Fake It || H.S ||

Chapter 13

July 29th. One Year and Seven Months Earlier

It was beautiful. Their apartment rested on the top floor of the complex and was complete with its own private pool, balcony, and parking spaces. 

Sephora rested gently in Isiah's arms for the first time in weeks. He had been busy moving and finalizing things and wanted to wait to have everything together before sending her a plane ticket. They haven't been completely apart like that in a very long time. 

The city had a lot more water that she anticipated. It was beautiful and the position of the apartment let them have a wonderful view of ferry boats going to and fro different parts of the city. They were residing in district "3" of Seattle's city division. 

One night, Isiah took Sephora out for dinner as a surprise. It was a very high class restaurant called the Aultura the resided near a port for ferry boats. During the time of their visit, the sunset was prominent and left the sky an array of  beautiful, bursting colors. 

As they sat there making small talk and chewing on their expensive cuisine, Isiah began to break the ice more so. 

"I've contacted a record label for you. They've already heard your work and are interested in signing you."

"That's very thoughtful of you, but I don't have an interest-"

Letting his fork clash onto the plant he interrupted her. "I know but think about it. I've signed a good contract and expect to be here for a while. The chance of them trading me to some southern team within the next few seasons is slim to none. You're stuck here with me okay? This label will give you a reason to hopefully want to actually be here and not feel like a tag a long. Just come talk to one of their managers with me. She's in need of a client."

She sat there and managed to spit out an "okay" even though she was not okay. 

That night, they slept together in a warm embrace. Even so, Sephora had never felt so cold and disconnected from him before. She sat there thinking of every smile and good memory they shared over the years. The rough patches even came to mind. She did not want to let something like him following his dreams break their bond. Building it back up was something she was nearly determined to do. 

The Monday of the appointment came and Sephora and Isiah were cruising through the streets of Seattle to the record label's head quarters in Isiah's new Corvette. It wasn't Sephora's type of sports car; however, if he liked it she would put up with it. 

After parking, he looked over at her and planted a kiss on her cheek before saying, "And one more thing, don't mention that we're dating. She girl's just getting over a bad break up an I don't want to upset her."

That didn't sit right with Sephora at all. She understood that the manager would be a little upset to hear about a couple, but it was nothing to the degree where she should go out of her way to hide that fact, was it?

Getting out of the car with a sigh, Sephora let her boots meet pavement as they walked into the building at the distance of complete strangers. Soon afterwards, they were greeted by a woman dressed very professionally in a suit with her short brown hair tied back into a ponytail. 

With a shriek, she clung onto Isiah and gave him a large kiss on his cheek. He smiled at her and held her hand to lightly push her away. This didn't sit right with Sephora at all. 

"So, is this her? She's lovely." She asked.

"Hi, I'm Fiona. Isiah here has told me so much about you. I have a meeting set up for you with the vice president. She is extremely interested in you. If you decide to sign, I will be your manager! I'd love to work with you."

She seemed extremely happy for someone going through some type of rough break up or something. Also, why was she so comfortable to hug Isiah in the manner that she was? 

Sephora knew at times she could be too passive. She was not one to fight and she surly was not going to fight just because someone 'hugged her man wrong'. She let is all slide and decided that she was going to talk to him about the situation later before jumping onto a stranger. 

The vice president of the label was also a woman. She was very calm and collected. She wore a heavy amount of collective red. From her hair to her shoes, she was dowsed in the color. Quietly, she sat behind a desk that had a name tag reading "Jeannette Franklin" on the front. It was a very proper and suiting name. 

The contract was another ordeal. It simply placed too much control in the hands of the company. They had the right to change up to 60% of the lyrics, the prominent melody, the title of the, any and all album titles, control publicity and many other things. After reading only the fine print, which is usually the thing people ignore, Sephora was ready to walk out of there.

She  very well would have if it wasn't for Isaiah's puppydog eyes and Jeannette's promise that she has more control than what the contract will is making it seem like. 

"Sephora, this is a way for you to have a purpose here in Seattle and be able to release your own music and art." Jeannette explained. "You wont be any type of sell out, I promise."

She glanced at the dotted line and then back at the blue eyed man that she deeply loved. This would help them, right? That means she'll have something to do other than being a football player's girlfriend. She could focus on her career. This label would help her, wouldn't it?

Looking back at the slender figured woman in red she asked, "Are you sure? The terms of contract termination are nearly non existent in here." 

She nodded back at Sephora as she slowly eased the pen more so in her direction. "I promise." 

That was the first of many promises that would be broken to her in that city.