White Lines II: Sunny: A Novel Read Free

pulled slowly away from the curb and Sunny took out her compact and checked her reflection in the mirror. She wiped her nose—an old habit—and returned the compact to her purse just as her cell phone rang.
    “Hello?” she answered the unknown number.
    “Are you on your way?” Olivia asked, knowing that Sunny was chronically late.
    Sunny checked her watch. She had thought she was early but on second glance saw that she was running a little late. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes,” she said before hanging up.
    Traffic made it twenty, so Sunny had Raul drop her off at the corner of Fifty-second and Broadway and then dismissed him. She explained briefly that she had a busy schedule that day in Midtown, and would call him when she was done later that afternoon. Sunny scurried across the street, aware that the light was about to change. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man with a camera snapping pictures of her. She was still getting used to the paparazzi, but she wasn’t vain enough to think that they were fans of hers. Sunny was well aware that they were most interested in her when she was on the arm of an A-list celebrity. It wasn’t her modeling or her bestselling novel that had gotten her most of the press over the years, it was the fact that she had dated football player Sean Hardy for close to a year; that she’d been photographed in the company of high-profile people. Sure the salacious novel she’d coauthored with Jada Ford about their years as the drug-abusing, black version of The Real Housewives of New York City had helped boost her public profile, but rubbing the right elbows, air kissing the right people, being seen in the right hot spots—those were the things that had catapulted her. While Jada played the background, Sunny was out front getting all the press. And Sunny relished the attention. Still, these photographers and reporters were a bloodthirsty sort. She was paranoid that one day they’d catch her doing something she was ashamed of.
    She stepped into the building lobby and waved her hand at the security guard, who knew her from her many visits to Olivia’s office. He waved her on and she scurried to the elevator and pressed for the fortieth floor.
    On the ride up, she adjusted her hair in the mirror. Satisfied that she looked good, she eagerly exited once the doors opened. Olivia was right there waiting for her.
    Shootin’ Crooks’ offices were abuzz with excitement. Interns scurried about eagerly, while Olivia’s, brother, Lamin held court in a nearby conference room with a group of men in suits. Sunny smiled, eyes wide.
    “Things are getting back to normal around here, huh?” she observed.
    Olivia nodded and smiled hopefully. “I think so,” she said. “Since Lamin was cleared of all the charges connected with my cousin’s shooting, and the Feds failed at framing him for money laundering…” Olivia rolled her eyes in exasperation at the thought of all her family had been through. “People are starting to take us seriously as a company again. We’ll be back on top in no time.”
    Sunny followed as Olivia led her down the hall to her office. Once inside, Olivia gestured toward the red sofa against the far wall. “Have a seat,” she said. She walked over to her desk as Sunny got comfortable, and retrieved a big portfolio. Sunny silently admired the wine-colored pantsuit Olivia wore as she sat beside Sunny on the couch.
    “Even though things are looking up around here, the whole situation with Lamin and Zion and their legal troubles was a wake-up call for me,” Olivia said seriously. “I have to establish my own thing, separate from everyone else, or I run the risk of losing everything I’ve worked so hard for.”
    Sunny understood exactly what she meant. Olivia had been a vital part of her brother’s rise to the helm of a music empire. Lamin had started selling drugs when he was in high school and, with the help of his best friend, Zion Williams, had quickly