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VANN
“First of all, I’m not even working right now! Second, do you realize how short notice this is? Messiah ain’t some up and comer. He’s a platinum selling fucking superstar, Cake! I can’t just call and ask him to come perform at a charity event!” I never yelled at my baby sister, but this was just ridiculous, and she ambushed me at dinner!
Little Romey, my niece, was sitting next to me. I startled her, causing her to jump in her booster seat. But before I could apologize, she gave me a frown and placed a little chubby finger to her lips. Her “shhhhh” was wet.
All I could do was smile and say, “My bad, Romey-D. Gotta remember to use my inside voice.”
She gave me one of her famous dimpled grins and stuck a finger in the pile of macaroni and cheese on her plate. When my eyes slid to Jovani, he was staring at me, and since he was taller and much bigger than me, I decided to calm my one-eyed ass down.
“Look, I’m sorry for yelling and sh—stuff. It’s just…I’m still off work, Cake. I ain’t ready to deal with none of this, let alone ask him to do something he may or may not have time to do,” I said.
“Okay, look…I’m sorry, Vann-Vann. I know this is short notice. I wasn’t going to ask because I know you’re not really working right now, but I also know Messiah is not just your client. He’s your friend, and he wants what’s best for you just like me and Mama.”
“Why you think you know all that?” I asked, one eyebrow lifted as I gave her a sidelong glance.
“I ran the idea by Mama, and she told me that Messiah is ready to work with you again, that he sees you as a brother more so than a manager. You know, she talks to him.”
“Yeah, I know.” I sighed. “How many people will be at this event?”
She smiled. “Around three hundred.”
I stared down at my plate of food, another meal cooked by Jovani’s dad, and sighed again. “I’ll run it by him. He likes doing charity events and I don’t think he’s done one in a while. A long while, actually.
Sharla leaped from her chair and rounded her dining room table to hug me. “Thank you, big brother!”
“Don’t thank me yet. He could still say no.”
“He won’t. I can feel it! Wait until I tell Brooklyn! She’s a fan of his too.”
As she released me, I asked, “She’ll be at the event?”
“Of course! She’s been helping me organize it since I hired her,” she informed me.
“Oh. Well, I’ma head back to my spot and give Messiah a call,” I said, leaning over to kiss my niece’s cheek before I left.
“Yeah, I’ll do it.”
I pulled the phone from my ear and stared at it before putting it on speakerphone. “What, now?” I asked.
“I said, I’ll do it,” Messiah repeated.
“You got time for this? I mean, you’re taking a break. Shouldn’t you be breaking, man?”
“Yeah, but that event will be light work. Backing tracks and a mic is all I need to get it done. Besides, I’m already in Da ‘Sip right now visiting the fam. Gob’ be here for a few weeks, so traveling to Romey won’t be a big deal. Just hook me up with hotel accommodations, Mr. London, and I’ll be Gucci.”
I held the phone for a second before rolling my eyes as I recalled his whole “two weeks” speech. “You set this shit up, didn’t you,Joel?”
“Did you just call me Joel?”
“Hell yeah! All them damn L’s in your name. Ole old man name having ass. You and your new BFF, my mother. I bet Sharla was talking about needing an entertainer for her event and my mom said something about you wanting me back working with you because I’m sure you told her during one of y’all’s Vann gossip sessions. You motherfucker!”
Messiah chuckled into the phone. “You remember what I said the night we first met at that restaurant in Lagos? I told you that us both being in Nigeria at the same time and being from Mississippi was a sign. Then you add in our mutual love of music and your dream of being a manager? Man, you can’t make shit like that up! We’resupposedto work together, London. So, let’s work! Ain’t shit holding you back but you!”
I held the phone and thought about how he’d given me a chance to manage him when I didn’t have any experience other than managing a couple of aspiring rappers in New Zealand. Needless to say, that shit went nowhere quick. He’d given me a chance, arealchance by firing his longtime manager who’d helped him achieve god-tier success and hiring me because it felt right in his gut. He never required me to move to the states: he just let me do my thing, my way, and he paid me well. Even during my months of recovery, he never failed to pay me.
So, I nodded and said, “Okay.”
After I hung up with Messiah, I texted my mother, who I was sure was coming to the event, and asked her to bring my prosthetic eye with her.
