Page 27 of American Royalty

“I can’t believe they’re still here,” Nyla said.

A sudden thought skidded along Dani’s nerves. “Did they see you?”

“Of course not!” Bennie’s voice was heavy with offense. “I took a car to get here, and I made sure the windows were tinted.”

“Thank God.” The last thing Dani needed was to add fuel to the fire with rumors about a split between her and her management.

At least, not until she was ready to announce it.

Dani quickly thrust her arms into the silk garment and went to meet her “guest.”

“This is Duchess,” Nyla said.

“I know who she is.” Bennie slid her Prada sunglasses off her perfectly beat face and smiled at Dani. “You’re smart, sexy, and you’ve rapped everyone else into irrelevancy. Why aren’t you taking over the world?”

Dani tilted her head to the side. “I’m not looking to take over the entire world, just my own small part of it.”

“And I’m ready and prepared to help you with that.” Bennie held out her hand. “Jane Benedict, but everyone calls me Bennie.”

Dani eyed Nyla before saying, “I’m not sure how much Nyla told you—”

“I didn’t need her to tell me much. Everyone’s buzzing about you and this Samantha Banks situation.”

“Fucking kill me now!” Dani exhaled, and gestured to a nearbycouch. “Let’s sit down. Seriously, though, I’m about ready to go into exile somewhere until this all blows over.”

“No, no, no! The idea is to counteract the negative fallout.”

“I still can’t get over how people are taking sides in a dispute I’ve never acknowledged! You can’t make this shit up!” Dani snapped her fingers. “Oh, wait, that’s exactly what they’ve done!”

“The moment you put something out into the public and ask for money, you open yourself up to their scrutiny. Sure, you could try to be ‘my private life is private,’ but in this day of video cameras on our phones and social media, no one’s life is private. Especially not a person whose last album moved one hundred and ninety-five thousand units in its first week and debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200.”

Dani didn’t disclose how impressed she was at the ease with which Bennie spouted off her numbers.

She tightened the sash on her robe and crossed her arms. “So, what do I do?”

“In the interest of showing you what I could bring to the table, I made some inquiries on the DL and there’s a couple of options floating around.”

“Like what?”

Bennie checked her phone. “Hosting a new reality show.”

Dani arched a brow. “Excuse me?”

“Nicki didIdola few years ago and Cardi judged that rap competition for Netflix,” Nyla offered.

“What kind of show is it?”

“One of the major cable networks is looking to create its own dating show. They want to do it, uh”—a slight flush tinged Bennie’s cheeks and she cleared her throat—“in an urban setting. They’re tentatively calling itLove in da Ho—”

“No!” Dani said immediately.

“Oh, come on,” Nyla said, her words barely audible through her laughter. “Gangstas and hood rats need love, too.”

“Stop it,” Dani said, pointing a finger at her friend. “Even joking, you’re putting that energy out into the world.”

“I figured that would be a no,” Bennie said, “but I believe in bringing my clients all offers, unless they specify otherwise.”

“I’m not your client.”