Page 19 of Beautiful Noise
“Speaking of, what did Leijah think about the finished product?”
“Singing your praises like you need one more woman on your dick.”
I laughed, throwing my head back. Clay was my dude. He and I had linked up on my second album, and he’d been my only producer ever since. We just worked. He knew all about where I drew my inspiration from and because of that, I wasn’t the least bit offended by what he said.
“Don’t be jealous, fam. The ladies love you too, just not as much as they love me and my dick.”
I already had my eyes on Kori, so when hers shot over to me after my response to Clay, mine were waiting. That cute little nose of hers wrinkled at the same time her eyes rolled.
“Ay, I’m hanging up. This just took a turn for the worse.”
“Yeah, I got a little something I need to handle.”
After ending the call, I leaned back, spreading my legs wider, folding my arms behind my head, rocking slowly as I peered at Kori. Her eyes swept me from head to toe and if I wasn’t mistaken there was a flash of disappointment. Unlike our run-in earlier, where I was only in my briefs, currently I was fully dressed, clad in T-shirt and jeans.
“Is there something I can help you with, Kori?”
She ignored my question and moved deeper into the studio. The space was massive and took up the entire basement level, although it was broken up into sections. I had a small bedroom down here, a lounge area attached to a kitchenette, and thepart where we currently were took up the most space, extending across the entire back wall. Here I had a soundboard and world class recording booth. My goal was to record my next project at home, start to finish.
“I bet this cost more than curing world hunger.”
I used my legs to swivel in my chair, following her movements through the room.
“Not quite but it wasn’t cheap.”
“Oh I’m sure you have it to spend.”
She turned to face me and I arched my brow in question. There hadn’t been a discussion about us specifically, but I assumed she knew who I was. She was an acquaintance of my mother. I could only assume she’d informed Kori who she was sharing space with.
The thought, which hadn’t occurred before, had me frowning.Was my status the reason she was here?
“How do you know my mother?”
“Ask her.”
“I’m askingyou?”
“I just do.” She shrugged, glancing at me over her shoulder and there was something there I couldn’t read but I damn sure didn’t miss that my question about her connection to my mother made Kori uncomfortable.
“Did you know who I was before or after meeting her?”
“After. I didn’t realizeEzren and Eccentricwere one and the same until you walked through the door last night. She doesn’t call you Eccentric and she never mentioned your occupation. She didn’t mention much aboutyouat all. Me being here is not motivated by some secret agenda to get close to you. Trust me, I don’t want anything you have to offer. None of this…” She circled a finger in the air, then in my direction. “Interests me.”
I call bullshit.
“That’s not exactly the truth, is it?”
She whipped around glaring and my gaze remained locked and steady before I stated the obvious. “You’re currently enjoying the comforts ofthishouse which belongs to me.”
“I didn’t know the house belonged to you when I accepted the offer and need I remind you, your mother owns?—”
“Cut the shit, Kori. This is my house, you know it, so does my mother. Otherwise she wouldn’t be strong-arming me into allowing you to stay. I want to knowwhyyou’re here. Don’t you think I deserve that much of a courtesy since I have to deal with you being here. For all I know, you could be some crazy ass stalker fan who finessed my mother into believing whatever sob story you concocted to grant you a free stay?—”
“I’m not crazy or a stalker. I didn’t finesse your mother.Sheinsisted I stay. This wasn’t my idea and you know what, it was a bad one. A terribly bad decision because you’re an asshole with no empathy for people who don’t have millions to waste on overpriced studios when I’m sure there are perfectly good ones that already exist. I mean hell, you’re ten albums in and this house is brand new. That proves you recorded somewhere other thanhereand produced some pretty amazing work. It’s not like you needed this but who cares, right? You got it, Mr. Asshole R&B singer. Fuck you,Ezren.Money doesn’t give you the right to assume the worst about people. I’m sure your world is full of scammers and leeches but I’m not one of them. Sometimes shit happens, okay? Shit that lands you in unfathomable positions with no one to count on and nowhere to go. Unlike you, your mother has a heart.” She shook her head in angst. “Hard to believe that she raised you.”
And after her little rant about how she was a saint and I was the devil himself, she marched right on out of the room and out of my studio, leaving me grinning at how pissed she’d gotten.
“Damn, I guess I struck a nerve.”