"The Big Payback" Part Two

[CarolinaCutie]

[glow=red,2,300]“A big blabber mouth/That’s what you are/If you were talk-show host/You’d be a star”
— Run DMC: You Talk too Much[/glow]

Near the end of the 2nd week, Latonya and Shanay were going over their article in Russell's office. They were also showing him the pics that Deidre had taken of the artists.

"These look real nice! Your photographer did a good job! Is this her all hugged up on Luda?", Russell chuckled. He would sometimes joke and call Luda a pimp playa.

"Yeah, that's her!", Shanay giggled. "It was really excitin' workin' with everybody. The magazine should hit the newsstands in about 3 ½ weeks. We still have some more people to interview and otha magazine features to work on."

"That's coo'! So have either of you come up with any leads about the missin' money?", Russell asked as he sat up in his chair to place his elbows on his desk. He stared at the two girls while waiting for an answer.

"No, nothin' yet. But we have been takin' a look at the account info that you gave us regardin' each of your artists. We noticed a discrepancy with the expenses for 112 while they were on their promo week before last. Could you tell us in detail how the money is usually spent?", Latonya asked as she pulled the info from her briefcase to hand to Russell.

For the next few minutes, Russell went into detail explaining to Latonya and Shanay how the money for each artist is spent with their individual accountant’s help.

When the girls were finished meeting with Russell, they headed out of his office. As soon as they stepped into the hallway, Latonya accidentally bumped into Russell's assistant, Mia.

"Dn! You wanna watch where ya goin'?", Mia snapped while popping on some chewing gum.

"Well, I was about to say 'I'm sorry' before you wanted to act all salty!", Latonya emptily replied. She then looked over at Shanay. "C'mon, Sunshine! Let's get to work before I lose my mind up in here!"

"What-EVA!!!", Mia loudly replied. She was about to walk into Russell's office until she noticed that he was on the phone. So she decided to go share a few things with her other co-workers.

On the way up to the studio, the girls were stopped by L who greeted the both of them with a warm hug.

"Hey! I thought you and wifey were goin' on vacation for a few weeks?", Shanay asked when it was her turn to hug him.

"The baby came down with a lil' virus so we postponed our plans until next week. Yall gettin' ready to go mix it up in the lab?", he grinned.

"Yeah, we still have a lotta stuff to work on with Noke for a few more songs he's producin' for yo' boy, Meth.", Latonya replied.

"Oh well, I juss came through to holla at Russ for a few minutes. If I don't see yall anymore today, you two take care, aight?", L smiled as he hugged the two of them goodbye.

"Aight!", Shanay replied as she and Latonya waved goodbye to him. They didn't notice that Mia and a few of her girls had witnessed what had just taken place.

"I told yall they ain't nothin' but some scandalous hoes that slept their way into this place! How tha' hell they already close to Russ and L like that and they haven't even been here that long?!", Mia angrily asked to no one in general as she continued to watch the girls head down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Ya got a point there, ma ma!", Lucille replied. She was the receptionist for the company.

"Heyyyyyy, Tay!", Meth grinned when he saw Latonya and Shanay walk into the studio. At the moment, he and Nokio were the only ones present. Red would be down in a few minutes with Ludacris to work on a collabo with Meth.

"Hey, Meth!", she huffed as she plopped down in a chair in a far corner of the studio. She figured she would go over her notes that she had taken down when Russ was explaining everything to her and Shanay a few minutes ago.

"How yall been today?", Nokio smiled as he looked over at Shanay.

"We been coo'! What about’chall?", she replied.

"Same ol' stuff! Jazz told me to tell ya w'sup. He'll prolly be by lata though since we have a few last minute changes to make to Meth's joint with him.", Nokio replied. He then looked over at Latonya.

"Ya got somethin' on your mind, ma?", he asked when he saw how she was heavily concentrating on some papers that were in her hands.

"Huh? Oh, I'm coo'! Juss lookin' ova some stuff that I've been workin' on for the magazine.", she fibbed as she looked up at him.

"Oh, aight!", he smiled back before turning around in his chair to work on some beats. Meth stood up and went to sit beside Shanay who was thumbing through the latest issue of "Essence" magazine.

"Ya know my boy Red is feelin' you, so why don't you give my na a chance?", Meth grinned as he put his arm across the top of the sofa.

"Man, please! When he learn how to act maybe I'll give him a chance, but until then...ha!", Shanay replied as she went back to reading her magazine.

"Dn! Yall are some cold-hearted females!", Meth replied as he looked over at Latonya who just happened to look up at him.

"No, we juss know what we want!", Latonya snapped.

"Whateva! I seen how ya been eyein' me, ma!", Meth slyly grinned as he winked at her.

"Yeah, right!", Latonya laughed with a wave of her hand.

"What up my nas!", Red shouted as he bounced inside the studio. When he saw Shanay, he went to sit on the other side of her. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "How my future ex-wife doin'?!", he grinned.

Shanay proceeded to fold her magazine up and wack him across the top of his head with it. "Na, you don't EVEN know me like that!" She stood up and flung her magazine into Meth's lap and stomped away from them.

Meth and Red began to laugh as well as Nokio.

"She wants me, man!", Red grinned as he gave Meth a pound.

"Mooooooove...get out tha' way, itchb!", Luda shouted as he came walking up into the studio a few minutes after Red's arrival.

"What up, girl!", he stated as he walked over to Latonya to slap her on the thigh.

"Boy, get away from me with yo' dumb @$$!", she laughed as she hit at him.

"That's no way to talk to yo' pimp!", he joked as he went over to join Nokio and Shanay at the mixing board.

"You are too much!", Shanay replied with a shake of her head after he sat down in between her and Nokio.

"Yeah, yo' girl, Dee Dee said that too!", he grinned as he turned to wink at Shanay.

"Why you gonna call our girl out like that?!", Latonya snapped as she stood up to walk over to the mixing board to join them. Just as she was about to sit down, Meth quickly crept over to her chair and sat down in it. Without knowing it, Latonya sat down on his lap.

"Get the hell outta my chair!", she shrieked as she punched him on the shoulder.

"I got here first!", he laughed.

"Aight yall! Time to get down to business!", Nokio replied while shaking his head.

The recording session for the evening went well although Nokio was becoming quite heated with the way Meth kept trying to push up on Latonya. The only thing that kept him from going off on Meth was Latonya holding her own with him.

Meanwhile, during a break in the session after Jazz had arrived, he pulled Shanay to the side to talk to her. He had convinced her to do something that she thought would be impossible.
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"You let Jazz do what?!", both Deidre and Latonya laughed as they sat together on the floor in Shanay’s apt. Latonya had just finished doing a feature story for the magazine entitled, "How Us B-Girls Can Still Look Classy and Not Ashy!" All three girls thought it was time for females everywhere to step up and sharpen their image and stop looking like ho-ho cakes in the clubs, magazines, and on television.

"I let him talk me into goin' out with Red tonight. Maybe if I be a lil' nicer to him, he won't act so dn silly!", Shanay smiled as she sorted out some copied articles. However, in her thoughts, she was wishing that it was Jazz that she was going out with instead.

"Well, you neva know girl! Red could be the ONE!", Deidre slyly grinned as she looked over at Shanay.

"Dn! I'm juss goin' out with the man! I ain't said I was committin' to nothin'!", Shanay laughed.

