IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN (15 page)

The medium height boy spread his arms wide. “Look here, dawg. Appreciate you being here, but I don’t need no training. My stuff’s tight.”

Ray sucked his teeth. “Whatcha play?”

The cocky youth offered a wide grin. “Keyboards.”

“Think you good?” Ray asked.

The boy nodded. “The best.”

Ray pointed to the piano. “All right then. Show me what you got.”

The youth slid on the stool behind the baby grand piano, flexed his fingers and played. When he finished he cocked his head to the side. “Well?”

Ray shrugged. “Well what?”

The youth rubbed his hands in anticipation. “Ready to sign off on a fat contract, man.”

“You got a little somethin’, somethin’.” Ray chuckled. “But you ain’t ready for prime time, player.”

“Whatcha mean
ain’t
ready?” the boy stammered, flabbergasted.  

“Just what I said. You ain’t ready…not to play professionally.” Ray shooed the youth off the piano bench and took his spot. Then he pointed to the choir instruments off to the side. “C’mon, boys. Let’s show ‘em how to do it right. Put it in B flat.”

“Dang,” the first youth whispered as he rocked to the beat of the music. “Y’all good.”

T. J. stood off to the side, grinning from ear to ear.

When Ray finished, he turned, bracing his arm on the piano with a laser sharp focus on the young men. “Now if an executive from a record label was in the house, who do you think they’d give a contract to?”

The youth with the overconfident attitude asked, “So, huh, what I gotta do to be able to play like that?”

Ray patted the space next to him. He straddled the bench to face the boy after he sat down. “It’s called practice. Music isn’t a side gig for me. It’s how I pay the light bill when it rolls due each month, so I take what I do seriously.” He hitched his brow. “How many times a week do you practice? Keep it real now.”

The youth shrugged. “Three…maybe four days a week.”

“That’s your problem right there. You need to be practicing eight or nine hours a day,
every day
. Feel me?” Ray let his gaze scan over the other two youths. “In this business, microwave careers don’t exist. If you want to make it to the top, you’ve got to be better than good.”

The youth’s tone was somber. “Well, can you hook a brother up?”

“I can teach what you don’t know, but the rest is up to you. You’ve got to think of your career in music as you would any other gig. If you don’t know your stuff, think the boss man is going to keep you around long? Preparation is the foundation to your success.”

“Okay, okay, man. Feelin’ ya on point one. Huh, this preparation? How long we talkin’?”

Ray chuckled. “Well, you can’t really go by me. After I graduated from college, I went to law school. So, all totaled…eight years.”

Silence.

The first youth leaned over with his elbows on his knees. “Dang, man. Why so long?”

Ray shifted in his seat and let his gaze volley between the young men. “I wanted control over my career, so I sat back, took the time to learn the industry and hooked up with the best of the best. I’ve seen too many artists get scammed by a shady agent or record label because they signed off on a contract that wasn’t legit. You can’t trust everyone in this business, young bloods. The best advice I can give you is to know the industry so you can handle your business tight. Feel me?”

At the end of the meeting, T. J. walked up to Ray, Laney, and the other members of Les Croisés. “I can’t thank y’all enough for sharing. See this is exactly what these little brothers needed.” He rubbed his chin. “Before it gets too late, I need to head down to the jailhouse and check in on Scott.”

Ray rushed over to the youth who’d told them about Javon. They talked briefly and afterwards, exchanged a fist pound.

Laney noticed Ray fishing his keys from his pants pocket. “Darling, are we leaving now?”

Ray nodded. “Mind taking a detour before we head back home?”

Laney smiled. “Of course not.”

“T. J., hold up,” Ray called out from behind. “Red and I are going with.”

~ ~ ~

After Ray and Laney checked in on Scott, they headed over to the housing project located in North Memphis where Javon Timmons was staying.  Ray parked, got out and walked around the front of the car. He opened the passenger door and helped Laney out. 

Laney spotted Javon talking with another boy a short distance away and headed toward him. “Hello, Javon.”

Javon turned around, flashing a nervous grin.  “S-sister Houston…” Looking at the ground, he shuffled his feet. “Huh…who told you I was here?”

Laney patted the youth’s shoulder. “That’s not important. My concern is for you. We missed you at the meeting today.”

The youth shrugged, his gaze narrowed on Ray. “Man, I swear I don’ seen you before.”

“You might have.” Ray extended his hand. “Name’s Ray LaSalle.”

Javon jumped back and spun around. He threw his head back, releasing an exultant scream at being in the presence of a celebrity. A broad smile surfaced as he exchanged a fist pound with Ray then pointed at his head.  “Almost didn’t recognize you without your dreads. Why you cut ‘em off? That’s your signature look, man.”

“Long story,” Ray answered, running a hand across his the smooth surface of his bald head. “I’ll explain it to you one day. We just came from seeing your boy Scott. He told us to tell you hello.”

A confused looked fanned over Javon’s face. “Where is he?”

Ray crossed his arms over his chest. “Jail.”

Javon let his breath out hard. First, he glimpsed Laney before his eyes settled on Ray. “Why y’all tellin’ me this?”

“From what we’re seeing right now, you might be locked up with him real soon.”

Javon shook his head sideways. “Won’t happen.”

Ray nodded. “Word on the streets is you quit school. That true?”

“Yeah. Wasn’t learning nothin’ no way.” Javon shrugged. “Why bother?”

Ray sucked his teeth. “How do you expect to support yourself if you’re dumber than a doorknob?”

“Hollywood, player,
Hollywood
,” Javon answered, grinning proudly. “Just as soon as I hookup with a label, the cash will start rolling in. And when it does, gonna have me some
fine
honeys knocking at my door.”

