comfortable sharing.”

“But don’t you need to practice or something?”

I arched my brow and she rolled her eyes. “Oh right. The Eccentric is more than capable of an impromptu performance. What was I thinking?”

“You were thinking you could use inadequacies that I don’t have to deflect from sharing your world.” I turned toward her, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Pack. I need to make a few calls to put some things in place.”