Motivation of Memories: The Second Book of the Labors of Love Series

Greatest Showman

Genevieve's POV

I take my time showering and removing my make up before getting dressed. I throw on a leotard and shorts not wanting to melt during rehearsal. I put together a quick dance bag with some spare clothes, a towel, an empty notebook and a water bottle before throwing on my Chuck Taylor's and heading out. The clock says rehearsal starts in 25 minutes and it's a 15 minute drive back to Paisley Park.

Once I arrive I pull into the lot and there are a few other cars. Grabbing my bag, I make my way inside. I hear screaming from the corridor and decide that heading that way is my best bet to find someone. I walk slowly staying on the balls of my feet in case I need to turn and run. I peek into the room and see the entire band tuning their instruments. The screaming continues somewhere down the hall.

"Hey, Genevieve." Miko smiles walking up to give me a hug.

"Hey, how can you all focus with all that yelling going on?"

"It's Mayte. She was here when we all got here." I walk around greeting everyone and one by one they divulge what they know about the situation.

"She's been calling him a cheater for the passed 10 minutes." Dr. Fink adds from behind his keyboards.

"Sounds like she might've found some proof though." Andre adds while giving me a hug. "She said she found a belt in his room." My face drops realizing that's the one part of my outfit I didn't take with me. I knew I was missing something. A series of quick footsteps approach. Mayte enters first followed by Prince and Ronnie. We all turn and face them as they come in. Prince and I make contact and he stops in tracks as Mayte approaches me.

"Is this trash yours?"

"Yes, that 100% Italian leather belt belongs to me."

"What was it doing in my husband's room?"

"Can you even still call him that?" I scoff with a raised eyebrow. If she was a cartoon steam would be be spewing from her ears.

"What I call him is my business."

"Where my clothes are is my business." I can sense the shock in the air. Trust is I don't like this catty and I like seeing her sweat. She knows she has nothing on mead that's why she fights so hard. "Why did he say it was in his room?" I ask looking over at Prince smirking.

"He said you left it at the party last night and that he was holding onto it until you came back."

"Oh yea. We talked about it this morning." The words feel slick in my mouth. Ronnie clears his throat in the distance suppressing a laugh. I smile before reaching for my belt.

"Don't touch me."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Just want my belt back." I snatch it out of her hands and she swats at me with her other hand. Her hand lands on my right breast and she immediately removes it in disgust.

"Wanna grab the left one too? I only like even numbers." Laughter echoes throughout the room. Humiliated she storms out of the room followed by Ronnie. Once they leave Prince shuts the door and walks up to me.

"You're cold for that." He whispers with a smile.

"She got what she deserved. She's lucky I didn't tell her the truth." I whisper back.

"Today, we're polishing older pieces. We've got some gigs coming up around the Midwest we need to be ready for. I just want you to watch today. Get a feel for how we run things." I nod and follow him toward the stage. I have a seat in the third row and dig through my bag for a notebook before scribbling some beginning notes.