Chapter Three

"I'm taking no losses, now I'm the boss. And I see you flossing my way…."
-New Edition

One thing about his sister-in-law, she wasn't stupid.

"So what made you change your mind?" Karrington asked, pleased with how contract negotiations had turned out.

After a long ass meeting going back and forth, his lawyers signed the dotted line on Riley's billion dollar contract, along with a provision that TNM Studios would allow him to do two songs that would be included on the movie's soundtrack.

On top of that, Karrington would get paid as well. A few millions for representing him, along with 50 million for recruiting him, which was fucking unheard of in this day and age.

No wonder Jazmine was so deep into this acting shit.

Riley was guaranteed millions even if the film never went through, so long as the NDA was followed, his ass would be set, no bullshit.

"Riley." Karrington smirked, her hand on her hip. "You didn't hear me?"

He rolled his eyes at her.

"Nah." He kept walking towards his G-Wagon. "Whatchu say?"

"I said what made you change your mind?"

He calmly waited, checking himself.

Karrington's ass never let up on him, especially when he wanted her to.

"Ionno." He shrugged, annoyed with the question. "Maybe I shoulda turned the deal down and said fuck being a billionaire. Seemed like a real smart decision."

Karrington snorted.

"Or maybe because Jazmine Dubois….every man's dream girl is rumored to be the lead." She smirked. "You're tryna get at her, aren't you?"

"Nigga, please!" He snorted.

"Nigga?" She frowned.

"Nigga." He nodded, grinning. "I had Jazmine on lock years ago." He rubbed his hands together, secretly elated about it years later. "Ian' gone lie though, my girl was looking good as hell earlier. Might have to swivel on back to my baby."

"Riley, quit making stuff up, please." Karrington rolled her eyes at him. "It's embarrassing how bad you lie. That girl was not studdin' you back then."

His jaw dropped.

Karrington really didn't believe his ass.

"Mane on my parents' grave, I had a little sum goin' with her back in the day." He cut his eyes at her. "You can ask Huey, cuz on my soul-"

He paused, realizing they hadn't talked in months.

"Actually, scratch that." He shrugged with an indifference he didn't feel. "We ain't speaking right now, and his bitchass wouldn't say it happened even if we were."

Karrington snorted.

"Yeah, because you're lying." She laughed. "That girl probably never even looked your way." She looked at him crazy, raising her brow. "What'd she really do back un the day? Kiss your cheek when you were crying or something?"

He smirked.

"Shiddddd." He stopped in his tracks, staring her down. "Ionno why you actin' like it's impossible. Yo ass did way more than look when we messed around that one night."

Karrington blushed, turning away.

"Riley, that's history." She turned back around after composing herself. "It was a one-time deal, and you promised we'd take that to our graves!"

He snickered.

"Aye." He kept going. "I know you remember the best night of yo life, girl! Prolly think about me in bed every night." He smirked, lowering his voice just a hair. "You jealous, ain't you Kare?"

"Nigga, fuck you!" She flipped him off.

"Already did." He laughed, shrugging. "But forreal though, I know what we did was nothin' serious." He said. "I'm just usin' it to prove my point." He nodded. "Jazmine and I did grow up together, shawty." He smirked. "Plus, I'm fine as hell. You know it's true."

"Uh huh." Karrington shot him a skeptical look. "Well either way, learn how to shut the hell up." She told him. "I knew we should've let go of that money when they brought up the NDA clause because you struggle to keep your mouth shut. A guaranteed half a million would've been less risky, being real."

"Hoe, please!" He glared. "I can keep a secret!"

"Barely." She turned around. "Look. I know you well enough to know you pop off at the mouth a lot." She shot him a look. "But the stakes here are very different, Riley. Don't block this over something you can easily control."

"Aight, damn!" Riley walked off, aggravated. "I know how to control myself, hoe!"

"Ouch." Karrington smirked. "I hope you don't plan on talking to 'yo girl' that way." She made air quotes with her fingers, laughing. "Something tells me she doesn't tolerate that type of talk." She raised a brow. "And why'd someone on her team express concerns about 'personal tensions' while we're on that?"

He wasn't gonna get into that with her.

"I got that taken care of, so pipe down." He started his car. "Imma handle my business, we gon' get this money, and that's just that."

"Uh huh." Karrington nodded. "If you say so." She made her way into her sports car. "Luckily, I made sure I'll get my retainer whether your deal falls through or not." She smirked. "And that's legally binding, too."

Smart ass bitch.

"Whatever, Kare." He snorted, not dumb enough to say that aloud. "You ain't have to do a brotha like that."

Karrington shrugged, her eyes on him.

"Whatever happens next is on you." She told him. "Think before you speak. I won't warn you again."

Riley was done talking to her any goddamn way.

He was gettin' his money and sitting the fuck down, end of discussion.

There was no way he'd even dream of ruining this shit.