"Well, girl, do you and do you well! Juss make sure you have your pepper spray with ya though!", Latonya joked.
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[CarolinaCutie]

"So you talked Sunshine into goin' out with Red, huh?", Scola asked Jazz as he sat with him in the studio as they played some video games.

"Yeah, maybe she could be the one to change that crazy foo'!", Jazz chuckled. He was thinking to himself that he wanted to ask Shanay out but he wanted to keep their relationship on a professional level.

"Well, ya know with how foolish Red is, that girl is liable to knock his block off!", Scola laughed while shaking his head.

"That'll be on him!", Jazz laughed back.

Meanwhile, Meth was out in the hall chatting with Mia who was giving him the lowdown on her two enemies. She was spreading rumors about Latonya and Shanay throughout the label to the other females and anybody else that was interested in listening. And word was traveling fast. It just hadn't gotten to some of the fellas yet, but it would as soon as Mia began to tell Meth about them.

After Meth got some inside info on his new co-workers, he decided to call Red to let him know that Sunshine was running an innocent game in spite of how she really was.

"Man, I knew there were some freaks in those broads! Mia told me that Tay is cufkin' round with L and Sunshine is cufkin' round with Russ. No wonda she has had a change of heart and decided to go out with you.", Meth devilishly grinned while talking with Red on the phone.

"Man, you ain't neva lied! I was surprised that she agreed to goin' out with me. Well, I'ma make sure I have a lovely time wit’ her tonight. Thanks for the info, man! Russ up in there poppin' isht the otha week about them bein' strong, independent women and isht and all the time they hoes like all these otha hoes we work wit'! Well my na, I gotta go get ready for my Sunshine. Peace out!", Red chuckled as he hung up his phone.

Just as Latonya and Shanay were about to leave to head to the studio to work with the guys, Latonya received a phone call from Nokio.

"Hey, Tay! Listen, I was wonderin' if you wanted to go out to lunch with me after you get down here? We have so much to work to do that I'd rather go ahead and get a quick bite to eat before startin' on anything. Whaddaya say?" Nokio was half-smiling on his end of the line.

"Aight, sure! It's no problem. Sunshine and I should be there in another 30 minutes or so.", Latonya agreed.

"Aight, then! See ya in a lil' while. Bye!", he said with a nod of his head.

"Buh bye!", Latonya replied. "Girlllllllll...Noke juss asked me out to lunch! He said that Jazz and the othas are gonna be there if you wanted to hang out with them until we get back or if you’d like, you could wait to come down to the studio after we get back from lunch.”

"I'ma go on down to the studio and hang out with everybody for a while! But have a fun lunch!", Shanay replied with a wink of her eye.

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After stepping through the doors, the girls noticed how Mia sucked her teeth while shaking her head.

"Do you have a problem?", Latonya loudly asked when she saw the way Mia was staring at her and Shanay.

"Nah, not as big as the problem you have!", Mia replied while chuckling.

"You wanna bet?!!!", Shanay shouted while walking over to Mia.

"Nah, Sunshine! No need to get into trouble ova somethin' petty. We have betta things to do!", Latonya stated while pulling Sunshine back by the hand.

"I'm sure you do.", the girls both heard someone mumble. They didn't know who made the comment though since 2 other female co-workers were sitting with Mia. However, all three girls began to giggle.

"Fo'get them hatas!", Latonya replied with a roll of her eyes as she and Shanay walked down the hall to head up to the studio.

When they went inside, they saw Jazz, Scola, Nokio, and Meth chatting with each other.

"W'sup, yall!", Jazz smiled when he looked up. The other guys also greeted the girls, but Nokio noticed how Meth was seductively chewing on a drinking straw while eyeing Latonya. Nokio was trying his best not to get into it with Meth since neither one of them had a claim on her. But Nokio still couldn't help from being jealous.

"Hey, yall!", the girls replied in unison. "You ready to go, Noke?", Latonya asked.

"Yeah, Tay! We'll be back in a lil' bit yall!", Nokio stated as he and Latonya headed out for lunch.

Shanay took a seat in a chair off to the side from the fellas. She proceeded to pull her Discman out and place the headphones on her ears. She began to bop her head as soon as Salt ‘N Pepa's "Expressions" began to play. She also took out a rough draft of her column that she contributed to the magazine every month entitled, "Ol' School Hip Hop Hall of Fame Jammer". This month's spotlight would be on De La Soul's "Buddy" and why it deserved to be in the Ol' School Hip Hop Hall of Fame.

Scola nudged Jazz and caught Meth's attention and nodded his head towards Shanay so they could see just how much she was into her music as she rapped along with it.

"Yes I'm blessed/And I know/Who I am/I express myself/On every jam/I'm not a man/But I'm in command/Hot dn/I gotta all girl band/And/I wear the gear...", Shanay mumbled before she was interrupted.

"Dn, girl! What'cha listenin' to?", Jazz laughed after waving his hand to get her attention.

"What?", she asked after pulling one of the headphones away from her ear.

"What'cha listenin' to?", Jazz smiled.

"Sounds like Salt ‘N Pepa. Am I right, ma?", Meth grinned as he pulled up a chair to sit beside her.

"Yeah! This thing only plays hip-hop classics!", she smiled as she began to place her headphones back on her ear. However, she and the guys began to talk about all the ol' school hip-hop songs from back in the day. In the middle of her conversation with them, they all rapped the whole "Self Destruction" song.

"That was isht back in the day!", Scola laughed after they were finished.

Even though Meth thought that Shanay and her girl were prolly coo', he still had his doubts about their so-called "nice reputations". He decided that he would see about him and Latonya when he had a chance to have a minute alone with her just to see if the rumors were true.

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Nokio and Latonya were enjoying their lunch."So when do you think we'll be finishin' up with the rest of the songs for Meth that we've been workin' on?", Latonya asked while taking a sip of her tea.

"It'll prolly be anotha' 2 weeks or so. We have to keep a tight schedule since you and Sunshine will be workin' with Jonell's remix next. Jazz is supposed to lend his background vocals to it. It's fo' sho' that it's gonna be hot!", Nokio grinned while placing a few french fries into his mouth.

"Yeah, I know that's right! I can't wait to hear what the finished products will sound like when we're through with them.", Latonya smiled before eating some more of her vegetarian lasagna.

"Can I ask you somethin'?", Nokio asked with a serious look on his face.

"Sure! W'sup?", Latonya asked.

"Would you like to go out to dinner tomorrow night? I promise that I'll behave myself unlike some otha' people!", he joked while referring to Meth. Nokio figured he'd betta make his move now.

"Yeah. That'd be nice.", Latonya replied while almost blushing. She couldn't believe that Nokio had finally asked her out. "But wait! Don't we have to work tomorrow night?"

"Nah...we all need to take a break for at least one evenin'. We've been workin' non-stop for the last two weeks. Besides, tomorrow is Sunday and that's the day of rest!", Nokio smiled while staring at her.

"Oh, aight. Well that'll be coo'! Uh oh...I guess we'd betta finish up; it's almost time to get back to work!", she chuckled.

Later on back at the studio, Nokio and Latonya were getting into it as they argued over some technical things dealing with Meth's song featuring Dru Hill entitled, "Hey Mama". While arguing, everyone sat back while having a good laugh.

"Why don't you stop tryna tell me how to run isht?! This is how it should be done!", Nokio huffed while throwing his hands up in the air.

