36. Complicated 🤯

Maximo drove the car around the skyscraper - The RiSe Tower. At the front entrance where there was a line of people.

"What are people in line for?" I asked.

Zeke, without looking up from his phone, told me, "To tour the building."

"They do tours?" Monica and I are definitely doing that.

"You don't need to get in line. You'll have an all access pass once you become a RiSe artist or associate."

Good to know.

Maximo drove to a garage gate. After scanning a card, the gate opened. He drove down into the parking garage. The parked cars were far from average. From Ashton Martin to Bugatti, I knew I was entering the land of money.

Maximo stopped the car in front of two glass doors where three security guards stood. One of them opened the back door and helped me out. Zeke led the way through the doors where there was a security booth with a window. The man behind the window waved his hand at Zeke. Zeke waved back.

In front of us was an elevator. The doors opened, and we all walked in. I turned around to face the closing elevator doors, but everyone else was facing the opposite direction. I slowly turned back around.

Soon, the back elevator doors opened and everyone walked inside one of the most luxurious lobbies I've ever been in. The floors were definitely marble. The décor was a mix of rose gold, cream, and white - the walls, the doors, the columns, the glass vases and statues, and even the tables. Yet, all the chairs were black.

The three security guards led us down a hall and into another room. It was smaller but still very elegant.

A woman shouted Zeke's name.

He walked over to her. They embraced.

"Boy, you know you wrong for not coming to visit me. You and your big eared brother." She had the voice of a favorite auntie.

Zeke chuckled, "You know I'm always working, Aunt Shell."

I knew it!

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I talked to your mom about a week ago, and she told me you had a girl in the house w--"

"Aunt Shell, this is Jamie, my girlfriend." Zeke pointed at me.

Hit with embarrassment. I waved at her.

"Girl, get over here," Aunt Shell told me.

I quickly joined the duo. I held out my hand, but she pulled me into a hug.

"Let me get a good look at you." She took a step back. "She's pretty... But I just know you ain't from around here. When did you find the time to pick up this one?" Aunt Shell asked Zeke.

He licked his lips. "Long story, but she's the artist that Ricky is going to sign."

Aunt Shell gasped. She's a dramatic one but not too annoying. "Shut up! You can sing, girl?"

I nodded my head.

"Well, let's get to this meeting. Shall we?" Aunt Shell led the way to an open door where two men sat on one side of an 8-seated wooden table.

They stood up. "Good morning, everyone. I'm Duncan Ledger. I legally represent RiSe."

"And I'm Tom Wellington. I represent Ricky Santana Entertainment."

Aunt Shell introduced herself, "I'm Shelly Baylor. I represent Zeke Rivers Productions."

What is Zeke Rivers Productions?

Shelly continued, "This is Zeke Rivers and his artist Jamie Sawyer also known as Jae."

We all shook hands before taking our respective seats.

Tom began, "We don't expect the agreement to be accepted right away. Ricky's offer is on the tale for 48 hours."

"Why so short?" Shelly asked with a smile. "He gave Aja Frost 10 days. Didn't he?"

Tom and Duncan looked at one another. Probably wondering how she knew that. All while I never knew contracts had time limits or is this a Ricky Santana thing?

Zeke whispered to me, "My aunt knows almost everything."

Good to know.

Tom cleared his throat. "I can ask for an extension."

"Thank you," Shelly continued, "Let's see the contract."

Tom opened his folder. "Here are copies of the offer." He gave each of us a copy. "Once both parties are satisfied, the official offer will be signed electronically."

Zeke picked up the contract. I did the same. There were so many words that I never saw used in the same sentences. I flipped through the first page and recognized a few words: two albums, a tour, marketing and promotions.

"Let me know if you have any questions," Tom broke the silence.

"I have several," Shelly held up the contract. "Two pages? And why a 50/50 deal? Zeke discovered her, but he isn't a Ricky Santana with his own label."

Tom informed Shelly, "We were under the impression that Jae was his first artist."

"Don't assume, please. Also, I'm not seeing any concrete numbers. I don't even see any estimates. There's no mention of royalties, either. You are aware of the new Aja Frost song that Jae wrote, correct?"

Tom sighed, "We know about that song. It was shopped to Ricky's team and was given an advance." Tom pulled out another paper and handed it to Shelly.

Zeke looked at the paper with his aunt.

"Ricky didn't tell me about this," Zeke stated as he pulled out his phone.

"Zeke,  hold on." Shelly looked at Tom. "It says Jamie Sawyer is the songwriter and ZREM Incorporated is the producer. Who is ZREM Incorporated? And how much was the advance?"

Tom answered, "ZREM Incorporated was given an Advance of $35,000."

