"El?! El?! Where are you?!"
The blue eyed man emerged from his room and eyed the woman calling out his name.
"Please tell me you're ready cause we've got a CD signing in ten minutes."
"Good morning to you too Beverly." Liam responded with a chuckle.
Beverly Ford was Liam's manager and also his older sister. She was a stiff and always played by the book, she never supported his reckless lifestyle and always pressured him to settle down. But despite all this, she loved her brother a lot and was proud of his success.
"Come on shrimp we're running late." The woman spoke, she inched closer to her brother and immediately stepped back when the strong scent of alcohol filled her nose. "Were you drinking again last night?"
Liam threw on his hoodie and grabbed his car keys. "What matters is I'm awake and ready to go. Take a seat let me get you some breakfast."
"Eww no, who knows what disgusting things you've been doing on your tables and chairs. I'll grab a coffee later let's just go."
*
Aya sat down at the bar and waved her hand at the bartender.
"Ms Brookes? A little too early for a swig now isn't it?"
"I need this Pierre, I've got a very annoying client to meet in an hour." Aya responded.
"Is it monsieur Kingsley? He seems to like you quiet a bit."
"A bit is an understatement." Aya sighed
"But he's a very rich man, very elegant as well. You two would make quite the couple, why don't you give him a chance?"
Aya frowned at Pierre. Just the thought of being with that pompous know it all made her stomach turn. "He's not really my type. Can I please get a drink now?"
Pierre placed the glass he'd been wiping into a cabinet and nodded at the brunette. "What would you like mademoiselle?"
"Give me a shot of whiskey please."
"Bien sur." Pierre responded. "But do think about what I said. You're a beautiful young lady Ms Brookes, you need a capable man by your side."
"Pierre?"
"Yes mademoiselle?"
"Make it a double."
*
Liam stopped at his car and turned towards the crowd of shrieking fan girls who were yelling and waving his CDs in the air.
"We love you El!"
"Marry me El!"
"I named my son after you El."
Liam blew a kiss to the crowd making them go crazy. He gave them a bad boy side smile and got into his car feeling fairly satisfied with himself.
"You're such a play boy Liam, is it necessary for you to taunt them?" Beverly spoke, clearly not impressed by the little show he'd just displayed.
Liam turned to his sister and chuckled. "Come now, I'm just having a little fun. Stop being such a stiff, I thought the signing went great."
"It did." Bev responded. "I'm not concerned about your career, right now I'm concerned about you. Why don't you find a nice girl to settle down with and stop fucking around. You're not getting any younger you know."
Liam sighed and turned on the ignition. "Where am I dropping you off again?"
Beverly rolled her eyes and buckled her seat belt. "You have a meeting with the record company to discuss your next album at 4pm. Please try not do drown yourself in alcohol till then, I need you on your best behavior."
Liam put the car into gear and exited the parking lot. "I'm a playboy not a junkie Bev. I'll just chill with the guys till then, don't worry about it."
*
Ayaka grabbed her purse and exited the bar, she looked down at her watch and realized it was almost time to meet up with Kingsley.
She dialed in her driver's number to remind him to meet her outside the building.
"Hello? Oh you're already out front?" Aya spoke into the phone. "Okay I can see you, I'm crossing the street right now."
The walk sign turned green and Aya began crossing the street, when a car abruptly stopped a few inches away from her, almost causing her to drop her phone.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Aya yelled at the driver. "Watch where you're going you fucking idiot are you blind?!"
Liam waved his hand apologetically at the woman. "Sorry!"
"Oh piss off you wanker!" Aya screamed. She gave Liam a middle finger and walked towards her car to get in.
Liam eyed the angry woman as she stormed off. For a formal looking lady, she had a really foul mouth, he did say he was sorry after all, he had just gotten a little distracted thinking about what his sister had told him earlier and hadn't noticed her crossing the road.
The blue eyed man continued his drive and forgot about the incident, "she must have been having a bad day or something."
Aya got into the back seat of the car and buckled her seatbelt. "Bloody hell. People in this city drive like they're fucking mad."
"Are you okay Ms Brookes?" The driver questioned the annoyed woman.
"I'm fine, let's just get this meeting with Kingsley over and done with. It's off to a bad start as is."
A few minutes later a smartly dressed doorman opened the car door and helped Ayaka out. The man bowed and gestured her to follow him into the fancy restaurant. "This way Ms. Brookes, Mr. Kingsley is expecting you."
Aya followed the door man into the restaurant and spotted Kingsley at the back, smirking at her.
