The Question of Him

Paisley Park

"Mommy, you have to pinky promise." Amiyah refused to go into class before I promised to take her to the movies tonight. She held her pinky up with a determined look. "Pleeeaassee!" She begged. I sighed, giving in. "Alright, fine."

"Yaaay! Love you mommy." She kissed my cheek and turned to skip into her class. Her friends Alexis and Alyssha waved at me from their table. "Have a good day girls." I looked down at my pager and saw the time. Shit. I had twenty minutes to get to work which was almost impossible, but with my driving I made it there in fifteen. People were definitely mad at me on the expressway.

"Phara! Just in time for the board meeting I see." Lacy says from her desk as I go into my office. "They all in there yet!?"

"Vincent is on his way down so I say you got two minutes tops."

I quickly get my coat off and put my files down. "Here you go." Lacy calls holding up a cup of coffee. Thank God! "You're the best Lace!" I grab it and head to the boardroom.

It was quiet as I entered and walked over to my seat. Calvin gave me a smirk when I sat down and I rolled my eyes. A few seconds later, Vincent Wheeler comes walking inside the boardroom with a surprisingly big smile on his face. Everyone visibly becomes a little more at ease.

"Good Morning everyone! I have great news for you so relax. It's Friday and we'll be out of here early."

I heard a few people sigh and thank God. Most of us were sure he was going to come in here and chew us out for the spelling mistake on page 13.

"Listen carefully. The owner of Paisley Park is letting us inside the gates for the cover of the magazine. We also get two interviews from artists that record there!" Everyone, including me starts clapping because that place is impenetrable unless you work their or are using the studios. Even then you have to somehow get in touch with the owner which is impossible. No one knows who they are or what they look like. Some people say it's run by a record company that produces artists, others say it's actually a cult church and Scientologists meet there at night.

I say it's just a recording studio that some millionaire decided to build. Why in a state like Minnesota is beyond me.

"Monday I'll announce which artists were chosen and then we'll get the ball rolling on the issue itself. Phara, I'll need you working closely with Nicole on this because I'm expecting a cover by Friday noon, no later. Thank you everyone for being on time and I better not catch you in here after three. Have a great day!"

"Yay!" Nicole claps happily from her seat. She had to be the happiest person I've ever met. It was like a smile never left her face which was fine, but damn she could be annoying. You know what, I'm not going to complain. I give her a smile then down most of my coffee. "Good luck with that." Calvin says, getting up from his seat. I get up to follow him out the door. "What does that mean?"

"It means good luck with the cover." He heads towards the elevators to go back up to his office. "No you didn't, you were being shady about Nicole. I can handle her just fine. I'm glad it's not Raven again because she cracks under pressure too quick."

"Not everyone likes it like you. You're the only person I know that turns out their best work in the most stressful situations."

"You know my momma ain't raise no bitch." I press the up bottom for him. "Yeah cause you know auntie would beat your ass again for getting your ass beat."

"Damn right. Now, when are you coming over again to play with Miyah. She keeps asking about her big cousin."

"Oh nah, I am played out. I don't know what I'm going to do when my girl has this baby. Kids have too much energy." He sighed and got on the elevator. "You should've thought of that before knocking her up. Maybe next time you'll wear a condom." He fake laughs as the doors close. Bastard.