Twins of Empire

Dangerous Bonds

"We could've had this producer come to us," Cookie says. "to a real studio."

"Shh." Jamal hushed her. "Riah, pick up your feet."

"It's these cheap ass floors that and one sticky part tried to take my air forces."

Jamal rolls his eyes.

"You need to watch your back around here, Mal." Cookie points around. "Some real hungry, grimy types, you know?"

"Yeah, and I don't like nothing about it." Mercedes adds in.

"Well, this is all I can afford." Jamal saw Mercedes about to talk. "I told you, no. And Lucious can take all that money. He can give it to Hakeem." Jamal pats his bag. "This right here is mine."

"All right. Well, you do you, baby." Cookie sighs.

A snort from Mercedes: "You keeping it ghetto, that's for sure. I love it though."

Cookie smiles over at him. "If this is the sound you want and you think it's gonna put you ahead of Hakeem, then this is what we doing, baby." Jamal gives her a slight smile. "Your daddy would be proud, even though he won't admit it."

Mercedes stopped at the door, eyes going wide at the bullet holes in the glass.

Cookie looks it up and down. "What the hell?"

Both women snap their heads over to Jamal.

"It's fine. It's fine." Jamal promised.

Mercedes eyes squint. "That man in there just eating?"

Cookie held back her words with a slow look back to the door. "Yo." He paused mid spoonful when she knocked on the glass. "You trying to make some money up in here?"

"Ma." Jamal tries to tell her.

Cookie swats his hands away. "The hell you got us, Jamal?"

Mercedes looked from the bullet holes. "You going be in here talking about some dollar-dollar bills and get robbed for them!"

"Shh!" Jamal tried to calm both of them.

"Bullet holes..." Cookie rolls her eyes.

The door opened up as the man looks them over.

"What's up, man?" Jamal nods.

Mercedes and Cookie eyed him back.

"You can barely afford this." He tells Jamal. "With your budget, you get one day."

"All right." Jamal says with no worry.

"So you'd better record like you mean it."

"Yeah." Jamal puts his things down. "Riah, can you put that on the couch for me?"

"I ain't putting my fingerprints on a damn thing in this studio." She says to a look from Jamal.

The man ate his cereal from his chair with a chuckle.

"She smart."

"See what the hell I'm talking about." Mercedes points.