Man Enough For Me (7 page)

“Nice,” Maxine repeated, wrinkling her nose disdainfully.

“Yes, it was nice,” Jules said. She knew they wouldn’t understand. “Come on. You know that every guy I’ve gone out with has always tried to impress me. Take me to some fancy restaurant and flash the Gold Card so I can see that he’s about something. But with Germaine, it’s different. He’s not trying to be flashy, he’s just being himself. It’s … refreshing.”

Jules told them about the night at Leroy’s, describing how perfect the music, the food, and the entertainment had been. Though she tried to act casual, she couldn’t help the smile that lit up her face at the memory, and Maxine and Tanya couldn’t help but notice.

“He makes me think about things, you know,” Jules said, trying to explain how she felt when she was with him. “Like where I am in my life, and if I’m where God really wants me to be. He makes me want to be more, you know?”

“Girl, this man got you turned inside out,” Maxine said, with one eyebrow raised. “No wonder you can’t get that silly look off your face.”

“Whatever,” Jules said, rolling her eyes. But she knew Maxine was right. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this excited about someone.

Maxine and Tanya looked at each other and then at Jules, small smiles creeping onto their lips.

“I think this one’s a keeper, Jules” Maxine said, raising one eyebrow knowingly. “Try not to mess it up.”

“Yeah, Jules. I’m really happy for you,” Tanya said sincerely.

Neither Maxine nor Jules missed the hint of sadness in Tanya’s voice, and they watched wordlessly as Tanya busied herself taking out cutlery and setting the table.

Jules knew Tanya was hurting over ‘Dre. Only this past week he had shown up at the office with what Maxine called his “flavor of the week.” She was another of the many undiscovered artists who seemed so fond of ‘Dre. Her name was Sunshine. They had all cringed every time someone had reason to say it.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of this,” Maxine said. Jules and Tanya looked at the tiny woman curiously as she got up from the couch and put her hands on her hips. This usually meant Maxine was ready to start something, and that usually meant they all needed to watch out.

“We can’t sit back anymore and watch ‘Dre mess his life up with these chicken-heads when there is a woman who is perfect for him right in front of his face.”

“Who?” Tanya asked in confusion.

“You, you silly girl,” Maxine said. She looked from Jules to Tanya, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “We’re gonna set up ‘Dre and Tanya.”

“What!” Tanya exclaimed with an even mixture of fear and shock. “No!”

“Yes!” Maxine insisted. “And if this is going to work we’re gonna need your cooperation, so don’t start fighting me now.”

“Maxine!” Tanya exclaimed.

“Tanya,” Maxine said, imitating her friend’s tone. “I love you, but, girl, you’re either going to get with ‘Dre or get over ‘Dre. The two of you have been friends for more than five years, and if I have to go through one more year of you pining after him, I’m gonna kill one or both of you.” Maxine took Tanya’s face between her hands. “You are a kind, brilliant, beautiful woman, with a good head on your shoulders, and more booty than I’ve ever seen on a white girl.”

Jules laughed out loud.

“Maxine is right, Tanya,” Jules said. “And trust me when I tell you, you’ve been better to ‘Dre than a lot of those other girls have been.”

“I appreciate what you guys are saying, but I still think this is a bad idea,” Tanya protested.

But it was too late. Maxine had already made up her mind. As she paced the living room thoughtfully, Jules could already see the wheels turning in her friend’s head.

“All we have to do is get him to see that Tanya is perfect for him,” she murmured. “A couple orchestrated ‘moments,’ and a few planted suggestions here and there should do the trick.”

“You know that might just work,” Jules said.

“Jules! I can’t believe you’re encouraging her,” Tanya exclaimed.

“We should get Truuth to help,” Jules said, ignoring Tanya. “But what about Sunbeam; don’t you think she will be a problem?”

“Her name is Sunshine,” Tanya corrected.

“No, she’s not an issue,” Maxine said dismissively. “Those wannabes always find a way to sabotage themselves. Remember Rochelle?”

“Oh, yeah,” Jules said, laughing as she remembered the last girl ‘Dre had been dating. Jules didn’t know all the details because ‘Dre refused to talk about it. But what she did know was that that homegirl had somehow managed to find her way into ‘Dre’s bed, buck naked. Needless to say things had not gone as she had planned. When would these women learn that not every man was motivated solely by his lower region?