Greg Kingsley was a tall man with broad shoulders and dark hair. He had honey brown eyes, a chiseled jawline and an annoyingly cute little dimple in one of his cheeks. He was fairly good looking to be honest, and if it wasn't for his shitty personality, Aya would have considered giving him a shot.
"Aya baby, I'm so glad you could make it." Greg spoke as he took Ayaka's hand and kissed it. "You look ravishing as usual."
Ayaka smiled sheepishly and pulled her hand away from Greg. She quickly sat down trying to avoid his intense gaze, she could feel him practically taking her clothes off with his eyes. "It's not like I had much of a choice." Aya responded. "Father is busy and we have a business deal to close. You're in need of our exposure and we have need of your refrigerated trucks, there's also a lot of money you stand to make so I'm sure it's not a deal you're willing to turn down."
The brunette handed Kingsley some documents which he took and began to inspect.
"These documents list out all the benefits you're entitled to if you accept our deal, and also how much you can make. You can have your lawyers look at it and get back to me as soon as possible."
Greg Kingsley looked up at the beautiful woman and smiled. Not only was she gorgeous, but she was smart too, he'd be an absolute fool if he let a precious possession like her slip through his fingers.
"No need for all the formalities." Kingsley responded. "I'll sign the contract."
Aya looked at him a little shocked. "Just like that?"
"But of course. Like you said there's a lot I stand to gain from this deal, why would I turn it down?" The tall man reached out for Aya's hand and smiled sheepishly. "I just ask for one small favor in return."
Aya scowled at Kingsley. "I knew there was a catch."
"No catch. Just a favor." The man responded defensively. "I sign the contract and you agree to go on a date with me."
Ayaka sighed, she was about ready to turn this sleezeball down and walk out of that place, but her father was counting on her to close this deal.
"Okay fine." Aya responded.
"You'll go on a date with me, every Friday for a month." Kingsley added on.
"Don't push your luck Kingsley, you're lucky I'm agreeing to one date."
"Do you want me to sign the contract or not?" Kingsley responded with a devilish grin.
Aya growled in irritation, this man was such an opportunist. But it looked like she had no choice. "Sign the contract and we have a deal."
Greg took out a pen and scribbled his signature on the documents before handing them back to Aya. "Pleasure doing business with you Ms Brookes, I look forward to our next meeting."
"Oh go fuck yourself!" Ayaka responded as she stood up and grab her bag to leave.
Kingsley watched Aya walk away, paying much attention to how her behind swayed with each step she took.
"I look forward indeed." Kingsley spoke in a whisper.
*
"Congratulations on that contract you're gonna sign with Moetown Records man, you're going places for sure."
Liam put down his fork and nodded. "Thanks Jason. This deal is gonna be worth a little over a million dollars, I'll be set for a very long time."
"This definitely calls for a celebration bro. You've done RnB artist everywhere proud."
"That's all you ever think about big Joe, it's always about parties with you." Jason responded as he puffed out a cloud of smoke.
"A party is definitely going to happen bro you know it, I'm the king of parties." Liam responded. "Picture the biggest bash in the city, expensive non stop booze and the baddest bithches money can buy."
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about bro!" Big Joe exclaimed excitedly.
Jason took another whiff of his blunt and put it out in the ash tray. "Booze I can do, but I'm gonna pass on the bad bitches. My shawty would lose her mind if she found out I was fucking around with some thots."
Liam leaned back on the chair and laughed. "You see this is exactly why I don't fuck with this relationship nonsense. Why would I want someone monitoring my every move like that? Man that's fucked up."
"Nah bro you're getting it all wrong." Jason responded. "I could fuck around with some bad bitches if I wanted to you get me. But I choose not to out of respect for my baby you know what I'm saying. I'm over jumping from one hoe to another man, I'm getting old, my woman is enough. Gotta start thinking of settling down."
Tch. "Yeah whatever."
"But real talk El." Joe added on. "Having a bunch of hoes is cool and all, but nothing beats having one shawty who gon be down for you whenever man. She got your back, cares about you and makes sure you eat right. Man that's some good shit."
Liam took a large gulp of his whiskey and eyed his two friends. "Y'all are just soft. Fuck outta here with that love shit."
"Man El I can't wait for some dame to put you in your place. And it's gon' happen sooner than you think. Trust" Jason spoke with a sheepish laugh.
Liam stood up and grabbed his keys. "Not in this life, I've got more important things to do."
He shoved his keys in his pocket and headed towards the door. "Just make sure you mafuckers show up for my party this Friday."