PLAYING THE FENCE

Chapter 22 • Payola

"How are things?"

Standing on the outside of the tour bus, Santana decided to make a call while the group made a stop to eat and to use the bathroom.

Two weeks passed and Santana put Devose in charge of most of his business arrangements - leaving him to check up pretty frequently on things.

"Everything cool, cuz. I got shit goin out back to back" Devose assured him.

"How them niggas moving?" Santana asked, pertaining to the Ventura's.

"Shit still hot, but our soldiers standing strong. I'll let you know if anything other than the usual pop off"

"Cool, I hit you in a few"

"Ard"

Ending their call, Santana placed his phone in his pocket and made his way back into the tour bus.

Almost to Atlanta, the group stayed on a tight schedule - one of the top radio stations in the city requesting interviews from his rising stars, Ryann and Key. Since the show was also later that night, they had to make good timing in order to prepare for both.

"You ready for this interview?" Santana asked as Ryann made her way back onto the bus.

Taking a seat, she immediately began to dig into her meal.

"Yeah, I guess. I haven't been interviewed before" she shrugged.

"Just be yourself, don't let em try to trip you up"

"And when they ask if I'm single what do I say?" She smirked, half joking.

While her and Santana never made things official, she knew men were territorial.

"The same thing you told that nigga in DC" he laughed it off, although it had been on his mind since Key put the message in his ear.

Ryann threw her neck back, "what nigga? The one who tried to blow my head off, I can't remember?"

"I heard you entertained his mans"

Rolling her eyes, Ryann knew there was only one culprit - Key.
The bitch was so scared of losing her job she tried to throw me in the mix, Ryann thought to herself.

"I barely spoke to em" Ryann confessed, "But again, if I'm not exactly off the market then what's the harm?" She smiled tauntingly.

As much as the truth hurt, Santana knew he had no real say so over Ryann's dating life - especially since he always made sure to emphasize their friendship despite the fact he fell more in love with her each day.

Trying to keep a thin line between lust and business, Santana felt he was doing the right thing by not accepting Ryann into his life fully - he hadn't been in a relationship since he was eighteen years old.
What did he know about love?

Knowing he wasn't exactly the committed type, Santana felt it was better to avoid the heartbeat and nurture their business relationship instead.

However as time passed, he wasn't sure how much longer he could watch Ryann be solicited - as she was the hottest thing on the market right now.

"Don't worry about it" he responded nonchalantly.

"Is my lil baby jealous?" Ryann teased, giving him puppy eyes.

Standing up from his seat, Santana smirked in efforts to play off his frustration, "Just get ready for the interview"

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