“Maxine, Jules, you can’t do this,” Tanya said in weak desperation.

“It’s already been done, sweetie,” Maxine said. “I know you two are good for each other, and it’s time you both stopped dancing around the issue.”

“Come on, Tanya, it won’t be that bad,” Jules said, throwing an arm around her distraught friend’s shoulder. “Worst case scenario, you’ll find out how he really feels about you, and you’ll get some closure.”

“He won’t even know what’s happening,” Maxine added.

“How can you be sure of that?” Tanya groaned.

“Girl, please, it’s ‘Dre,” Jules said.

Tanya sighed heavily, and Jules instantly knew she and Maxine had won.

“All right,” Tanya conceded.

“Yes!” Maxine exclaimed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jules saw Tanya shake her head as she watched her friends dance around the kitchen. Tanya had no idea what she was getting herself into.

“S
orry for being late, guys,” Jules said, as she stepped through the door of the office that was home to Triad Entertainment. “My car wouldn’t start, and I had to call Germaine to come pick me up.”

As if on cue, Germaine stepped in behind her and closed the door quickly to keep out the cold air.

“It’s raining like crazy out there,” he said, shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it up near the door.

“I know. I hope this is not how it’s going to look for the rest of the summer,” Tanya said.

“Well, with Toronto you can never really tell,” Germaine replied.

It was the end of June, but they had already had heat waves, a cold snap, and torrential rain. Predicting what would come next was impossible, which wasn’t great considering the summer was Triad’s busy season. All they could do was hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

“So have you guys been waiting long?” Jules asked, looking back and forth between ‘Dre and Tanya, who were the only ones sitting in the main room. She raised an eyebrow questioningly at Tanya.

“Not too long,” Tanya said, giving Jules a look that said “don’t start.”

Jules rolled her eyes and took a seat on the couch beside Tanya. She didn’t care what ‘Dre said about not dating white girls—Tanya was different. And Jules was sure that if Tanya played her cards right she could have ‘Dre in the palm of her hand.

She and Maxine agreed that Tanya should start dropping a few hints of her own when she was around ‘Dre, just to get the ball rolling. Tanya, however, refused to get on board.

“Okay, so I guess now that everyone’s here, we can get started,” ‘Dre said, looking up from his laptop. Once everyone was settled, and Tanya had said a prayer to start the meeting, ‘Dre put the main item for discussion on the table.

“So you guys know we want to put out Truuth’s debut album early this fall. We already have been doing a few appearances around town, but we need a major publicity campaign to really push this.

“Jules, I know you and Maxine have been working on a media plan for the album release,” ‘Dre said, looking across at Jules. “Please don’t tell me I am going to have to sell a kidney to pay for it.”

“No, ‘Dre,” Jules said, laughing. “That won’t be necessary. What we’re thinking of doing is using mainstream media as well as viral marketing to promote Truuth’s album. You’re gonna have to shell out some dollars for advertising space for the media part, but the viral marketing shouldn’t cost us much. And of course we’re gonna use the Sound Lounge as our launching point for Truuth’s merchandise—hence the reason Germaine is here.”

“Do you really think the Sound Lounge is big enough to be an effective launch point for Truuth?” ‘Dre asked. “No offense, Germaine.”

“None taken,” Germaine said, with a quiet look of amusement.

“Actually, ‘Dre,” Tanya began. “Since Sam the Record Man closed a couple years ago, the Sound Lounge has been one of
the more popular record stores in the city. You know as well as I do that there aren’t that many left anyway, and those that do exist are not as hot as they used to be.”

“And keep in mind that the package we are looking at includes in-store promotion as well as after-hours promotion through the Sound Lounge’s nighttime entertainment,” Jules added.

“Plus, thanks to Jules, we get the girlfriend rate,” Tanya said, grinning.

“Hey, it’s not that cheap,” Jules said dryly.

“Come on, Jules, you know it’s a good deal,” Germaine said from the love seat where he was sitting. “If you pitched that package to HMV or one of those other record stores, you’d be paying a lot of something for a little bit of nothing.”

“He’s right,” Jules said, refusing to look at Germaine, who she knew was smirking at her.