"You are so dn stubborn!!! How did you get to be producer? By politics?!!!!", Latonya shouted. Everybody really fell out when she made that comment.

"Fo'get this isht! Everybody take 10!", Nokio stated with a wave of his hand as he got up to go out in the hall to cool off.

Shanay walked over to stand beside Latonya while bending over the mixing board. "Girl! Yall both need to relax, relate, and release! It's not that serious!!!", Shanay laughed.

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say! All you did was help write the hook! I gotta sit here and bump heads with that na from the time we sit down together in here...wit' his sexy azz!" She and Shanay both began to giggle.

"Jazz, you betta pray that my date works out with Red tonight or that's it for you, boy!", Shanay smiled while pointing her finger at him. He had come over to chat with her and Latonya.

"Yeah, that I'd betta do! I don't wanna cross your path when you get mad!", Jazz laughed.

[CarolinaCutie]

"Why is it that when we're outside of the studio, Latonya and I are real coo'? But when we're in here, it's like dt World War III!", Nokio half-laughed as he chatted with Sisqo and Scola in the hallway.

"It's because you are both feelin' each otha! It's so dn obvious, man! Everybody sees it!!!", Scola laughed while playfully punching Nokio on the shoulder.

"Whateva, man!", Nokio smiled. "Well, let's go back in here and wrap things up, yall. The sooner, the betta'!"

"Awwww, poor Noke!", Sisqo teased as they headed back inside.

"Look, yall! I've decided that we're gonna leave the hook alone for the rest of the evenin' and work on it some more on Monday mornin'. We juss gonna work with Meth's parts for the rest of tonight.", Nokio stated once everyone was back together in the studio.

"Oh well...I'ma head on out then!", Scola replied as he began to gather his things up that he had brought in with him.

"We about to be out with ya!", Woody stated as he and Sisqo headed out of the studio also.

"See yall lata!", Nokio shouted after them.

"Aight!", Woody replied before closing the door.

"You calm now, ma?", Nokio joked when he looked over at Latonya.

"Yeah, what about you?", she smiled back.

"I'm coo'!", he stated. They were both unknowingly looking into each other's eyes until Nokio realized it. He shook his head while quickly looking away.

"Ummmm, Meth! We ready for ya, man!", Nokio stated as he looked over at him. He and Red were both acting silly and being loud while playing a video game.

"Aight, man! I'll be right with ya! Lemme beat this na's @$$ real quick!", Meth grinned as he finished up the game with Red.

Meanwhile, Jazz and Shanay were going over some of the words they had written together for the hook to Meth's song with Dru. They both decided to make a few changes. They felt like if they changed some of the words around, it would help to satisfy both Nokio and Latonya so they wouldn't continue to disagree over how it should be sung.

"Look my sunshine! You ready to be out now?!", Red asked as he stood up and stretched.

"Juss hol' on! I gotta go home and shower and change first anyway!", she replied with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway, don't you see me and Jazz are in the middle of somethin'? Dn!"

"Girl, juss shut up and hurry up!", Red joked as he came over to sit beside her. However, she completely igged him while she and Jazz finished up with what they were working on.

"Aight! Now I'm ready to be out! I'll meet you at the movies for the next show at 9:45.", Shanay sighed as she turned around to look at Red.

"Okay! I'll see ya then! Bye!", he grinned as he wrapped his arms around her tightly while giving her a big kiss on the cheek.

"I told you about that!", she laughed as she slapped his shoulder as hard as she could.

"Well, Jazzy! I guess I'll see ya on Monday...and remember...anything goes wrong, I'm holdin' you responsible!", Shanay warned with laughter before getting up to head out.

"Yall take care!", she smiled as she waved goodbye to everybody.
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"I'm about tired of dealin' with this isht, man! We can't keep bein' controlled like this!", Daron angrily stated as he and the rest of 112 sat together in one of the conference rooms upstairs. They kept receiving threats from both their old and new managers each time they wanted to back out of doing anything that they knew wasn't right. "It's about time that we do somethin' about it!"

"Man, what'chu gon' do?!", Mike asked sarcastically as he glared at Daron. "You know good n dn well we can't do anything, which is a dn shame! I thought we would have freedom ova here at this label but dn if some drama from Bad Boy hasn’t followed our @$$es over here. Dn. But what can we do?"

"I'ono, man! But I plan to get to the bottom of this! I got much respect for Russ and I would hate for him to think that we're in on the money disappearin' from him. I know it's gotta be our new and old manager! I juss know it!", Daron replied.

"Man, the best thing for us to do is to juss lay low about the whole thing!", Slim replied while shaking his head.

"Yeah, I agree with him. I can't be havin' my family in danger's way! If it wasn't for that, I'd be down with ya, D, but I have my life and my families lives’ to think about.", Q stated.

"Well, it's gettin' late. I'ma head on out.", Daron sighed as he headed over to the door. However, he was thinking to himself that he was gonna get to the bottom of things if it was the last thing he did.
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[CarolinaCutie]

Jazz and Meth just knew that things had calmed down, but boy were they wrong. Nokio and Latonya were going for each other's throats again. This time it was over how the break in the song should go.

"Why do you take everything I suggest as me tryna be a know-it-all? Not once have you listened to me or give what I say a try! You put the jack in jack@$$!!!!", Latonya shouted while glaring at Nokio.

"Man, I ain't tryna hear this isht!", Nokio sighed as he stood up and walked away from the mixing board.

"Ummmm...yall two have a lot of things to work out so we're gonna be out!", Meth laughed as he and Jazz headed for the door.

"Aight, man! See yall lata!", Nokio replied with a shake of his head as he and Latonya continued to stare at one another.

"You know what? You make me sick! I can't stand you!!!", Latonya shouted once Jazz closed the door behind him.

"Dt! You make me sick too!", Nokio shouted back while snatching his shades off.

"Well you make me sicker than sick, you @$$hole! I'm outta here!", Latonya spat as she began to walk away from him. However, Nokio snatched her back by the hand and kissed her deeply.

Latonya quickly broke away from him and slapped the taste out of his mouth. Then suddenly she stepped back up to him and they both kissed each other greedily while slamming each other into the walls, speakers, and whatever else was in their way. It was when they both ended up across the mixing board that they came to their senses.

"I...I gotta go!", Latonya embarrassingly stated as she grabbed her purse and quickly headed out. She decided that she couldn't go out to dinner with him after what had happened. She was too embarrassed.

"Isht!!!", Nokio yelled after flopping down on the sofa. "Why did I do that?!!! I juss know she's gonna break her date with me now! How could I have been so dn stupid?!"
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"Well, it's been real! Thanks for tonight.", Shanay smiled as she and Red walked up the sidewalk to her home. She was surprised that he had been on his best behavior in spite of her having to slap his hand away from her knee a few times during the movie.

"No need to thank me, ma. I wanted to do it!", Red grinned as he took her hand and held it. He told her that he wanted to make sure that she got inside safe and sound. However, when they reached her door, he did a 360 degree turn.

"Feel like havin' some company for a while?", he slyly grinned while looking into Shanay's eyes.

"Nah. It's kinda late and I'm tired. But maybe we can hang out anotha time.", she politely replied with a smile. She noticed him stepping up a little closer to her.

"Well, how about a good night kiss?", he asked as he leaned up against the door beside her and placed his hand on the wall over her head.

