Sex, Secrets and South Beach (18 page)

"True dat, it's sure to be a hit.
You're working with the best in the biz. And then what are you up
to? More videos? Have you thought about exploring other career
avenues?" He grinned at her while ogling her cleavage.

Sensing the timing was right, she told
him, Bentley, Sparks, Leilani, and all of South Florida that she
was going to continue modeling.

"But my main focus is going to be my
music. I've got a really hot demo, so I'll be shopping that and
looking for the best deal." She smiled at her good fortune. Her
statement had the desired impact: the DJ had allowed her to hype
herself up for the whole city to hear, Sparks and Bentley raised
curious eyebrows, and Leilani fumed silently in the corner. Desiree
would show her that she wasn't the only one with a talent beyond
looking good. As far as she was concerned, Leilani had challenged
her, and Desiree never stepped down from a challenge.

"Flow!" Sparks ordered. He
and Desiree were seated
in the parking lot
of 99Jams in the Hummer he had rented. After the interview he
grabbed her by the hand and led her there, leaving a surprised
Leilani and Bentley behind.

"Now?"

"Flow right now!" Sparks
made eye contact to let her know he was serious. He was the one
that had selected Desiree for the video in the first place. Bentley
wanted her, no doubt. But Sparks had the final word. He sensed that
besides her looks, she had something special. Desiree was nervous,
but she knew he meant business. Sparks's reputation as an eccentric
but shrewd businessman preceded him. And his millions were the
proof of the pudding. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath,
and spit the lyrics of "Down to Ride," a hard-core song about her
devotion to the streets and to her man. Sparks sat expressionless.
Desiree couldn't tell if he loved her skills or thought she was
wack. He put on a CD with an instrumental track and instructed her
to freestyle. She did so. After a few bars he cut the track. He sat
there in silence, Desiree anticipating his next words as if her
life depended on it. Her life
did
depend on it.

"What you call yourself?" he finally
said.

"Dez. Nothing fancy, just Dez," she
replied. She wasn't about to be Lil' this, Sexy that, or Lady such
and such. That wasn't her. She hoped he would offer her a deal, but
really hoped he wasn't about to make her a clone of the females
already in the industry, or some model-chick rapper. She was a
model-chick, but at heart she was still a tomboy.

"I like that," he said, stroking his
goatee. "You want a deal?" he asked her, practically reading her
thoughts.

"Hell yeah!" Desiree didn't bother to
hide her enthusiasm.

"Cool. Welcome to the fam."

And just like that, every dream she'd
ever had was realized.

"What the fuck is going
on?" Leilani asked Bentley
after watching
Sparks and Desiree exit the studio in a rush.

Bentley shook his head. "I have no
fucking idea. With my brother you never can tell."

"I bet he's reading her up and down. I
mean, did you see the way that she tried to take over your
interview? Desiree always has to be the center of attention,"
Leilani said, hoping to create a rift between Bentley and
Dez.

"Nah, she was cool. She handled that
shit well. That shit was kind of smart."

"You've got to be kidding." Leilani
frowned and crossed her arms. "Don't you feel used? Like maybe the
only reason she's hollering at you is because she wants to get put
on?"

Bentley eyed Leilani suspiciously.
"What are you trying to say? Aren't you supposed to be her
girl?"

"That's exactly my point.
I
know
Desiree.
She's an opportunist. I'd be careful, Bentley."

"Yeah, well, I can handle myself. And
I could say the same thing about you. Hooking up with my brother
can't hurt you, now, can it?"

"I'm not even like that," Leilani
countered.

"Yeah, but how would we know that? I'm
giving Desiree a chance, like Sparks is giving you a chance,"
Bentley replied.

Leilani didn't have a response. She
just tossed her hair and fumbled in her purse for a piece of gum.
She snapped on it angrily, taking out all her frustration on the
cinnamon-flavored stick. As far as she was now concerned, Bentley
and Desiree deserved each other. They were equally shallow, all
fluff and no substance. Bentley had to be an idiot if he couldn't
see through Desiree; either that or pussy-whipped or both. Her only
consolation was the hope that Sparks had seen through her and was
putting her in check.

Desiree and Sparks came back into the
studio laughing. Sparks told her he had to say bye to the general
manager of the station and handle some business and disappeared
into an office with an administrative assistant. She spotted
Leilani and Bentley stepping off an elevator.

Leilani confronted her almost
immediately. "What happened?" Desiree ignored her.

