Primal: Part One (3 page)

Why the hell did she come to this mixer?  This was probably why only a few people bothered to show up.  High school was bad enough the first time around.  No one wanted to experience it again, even in little doses.

She sighed and tried to look nonchalant.  “Sorry.  It’s – nothing.  I’m fine.”

“Why’d you take off?” he asked and took a few guarded steps in her direction.

“You were a little busy in there,” she informed him.  “I didn’t think you’d notice.”

He grinned and reached to rub the hair on the top of his head.  He stroked it backwards, towards the rubber band that held his dreads together.  His biceps were huge.  His triceps were too.  His forearm looked strong enough to crack a skull.

“I know you not getting jealous,” he said.  “You said you got a man.”

“I’m not jealous,” Monica said, frowning again.  “Why would I be jealous?  I don’t even know you – not like that.”

“I have to be available to women,” he explained.  “It’s business, or it could be.  You never know.”

“What the hell does that mean?”  In addition to being insanely sexy, Jovan was a walking question mark.

“Where you headed?” he asked.  “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

“I gotta go to work,” she said, blowing him off.

“Where do you work, that you have to be there at eleven o’clock at night.”

“One of my clients has a gig,” she explained.  “On the weekends I work as late as three in the morning.”  She wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to explain herself.

“What club?” he asked.  “Can I go?  I’ll meet you there.”

“Why do you wanna talk to me?” she asked, growing exasperated.  “I already told you ain’t nothing happening between us.”

His mouth fell open.  He closed it and smiled good-naturedly. “Monica, I respect your relationship.  Trust me.  I want to talk about
business
,” he insisted.  He was as calm as she was agitated.  “How much are you making off your client tonight?”  Before she could respond, he said, “I know it’s not as much as you can get working with me.”

Monica stared at him with her mouth ajar, eyes unblinking.  “How do you know that?  You still haven’t told me what you do, Jovan.  Sing, dance?  You a stripper?”

He shrugged.  “I do a lot of stuff.  Does that mean you wanna talk business?”

She didn’t, but then again maybe she did.  The singer she was managing tonight, Shayne, was only getting $750 for his performance.  Monica’s 20 percent take was a whopping 150 bucks.  Jovan had no way of knowing any of that.  But his boast that she could make more money working with him got her attention.

“I’ll be at Club Tron,” she told him before opening the door and slipping inside her car.

Jovan stood watching and smiling until she rolled out of the parking lot.

CHAPTER THREE

NOT REALLY MODELING

Club Tron was a staple on the city’s south side.  The modest establishment offered a competitive ladies’ night on Fridays and was home to MC Freeze; arguably one of the top five DJs in the area.  The club wasn’t in a great neighborhood and didn’t attract the right crowd to bring in any serious talent, but they managed to book a live performer each month.  Tonight it was Shayne, an up and coming R&B singer from North Dallas.

Shayne had the looks and style to take him to the next level.  He was tall and thin, with short hair and pretty eyes.  His stage presence was another strong point.  His vocal skills weren’t where Monica wanted them to be, but he was young.  She thought he was getting better with each performance.

By 12:30 his show was in full swing.  The club was filled with tipsy, scantily clad women.  A good number of them stood at the front of the stage, screaming and vying for the singer’s attention.  Monica made sure to get them in the photos and videos she uploaded to Shayne’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.

In addition to being his manager and stylist, she was a ceaseless promoter for Shayne and all of her other clients.  So far none of them had become the next Drake or Trey Songz, but Monica remained hopeful.  She never knew which new contact would be the one to change her client’s life and hers as well.  She was sure it was only a matter of time.

She was aware of Jovan as soon as he entered the club, though he didn’t immediately seek her out or give any outward indication that he was there for her.  He breezed into the building with confidence and familiarity, as if he patronized the nightclub on a regular basis.  Monica knew that was not the case, because Club Tron was another one of her clients.  She was there almost every weekend, and she had never seen him.

Her ex-boyfriend stood out in the crowd, not only because of his massive size, but because of his dress.  Jovan was GQ smooth amongst a crowd of hustlers and roughnecks.  Dozens of eyes were on him as he acclimated himself to the environment and made his way to the bar.  He offered the barkeep an easy smile.  She was wrapped around his finger after a few exchanges.  Jovan struck up a conversation with another woman seated next to him before stepping away with his drink.  It looked like the same concoction he ordered at the mixer; Cognac on the rocks.

