Noah smiled and turned to the lady next to him. “Could you pass the contract and other paperwork to Miss SOLA?”
She smiled and passed it to me.
“So, SOLA, I want you to know that you deserve so much better than the hand you’ve been dealt. I absolutely hate to see people being taken advantage of. I looked over your bullshit contract and found several breaches in that shit. I hope you don’t take offense to me doing so. I called Sidney Taylor and had her make a few ‘threatening’ calls about taking them to court.”
My eyebrows lifted. “How did they breach the contract?” I asked.
“All this shit you doing to get more publicity . . . They’re supposed to be doing that shit. There’s actually a fee for it in your paperwork. They also guaranteed production costs for your first EP. They didn’t do that. They recouped it out of your royalties. There’s quite a few other things listed in the report from Missus Taylor. So after my call and Sidney sending her findings, they gladly released you from your contract and sent a check for production costs.”
My eyes widened as I brought my attention to the paperwork. The letter of release was on top, then there was a statement for a deposit into my account in the amount of one point three million. I started crying. I couldn’t contain my reaction to their care. They had beat me out of over a million dollars, and I didn’t even know it.Jesus.
Maj was rubbing my back as I cried. “Wow. Thank you so much.”
“Mm-hmm. So can we continue?” he asked with a smirk.
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Everyone laughed and clapped. This alone made me trust Noah as much as I trusted Maj. I grabbed her hand under the table as it trembled and listened intently as the meeting continued. By the time I left, I was a signed artist with YKMN and had attended my first financial literacy class. Maj had even attended it with me. I was given a signing bonus of half a mil andguaranteed transparency throughout this whole process, which was truly unheard of in this industry.
I had a meeting with Sonya next week to discuss my style and branding. She would meet me at my house. Then the week after, I would be meeting with Jah for marketing. Noah told me I could also look into her as well for management. Although she was retired, she still did favors for him.
As we were leaving out of the building, RJ was waiting for us to take us to our hotel to change. We would be meeting everyone for dinner in a couple of hours. I was so overwhelmed with emotion I hugged RJ. He held his hands out, trying to figure out what was going on. Kimaji was laughing loudly.
“She’s just happy, RJ. Noah was everything she thought he would be, plus more.”
I pulled away from him and saw him frowning. “That nigga a’ight.”
I laughed. For a moment, I thought he was frowning because of how I hugged him. “He’s more than a’ight, RJ. I ain’t never had nobody look out for me like that in the industry. He’s the real deal.”
He smiled as he opened the door. “Yeah. He has a big heart. He don’t like seeing people being taken advantage of. Don’t fuck over him, though, because the nigga petty as hell.”
I chuckled. “Well, I have no intentions of causing his petty side to appear. The way he looked out for me changes my entire outlook on my career. RJ, that man has to be the apple of God’s eye.”
He rolled his eyes, causing us to laugh. Noah had a song titled “Apple of God’s Eye” some years back. The rest of the ride was light and filled with laughter. RJ was an entire fool, but I could tell there was a thug hiding under all the jokes. I’d been around my brother long enough to recognize it. Once he got to ourhotel, he walked in with us and made sure the room was clear. I assumed that was something he was used to doing for Noah.
When we walked inside, my breath was taken away. Flowers were everywhere. Lilies, roses, tulips, and daisies . . . all of them red. I didn’t know where they’d all come from, but with as beautiful as they were, I didn’t care. Kimaji walked over to a bouquet and pulled a card from it. She handed it to me, and I slowly opened it to read,
Congratulations, baby. I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourself, knowing you deserved better. Noah is going to make sure you make it to where you’re supposed to be. He’s going to give it his all. You’ll see my family tonight at dinner. I wish I could be there with you to congratulate you properly, but I’ll see you when you get back. Congrats again. ~Graham
Once again, tears were rolling down my cheeks. I was so fucking overwhelmed. God was truly looking out for me in my foolishness. It was orchestrated for me to be on the flight the day I met Graham. It was orchestrated for Sonya and Sharee to be on it as well. Everything happened for a reason, even bullshit. Something beautiful came out of something so superficial. Graham was just as bad as I was, but here we were embarking on something that could be so beautiful.
I quickly pulled my phone from my bag and sent a text.Thank you so much, baby. They are beautiful.I inserted crying emojis. My emotions were on overload, and I couldn’t believe how perfect today had been. Noah and YKMN had laid out the red carpet for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Today wasn’t even over. I couldn’t wait to call my daddy and tell him. Bilal and Mama would have been so proud.
Kimaji came over and hugged me tightly. “I’m so proud of you, Arlie. You’ve put in the work, and it has paid off. You deserve all good things, sis. I love you.”
“I love you too! The journey has been a lot, but you have been a constant, Maj. I appreciate your love and support every step of the way. Every woman needs a friend like you.”
“Girl, same for you. When you signed that record deal, you could have forgotten all about me.”
“Why would I forget about the most solid friend I’ve ever had? For your loyalty and support, you deserve this as much as I do.”
We shared tears of joy and love, then began admiring all the flowers in the room. “My brother laying this shit on thick. With the way y’all started, I would have never thought it would progress to all this.”
“Me either, but I’m not mad about it.”
I sat on the bed and lay back, staring at the ceiling with a huge smile on my face. I just wished my mama and brother could see me now.
“Your girl wason this flight this morning.”
