SugarCOAT

118. The RiSe and Fall 📰

"See what happens when you play with my heart/ Everything you ever wanted falls apart/ You just lost me, your number one/ But I'm moving on so I can have fun..." The song from new boy band AOI played on the radio while I sat in the back seat of the Range Rover.

Maximo pulled into the parking garage of The RiSe Tower.

"...Oh, you will see what happens when you do what you did/ Checkmate, 'cause the move you made was stupid (and you get no love)."

The radio personality said, "They really got that Y2K sound down pact. That was the new group, boy band called AOI. The girls have been going crazy over them. That's their song 'No Love.' It's climbing all the way up the charts--"

Maximo parked the vehicle in front of the entrance. He opened the driver's door and started to get out.

"I got it, Maximo," I told him.

He said, "Okay. Have a good meeting, Jamie. I'll be waiting close by."

"Thank you, Maximo!" I got out the car and walked through the doors. Immediately, I was taken aback when I saw a woman screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Get out here, right now, you son-of-a-oohh!" She shouted with her fists formed in the air.

The security guard that normally sat behind the window stood in front of the woman with his arms stretched out, trying to block her from going inside the building.

"Ma'am, I understand that you're upset, but I can't let you inside the building."

The woman begged, "I just want to know what happened to my daughter. He said he would protect her. Now, she's gone. What happened to Keyna? What happened to my baby?"

I hesitated before I got a head nod from the guard to enter the building.

"Sir, you have to let me inside! I have to see Ricky. He said he would take care of my daughter, but he didn't!"

I shivered as I walked to the elevators. Mentally, I wasn't able to focus on the meeting ahead, because I was trying to figure out who the woman was and why she wanted to see Ricky. Then, I remembered the former intern T'keyna Brown who was found dead in her apartment last year.

The elevator doors opened and I walked out into the hallway. Then, I went to the office where the meeting was being held. I opened the door and walked inside to a disturbingly quiet room.

I looked around at everyone, and they were all on their phones.

I spoke up, "Hey, umm, is everything okay?"

Vallie, my marketing and promotions manager, was the first to speak. "This is going to be a short meeting, Jae."

"Very short," said Marsha, my booking agent. She put her phone down and asked me, "How are you feeling about all of this?"

I arched my brow. "All of this as in this meeting?"

Everyone seemed to stare at me.

"You don't know?" Vallie asked me.

"Know what?"

Hannah, my social media manager, read from her phone, "Today, a witness came forward in the case of 24-year-old T'keyna Brown who was found dead inside her apartment in the Fall of last year. The witness recalls seeing a man go in T'keyna's apartment with her on the night she died. The man has not been identified, and there are still no suspects." Hannah scrolled on her phone, then she read, "Last night, Jamila Brown the mother of deceased T'keyna Brown received an anonymous call that her daughter's killer knew T'keyna. Jamila spoke to the police about the call, but no further action has been taken. Upon sharing this news on her Facebook page, many followers of the case want answers. The president of RiSe Records is their first target."

Hannah looked at me. "I have a feeling there's going to be a protest soon."

"A protest?" I inquired.

Vallie shook his head, "Let's not jump to conclusions here. Let's just get this meeting over with. The most important thing at the moment is the concert movie."

Marsha nodded her head as she sat across from me. "Right. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon check all the boxes. The decision is up to you, Jae."

"Which one do y'all advise?"

"Hulu," they answered in unison.

I awkwardly chuckled, "Well, then. Hulu it is."

"This is why you're one of the best artists we've ever worked with. You take our advice, and you do the job," Vallie told me.

I smiled at him. "So, when do we start filming?"

Marsha answered, "Next Monday on the 16th. We're aiming for 3 days to shoot. Give Hulu 3 weeks to edit, promote, and add to their platform. Tomorrow, you're going to meet with..." Marsha drummed her fingers on the table.

"Eddie-something," Vallie reminded her.

"Paolo!" Marsha snapped her finger. "Ed Paolo is a great cinematographer. He's shot a lot of concert movies, music videos, and documentaries. He's going to follow you to your upcoming interviews and meetings, leading up to the filming of the concert movie. That footage will be used for early promotion."

"Got it," I nodded my head. "Does he have my number?"

"We gave everything to Colby. Paolo will be wherever you're scheduled to be," Marsha replied.

"Also," Hannah spoke up, "Kenneth and Rachel will be choreographing your concert movie. I think they're going to meet with you and the production team later on this week."

All at once, everyone's phone either made a sound or vibrated.

I picked up my phone to see a text message from Colby.

Colby: To all RiSe employees and guests, the RiSe Tower will be closing in ten minutes. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please head to the exit through the parking garage. The front entrance is blocked off. I hope that you all have a great rest of your day and be safe. - Colby (Lead Assistant of RiSe Records)  

"Alright, people. Let's end it here. If we have to do a Zoom meeting, I'll let you know," Vallie told us.

We all safely left the meeting room and got on two separate elevators. I called Maximo as I got off the elevator.

He answered, "Jamie, I'm right outside. Hurry."

"Okay. I'm almost there." I jogged towards the doors that led to the parking garage. When I walked through the door, the one security guard was now ten guards.

I ran towards Maximo when I saw him. He helped me inside the Range Rover before getting in the driver's seat. 

"There were people protesting and then there were gun shots."

"Gun shots?" I was in disbelief.

My phone vibrated. I saw A.B.'s name. I answered it.

"Jamie, where are you?" He asked me.

"I'm in the car with Maximo. I just left RiSe Tower."

A.B. said, "I'll meet you at the Rivers' place."

"Okay. Be careful."

"You, too."

What was the world coming to?