Monica lost track of him.  She waited a while and then left her seat.  She slowly made her way around the club, using the darkness and the crowd to conceal her.  She spotted Jovan as he took a seat at an empty table.  His attention was focused on the stage, where Shayne was crooning to a beautiful sister in a little red dress.  Shayne was doing a great job.  Monica was not in position to photograph her client’s latest move.

After a few minutes, she moved again; this time to a table that was occupied by two men.

“Mind if I sit here for a second?”

They looked her up and down.  Pretty, fair skin, short in stature, big boobs and thick thighs…  They didn’t mind at all.

Monica watched her high school crush for a while longer, long enough to see two women approach his table.  They initiated the conversation.  Jovan said something, and they were all smiles and giggles.  He invited them to join him, and they did.

Monica was not surprised that he attracted so much attention, but she was startled by the ease in which he settled into the scene and wasted no time hooking up with a couple of cuties.  The Jovan she knew in high school was handsome but
sweet
.  She expected him to marry a beautiful woman and settle down – not turn into an arrogant ladies’ man.

Or maybe she was judging him too harshly.  Monica wondered if it was green-eyed envy that had her turning up her nose at her old friend.  She wasn’t jealous because she wanted him back, rather it was Jovan’s seemingly freestyle life that irked her.  She knew it was wrong to formulate that opinion, because she had such little to go on.  For all she knew he worked 80 hours a week and chose to have a little fun tonight.

She turned her back on Jovan and returned to her original seat.

● ● ● ● ● ●

He approached her an hour later.  Shayne was done performing by then.  He was chilling in the VIP with two of his personal friends and four women they met that night.  Monica thought her client had the air of a superstar.  She hoped someone important would agree with her soon, a record executive would be nice.

Jovan said, “Great show.  Is that one of the guy’s you’re managing?”  He placed two drinks on the table.

Monica noticed that he remembered what she was drinking at the mixer.  She smiled as she took her glass.  “Yes.  Did you like him?”

“He’s… not bad.”  Jovan took a seat across from her.  “He has a nice look.  Are you his stylist?”

Monica’s eyes narrowed.  Her smile remained.  “Yes.  Sometimes.  You like his outfit?”

He nodded, looking into her eyes.  “I do.”

Monica felt a sudden chill, which she attributed to the strength of his gaze.  It’s not every day that someone so attractive looks directly at you, sitting so closely.  Jovan used to make her feel that way in high school, but he was different now, more virile.

“How much of the show did you catch?”  She knew the answer to that and was curious about whether he’d be honest.

“I’ve been here about an hour.”

Okay, so he told the truth.  But why did he wait so long to come to her table, if he came to see her?

Around them club-goers moved about casually as MC Freeze transitioned into a Chris Brown mix.  A few ladies sent smiles Jovan’s way as they passed, even though he was seated with another woman.  He vaguely returned their attention, which Monica was okay with.  It wasn’t like they were on a date.  This was supposed to be a business meeting, and she was eager to get on with it.

“So, you had something you’d like to discuss?”

Jovan nodded, his attention solely on her now.  “Yes.”  He leaned closer.  “I think we might be able to work together on a project of mine.”

“What kind of project?”

“What’s been going on with you since we graduated?” he asked.  “When we were going out, you talked about going to OSU…”

She wanted to keep their conversation on track, but there was no need to be rude.  They were once good friends, and she hadn’t seen him in a very long time.  Catching up was in order.

“I did.  I majored in business management.  But I didn’t finish.”

“Me neither!”

Monica wasn’t sure why he was so excited about that.

“What’d you major in?” she asked.

He shrugged.  “I was still working on my basics.”

She shook her head, grinning.  “Well, at least I made it to my junior year.”

“Why’d you quit?”

“I got a job offer.  It was the job I thought I needed college for.  You know how it is when you’re in your twenties; always looking for an easy route.”

“Oh, I know all about that,” he agreed.  “But that’s not just a twenties’ feeling.  I’m still doing it in my thirties.  Nothing wrong with the easy route.  What was the job that took you out of school?”

