Grip Trilogy Box Set

“Really?” She sits up from her slumped position, one hand open on her forehead, the other at her belly. “You sure you’ll be okay without me?”

“Yeah. I’ll probably just follow up with the band and make sure Elle came through.”

I don’t mention the dozen other things I need to do that have made this week hell because she might feel bad.

“Okay.” She stands gingerly and is making her way toward the door. “I’ll just close out this one last email and be out.”

“Sounds good.”

My cell rings, and I glance down to see who it is. Will Silas. A fellow manager.

“Will, hi. What’s up?”

“Bristol, hey. Nothing much. I wanted to talk about tomorrow night.”

“What about it?” I walk back to my desk and sift through a few contracts I printed and started marking up. “The venue is all set. I spoke with them earlier. Sound check is at seven. Everything else is in the email I sent.”

“Yeah, the email you sent at two o’clock this morning.” He chuckles, a note of admiration in his voice. “When do you sleep, girl?”

“When all the work is done.” I give a little laugh and check my impatience. I really need to look at these contracts. “So if we’re all set for tomorrow’s performance, what can I do for you?”

There’s a pause on the other end screaming Will’s reluctance. “Uh, Qwest has a special request,” he says after a few seconds more of screaming quiet.

“Okay. Let’s hear it.”

“I know you have that reporter Meryl scheduled to talk with Qwest and Grip after the show.”

Grip's upcoming album is Prodigy's first release. Even though Grip will be his first solo project, his popularity has grown through features on other artists' singles, all of which went platinum. He built a sterling reputation as a writer and producer over the years, along with hugely popular underground mixtapes. Now an artist in his own right, there’s nothing like him out there. He has it, and brings it to everything he does. His current single “Queen” featuring Qwest, currently sits at number one, and the album hasn’t even dropped.

“Yeah. Legit is doing that in-depth piece on Grip,” I tell Will. “And I agreed to a chat with the two of them before she flies back to New York the next day.”

“Yeah, she has, um, some other things she’d like to do after the show.”

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This time the pause is mine. The reluctance is mine. Qwest doesn’t have some things she’d like to do after the show. She has someone she’d like to do after the show.

Grip.

“Oh, yeah?” I drop the contract and run my hand over the back of my neck where the tension always seems to gather. “Like what?”

“She was thinking she and Grip could hang out after the show. They haven’t seen each other since they wrapped on the ‘Queen’ video a month ago. So . . .”

Pairing Grip with Qwest, the hottest female rapper on the scene right now, was sheer brilliance. I wish I could take credit for it, but Qwest approached us about working with him.

“So . . .” I pick up where Will left off, waiting for him to voice the request.

“Could we cancel the chat with the reporter so Qwest and Grip can go out after the show?”

I swallow the big no that lodges in my throat. It’s true that Meryl will be irritated if we cancel. She’ll be shadowing Grip for the next few weeks leading up to the album release writing this piece. I don’t want to start our working relationship not delivering the one-two punch of Qwest and Grip together. But, if I’m honest, that isn’t the only reason I want to refuse Qwest’s request to spend time with Grip.

I clear my throat before responding.

“Um, let me see what I can do, Will. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try. I don’t want to alienate this reporter. This piece she’s doing is great exposure for Grip’s album.”

“I get that, but you know how Qwest is.” Will laughs, probably to keep from crying, because Qwest is a handful. “If we make her do the interview, she’ll probably say some outrageous shit and ruin it anyway.”

Irritation prickles under my skin. Qwest is undeniably talented. And undeniably hot for Grip. I’ve seen it for myself. She practically engraved an invitation for Grip to screw her at the “Queen” video shoot. For her to put her libido above a commitment is highly unprofessional, but then, it is Grip. She wouldn’t be the first woman I’ve seen lose all sense of decency where he’s concerned.