"One quick kiss on your cheek and that's it!", she warned him.

"Aight, that's coo'!", he grinned as he turned his face sideways so she could kiss it. However, just as her lips were about to meet his face, he quickly turned around and kissed her on the mouth. He was also trying to feel her up.

"Na, get the hell offa me!", she shrieked as she pushed him away from her. "I thought you had changed for the betta' but I thought wrong!!!", she hissed at him. "You got five seconds to leave or it's gonna be on!", she warned.

"I'ono why you sayin’ that! Hoes like you neva turn me down!", he spat back at her.

"Ma, I know you didn't juss call me a ho?! I KNOW YOU DID NOT JUSS CALL ME A HO?!!!" Without warning, Shanay quickly slipped off one of her stiletto sneakers and waved it in the air as she began chasing Red down the hall with it. She planned to beat him Ike Turner style.

"Don't you eva say isht else to me again, ya got that?!!", she cried as she threw her shoe downstairs at him. It narrowly missed him as he ran by Latonya who was walking inside.

"Shanay!!! What in the world is goin' on?!", Latonya laughed when she reached the top of the stairs. She noticed that Shanay was extremely upset. She was on the verge of crying.

"I'm through with all nas!!! It's always the same isht! I might as well be a nun! I'm sick of this isht, man! I'm juss sick of it!!!", Shanay wailed as she walked inside her apt. with Latonya following behind her.

"Calm down and tell me what happened!", Latonya reasoned with her. Latonya was going to tell Shanay about her little episode with Noke but because she was a very caring individual, she agreed to listen to Shanay instead.

"That na called me a ho! I have neva' carried myself in that way!!! Dn, I wanna beat that na's @$$! Uggggghhhhh!!!", Shanay jumped up from the sofa and began pacing the floor. "I think you gonna have to work this case solo! I can't go back up in that place and see Red or there's gonna be some sho'nuff smoke in the city!"

"No! You can't do that! We've come too far to let you walk outta this! I can't do this without my girl!", Latonya smiled as she looked up at Shanay. "Here! Those tears you're cryin' ain't worth wastin' over some stupid isht that na said!"

"Thanks, Tay Tay!", Shanay smiled as she calmed down and sat back down on the sofa next to Latonya. "So did yall get a lot done tonight?", Shanay asked while changing the subject.

Latonya began to blush something awful as she looked down at the floor. She cleared her throat. "Sunshine if you mention this to anyone I'ma kick yo' @$$ from one end of this building to another!", she joked.

"What, girl? Tell me!!!", Shanay laughed.

"Noke and I did some heavy kissin' tonight! I think it was because of our pent-up frustrations though. I can't go out with him tomorrow night and face him. I'm too ashamed!", Latonya replied.

"Oh yes ya can! I could see if he didn't kiss you back, but it's obvious that you two are both feelin' each otha in spite of your differences. You betta handle yo' bidness, girl!", Shanay joked as she looked over at Latonya.

"I'ono, Sunshine! I think we juss need to stick to workin' this case and I need to leave Noke alone. I think I'll tell him that tomorrow when I break our date. I gotta sleep on this. I'll see ya tomorrow mornin'. And remember...don't worry 'bout what Red said! For every dude like him, there are 10 more betta waitin' to be discovered. G'night!" Latonya went across the hall to her apt. and turned in for the night after her shower.
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"Dang! It's only 7:30?!!!", Latonya thought to herself as she rolled over and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. She didn't get a good night's sleep because she couldn't get what she and Nokio had done off of her mind. She had in fact enjoyed it very much. Latonya rolled back over and threw one of her pillows over her head. After lying in bed for about 5 more minutes, she decided to get up and work on the last of the upcoming issue of the magazine.

Close to 30 minutes later, after showering and putting on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and her white bunny slippers, Latonya ate a bowl of Cheerios and had a cup of coffee. She didn't bother to go across the hall to see if Shanay wanted to help out. Latonya wanted to be alone to sort out her thoughts and feelings.

Since it was Sunday morning, Latonya decided to turn on the radio after stepping into the magazine's office to listen to a contemporary gospel station. Her mood changed for the better as soon as she heard Mary Mary belting out "Just Can't Give Up Now". She began to quietly hum along with it as she went through some stuff on her desk.
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As Nokio sat at his kitchen table eating a bowl of Rice Krispies, he rested one side of his head on his hand while thinking. He also didn't have a good night's rest because he kept wondering if he would be able to work with Latonya anymore. After all, he was the one who had made the mistake of kissing her. He wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to work with him again.

After breakfast, he showered and got dressed and decided to go out riding to get some fresh air. He wouldn't have to worry about any morning traffic since it was Sunday and more than half of the population was either at church or at home falling asleep after getting in from the various nightclubs around the city.
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"Tay-Tay?", Shanay asked as she stepped into the office. "Girl, what'cha doin' up this early?!", she laughed when she saw Latonya sitting behind her desk sorting through some ads that were going to be placed in the magazine. Earlier, Shanay had woke up and went across the hall to see if Latonya wanted to go out to breakfast since they had the whole day ahead of them to do whatever. But when Latonya didn't answer after Shanay had both knocked and rang her doorbell a few times, she went back across the hall to look out her front window to see if Latonya's ride was in its normal parking space out front. When Shanay saw that it was, she decided to go downstairs to find her.

"W'sup. I juss decided to come down here and work for a while.", Latonya weakly smiled while looking up at Shanay.

"Oh! Well did you want to go out to breakfast or do you want me to pick some up and bring back here?", Shanay asked while noticing that Latonya seemed to be deep in thought.

[CarolinaCutie]

"No thanks. I had breakfast already.", Latonya replied. Just then they heard the intercom in their office buzzing.

"Who could that be?", Latonya asked while getting up to go look out the window. When she saw Nokio's ride parked out front she let out a heavy sigh. "Oh no!"

"Who is it?", Shanay anxiously asked.

Latonya turned around to look at her. "It's Noke!", she whispered.

"What in the world he doin' here at 10 in the mornin'?", Shanay asked with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I wouldn't even know.", Latonya replied with a shake of her head.

"Oh isht!!!", Shanay suddenly shouted as she looked downward at herself. She realized that she was only dressed in her slightly short Julias Peppers jersey that doubled as her sleeping attire and a pair of black and white tube socks.

"What is it, girl?!", Latonya asked with widened eyes just as she was about to head out of the office to go open the door for Nokio.

"I need to go back upstairs so he won't see me in this! But then how am I gonna do that when I have to walk past the front door?", Shanay asked while shaking her head.

"Dn! I see what'cha mean!", Latonya stated when she realized how Shanay was dressed. "Hold on a sec!", Latonya said as she walked back over to their intercom to talk with Nokio.

"Noke?", Latonya asked after pressing the button.

"Yeah. Ummm, listen...I'm sorry to drop by so early, but do you have a minute so we can talk?", he asked as he leaned up against the glass doors while looking through them. He was waiting to see her come down the stairs.

"Okay, sure! But could you do me a favor and turn your back to the door? Shanay needs to run back upstairs because we're in the magazine's office and she's not properly dressed for you to see her.", Latonya replied while shaking her head as she looked over at Shanay. Shanay waved her hand at her.

"Aight!", Nokio chuckled. "But tell her to hurry up so I can come in!"

"Juss hold your horses!", Latonya laughed. She then gave Shanay the head nod that it was okay to make her exit.

