Page 34 of Love U Down II

“When do you want to sign me?” she asked.

“Whenever,” I shrugged.

“How much cash are we talking and when can I get it?”

“I don’t know.. You’d need to meet with Chandler and negotiate that kind of thing.”

“Look, don’t bullshit me.” She took a hit from her joint and inhaled. “I have a sick mom and a kid that can’t live off bullshit promises and guarantees that money will start clearing eventually.”

“How much you need?” I asked.

“How much are you offering?” She took another hit and I didn’t respond. “A hundred grand.”

“Done.” I nodded. “I’ll give you a hundred and fifty grand signing bonus when I get your name on some paperwork and add fifty to that once you give me a completed EP. I can have it in a cashier’s check ready to be handed off as soon as you sign.”

“You serious?”

“Yeah. I’ll even give you two thousand and thirty dollars right now as a sign of good faith.”

She choked on her smoke while I pulled cash out of my pocket and counted it out. I handed her the money and a business card.

“You’re fucking serious?”

“Yep.”

“And how long is this contract going to be?” she asked as she counted the money in her hand.

“An EP and two albums, but after we break even, you’ll get a forty percent cut of what you make. I’ll eat the cost of production, promotion, and any little expenses that pop up.”

“Okay.” She nodded, stuck the money in her bra, and offered me her hand. “Deal.”

“Deal.” I shook her hand.

She took another hit of her joint then leaned down and put it out.

“How’d you find me anyway? I don’t even rap under my real name.”

“You can find anything if you ask the right people,Aliyah.”

She grinned as her name left my mouth and I smiled in return.

“I like the way you work, Drix.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She winked at me.

I chuckled and shook my head.

“Little girl, I’m happily in love with and married to a woman that’ll beat us both the fuck up. Don’t wink at me and don’t try to talk to me real cute.”

“Oops. My bad.” She held her hand up in surrender. “I didn’t know.”

“You’re good.”

“Strictly business moving forward, I promise.” She nodded once. “It’s this bartender job. I’m used to flirting with men all night.”

“You’re good,” I repeated.