us. That’s good news.” Charlie’s smile started to firm up again. “What’s the name of the label?”
“Charisma Music.”
Ervin pulled out his phone and started typing something on it. “Holy shit.”
The group stopped again.
“What?” Tony approached Ervin first, not surprising.
“You know what they nickname this label? Ca-Razy Music. You know that singer Shauna Stellar?” Ervin flicked his finger over the phone screen.
“Can’t say that I do.” Sully shrugged.
“She does all of those love songs. She did that song ‘Love Me, Love Me, Love Me.’” Ervin kept his attention on his phone during his mad search.
Charlie’s eyes got wide. “She sang that one? I know that song. Two of my kids were conceived while I was listening to that.” He released a low, long whistle. “What about her?”
“Her mother was Fatima Evans. The reason they call it Ca-Razy Music is because Shauna went a little wacko about six months ago and took a header off the stage. She was babbling about love and stuff. People think she was high or drunk. She committed herself after that. Either way, if she’s involved with the studio, it might be a problem.” Ervin flipped his phone around. “But it’ll be a good problem to have. Look at that.”
Truman stared at the screen. The woman on it had long, wavy dark brown hair, a slender frame with the exception of her round ass, and skin that looked like caramel covered her body. She had her head back, eyes closed, and the microphone poised above her full lips. He brought his gaze down to her pert breasts and had to hold his guitar in front of his body when his lower half reacted involuntarily.
This Shauna Stellar danced a delicate line between sexy vixen and elegant lady. Truman understood how she could drive men crazy, but he couldn’t see her having a bad day in her life…with the exception of losing her mother.
“Go to that meeting and tell them we don’t want any part of them or their studio.” Sully shook his head. “We don’t need to be mixed up with an outfit that doesn’t do our music and with someone who may not be right in the head.”
Truman had to stare at his friend like Sully had lost his mind. “Are you kidding? This could be our only chance to—”
Sully cut him off. “I mean it. Tear up the contract and walk away. We don’t need to go to bed with this organization to make it.”
Charlie and Tony followed Sully.
Ervin stopped in front of Truman. “I know you’ll do the right thing by us. You always have. If you think signing this deal and recording with them is a good thing, I’ll stand with you.” He looked back at Sully. “To hell with him.”
“No.” Truman shook his head. “That’s not how this works. We said we would do things together. I messed that up a year ago when I signed something behind you guys’ backs. If I’m going to lead us, I need to respect your wishes.” He glanced at the other three in the group who stepped up on stage. “I won’t let you all down.”
Now Truman had to convince himself that he didn’t need to be concerned about this upcoming meeting.
Chapter 2
“Tell me again, Craig. What do you mean I have nothing?” Shauna paced in front of her manager’s desk.
If she kept moving, the negative thoughts threatening to creep into her skull would stay away. Plus walking had helped her over the last few months.
She did stop long enough to glare at Craig. The back of her legs brushed against the red leather chair that sat in front of his desk. She remembered buying him this pricey showpiece for his fiftieth birthday along with a black leather couch, mink carpet, and mahogany desk with platinum fixtures.
Good to see that they all traveled well from the office building she used to own to Craig’s new digs in this dump down at the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach.
Craig adjusted his glasses on his thick nose. “Your half-year stint in rehab hasn’t done wonders for your career.”
She pulled her floppy red hat down lower over her eyes. “It wasn’t rehab.” Another lesson she learned in Peaceful Acres: call things like she saw them. “I just needed some time away.” She sat on her hands to prevent Craig from seeing them tremble. Her emotions simmered, nearly breaking the surface.
Get it together, girl. Don’t break.
Craig gazed down at his computer. “It was a lot for you to perform the day of…well, you know.”
Yes, Shauna knew. Attempting to do a full concert on the same day she buried her mother sounded crazy. If that statement went for an apology, she would take it.
After a deep breath, she did her own damage control with her manager. “The time away did help. I got to do something I hadn’t done in a long time: focus on me. Now I’m ready to get back to work.”
Craig grumbled in that manner that made Shauna cringe.
He stood from his desk. “Audiences are fickle. Stay out of the spotlight and they forget about you. I can only post so much on social media before they figure out that it’s not you.”
Even virtually, Craig spoke for her. Shauna released her hands and spoke her mind. “Are you saying the fans don’t care about me?”
“I’m saying it’s hard to keep them interested without new material.” He sighed loud enough to be annoying.
“But I recorded so many songs. What happened to releasing my album?” She wouldn’t have been able to promote it, but lots of popular artists released work without promotion and did well. She could have been one of those people.
Craig lowered, then shook his shaved head. Her heart slowed its beat and she felt a heavy pressure on her shoulders, the same pressure that had crippled her spirit.
Come on, girl. Breathe. You are not weak.
“It had been a while since you had a release before you committed yourself.” His dark skin seemed murky now, especially the more Craig spoke to her.
“Stop saying I committed myself.” She folded her arms. “Going to Peaceful Acres was the greatest thing for me.”
His bushy eyebrows drew together.
“It was the first time I took time for myself where the paparazzi didn’t follow me. It was a vacation without all of the sand and surf.” Maybe if she said it enough, that line of trash would sound plausible.
“Thanks to your sabbatical, Universe Records dropped you. Radio stations stopped playing you. The only video of yours on YouTube that’s getting a lot of play is the one from your last show.” He wrung his hands together. “The memes alone will drive you crazy.” As soon as he made the statement, he flinched. Like he needed to cover up his mistake, he kept talking. “The fans stopped writing.” He tapped his fingers on the desk.
She shook her head hard enough that the back of her neck ached. “That’s not true. I still got fan mail. They