Shanay slowly stuck her head outside into the hall to make sure that the coast was clear. When she saw Nokio giving a side-ways glance inside the door, she yelled at him. "Turn your back all the way around to the door, na!"
"Hol’ up!", Latonya half-laughed as she came out into the hall ahead of Shanay. "Noke! Didn't I tell you to turn your @$$ around?!! That's aight though 'cuz here I come!", Latonya stated as she walked over to the door where he was standing.

"I was lookin' at somethin’ down the street!", he laughed when he saw the look Latonya gave him. But he turned around.

"Yeah, whateva! Go on, girl!", Latonya stated while watching Nokio like a hawk.

Shanay took off up the stairs quickly. "It's coo' now!", she shouted back down the stairs to Latonya so she could let Nokio in.

"Hey, Tay! I was out ridin' around and decided to come by for a minute. I hope I'm not interruptin' anything.", he said once he stepped inside the hallway.

"Nah, it's aight. I was juss puttin' the last of the mag togetha'. C'mon in.", she smiled as she looked over her shoulder at him. She walked over to her radio to turn it off so they wouldn't have any interruptions.

After he took a seat across from her at her desk, they both began to speak at the same time.

"Oh, I'm sorry.", he chuckled as they looked at one another.

"Nah, it's aight!", she giggled. "You go first."

"Nah, ladies first, so you go first!", he grinned.

Meanwhile, Shanay was quietly eavesdropping via her intercom. She was sure that they were going to discuss the kiss that they shared from the night before. "Dn! Somebody go first!", she whispered as she turned her face away from the intercom. However, she hadn't whispered as quietly as she thought.

When Nokio and Latonya heard her over the intercom, they both turned their heads at the same time to look at it.

"Sunshine! Girl, you betta get yo' @$$ away from there!", Latonya warned after walking over to the intercom to press its button. When she didn't hear a reply from Shanay, she excused herself to go upstairs for a second. "'Scuse me...I'll be right back!", Latonya smiled as she headed upstairs.

"Sunshine! Open this door, girl!", Latonya half-laughed while pounding on it.

"What? I was in the shower!", Shanay lied as she came to the door dressed in her robe with a towel thrown across her shoulder. However, Latonya noticed that her feet weren't wet. When Shanay noticed Latonya glancing at her feet, she tried to lie some more.

"I didn't want to get my carpet wet so I dried my footses off before comin’ outta the bathroom!", Shanay tried to lie before bursting out into laughter.

"Yeah, right! Look, you got one mo' time to try to listen in on my conversation with Noke and I'm knock yo' hair straight!!!", Latonya joked while shaking her fist at Shanay.

"Chile, please! You ain't gonna do nothin'!", Shanay laughed. "I juss wanted to make sure that you would be aight. I don't want nothin' to go down between you and Noke and I not be there to help!"

"If you don't shut up! Besides, I'll give ya all the details lata wit' yo nosey-@$$ self! Now if you will EXCUSE me!", Latonya laughed as she closed the door behind her.

"Sorry 'bout that!", Latonya smiled after she rejoined Nokio back downstairs.

"It's coo'! I was juss goin' through the layout for your article on our label. Yall are really good!", Nokio smiled after looking up at her.

"Thanks!", she smiled back. "Well, ummmmmm...I won't say anything so you go ahead and talk first."

Nokio immediately looked over at the intercom.

"It's aight...I set Sunshine straight!", Latonya giggled as she sat back in her chair. She then blew on her nails and rubbed them across her shirt.

"Oh dn! Well anyway...!", Nokio laughed. "I felt like I needed to apologize for what happened last night. I was TOTALLY outta line with what I did. And if you don't wanna go out with me or work side-by-side with me again, I'll truly understand because...", he stated.

"Noke! It's aight!", Latonya interjected but he kept right on talking.

"I had no right to cross the line like that...", he stated.

"Noke!!! It's ok!!!!", Latonya laughed while waving her arms in the air.

"...So...", he rambled on until he saw her reaction. He stopped and stared at her.

"I said it's aight! I would still like to go out with you. But we're juss gonna have to work on our work relationship!!!", she giggled while looking at him.

"So, you're not mad with me?", he chuckled with a shake of his head.

"Nah! I'm not mad and I'm sorry I slapped you!", she bashfully stated while holding her head down.

He began to laugh. "I deserved that!"

"No you didn't! I guess it was reflex though, so...you forgive me for that?", she playfully asked as she looked back up at him.

"Of course!", he grinned. "So I take it that we're still on for dinner tonight?"

"Yup!", Latonya replied with a nod of her head.

"Well, ummmm...I guess I'd betta let you get back to your work.", Nokio stated as he rose up from his chair to leave.

"Okay. I'll see ya tonight around 7?", Latonya asked as she followed him out into the hall.

"Yeah, sure. 7 is fine. So I guess I'll be goin' now.", he replied when he turned back around to look at her.

"Aight, well see ya at 7.", she smiled.

"Okay, I'll be here at 7.", he smiled back. For the next few seconds, they both stared at each other. All of a sudden, Nokio and Latonya grabbed each other up in a tight embrace and began to aggressively kiss one another as they leaned up against the door.

Deidre was walking up the front steps to pay the girls a visit to see if they wanted to go out for brunch since they had a day off when she saw Nokio and Latonya involved in some heavy lip action.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!", she giggled to herself. So that they would know she was on her way up the steps, she began to loudly sing as she pretended to read the morning paper she had with her. "Tell me what'cha gonna do, act a foooooooool...!"

Nokio and Latonya both heard Deidre. "Oh...ummmm...guess I'll be goin' now!", he nervously stated as they broke out of their embrace. He quickly stepped aside so Deidre could come in.

"W'sup yall?", she slyly grinned as she walked past them to head upstairs.

"Hey, girl!", Latonya smiled as she watched Deidre making her way past them.

"I'll see yall lata!", Nokio replied as he quickly made his exit.

"Girllllllll...you shoulda seen 'em! I mean throwin' each otha up against the door and isht!!! I was trippin'!", Deidre laughed as she stood in the hall upstairs with Shanay who was now dressed.

"Get outttttttttttt!!!", Shanay laughed back.

"So the hell what?!", Latonya snapped while laughing when she reached the top of the stairs. She overheard what Deidre was telling Shanay.

"Oh hey girlllllllll...we were juss girl talkin' about a movie Luda and I saw last night!", Deidre lied while having one of the most innocent of smiles.

"Yeah, and this one time at band camp I knew two tricks who lied through their teefus!", Latonya replied in laughter as they all headed over to her apt. "And yall s'posed to be my girls! You peekin' at me and Noke and this thang ova here listenin' to us through the intercom!", Latonya huffed as she flopped down on her sofa.

"Awwwww...you know we still yo' girls!", Deidre laughed as she threw her arm around Latonya's shoulder.

For the next few hours, the girls laughed and talked and decided to make their own brunch while doing so.
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[CarolinaCutie]

Later on during the day, Jazz and Sisqo were cruising down the street in Sisqo's ride when they noticed that Latonya and Shanay were headed over to Latonya's ride. She decided that she needed a new outfit to wear on her date with Nokio later on in the evening. Deidre would have went with them, but she was hanging out with Luda for the afternoon.

"Ain't that Tay and Sunshine?", Jazz asked while pointing his finger out of his window.

