Sex, Secrets and South Beach (23 page)

"Sue Dan? This isn't totally his
fault. I lied to him," Desiree interjected.

"How much money have you seen from
doing that tape? Not shit. But that nigga's seen plenty. You were a
little girl, a runaway. He shouldn't be allowed to profit off a
child, I'm sorry. Wrong is wrong. We've got a legal department and
a PR department, and that's what we pay them for–and very well, I
might add. The tape is illegal to own, illegal to buy, and illegal
to sell. Anyone who posts it on the Internet can get sued or go to
jail. Child pornography is no joke. Dan don't want that kind of
trouble. He'll offer you a nice settlement for your pain and
suffering," Sparks finished.

"This shit won't die," Bentley
protested.

"Bentley, you just do what you do, and
let me handle the legalities." Sparks stood and put his arm around
Dez. "Dez, you family now, period. Family don't turn its back on
family. We're gonna handle this together. When you're ready to
talk, I'm here to listen. I can only imagine what life has been
like for you." Sparks gave her a reassuring smile.

"This is bullshit," Leilani
huffed.

"Yo, chill, babe," Sparks told
Leilani.

"She's right, this is bullshit,"
Bentley cosigned for Leilani.

"I'm gonna handle this. Don't worry,
Dez. We gonna take a break. Get yourself together," Sparks said to
Dez, but she wasn't hearing it.

"I want to know who did this to me.
Bentley won't tell me who gave him the tape. It's gotta be somebody
on the set. Whoever it is, they're probably laughing their ass off
at me. How can I work like that?" Dez said, playing on Sparks's
sympathy.

"Bentley, who gave you the tape? This
shit is gonna cost us money. Who are you protecting?" Sparks asked,
beginning to get irritated.

"I'm not protecting anybody I just
wanted to hear what Dez had to say for herself before she went off
and tried to handle some personal shit between her and that chick;
the lead girl, Ysenia," Bentley responded defensively.

"Bet. I got something for that bitch,"
Dez huffed, ready to go kick Ysenia's ass.

"Me too," Sparks interjected gruffly
"Leilani, go tell her that her services are no longer required.
Then call her agent and explain what happened so we don't have any
bullshit. Tell them Ysenia will get paid, but she's got to leave
the set immediately."

"What?" Leilani asked in
shock.

"She's the troublemaker. This shit is
costing us time, money, and most of all, difficulty within my
family. Why? Probably because she wants to fuck my brother. Don't
nobody have time for that shit. This is a business. After you
handle that, meet with me and Hype. We need to decide what to do
about the video; whether or not we're going to scrap the footage,
bump up one of the other extras, and start over, or whether to
change the concept. We still have another day of shooting, but we
can't afford to get behind. Will an hour be enough time for you to
get it together, Dez?" Sparks asked her.

"Yeah, as long as that bitch is gone,"
Dez replied smugly.

"Leilani, send makeup over here. Dez,
try and get along with her. Bentley, we'll move you to another
trailer or something. She needs this space more than you do. Come
on, man. Let me holla at you." Sparks was clearly in control of the
situation. He led Bentley out of the trailer.

Dez and Leilani glared at each other
before Leilani exited the trailer as well.

That bitch know she don't
want none of this!
Dez thought. Then she
flopped onto a chair and breathed a sigh of relief. She had no idea
what the future held for her, but she knew that things couldn't get
any worse. After all, Sparks had assured her that her deal remained
intact and that she was entitled to some dough. Things could only
get better, couldn't they?

The aftermath-September
2001

L
eilani sat at the vanity mirror in her South
Beach apartment, studying her face in the mirror.
Dez had clocked her good. The bruises were fading, though, and were
barely visible thanks to a generous application of Dermablend cover
stick and MAC foundation. But Leilani knew they were there, and
that pissed her off. She attempted to cover her face with her hair,
but only succeeded in looking utterly foolish.

Frustrated, she threw her comb across
the room. Angry tears spilled from her eyes. This had to be a joke.
Any minute now, Leilani expected a camera crew to come crashing
into the room to tell her that she was on television and everything
that had transpired was an awful joke. Desiree could not be on her
way to superstardom! It was ridiculous!