It'd been a long time since Jazmine had felt the need to cry, but after meeting with her new attorney, she felt less than optimistic.

He'd used terms like 'wrongful termination', 'breach of contract', 'defamation suit'….

Words that were the complete opposite of who she was and more indicative of who Sam was.

When he'd shoved those contracts over after her television show had ended, she'd trusted him enough to sign them without so much as a second thought.

And now, that decision had come to bite her hard in the ass.

Her attorney advised it would be difficult to come for Tishler Management with proof, let alone without it. According to her, Samuel had won several other cases before and had them buried.

Plus, ridding herself of Sam would probably cost her 45% of her earnings moving forward, not including the cost of his attorneys, pain and suffering, and the long, drawn out court proceedings that could take years to settle.

Which had all been a shock, to say the least.

And unfortunately, that hadn't been the only shocker.

Her car had broken down, her hair looked a mess, and worst of all, the power was out, making her even more stressed, especially when she thought back to Sam's behavior.

The way he'd blown up made her incredibly nervous, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to wonder if he was behind her car troubles.

After all, it was common in other celebrity cases.

Just last year, a young actress her age had been stalked into silence. Strange men following her, random break-ins, phone calls from anonymous numbers...

And she'd been one of the lucky ones.

Robbery, verbal threats, assault, battery, even grooming, rape. Training young girls (and boys) to accept illicit behavior over time, until they were old enough to inflict those same traumas on up-and-coming talent themselves.

And with social media booming nowadays, there was sadly more than enough talent to exploit.

Jazmine wasn't sure if Sam was capable of that, she certainly didn't want to believe he was.

But she also wasn't gonna wait around to find out.

That's why when she heard a loud crash at her door, she quietly drew her gun, rushing to the peephole just in time to hear someone pop the lock on her front door and chuckle.

She cussed under her breath, trying to remember if she'd even set her alarm, kicking herself when she remembered her phone was on the counter, too far to help her call the police.

Trembling, Jazmine lifted the gun, her finger on the trigger when she heard loud, heavy footsteps, making their way towards her.

She lifted it higher, aiming for his chest, when a flash of lightning revealed the face of her intruder.

Riley.

"Get out." She growled, trying to will herself to pull the trigger. "I'll shoot!"

He just laughed.

"Yeen gon' do nothin." He waved her off. "Put that shit down."

He sobered when she kept her stance steady, not sure what was going on.

"How'd you get my address?" She asked lowly.

"Relax and put the gun down before you hurt yourself, Mariah." He instructed, scoping out her place. "We needta have a talk before we do this movie shit." He wrinkled his nose. "And what the fuck is up with your lights? You broke or sum?"

She frowned.

"No!" She snapped. "They're just out for some reason." She sighed, finally lowering the gun in her hands. "And what the hell is wrong with you, breaking and entering ?! You scared me half to death, Riley!" She glared. "And so help me God if you don't explain why you're here-"

He sighed, his voice gentler, but only slightly.

"That's my bad." He said. "I saw your lights were out, and Cindy mentioned you'd had some car trouble earlier." He frowned, looking at the floor. "I got your address outta her and came by to make amends, but when I got here, ionno…I just wanted to make sure that man wasn't trying you again. He is the one that scouted you back then, right? Back in Woodcrest."

Jazmine nodded, short of breath. Not because of all the mess with Sam, but because she was still attracted to Riley after all this time, even with him being barely visible.

And then, as if knowing she was curious, the lights popped on so she could see him in all his fine, grown-ass glory.

He'd looked good at the audition, of course, but there was something about him in his grey Nike sweatsuit that made her want to climb on him and….

"Aye, calm all that lust shit down, sexy." He smirked before turning serious. "I know you like what you see, but genuinely I came here on business." He nodded. "I need to talk some shit through with you real quick."

"Oh." She glared at him, walking over to the counter to grab her phone.

"Then let me call my lawyer." She lifted it, scrolling through her contacts. "And the cops."

He shot her a bored look.

"I'm bein' serious, J." He said. "I know we exchanged words at Shana's birthday party, but we're doin' this movie for a year." He continued. "I need to know that we can keep it professional, have a good working relationship for the time being."

"Of course." Jazmine nodded, shrugging. "I'm a professional first." She waved her hand flippantly. "Especially when it comes to a billion dollar contract." She shook her head, still amazed by the number. "That's just…a life-changing amount of money." She shrugged. "I don't hate anyone enough to ruin that."

"Glad we got that understood." He nodded, seeming to see through her. "Now talk to me and don't lie…that nigga from earlier….has he tried you? Y'know…any funny business on set? Too handsy with you? Made you uncomfortable or anything?"

Jazmine blinked, not sure what he was getting at.

"What do you mean?" She blinked, genuinely confused.

"He ain't…" He paused, concerned. "Y'know, tried to touch you? Pressure you or anything like that?"

Jazmine shook her head, sad she could no longer question why Riley would ask her something like that about Samuel.

