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only saving grace is that I see a familiar welcome face when the elevator doors open at Backlash.
    “Hey, there she is. Ooh, I just want to celebrate. My two favorite people coming together,” Stella hollers out to me.
    “Hi, Stella. How are you?” I ask, embracing her round figure. She’s the sweetest and most genuine person I know in this industry; I just wish she could manage me instead of this office. The fact that she likes Trace makes me hopeful I won’t want to ring his neck during this “collaboration.”
    “Hangin’ in there, honey. You best be gettin’ in there,” she tells me, nodding her head toward the mahogany double doors through which my mom has already entered. I was annoyed being here in the first place but now I’m just pissed. Would it really be that difficult for her to wait so we can go in together?
    “Thanks,” I sigh.
    “Everyone’s waiting on you, babydoll. They’re not gonna bite, just go,” she says and I try to rein in my annoyance with the entire situation. Stella gives me a slight nudge before adding, “Then again, judging by the vibe you’re giving off today, I’d say the boys are the ones who I should be worried about.” She gives me a wink and I place my hand on the gold doorknob, trying to let the cool sensation seep into my overheated body. Taking a deep calming breath, I plaster a forced smile on my face and open the door.
     

Chapter 3
     
    Trace
     
    “Better late than never, sweetheart.”
    “Don’t call me that,” she responds tersely. The girl I see in front of me looks nothing like the dolled-up beauty queen I observed the night of the Grammys, but oddly enough, this version of Taryn Starr is much easier on the eyes. Now the words that are coming out of her mouth are another story…
    “Why not? That’s their name for you, isn’t it? ‘America’s Sweetheart’? So everybody else can call you that, but I can’t?”
    “How was jail, by the way? It’s a shame you didn’t have to stay there longer and then we wouldn’t have to do this today.”
    I hear Xavier in the audio room, not trying to conceal his laughter. Hell, I’d probably be laughing my ass off too if I wasn’t so annoyed with the whole situation. “Don’t worry, darlin’, I don’t want to be here any more than you do.”
    “Let’s just get to work, alright? I’ve got another appointment today.”
    “Well, we’d better mosey this along then,” I say in my best southern accent. “Don’t wanna make you late to the spa, now do we?”
    She rolls her eyes and pulls her guitar out of its case as I sit down in front of the baby grand, muttering, “Like I don’t have anywhere to be…” I start to play a few notes because music always settles me down. The piano sounds okay but needs tuning before we record. I glance up at where I know Xavier is sitting on the other side of the glass partition and he nods his head in acknowledgment. Hearing Taryn begin to pluck away at the guitar, I look over to see her jotting down some notes before I focus on the sheet Jay handed me earlier. This fucking sucks . Not the song itself, which isn’t half bad, if I’m being honest. What bothers me about it is that all they’ve got me doing is rapping, like they think I can’t actually carry a tune.
    I start to play the chorus, and as always, lose myself in the feel of the keys as my fingers fly over them. I don’t even have to look at the notes so I close my eyes and just play. It feels like there’s something missing, so I sing the first thing that pops into my head. Hmm, not too bad. I quickly scrawl down the words I just sang before glancing up to the funniest damn sight I’ve seen all day. Guess country girl didn’t think I could sing either.
    “Good thing there aren’t any flies in here or you might’ve choked on a few by now,” I say and she quickly snaps her mouth shut. The peach flush that paints her pale face makes me laugh out loud. I knew white people could blush both pink and red,