"Yeah! That's them!", Sisqo replied with a nod of his head as he slowed his ride down. "Wanna holla at 'em for a hot minute?"

"Yeah, man! Pull up over here.", Jazz replied as he motioned for Sisqo to pull his ride up to a curb on the opposite side of the street.

"Hey yall!", the girls heard someone yelling just as they were about to climb in Latonya's car. When they looked up, they saw Jazz and Sisqo heading across the street towards them.

"Oh hell yeah!!! It's time to get Jazz!", Shanay thought to herself as she slammed her car door shut.

"Where yall on your way to?", Sisqo grinned after he and Jazz reached them.

"We were on our way to the mall for a while.", Latonya replied.

Jazz noticed that Shanay didn't utter one word. And if looks could kill, he would've died right there on the sidewalk.

"W'sup Sun...", Jazz started before she went off.

"Don't 'W'sup Sunshine' me, na! Didn't I tell ya that if things didn't work out, I was gonna get'cha?!!", Sunshine snapped while placing her hands on her hips.

Latonya began to laugh and Sisqo joined in with her laughter.

"Dn, man! What in tha' hell did you do to ol' girl?!!", Sisqo laughed as he leaned up against the hood of Latonya's ride.

"I'll tell ya what he did! He said, 'Sunshine...give Red a chance. He really likes you. Go out on a date with him. I'm sure he'll behave himself if you give him your company.'", Shanay replied mimicking Jazz as he stood dumbfounded although he was trying his best not to laugh.

"So I take it things didn't work out?", Jazz asked with a sheepish look as he placed his hands in his pockets.

"You wanna be a funny na, huh?!", Shanay angrily asked as she swung her purse at him.

"Oh isht! She 'bout to go Aunt Esther on his @$$!", Sisqo laughed hysterically as he leaned up against Latonya who was also enjoying what she was witnessing.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Hold up, girl!", Jazz laughed as he stretched out his arms in front of him to keep Shanay from coming any closer.

"Do you know that na tried to get fresh with me and then called me a friggin' ho because I put his @$$ back in check?!!! I'm tellin' ya, when I see him again...it's gonna be on fo' reals and you can believe that!", Shanay shouted.

"He did what?!", Sisqo asked in a shocked tone.

"Yeah, he called me a ho! And I have 'The Love Doctor' here to thank for that!", Shanay snapped as she glared at Jazz.

"I'm sorry, Sunshine! I really am. I didn't know he would go there like that! I'll have a talk with him about it when I see him again.", Jazz warmly smiled as he walked up to Shanay to put his arm around her shoulder.

Shanay wanted to fuss at Jazz some more but when he put his arm around her shoulder, she couldn't help from smiling and being friendly with him again.

"You would do that for me?", she sweetly smiled as she turned her head to look at Jazz.

"Yeah, after all...I was the one who set up the date with you two. He has no right to treat any female like that.", Jazz smiled back.

"Helloooooooooo...this is RED we're talkin' about!", Latonya joked as she waved her hand at them.

"See, none of this would've happened if Sunshine had went out with me instead!", Sisqo grinned as he looked at her and Jazz.

"Anyway! But like I said...I wanna knock that foo's block off for what he did!", Shanay replied while rolling her eyes at Sisqo.
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As Latonya and Nokio headed inside a ritzy downtown restaurant arm-in-arm, he was stopped by a few female fans that wanted to take a picture with him. He was about to decline since he was out with Latonya, but she told him it was okay.

"Are you sure?", he asked as he looked at her.

"Yeah, it's aight. I undastand that this comes with the territory.", she grinned. She then stood back as she watched the excited group of females take 2 snapshots with him. Latonya noticed that he was very polite as he hugged and waved goodbye to them.

"Sorry 'bout that!", he grinned as he walked back over to Latonya.

"No, it's fine!", Latonya reassured him.

After they were seated, they began to talk about different things outside of the business as they waited for their dinner to be served. While Nokio and Latonya were in the middle of talking, she began to lightly giggle.

"What is it?", Nokio asked with a smile.

"It's juss funny how we always seem so coo’ with each otha’ as long as we're not sittin' behind that dn mixin' board!", Latonya laughed as she shook her head.

"That is some crazy isht, huh?", Nokio chuckled while also shaking his head. "So what do we do about that?"

"Well I'll tell you but you can't get offended." Latonya replied.

"Ok.", Nokio nodded.

"For starters it would be nice if you would actually let me complete my sentences before you cut me off. I mean, I realize that you are the executive producer and that every final decision is made by you. But you need to learn to listen to other people's opinions and give them a fair chance. Also you might wanna try and change the way you talk to people. Sometimes things you say can really hurt a person's feelings.", Latonya sadly stated while looking somewhat dejected.

"Dn! I didn't know I was takin' it there like that! I apologize for the way I've been actin'. The last thing I wanna do is hurt your feelin's, Tay-Tay.", he warmly smiled as he looked deep into her eyes.

"Well, ya know...if we gonna keep workin' togetha we have to get along.", Latonya smiled back at him.

"Done deal!", Nokio grinned as he extended his hand across the table to shake hers.

"Done!", she replied as they both shook each other's hands firmly. Then they both began to laugh.

"Boy will everyone be surprised when they see how we work togetha tomorrow!", Nokio chuckled.

"I know right!", Latonya agreed.

During the rest of dinner, Nokio and Latonya had a nice time talking about everything from work and the missing money to where they planned to hang out on future dates. They were both feeling each other very well.

After dinner, they drove down to a nearby lake and walked around it hand-in-hand as they talked some more. By the time they were heading home, Latonya felt quite lovely.

"Well, I guess I'll be goin'. Have a nice night and I'll see ya at work bright and early tomorrow.", Nokio smiled as he stepped up close to Latonya after they stepped inside the main hall downstairs.

"Aight. Well, you do the same.", she shyly smiled back as they looked at one another.

They shared a more tame kiss this time as they kissed each other goodbye.

"See ya!", he smiled before making his way out of the door.

"Bye!", she grinned as she watched him walking down the front steps to his ride.
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[CarolinaCutie]

Late Monday morning, Latonya decided to go to the studio ahead of Shanay who was helping Dee Dee with a few things for the upcoming issue of their magazine.

"W'sup, ma! Lemme holla at ya for a sec.", Meth grinned as he approached Latonya after she stepped off the elevator.

"What is it?", she asked as they began to walk down the hall together.

"When you gonna break me off a lil' somethin' somethin'?", he asked as he stood a little too close to her. However, Latonya thought he was joking at first. But when she saw the look on his face, she saw that he was very serious. She put her guard up.

"Look dt! I told you one time that I'm not into breakin' up happy homes! You can save that type of isht for your lil' ho groupies 'cuz I ain't the one!", Latonya hissed at him. She tried to walk around him to head inside the studio but he blocked the door.

"I thought you were into cufkin' married men since you cufked L!", he emptily replied like it wasn't no thang.

Latonya gave him five quick fingers to the face. "You @$$hole! I don't know where you get your info from but that's a dn lie!", she yelled.

"I know yo @$$ didn't juss hit me?!!!", Meth shouted. Latonya didn't know what was about to happen next but at that exact moment, Daron seemed to come from around the corner out of nowhere.

"Man, juss calm down! I'll talk to her!", Daron stated as he put his arm around Latonya's shoulder. It was somethin' about her that he was immediately drawn to because she seemed to be the type of person that he could trust and talk with. Latonya was crying by this time because she couldn't believe that someone could say such a horrible thing about her.