From what Leilani could see, Dez had
no real education and had done no real hard work. She just popped
on the scene as a model and blew up. She hadn't even begun to pay
the dues that Leilani had paid to get to where she had gotten as a
model. It simply wasn't fair, and she had to think of a way to
level the playing field.

I can't believe that bitch
hit me! If she hadn't snuck me, I would have stuck her ass!
Leilani thought.
Ysenia
puts her business on blast and causes all that trouble, and all she
gets is fired. Dez kicks my ass, and I have to work for her to make
her look good! This makes no sense at all!
Leilani frowned and paced about her apartment.

"Sparks ain't shit!" she said aloud.
"I can see that now. He'd put her before me again if he had the
chance, all because she's on his label. It's always about pussy and
money with these niggas. Shit, her flow ain't all that. Okay, she's
nice, but damn, why does shit have to always work out for her? Why
does she get all the breaks? She ain't nothing but a ho." Leilani
was furious and holding a full-on conversation with
herself.

"Well, not this time. Somehow Dez is
gonna be out of the Titanium Records family, and I'm going to be in
as the true first lady, the boss's wife! Shit! Dez is like a roach,
though. She'll manage to find some way to stick around. But it's
all good. She will bow down. I'll see to it," Leilani
swore.

"She has zero class. She's all sex.
Why can't they see through that? What's she got that I haven't got
besides fake boobs and a porno tape? Ha! Well, I can think of one
thing that I have that she doesn't, and that's the top dog, Sparks.
I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that man stays mine. I'll
even get knocked up if I have to." Leilani grinned deviously as she
patted her pancake-flat stomach. She arched her back and stuck her
belly way out to see what she'd look like with child. "That's more
Dez's style, but drastic times call for drastic measures," Leilani
stated with disdain.

"Hell, I did not go to college, I did
not give up modeling to become Dez's do-girl. These sacrifices are
going to payoff one way or another! But Sparks is the key! Right
now he's my life. There's nothing more important than winning his
heart and his trust. I've just got to fight fire with fire,
starting immediately. Shit! Once I hit Sparks with the poom poom,
it's a wrap, baby" Leilani grinned with satisfaction. She knew what
she had to do.

Everyday Sparks wondered
why he was even in the
music industry. He
hated the attention it brought and all the drama it entailed.
Everyone was grimy; they were all out for self. He had to deal with
A&R reps and his other staff, producers, distributors, the
media, and his artists. What was the payoff, fame? Fame was
overrated. Sure, there was money. But what good was money unless
there was someone special for him to share it with? He'd gotten
over the initial hype of buying extravagant gifts for himself,
friends, and family. He'd secured investments in his future; he
owned stocks, bonds, and real estate. But it all still felt
empty.

He'd done the groupie thing. But he
never derived much pleasure from using women and throwing them
away. He remembered how happy his parents had been when they were
alive, and he wanted something like that. Sparks wanted a family.
Bentley had been so young when their folks died. Sparks surmised
that Bentley tried to replace his longing for a mother figure with
all the different women he bedded. Sparks was happy when his
brother seemed to be willing to slow down and give love a chance
with Dez.

At first Sparks believed that he'd met
someone special that he could share not only his fortune with but
his dreams and even the hard times. He thought both he and his
brother had lucked up and found the women of their dreams. But Dez
and Bentley's relationship now seemed dead, and there was something
unsettling about Leilani. She was beautiful, she was smart, and she
had a bright future ahead of her. But Leilani was cold. Everything
about her seemed calculated; she was totally devoid of passion. She
also seemed to lack a heart. When he'd tried to discuss Dez's
situation with her, Leilani just called Dez nasty names and
pressured him to drop her from the label.

Leilani had even gone so far as to
accuse Sparks and Dez of having an affair, and if there was one
thing Sparks couldn't stand, it was an insecure woman. Leilani
claimed that the reason Sparks was giving Dez a chance was that he
had feelings for her. He'd told her that the whole idea was
nonsense. He and Bentley were brothers, and he would never date the
same woman his brother had dated. But was Leilani that far off the
mark?