“Uh-uh.” Ray glanced over at Laney and gave her a knowing look. Smiling, he knew she got the silent message that this conversation was headed toward a man-to-man discussion. He waited until she’d settled inside his car, then motioned for Javon to follow him over to the stairwell for privacy. “Sit your behind down and let me talk to you.”

“C’mon, man. Why you comin’ at me like that?” Javon protested.

They sat on the bottom step of the stairwell. This was a perfect example of why he’d wanted to start the academy. The title of celebrity meant every aspect of a person’s life came under intense scrutiny, which was the one thing most newcomers to the music industry failed to realize. He’d seen too many young artist get caught in the trap. All of them craved fame and fortune and everything that went with it, including women. What they didn’t realize was that it came with a hefty price.  He glanced over at Javon’s profile. How could he connect with this man-child? There was only one way.  He had to venture into Javon’s world and hold nothing back.

“I don’t care what your partners tell you,” Ray whispered, “or what you read about in the tabloids, everything that sparkles ain’t gold.”

They held each other’s gaze for a moment until Ray spoke again.

“You know, I’ve seen a lot of men this industry hook up with the wrong sista for the wrong reasons. Before they could blink, she and their money booked right out the door.”

“For real?”

“For real.” Ray relaxed on his elbows, stretching his legs out in front of him. “You need to remember, a woman is a precious gift. So as a man, you need to be selective. Plus, you’re too young to be a baby’s daddy.”

“That’s for sho.”

“Yeah, but babies and baby mama drama aren’t the only things you got to worry about these days.”

“What else is out there?”

“AIDS and STDs. Watch what you jump off into. It might look clean on the outside, but… Feel where I’m coming from?”

“I’m feelin’ ya.”

“I’ve been with a lot of women,” Ray admitted and paused, giving the statement time to sink in.

“Bet you have, player,” Javon said, grinning. “Bet you have.”

“Man to man,” Ray said, his voice dipping to a low, conspiratorial tone. “Nothing was ever so good that I didn’t use protection.” Ray looked over at the youth. “Got a sister?”

Javon nodded.

“Your sister’s a woman—”

“C’mon man, don’t take it there.”

“Aaaw, you’ve finally got my point. You wouldn’t want your sister in every Tom, Dick, and Harry’s bed, right?”

“Naw.”

“Good. Then the same thing applies to you.”

Javon nodded.  “I hear ya, dawg.”

“Now let me ask you this? You want everybody off in your business 24/7?”

Javon stared at the cement sidewalk in silence.

“Yeah… that’s what I thought. And I haven’t got to the good stuff.”

“Whatcha talkin’ about?”

“Listen up. There are a lot of celebrities who end up either strung out on drugs or at an extended stay at the looney farm. Do you want to be in that mix?”

“Naw. I can stay in the hood and do that.”

“Now we talkin.”

“Ray, how you make it to the top?”

“It’s like a told your boys at the meeting earlier, I stayed my behind in school. I didn’t want to be at someone else’s mercy when it came to my career. Let me tell you, it’s some crooks in the music industry. They’ll steal from their own mama, so you know they won’t have a problem stealing from you. Now if you’re sitting there fat, dumb, and happy and can’t read a contract, who loses out?”

“Dang,” Javon murmured in disbelief.

Ray held up his hands. “See these? Got these puppies insured for millions because it’s how I make my living. Now if something went down and I couldn’t play, I’d still be able to hit the streets tomorrow and land a gig. Why? Because I can always fall back on the book sense I got by staying in school. Javon, I’m not trying to mess up your dream. Everybody doesn’t hit the lotto in the music industry. Just be sure you got a little somethin’ somethin’ to catch your back.”

“I hear whatcha saying.”

Ray straightened. “Last question. Know how to read music?”

Javon hung his head and shook it sideways.

“Now see there. You already jacked up coming out the gate. A good musician not only plays what he hears, but can read what he plays.” Ray drew to his feet. “The only reason I’m coming at you like this is because I don’t want to see you get caught up.
If
things don’t work out, I don’t want you to end up without an education and selling a little illegal product on the side. Feeling me?”

“Yeah, I feel ya. Don’t wanna go down like that.”

Ray grinned. “Keep it that way.” He pulled the man-child in a brotherly embrace and released him. “I expect to see you at the academy next week. We’ll work on teaching you how to read that music. All right?”

Javon grinned back. “I’ll be there. For sho’.”

A
lone with the coolness of the night air at his face, Ray stood on the balcony of his bedroom suite at Olivia with his arms draped over the rail. At that moment, solitude was what he sought. He glanced up and studied the stars. They were crystal clear against the velvet black skies. Four grueling months of chemo were behind him. Yet, he couldn’t proclaim victory. He still faced the RPLND, which was a month away. Strangely, he was happy Laney disturbed his peace.

“Would you care for some company?” Laney asked in a soft tone.

“Sure.”

“Darling, is everything okay?”

Smiling, Ray kept his gaze on the sky. “You know Red, if a man doesn’t learn from his mistakes, he’s a damn fool.”

Laney had a puzzled expression on her face. “What do you mean?”

Ray rubbed his jaw and glanced up at the stars, again. “It took a bout with cancer for me to realize how caught up I’d gotten in my public image.” 

Laney stood motionless. Although she and Raphael were closer now than ever, she realized the man before her wasn’t the same man who’d walked through the doors of Olivia four months ago. She wasn’t sure if it was his relaxed composure or the honesty in his voice, but he had changed. His smile was easy and his purpose in life was somehow different.