Meth went into the studio to wait on Nokio who needed to wrap up a few more songs that he would be producing for him.

"What was that all about back there?!", Daron asked in surprise after he and Latonya took a seat on a bench outside in the back of the building.

"I don't EVEN know! All I do know is that Meth popped off some isht to me about sleepin' with L! It's not even like that! L's my boy and all, but it's not that type of party with us! I cannot believe this!", Latonya cried as she leaned forward and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh! Well, someone has been spreadin' a pretty nasty rumor about you and Shanay for the last few days. But it's juss some of those chickenheads bein' jealous because they're not in the position that you and your girl are in. Don't worry about it.", Daron smiled as he looked at her.
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"Dn, man! What juss happened out there?!! I heard a little yellin' match goin' on!", Nokio exclaimed as Meth stormed over to the sofa inside the studio and flopped down on it.

"It's that ickdteaser, Tay, that we gotta work wit'! She lost her dn mind and slapped the isht outta me!", Meth huffed as he continuously rubbed the side of his face.

"Hol' up, man! What are you sayin'? Did somethin' happen between you two?!", Nokio suspiciously asked as he turned all the way around in his chair to stare Meth down.

"Naw, na! But I propositioned her since I know she cufked around with L!", Meth shouted.

"Why tha' hell you do somethin' like that for?! And where did you get your info?!!" Nokio was beyond the point of being both mad and jealous.

"I ain't gotta tell ya isht about how I found out! All I'ma say is that these hoes get on my nerves always cufkin' with a na's mind! I ain't bout that isht, Noke!", Meth stated with a shake of his head.

"Man, you need to believe only half of what you see and none of what you hear!", Nokio shouted while pointing his finger at Meth.

"Whateva, man! I ain't tryna hear this isht...I'll be back lata!", Meth barked as he walked out and slammed the door behind him.

"Dn! I don't wanna believe this!", Nokio almost whispered as he stared out into space. He was fighting the urge to jump to conclusions and believe what Latonya had supposedly done with L. Nokio decided that he would ask her out to lunch when he saw her again. He needed to know for himself because he really liked her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the rest of 112 were making their way down in the glass elevator, they noticed Daron sitting out back with Latonya. They also noticed that he had his arm around her shoulder as she had her head buried in her hands while leaning forward on the bench .

"See, he wanna be a hardheaded @$$! We've been told not to get too close or comfortable with ANYBODY in this place. And look at him out there with one of those new chicks! He's askin' for it!", Slim almost whispered. After receiving threats from their new manager, Tyrone, about what would happen to them and their families if they did anything out of the ordinary, he and the rest of the guys were careful about what they talked about amongst themselves as well as anyone else. They didn't know who was watching or listening to them.

"She looks like she's upset, though. You know Daron is sensitive when it comes to the ladies. He looks like he's tryna calm her down. It's prolly nothin'.", Q replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's not the point! You know what our manager said...'Don't go around nobody in this place!' I'm with Slim on this one, man!", Mike stated with a nod of his head. By this time, the elevator doors slid open and they stepped out into the lobby.

"C'mon, yall!", Slim instructed as they made their way outside and around the building to go get Daron.

While Latonya was drying her eyes after having a good cry about everything Daron had just told her, she looked up and noticed his crew quickly walking over to where they were seated.

"W'sup, yall!", Daron smiled after they had approached them.

"Hey, man! Listen, we really have to get goin'! Sorry to cut your convo short.", Mike sort of snapped while quickly glaring at Latonya. She noticed how none of them even took the time to speak to her.

"I'm sorry. I've held you up long enough, but thanks for lendin' your ear!", Latonya smiled as she stood up to head back inside the building.

"No problem! You sure you're gonna be aight?", Daron smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Yeah, I'm sure. Have a good afternoon.", Latonya grinned as she waved goodbye to him. However, she didn't utter one word to the rest of the guys as she made her way through them.

When they made sure she was out of earshot, Slim immediately went off on Daron.

"Na! What were we told about gettin' to close to anybody here?! If you don't think enough of your safety and well being, think about ours!", Slim shouted as he walked up to Daron.

"Man, look! All I was doin' was comfortin' the girl! I'ono if yall have heard the rumors about her and her girl yet, but whether you have or not, they're not TRUE! So all I was doin' was lettin' her know that things would be aight and to try not to worry about it. And anyway, I'm a grown @$$ man and no ONE is gonna dictate how I operate from day-to-day! I will not be a puppet on a string. I thought that's why we left Bad Boy and came ova here! Isht! I'm not gonna go from one place to anotha' bein' bullied. That isht is for kids back in school!" Daron quickly walked past them to head to his ride. The guys had never seen this side of him before. He was usually the quiet and reserved member...but not anymore.
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After arriving inside of the studio, Latonya saw Jazz and Red sitting around kicking it while waiting for the rest of Dru to come in so they could work on their collabo with Meth. Red was there at Jazz's request after he had saw him out in the hall chatting with Russell. Jazz was talking with Red about what had happened between him and Shanay on the night before last.

"You aight, girl?!", Jazz asked when he noticed Latonya's reddened and swollen eyes. Not to mention that Nokio had told him about what had happened earlier between her and Meth.

"Yeah, I'm coo'! Listen, since everyone isn't here yet, I'ma go see if L is in. I need to talk with him about somethin'", she replied as she rolled her eyes at Red after she saw him smirking at her.

"Now what about THAT isht?", Red asked as he turned back around to look at Jazz. Jazz had also finished telling him that the rumors weren't true.

"Na, that don't mean nothin'! You know that she and Sunshine are close friends with L’s wife! I can't believe that yall would even believe for a second that these rumors are true!!! That's not coo', man!", Jazz replied with a shake of his head. "That's why you have to apologize to Sunshine. You, yourself, know how some of these triflin' females in here can be. The minute they feel threatened by new faces, they try to start some isht! We both know that ain't right!"

When Nokio spotted Latonya headed down to L's office, he ran up behind her.

[CarolinaCutie]

"Tay-Tay! Can I holla at ya for a sec?", he asked after grabbing a hold of her arm.

"Yeah...but can you make it quick? I need to talk with someone about somethin' important.", she replied after turning around to look at him.

"Ummmmmm...listen...I was wonderin' if you would join me for lunch around 1:00?", he asked as he looked at her. However, he noticed how she was looking everywhere else but at him. She was embarrassed to look at him though because she was wondering if he had heard the rumors yet.

"Okay...that's coo'. I'll meet'cha down in the lobby in about 45 minutes.", she agreed with a nod of her head. "Well, I'd betta hurry up so I can be back in the studio in a few minutes." With that she turned in the opposite direction and quickly made her way down the hall. She didn't even acknowledge Mia's presence as she sucked her teeth when Latonya walked by her.
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"I'm gonna go on and level with ya. I heard from Meth that you and your girl, Sunshine, are involved in some relationships with two peeps that will remain nameless down at work. I don't wanna believe it for one minute, so could you explain to me what's goin on?", Nokio calmly asked as he stared at Latonya sitting across from him.

"First of all...how tha' hell you gonna believe ANYTHING that comes from that punk @$$'s mouth! You know what? It's already hard enough bein' a self-respectin' female in a male dominated field without havin' peeps sayin' negative things about you. And then when nasty things are said, it hurts to know that those who you think are on your side would want to believe any of it!", Latonya angrily stated as she glared at Nokio. "I thought you were my boy so why would you even bring this bogus isht up to me?!"