“Though most of the promotion will go through the Sound Lounge, the album and some promotional material is still going to be at HMV and other small retailers,” Tanya said, trying to appease ‘Dre.

The rest of them were usually pretty realistic about what could be done with Triad’s small budget. However, it was always Tanya who had to reel in some of ‘Dre’s larger than life ideas. But even though their projects rarely went as large scale as ‘Dre wanted, his vision for the business always helped make them work harder.

“All right, we’ll go with it for now,” ‘Dre conceded. “Any figures for me so far?”

“Better,” said Jules, well prepared for ‘Dre’s usual skepticism. “I have the entire media plan, including our expected budget,” she said, passing a slim folder to ‘Dre. “Let me just warn you, from now on, we’re basically going to be pushing Truuth and his music all across the city,” she said. “Big venues, small venues, churches, charity functions, everywhere they need a voice to sing, he’s gonna be there for the next couple months while the album is coming out. People have to know his name and his voice if they are gonna buy his music.”

‘Dre nodded as he flipped through the plan. “Okay, looks good. We can start with this.”

Tanya and Jules looked at each other. They knew what that meant—‘Dre would be making changes along the way based on the bright ideas he came up with in the middle of the night.

Jules couldn’t count the number of times ‘Dre had called an emergency meeting at eight o’clock on a Saturday evening because of a new vision he got for their project during the service that day. It usually meant they would have to spend hours revamping whatever plans they had, and when Jules eventually got fed up and left, as she always did, Tanya was the one who had to bring ‘Dre back in focus. There would be no working with ‘Dre for Jules or Maxine, if it wasn’t for the middle ground that was Tanya.

“So how long before the album is actually ready?” Germaine asked.

‘Dre looked thoughtful for a moment. “Technically, it’s already done, but Easy and Truuth are still doing some final editing on some tracks, and they’re thinking of maybe adding a bonus track. Everything should be wrapped up for sure in about two weeks.”

“So can I get some more definite information about the album? Like, how many tracks, the next single, and who you all collaborated with for it?” Jules asked. “I know for some reason you all were trying to keep everything hush-hush, but it’s kinda hard for me to attract fresh media coverage and put together a decent press kit without those tidbits.”

“You’re right,” ‘Dre admitted, popping up from his chair. “Let me get Easy, and he can get us all up-to-date on what’s happening.”

Once ‘Dre had disappeared from the room, Jules turned to Tanya.

“Have you talked to him?” she whispered to her friend.

“No, of course not,” Tanya whispered back. She glanced nervously over at Germaine who was skimming the newspaper.

“Don’t worry, I already told him everything,” Jules whispered, reading Tanya’s mind.

“You what!” Tanya hissed. “So what, now you’re telling everybody?”

“Not everyone, but he might be able to help,” Jules said. “We’re going to need all the help we can get, especially since you refuse to play ball.”

“Honestly, Jules, what do you expect me to say?” Tanya whispered. “Hey, ‘Dre, I’ve had a crush on you for years. Let’s go out and ruin our perfect friendship?”

“Don’t be silly,” Jules chided. “You can leave out the ruin-our-friendship part.”

Tanya groaned in frustration, just as ‘Dre and Easy walked into the room.

“Easy!” Jules exclaimed, beaming brightly at her friend. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Of their small Triad team, Easy was the only one who didn’t go to church with them, and since he was often working in the studio with Truuth or some of the other Triad artists, Jules didn’t see him that often. She always went out of her way, however, to make time for him. Outside of Maxine and Tanya, he was one of her closest friends.

“Hey, what’s up, baby girl,” Easy said casually, as he gave Jules a quick peck on the cheek, and rested on the arm of the chair beside her.

He nodded to Tanya, and then for the first time seemed to notice Germaine, who was sitting on the other side of the room watching them carefully. The light expression that had rested on his face all evening had been replaced by a look of unease that Jules couldn’t quite read.

“Easy, this is Germaine, Truuth’s cousin; Germaine this is Easy, Truuth’s producer,” Jules said, looking back and forth between the two of them as she made the introductions.

If Germaine looked guarded, Easy looked downright hostile as he appraised Germaine. She had the distinct feeling that this was not the first time they had met.

The two men stared each other down for some time before ‘Dre broke the silence.