"How much?" I inquired.

Zeke put his hand on my leg as he spoke. "So you paid a thief $35,000?"

"Because of the situation involving the song, Ricky did suggest Aja Frost and Jae re-sing it as a duo. The sooner the offer is accepted, the sooner they can record the song and release it," Tom explained.

"No," Shelly shook her head, "The song shouldn't be playing at all. I can tell you right now that Jamie can get a way better deal than this. I'm shocked that Ricky approved this. We don't need 48 hours. We need you to revise this contract as soon as possible, and then we can move forward. Gentlemen, we thank you for your time. Have a good day. Zeke and Jamie, let's go."

We all got up and left. I held my purse close to my chest as we walked out the office, through the hall way and lobby to the elevator.

Shelly's driver opened her car door that was parked behind the Rivers' car. She pointed at Zeke. "Do not call Ricky just yet. I'll be at your house in a few hours to go over everything. Jamie, it was nice meeting you."

"You, too!" I waved at her.

Maximo helped me inside the Range Rover. Zeke got in behind me. As much as I wanted to start questioning him about what just happened, I didn't.

When we got back to the house, I immediately went to my bedroom. Monica was M.I.A., but she was probably in the kitchen getting a late breakfast or brunch. I opened my purse and pulled out the contract. With my phone, I took pictures of it. Then, I sent it to Rochelle.

Seconds later, my phone rang. I answered it.

"Hi, Jamie. I got the pictures of the contract. Can you meet on Zoom now?"

"Yes," I replied. "Oh, wait. I don't have a laptop."

"You can download the app on your phone. I'll send you the Zoom link," Rochelle hung up.

She wasted no time. I went to my app store and downloaded Zoom.

Suddenly, my bedroom door swung open, scaring the living daylights out of me.

Monica closed the door and slowly slid down to the floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Mmmmph," she moaned. "Whyyyyy?" She pouted.

I arched my brow. "Monica, what happened?"

"I talk too much," Monica stated.

You think? I looked at my phone to see the Zoom app had downloaded. I opened it to log in. "Monica, please tell me what's going on? Like, right now." I sat on the floor in front of her.

She sighed, "I got your text about Zeke's brother and that girl, his assistant. At first, I was like bring on the tea, cousin, because I was ready for the excitement. Then, I got lost in this big ol' house. But why did I end up catching this girl walk out of a room. She looked so guilty. I played dumb and asked her if she worked here. She said she was Zeke's assistant - Jaylei. Why did she tell me that? Then, I ask her if she knew Rival and where he was, because I would love to meet him. I'm like such a big fan. She goes 'who are you?' I told her that you were my cousin, and that I was spending a few days in L.A. to hang out with you. She gon say 'cute. Well, Zack is not available to meet any fans at the moment. What did you say your name was?' I told her to call me 'Moni or Rival's future girlfriend.' Oh my gosh! If looks could kill..."

As my cousin continued to talk, I went to my messages to accept the invitation to the Zoom meeting.

"Monica, I love you, but I have a very important meeting that I have to go to. Take your phone, put on your shoes, and find something to do out there. Go to the pool or something," I told her.

Monica was taken aback. "Okay. Just kick me out. It's cool." She grabbed her phone and walked out the room.

"I'll call you when the meeting is over," I assured her.

"Whatever!" She was mad.

I closed my bedroom door and ran to the chair in the corner of my room. I went into the Zoom meeting where Rochelle was waiting, but why did she look way younger than I thought she would be.

"Hi, Jamie! It's good to put a face with the name."

"Hi! Yes, it is."

Rochelle clasped her hands together. "It did not take me long to go through this contract which is the first concern that I have. Before I continue, can you tell me what went on during the meeting, who was there, and important things that were said?"

I answered, "There were two lawyers that represented Ricky Santana and the record label. Zeke's Aunt Shelly or Aunt Shell was representing him and me as his artist. Now that I think about it, she backtracked and said that I wasn't Zeke's artist because he isn't a music producer. Anyway, she didn't like how short the contract was and that there wasn't a mention of my song that was stolen and leaked. That's when we learned that they gave an advance of my song to ZBM Incorporated or ZEM Incorporated. I can't remember. They said they paid $35,000. Oh, and Shelly said that it was a 50/50 deal. She didn't like that, because... oh that's when she was telling them that Zeke wasn't a music producer and that he only discovered me."

"Right, because that would put half the responsibilities on him," Rochelle noted.

I said, "Also, Ricky was giving us 48 hours. Shelly asked why when they gave Aja Frost 10 days."

Rochelle tilted her head, "Did Shelly make a lot of comparisons to Aja Frost?"