"I know it's not true, but I wanted to hear it from you. That's why I asked. I care for you, Tay-Tay!", he replied as he reached across the table and placed both of his hands on hers.

"Really?", she almost whispered as her facial expression changed from anger to surprise.

"Yeah, really.", he smiled. "I guess that's why Red treated Shanay the way he did the otha night. I bet I know who started this isht too! It can't be nobody but one of those immature females back at the label. It's a dn shame!", he stated with a shake of his head.

"I know. It sure is.", Latonya replied. "I don't know what I'm gonna do to clear my name as well as my girl's."

"We'll think of somethin'!", he grinned as he gave Latonya's hands a gentle squeeze.
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Not too long after Latonya and Nokio returned from lunch, Shanay made her way down the hall to the studio as she rapped along with MC Lyte's "Georgy Porgy" which was blasting through her Discman. However, as she walked by Mia and the receptionist, she rolled her eyes at them so hard that she almost fell asleep when she noticed the nasty look they gave her.

When she went upstairs, she noticed Sisqo and Woody coming down the opposite end of the hall heading into the studio. They both smiled and waved at her and she waved and smiled back.

"W'sup ya...", she began after walking through the doors. However, she stopped when she noticed Red standing near the door. He was on his way out to see if Erick Sermon and their newest member of Def Squad, Luda, had arrived so they could begin work on their new Def Squad project upstairs in another studio.

"Now Sunshine...juss stay calm, boo!", Sisqo half-laughed as he walked over to her to pat her on the back. But she ignored his comment. Instead she snatched her headphones off and walked up to Red while folding her arms. Jazz immediately jumped up and stood in between the two of them.

"Look, yall...there's no need to start anything. Sunshine, Red has somethin' to tell ya.", Jazz stated as he turned his head to look at her.

"It betta be a plea fo' his life because I'm 'bout to set it off up in this ma!", she loudly replied while continuing to glare at him. "No na lives after callin' me a dn ho!"

"Man, cufk this isht! I ain't got time to apologize to...", Red started while chuckling.

Like a madwoman, Shanay reached her arm across Jazz's head to try to slap the taste out of Red's mouth while cursing at him. But instead, she grabbed his baseball cap off while trying to do so. Since she had his cap in her hand, she tried to hit him with it while waving it through the air. Jazz was trying his best to keep her away from Red but he needed help in doing so. He yelled for the guys to help him out. Scola jumped in front of Red while holding his arms out and Woody helped Jazz to pull Shanay away from him. Meanwhile, Sisqo was laughing his butt off.

"Cufk her, man! Like I said, I ain't sayin' isht!!!", Redman barked as he looked around Scola while pointing his finger at Shanay. Shanay was so mad by this time that she was crying.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What tha' hell is goin' on in here?!!!", L shouted as he and Latonya made their way into the studio.

Meth quickly followed in behind them. "Oh isht! Let's get ready to rumbleeeeeeeeee!!!", he laughed.

"I'm gettin' ready to kill this itchb for callin' me a ho!!!", Shanay wailed as she pointed her finger across the room at Red. She tried breaking away from Jazz but he wouldn't let go of her as he held her while leaning up against the wall.

"Look! I'm not Russell, but I'm tellin' yall to squash this isht, right now!!! I know allll about what's bein' said in here and I speak for both myself and Russ when I tell ya to kill it as of this very moment! Red you need to apologize for whateva isht you did to Shanay!", L barked as he looked around at everybody in the studio.

Red huffed and rolled his eyes as he placed his cap back on his head that Shanay decided to throw at him. He then walked over to Shanay to tell her he was sorry for everything. "Look, ma. I was outta line the otha' night and a few minutes ago, and for that I'm sorry." He stood waiting for her to accept his apology but there was a deadly silence in the room.

"Go on, girl. It's aight.", Jazz reassured her with a nod of his head. He cautiously let go of her.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she began to speak. "I accept your apology and I'm sorry for tryna kill you."

"Okay, now that this is outta the way, let's get some work done, please!", Nokio stated with a shake of his head as he and the guys headed for the mixing board and recording booth. However, Meth had some apologizing of his own to do, so he waited around so he could speak with Latonya.

On his way out, L hugged both of the girls and reassured them that things would be okay and that they shouldn't have anymore problems.

"Thanks for listenin' to me, L! I juss didn't know what to do with all this unnecessary isht that was goin' on!", Latonya smiled after she hugged him back.

"No problem, baby! You gon' be aight, Sunshine?", he asked with a look of concern on his face as he pinched Shanay's cheek.

"Yeah, thanks.", she shyly smiled.

"Well, I'll see yall lata! And Jazz, continue to keep the peace in here, yo!", he joked as he waved goodbye to them.

When Meth had his chance, he asked to see Latonya for just a second. Although she was hesitant in speaking with him, she decided that she would hear him out. Isht, if Shanay could hear Red out, there was no reason why Latonya couldn't do the same with Meth.

After making their way out into the hall, Meth began to speak. "Listen, ma! I'm sorry for what I said earlier. Jazz gave me and Red the lowdown on the situation with you and your girl. But I guess I was stupid and wanted to see for myself if the rumors were true. You forgive me?", he grinned.

"I guess so!", Latonya sighed. She was about to apologize for slapping him when one of the biggest hoochies of them all began to make her way past them. However, she couldn't do so without making a real nasty comment in reference to Latonya since she had been given the 411 on what the fellas now knew were lies. Latonya was just about to retaliate with words when Meth stepped in to dog the female out.

"Listen, you got some nerve callin' anybody a ho when you the reigning champion of hoes!", Meth spat. He really couldn't stand this girl because she had tried sleeping with every last dude at the label.

"Na, who you think you...", she started before he cut her off.

"How you gonna be talkin' when you shuttin' up?", he calmly asked.

The girl sucked her teeth and put her finger up at him. "Cufk you, na!"

"Yeah, you wish!", he spat. He and Latonya began to laugh. "Man, now that's a ho! Red and I both shoulda known betta than to mistake you and Sunshine for someone like her."

"Yeah, you two really should!", Latonya smiled. She then apologized for smacking him.

"It's coo'! I guess we'd betta go back in before Noke comes out here to look for us.", he smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you right.", Latonya replied with a nod of her head.

[glow=red,2,300]“Instinct leads me to another flow/Everytime I hear a brotha call a girl a itchb or a ho/Tryna make a sistah feel low/You know all of that gots to go”
— Queen Latifah: U.N.I.T.Y.[/glow]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[glow=yellow,2,300]Parts 3 & 4 comin' up soon[/glow]

[Drulady03]

ooo Good Job you two. This is good. I'm lookin forward to rest.

[sexysmile]

OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH...me likey...me really likey!!

[CarolinaCutie]

Thanky yall!

[aDRUfan4LiFe]

Gooooooood........... ;D

[DruAngelAKAShelle]

CC your outdoing yourself girl i love it really i do ;D


~Expect The UnExepected From Dru Hill~

[DruDiamond]

Oh nice work, good job Can't wait for the next pt.

[DruQueen]

I'm loving this story! Very very good!
And ya know, my middle name just happens to be Shanea. (same as Shanay but just spelled different)
Can't wait to read the next part.