"No, never." She admitted quietly, not sure why she was telling Riley her business. "That blow-up three weeks ago was the first time he'd ever talked to me like that." She sighed. "I normally put up a much better fight, but I just stood there and let him-"

"Aye." Riley moved closer, his voice steely. "Don't do that." He scowled. "He planned to sneak yo ass like that and take advantage. But trust me, he ain't gon' try that again."

"What are you planning to do, exactly?" She shook her head. "He's one of the most powerful mean in Hollywood. You can't just-"

Shit.

Riley lifted his jacket to reveal the gun in the waistband of his sweats, exposing a sexy tattoo on his ribcage and plenty of muscle, leading to a very happy path she'd kill to lick right now.

Not good.

Very, very bad.

"Watch me." He snorted. "I'm tellin' yo ass right now, I could easily make this shit look like self-defense!"

"Riley, no." Jazmine groaned. "No shooting, none."

Riley pulled his shirt down, chuckling.

"Aye, ian gone argue with that." He said, shrugging. "Shit almost killed my ass last time."

Jazmine's breath caught in her throat.

She'd nearly forgotten that happened until he'd said it, and now that he had, her mind flashed to him on that gurney, her worrying he'd taken his last breath up onstage.

"Aw, shit. Forgot yo ass was sensitive as hell." He pulled her into his arms the minute her eyes welled up, his voice softening. "What's wrong, sexy?" He smirked. "Yo fine ass worried about Daddy?"

Jazmine tried to pull away, but he was holding her tight.

"No." She managed, finding it harder and harder to think.

"Don't punk out now, sexy." He looked down at her, licking his lips. "Regardless of the situation, imma always be here whenever and however you need me." He assured her. "Yo fine ass can get whatever you want from me, girl." He nodded. "Just say the word."

Lord.

Jazmine felt her body respond instantly, heat flooding her core.

She'd been celibate for years, finding it hard to trust anyone with her body in Hollywood.

But with Riley, there was an instant difference, a need so strong that it scared her.

And she wasn't sure she could fight it for long.

"Nothing's wrong, Riley." She lied, finding it hard to look at him. "I know you're okay, alright? Forget I said anything. It was wrong of me to joke like that."

He snorted, swiping his thumb across her cheek.

"Wanna run that weakass lie back, sexy?" He stood up straight, his presence making her feel the safest she'd been all day. "Tell me what's wrong."

She scoffed.

"Only if you quit callin' me sexy." She retorted, causing Riley to release her and laugh.

"Oh, you dropped the prim and proper act real quick." He laughed some more. "But I won't quit callin' you that." He told her, deadass serious. "You might as well get used to it, cuz ima be callin' you sexy till my dying day." He leaned closer, his lips brushing past her ear. "Cuz shidddd, let's be real, you are sexy, J." He whistled, making a show of checking her out.

When she shot him a skeptical look, he just shook his head, staring down at her appreciatively.

"What? You think I ain't notice or sum?" He smirked. "You look good, girl! Dun thickened up a bit too!" He shoved her arm playfully. "Gon' head! I'm proud of ya!"

Jazmine groaned, finding it hard to be mad at him.

"Riley." She moved to the other side of the room. "Can you be serious, please?"

He shrugged.

"Okay, then." He nodded. "I like what I see, and ian' scared to admit that I want you anywhere I can have you." He said bluntly. "But I respect yo ass enough not to push it unless you say different." He shrugged. "I know you not the type to sleep with someone on a whim."

"No, I'm not." She frowned.

"And I'm not the type to shit where I eat." He shrugged. "So now that we've worked that out…."

Jazmine just looked at him frowning. "What else is there to work out?"

"How you're feelin', sexy." He smirked, leaning forward a bit. "I don't need you snappin' on me or some shit." He frowned. "And why you keep lookin' like that?" He asked her.

"Like what?" She folded her arms, staring back at him.

"Like you lookin' at my grave or something." He scowled. "Ian' die onstage, Jaz."

She was quiet for a moment, contemplating what to say.

"I know." She said finally, her eyes lowering. "But Riley, seeing you like that scared me." She admitted. "I was devastated hearing what happened. And when the news broke about Huey's girls? About you?"

Her voice broke at the same time his head snapped up, his eyes softer than she'd ever seen them before.

"You may not have died, Riley, but it's clear to me you came pretty close."

Riley stood to his feet then wordlessly sat next to her as she plopped onto the couch, looking her dead in the eye.

"Aye, I promise you ian' goin' nowhere, aight?" He assured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You ain't got nothin' to worry about."

Jazmine struggled to hold back her tears, but somehow, she was managing.

"Well keep it that way, please." She said, somehow keeping a straight face. "I don't ever want to see you that way again."

He nodded.

"Imma man of my word, Jazmine." He told her. "It ain't happening again."

"Good." She said, not pulling away.

"Good." He nodded, his eyes on her.

Hopefully, it stayed that way.