Nouveau

Chapter 8: Either Way

Tremaine

"That's all we got Mack?"

"I put together about 150 submissions, but I can keep looking." Mack couldn't take it anymore. He wanted out. Well, at least for the night.

Tremaine scrolled through the catalog of downloaded mp3's on the computer. "What's the incomplete folder for?" 

"Some submissions didn't have a lyric sheet, a high-resolution picture, you know. Shit like that."

"Oh ok." Tremaine browsed the contents of the folder and came across a name the seemed to jump from the screen.

Laive.

"How the fuck you say that shit?" he mouthed to himself. Clicking with his right thumb on the apple mouse pad, the track loaded into the iTunes dock and began to play from the speakers.

Tremaine leaned back into the soft leather swivel chair, crossed his ankles, and listened intently with closed eyes. The mellow electric guitar in contrast with the snares, took him to another place. Instinctively, he nodded his head as he digested the lyrics. His pulse quickened and he could feel his heart shallowing to the depths of his chest.

"Silly of me, cause I couldn't believe

A woman like me, could be beautiful

Without a care, you couldn't really tell

My needs were buried underneath for you"

He sat up.

"So my heart doesn't carry weight

Momma's love seems a little stray

And my strength can't seem to gain

But believe me when I say"

Her voice.

"I'd fight my way through the darkness, for my ovation

Bring on the liars and doubters

They can't phase me

I'll tear the walls down, they won't stop me

Try to hurt me but I swear

I'll still be here

And I'm not scared, of lions and tigers, and bears"

Tremaine pressed the space bar to pause the track, and slowly turned to look at Mackson.

"Damn!..." Mack said aloud.

"No picture or social media pages attached," Tremaine verified. "And no contact number. Just an email."

"Yeah, hence the incomplete folder."

"....."

"She sounds..." Mack was obviously trying to figure out what to say. His thumb was placed on the right side of his mouth as his index finger swept across the left. The other four were tucked beneath his jaw line. "...She sounds like she's fat."

Tremaine's face tightened up and he looked at Mackson like he was crazy. "Fuck you on?"

"..."

They laughed in sync.

"I ain't lying. You know I'm not. But what her name say?" Mack had one arm wrapped around his own torso, and he sat his red cup on the desk. "How you-...how you pronounce that?" He was still weak from his comment on what this girl looked like.

"I'm not even about to try and figure that shit out."

"I don't know how you pronounce it...but however you say it, it looks like her momma cooks with Crisco straight out the can." Slapping his free hand on Tremaine's left shoulder, he lost his pace of breath from laughing so hard. "And The fact that she didn't attach the required picture lets me know that she's self-conscious about something."

"Did baby girl even read what was required to submit the email?" Tremaine vented out loud. He almost felt disrespected.

His fingers tapped on the wooden desk and he stared at the iMac monitor. How in the hell was he going to do this?

The music business was harsh. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Talent didn't mean anything without an image, especially, when it came to women. They had to be attractive, able to dance well, sing well, and perform with high energy. Women had to be the entire package. Meanwhile, male entertainers had it easy. If they could sing or rap, all they had to do was stand there. Their sex appeal would come with their accumulated wealth and exposure to the masses. Tremaine was looking for a talent he could market anywhere, for any genre. The total package was out there, and he was going to find it.

Fuck it.

"Get her a flight Mack."

"When are you trying to fly her in?"

"Next weekend." His fingers grazed the edge of the desk as he pushed his chair back. Tremaine stood to his feet as he placed the phone in his back pocket. "I booked the studio for two weeks while I'm back in LA."

Tremaine couldn't stress over what she could look like for now.

She had a powerhouse voice. Rich, heavy, and full of range. But she also had the dynamic to soften up to a sweet vibrato and sing high octaves in full voice.   Professionals could barely pull those type of notes off with a weak falsetto. It sounded like she was vocally influenced by Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, and Minnie Riperton. Tremaine didn't even have to play the first song in its entirety to learn about her abilities. It was insane. The girl could sing.

Whoever she was, he had to get her to LA.

Laive

"What kind of budget are they giving you that you can just change coasts for your showcase at the last minute?"  Laive was on York's head like white on rice. She despised last minute traveling arrangements. Particularly, when she was traveling alone.

"Enough." York's voice had a husky veil over it, even though he was annoyed. "Everything's taken care of. You will complain about anything."

On the first leg of her trip, she flew from her hometown's regional airport to Dallas International. Finally, she was about to board her connecting flight to Los Angeles. Regret flashed across her face, then mirrored on her front camera screen. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound ungrat-"

"Stop it Laive. I wasn't being serious."

Feeling the conversation going south, York tried to make her smile. "You should be excited to come to LA. The weather's great, and the two capital letters actually stand for something."

He was coming for her home state of Louisiana again.

"Don't." Laive smirked. "And this isn't going to be my first or last time in LA. I have family there remember?"

"Yeah, Yeah. Whatever. Enjoy your flight and catch up on some sleep, ok?"

Her boarding section was announced over the intercom, and she stood up with her things. "Ok Zaddy Warbucks. You're always telling me what to do," she joked.

York's eyebrows lifted seductively and he licked his lips at her. "I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"Bye York."

Laive tapped her screen to end the call, grabbed her boarding pass out of her wallet, and proceeded to the boarding lane. If nothing else, he was right about her getting some rest. All she had planned was to sleep on each flight. Laive didn't realize how tired she had been.

She secured herself in her seat by the window and put her phone in airplane as instructed by the flight attendants. After barely staying awake during the safety video, she drifted off to sleep. Laive's white ear buds had serenely wrapped and pacified her to the sounds of Best Part by Daniel Caesar.