Page 112 of Love U Down II

“He’s going on tour, baby. It’s nothing personal.”

“Yeah. A’ight. So you want me to make some calls or something? Who’s on your wish list?”

“Well, Jameer actually made some recommendations.”

“He did, huh?”

“Yep.”

“And who’d he pitch?”

“B. Lynn and Chamari.”

“B. Lynn and Chamari?” he repeated. “Since when is Chamari back on stage?”

“She wants to make her grand reentrance at the fundraiser.”

“Is she still clean?”

“From what I know.”

“Yeah, a’ight. Don’t meet with her to sign anything or rehearse without me there.”

“Seriously?”

“Junkies do crazy shit for cash and if somebody even thinks about robbing you…” He didn’t finish his statement, and due to the conversation we’d had this morning, I didn’t need him to.

“I get it and I won’t meet with her anywhere but here and with security. I promise.”

“Good. And what’s B. Lynn running us?”

“Jameer said she wanted a favor but he’s going to reach out to you. I told him I wasn’t making any deals without your backing.”

“A’ight. I’ll handle it.”

“Thank you, Berlin.”

“You’re welcome, baby, but ay, I’ll call you back. Ol’ girl just walked in.”

“Good luck.”

“We’ll see.” He exhaled. “I love you.”

“I love you.” I echoed and hung up.

That had been the pickup I needed.

I got to work checking my emails and making sure I’d booked a dance studio for a full week of rehearsal so we could start practicing for the festival. Drix said he was going to run them through a performance bootcamp and I wanted them to be ready.

I knew that men, especially rappers, weren’t expected to do choreography, but I still wanted to make sure everyone knew how to command the space while performing. I wanted everyone to feel confident.

Afterwards I worked on the lineup. We had several artists who featured on each other’s songs, so I made sure I took that into account for blending purposes. When I finished, I felt like I’d had a successful morning.

Around one I took my lunch break, made my way to a small pizza shop, ordered two slices, and grabbed a seat near themiddle. I scrolled and texted back and forth with Charm while I ate.

I was halfway done when a call from my brother popped up. Although I hadn’t spoken to my parents or Major since Drix had popped up on them, I spoke to Zamir often and he spoke to Drix regularly.

I picked his call up after three long rings.