The truth of the matter was that he
was, in fact, feeling Dez. She was the total package. She was
beautiful, talented, and street-smart. She was confident and she
had fire. And because he got to spend so much time with her, he
discovered that Dez was a sweet and compassionate person. She just
hid behind her tough-girl image. But what difference did it make if
he was feeling her or not? Dez was off-limits. Or was
she?

Bentley couldn’t believe
what had happened. For
the first time, he
felt love for a female, but just as he had already known, bitches
weren't shit. He thought that Dez was special, that if "the one"
existed, she was it. But he was wrong. How was she different from
any other groupie besides the fact that she could flow? She'd
whored herself out for the whole world to see, and made that
country, 'Bama-ass Dirty Dan a fortune in the process. Bentley
couldn't refute the fact that he still had love in his heart for
Dez. But his head was telling him to cut the bitch loose. When word
got out, if he was linked to her, he'd be the laughing stock of the
industry. He'd look like a trick and a sucker.

"How the fuck does Sparks think that
this can possibly be good for business?" Bentley wondered aloud.
"This ain't gonna cause shit but drama."

But there were still so many
unanswered questions he had. How did Dez get away with lying about
her age for so long? Why did she run away? What was the nature of
her relationship with Dan? Dez had tried to explain, but he
wouldn't listen; he had his pride. All she was going to do was spit
some game to him. He knew he definitely couldn't trust her, so what
difference could it make, what she had to say? It would probably be
all lies.

But all Bentley could seem to focus on
were her angelic face, her sweet lips, the sound of her moans when
they made love, and her soft, warm body. He could still recall the
way she called his name. How was he supposed to pretend that she
was never in his life? And what were his other options? The thought
of his future without her seemed empty, like it was lacking
something.

Focus! He had to stay focused! He just
had to forget about Dez. But how? She was his labelmate; he'd have
to see her. Bentley hoped to God that the old saying about time
healing all wounds was true, because he was hurting and there
didn’t seem to be an end in sight.

For Dez the nightmarish
part of the video had
ended, but her life
was still like a bad dream. Surprisingly, things on the set had
turned out okay after the videotape fiasco. There had been a few
changes in wardrobe and location, and the concept of the video was
changed. Sparks and Hype had decided to give it a rawer, edgier
vibe and forgo the cliché models and bottles theme that had been
oversaturating the airwaves in practically every rap video. They
scrapped most of the celebrity cameos, opting instead for footage
of the real Miami streets-Liberty City, Overtown, Carol City. The
result was a unique video that focused on Dez's and Bentley's
lyrical skills and Hype's famous special effects. Adding to the
hardcore vibe of the video was the tension between her and Bentley.
Their freestyle battle was phenomenal and very personal but had
generated such positive feedback from test audiences that Sparks
decided to release the results as a remix.

But the battle didn't do anything to
help matters between Dez and Bentley. He avoided her at all costs
and didn't speak to her when they did happen to cross paths. Dez
offered futilely to sit down and explain the chain of events that
led to her making the tape. But his attitude was that she'd had her
chance; why would he listen to her after she'd had ample time to
concoct some kind of story to arouse his sympathy?

K.G. paged her incessantly, but he was
the last person she felt like talking to. In a brief conversation
with him she had told him about her record deal and that the
relationship was over. But he didn't believe her. He told her that
she was going through a phase and that if she needed time, he would
give it to her. He told her that he was confident that she'd hate
the music industry; therefore, he'd let her explore her options and
he'd be there for her when she inevitably "came home to Daddy." It
was the most blatant form of denial she'd ever seen.

After their talk she ignored the
messages, often deleting them without reading them. He was starting
to freak her out a little; most men would have gotten the hint.
They'd had a thing, now it was over. Couldn't he understand that?
She'd never told him that she loved him. He'd spent an awful lot of
money on her, but that was the nature of the game. Besides, he had
plenty of money; the chips he'd laced her with wouldn't kill
him.

She had even cut up the American
Express card and phoned them to cancel her account. He'd served his
purpose; there was really no reason in juicing him any further.
Besides, she was an emerging star. Fashion labels and jewelers
would hunt her down to wear their clothes and jewelry. She wouldn't
need a man to take her on a shopping spree.