"Baby, you'll never guess what
happened." Desiree snaked her arms around Bentley's waist and gave
him a kiss.

He grinned at her. "So tell
me."

"Sparks offered me a deal."

"He what?" Bentley and Leilani shouted
in unison.

Desiree felt Bentley's body stiffen,
and she took three steps back. She looked at Leilani and Bentley.
"Uh, how about a congratulations? I've been working hard at this.
And I have skills," she said, defending herself.

"Nah, baby. That's not it. I trust my
brother's judgment. But we supposed to be partners. He could have
at least consulted with me."

"You don't want me on your label?"
Desiree pouted.

"Listen to me. If Sparks thinks you
got skills, you got skills. It's a business thing. It's not
personal," Bentley explained.

Whatever!
It didn't matter, because she had a deal, so
Desiree just nodded in agreement. Leilani had already heard enough
of her business. She'd approach the topic later, if at all. Sparks
joined them.

"Sparks, let me talk to you for a
minute," Bentley said.

"Desiree, Leilani, why don't y'all go
wait in the car? We'll be right out." Bentley tossed the keys at
Desiree, not giving them much of a choice.

"Dude, why would you offer her a deal
without talking to me first?" Bentley asked his brother as soon as
the ladies were out of earshot.

"Man, you made it clear a long time
ago that you wanted to perform and you would leave the business end
to me. Your girl got mad skills," Sparks explained.

"That's just it, man. You know how I
roll, man. I'm not one to be tied down. I gotta be able to do my
thing. What if I want to hit some groupie after a show? If she's
always around, there's going to be some trouble. I don't need that
kind of fucking drama."

"But you like her, man, don't you? You
ain't gonna care about seeing her."

"Yeah, I like her. That's not the
point. The point is we both know that it ain't smart to shit where
you eat."

"I feel you, man. But you can handle
that shit. I ain't sayin' you got to marry her ass. She might just
surprise you and pull a switch once she blows up. She might decide
to sample some of her own groupies," Sparks teased his younger
sibling. Bentley made a face.

"But this is a business,
and she's money in the bank," Sparks went on. "She's fine as hell,
and she can flow. She ain't no Amil, we ain't gotta write her
rhymes. She looks better than Foxy, she's sexier than Kim, and
she's rawer than Eve. She got more ass than Trina, plus she's got
the titties to match,
and
she freestyles. Man, she's gonna be
large."

"That's cool. But what am I supposed
to do when I want to get some new pussy?" Bentley questioned. "You
know and I know that it ain't no pussy like new pussy."

"Nigga, you got game. Plus, she's
gonna be so busy she won't have time to be all up in your face.
I'll see to that. Besides, y'all ain't about to be Kim and Big. You
gonna do your thang, and she's gonna do hers. I know what the fuck
I'm doing."

"Aight, then," Bentley replied
reluctantly. "But respect me, brother. I'm not a little boy
anymore, I'm a man. And I've put just as much into this label as
you have, dog. Respect me, man. Ya heard?"

"I feel you, nigga." Sparks gave
Bentley a pound, and they headed to the Hummer.

"Do you have crack in your
cunt or what?" Leilani
snarled in the
Hummer.

"What is your fucking problem, bitch?"
Desiree asked her, knowing full well what her problem
was.

"Oh, so you're a rapper now?" Leilani
responded sourly.

"You're the one constantly talking
down on me about shaking my ass in videos, acting like I'm stupid.
Well, now I got something because of my talent, and you hating. I
do have talent, you know!"

"You still used your ass to get what
you wanted. If you weren't fucking with Bentley, Sparks never would
have given you the time of day."

"That's cool. You know that's not
true, but even if it was true, it would have been someone else if
it wasn't Sparks. Believe that," Dez replied, full of confidence.
"This ain't my first deal offer, just the best."

"I wouldn't be shocked if you sucked
Sparks's dick to get your deal. Nobody saw what y'all were doing
out there."

"Feeling threatened?" Dez
suggested.

"By a whore like you? Never!" Leilani
retorted defiantly.

"You need to watch your fucking mouth
before I punch you in that shit, bitch. Don't get it twisted. Keep
fucking around and trying me. See if you're working
tomorrow."

"Fuck you, Desiree," Leilani spat. She
had no idea what the big deal was about Dez, but she for one was
getting sick of all the hype.

"You probably want to." Desiree glared
at Leilani, her eyes a vibrant green. She decided right then and
there that Leilani had one more time to say something slick, one
more time to jump bad, and she was going to give her the beat-down
of a lifetime.