I thought before replying, "No."

Rochelle narrowed her eyes. "What's Shelly's last name?"

"Baylor."

Rochelle's eyes grew big. "She's his family's lawyer as far as in the music industry. Okay. Jamie, I am going to write a contract. I should have it done in about an hour. I'll need you to set up a meeting with you, me, Zeke, and Shelly so that they are aware that you have your own lawyer. This is going to be way more complicated than it was originally intended to be. Just some more advice here... When it comes to representation, the entity that's being represented is priority. Shelly said she was Zeke's lawyer. That means she's going to make sure Zeke is taken care of. Her concerns were definitely for Zeke. Don't you worry, though, because I will do the same for you."

I big smile covered my face. It felt good to hear a stranger tell me that. "Thank you."

"Anytime. I'll let you go for now, but text me as soon as you can confirm a meeting."

"Oh, Shelly is coming to meet Zeke to discuss the contract, but she didn't say what time."

Rochelle said, "Well, I'm going to get started. I'll talk to you soon, Jamie. Bye!"

"Bye!" I left the Zoom meeting and closed the app on my phone. "Man, this is crazy."

I peaked out the window to see Monica sitting by the pool. I was feeling slightly bad for kicking her out, but she'll forgive me. I started to call her, because I could use a debrief by the pool. Before making my way there, I used the bathroom. Afterwards, I grabbed my phone and opened my bedroom door to see Zeke.

"You know you can call me, right?" I held up my phone to him.

Zeke stared at me. "When I can just walk to your room..." He walked past me.

I quietly exhaled before closing the door. I turned around and Zeke pointed at the contract.

DANG! I forgot to put it away.

"That was not how I expected it to go," he said.

I shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I didn't understand most of it." I sat down on the bed.

Zeke rubbed his head. "Shelly will be over in few hours. I'll call you when she's here."

"I can go to the meeting?" I asked him.

Zeke's brows merged, "Do you want to be signed or not?"

I chuckled, "I do. Just thought the lawyer and my boyfriend would handle it."

Zeke licked his lips. "The Power House will be airing soon, and when the season comes to an end, you'll be known as Jae."

I leaned back on my elbows. "I'll be famous by then?" Then, the words followed, "Will I still be your girlfriend or will we break up?"

He tapped my knee. "We'll be together until you're comfortable enough to fly solo. But for now, I need you to loosen up some. You get really nervous and tense whenever I reveal that your my girl."

I smirked, "It's because I forget that we're just putting on an act. You be catching me off guard sometimes... like today with your aunt."

Zeke stood in front of me, placing his hands on my knees. "We can't have anyone doubting our relationship."

True, but how can I fake my emotions for a fake relationship, sir? All the thoughts in my head were running on their on timeline.

Zeke separated my legs, and he stood between them.

I quickly sat up.

"Relax," he whispered. Then, he leaned forward. His nose touched my cheek. "You have to act like we do this all the time." His lips slid across my chin. "I'm going to give you something to remember every time we act like a couple so your mind always goes back to this moment."

Where did my thoughts go? They just abandoned me.

Zeke inhaled before his lips pressed against my neck.

"Ze..." I couldn't even say his name. My body temperature was rising by the second.

He placed his hands on my neck and looked at my lips.

Please... My thoughts weren't vocalizing. I'm too old to be acting like this. Speak. Say something, Jamie!

Zeke moved in, and I closed my eyes.

"How do you feel?" He asked me.

Did he say something or did I imagine that? I opened my eyes to see Zeke grinning.

I think I finally took a breath. "Huh?"

"How do you feel?" He asked me, again.

I looked around the room before falling backwards on to my bed. I covered my eyes. "Why did you do that?" I lightly laughed.

Zeke lightly slapped my thighs. "Sit up."

I smacked my lips before sitting up. "You gotta warn me before doing something like that."

He shook his head. "Jae, I'm not going to take advantage of you and never in that way. Did that feel real, though?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

He chuckled, "Good. I took a few acting lessons when I was younger. I can teach you more when I get some free time."

"No, I'm okay."

He took my hands in his. "In the future, you have to be more believable."

"Okay," I nodded my head. "Question: do you have a laptop or tablet that I can borrow?" Random, I know.

"Yeah, but I can always buy you one--"

I interrupted him, "I need one in like five minutes."

"C'mon. Let's go to my room." Zeke waved at me to follow him.

I wish I could just pass out on the floor, right now. I was not ready for that moment. And even though he said he was acting, it felt real. He probably caught himself before he could go any further, and I am glad for it. What am I even thinking? I hopped off the bed and followed Zeke out of my room. This fake relationship is going to get me in trouble if I'm not careful.