“I got an offer to manage three Luby’s.”

“
Luby’s
?  Do they even have those anymore?”

She laughed softly.  “I’m sure they’re still around.”

“Managing three restaurants when you’re 21,” he mused.  “The owner must’ve thought very highly of you.”

“We were dating for a little bit.”  She wasn’t sure why she chose to reveal that.

Jovan chuckled.  He grinned at her.  “How’d you go from Luby’s to R&B singers?”

“There was a lot in between.  I got tired of having to be on someone else’s schedule all the time.  Owning your own business…  That’s the American dream, right?”

He nodded.  “Yes.  I know exactly how you feel.”

After a pause, she asked, “What about you?  What have you been up to since Finley High, besides growing all that hair?”

He smiled and thought for a moment.  “A lot.”

Monica’s lips curved into a grin.  “Yeah, I guessed that.”  She waited, thinking he’d elaborate.  Instead he redirected the conversation back to her.

“How’s business going?  Do you have a lot of clients?”

Monica felt like any number less than 100 would make her sound like a failure.  “I have six, and I do promotions for two clubs.”

He lifted his glass and sipped slowly.  She couldn’t tell if he was impressed.

He said, “That’s a lot.  You must be living well.”

She was guarded now.  “I do okay.  But I’m not ready for retirement.”

“Do you have assistants?”

She shook her head slowly.  Her cousin Jeanette helped out a little, but she couldn’t consider it full or even part-time employment.  “Nope.  Just me.  I’m hoping to expand.  I’ve only been doing this for a few years.  Why are you asking?”

“I’m thinking about hiring you.  I knew there was a reason I went to that whack-ass mixer.  I think you’re it.”  His smile was delicious.

Monica was flattered, but her suspicion remained.  “Hiring me for what, Jovan?  What kind of work do you do?”

He continued to grin at her.  “Modeling.”

She sighed inwardly.  Of course a perfectly sculpted pretty-boy wanted someone to take pictures of him.  She shook her head.  “I don’t manage models.”

If he was disappointed, he hid it well.  “Why not?”

“I don’t know enough about the modeling business.  I don’t know
anything
about the modeling business.”

“I could teach you.”

Monica had a tempting vision of them working closely together as he
taught
her.  “Do you model, like, full-time?  It’s your only job?”  She couldn’t believe she was considering it.

He nodded.

She studied him closely.  He was clean-shaven.  His eyebrows were arched perfectly.  Those eyebrows were just as perfect when he was 18, so she didn’t think he got them sculpted.  But now that she knew he was a model, maybe he did.

She thought his outfit was perfect, in style and fit.  His dreads were neat.  Tonight they were tied back, but Jovan could create a few different looks if he let them down.  He’d look good in anything, from Fendi suits to basketball gear.  He looked powerful, sexy and intelligent.  Throw a pair of shades on him, and he could be a gangster or a hit man.  Monica couldn’t deny that she was eager to see more of him.

“Do you have a portfolio?”

She knew he wasn’t carrying anything, so she expected him to tell her where she could find it online.  But Jovan shook his head.

“I don’t really model anymore.”

Monica continued to stare at him, rather than point out what little sense he was making.

He laughed.  “I know you’re gonna think this is weird. 
Shocking
, even.  But if you hear me out and keep an open mind, I think we could make a lot of money.  I have the talent.  But I need someone to put everything together; keep it straight and keep it growing; keep me out of trouble.”

Monica didn’t know what to think.  Money was always a driving force, but his comments revealed a lot of pitfalls. 
Weird
? 
Shocking
?  Whatever he was into was probably illegal.

She already knew she wasn’t interested when she asked, “What the hell do you do, Jovan?”

“It’s a… dating service.”

“
Dating
?”  The hairs on the back of her neck stiffened.  “Like escorts?”

He nodded.  “Yeah, like escorts…”

“You’re a–”  Her face reddened.  She leaned over the table and hissed, “
male prostitute
?”

“Whoa.”  Jovan held up two perfectly manicured hands.  “That’s such an ugly word.”

Monica’s jaw remained unhinged while she waited for him to deny the charge.  But he didn’t.