Forever tru bisset siste.., p.1
Forever Tru (Bisset Sisters Book 1), page 1
Forever Tru
K.C. MILLS
Copyright © 2020 by K.C. Mills
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, distributed in any print, electronic or audio form without written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are fictional and the product of the author’s imagination.
Reader Note
Hello, beautiful people:
If you’re returning, welcome back. If you’re new... welcome to my crazy world.
You’re about to meet Cassius and Tru. These two complex characters are brand new and not connected to any other stories. Cash is a single father balancing fatherhood and his career as one of the best producers in the industry.Tru is a photographer and free spirit who is trying to navigate life and all the complications that seem to keep her from finding that sweet spot. Together these two are something beautiful.
Trigger Warnings:
Language
Mature Content
My stories are often a slow build, because it is my goal to fully develop the characters and story. If that’s not for you, please skip this one.
I truly appreciate anyone who supports; however, I fully understand that everything is not for everyone. To those that hang around, I hope you enjoy these beautifully flawed characters, as much as I enjoyed allowing them to speak to me.
Please be mindful that this story is about throwing caution to the wind, enjoying the moment for what it is and instant attraction that develops into a deep and meaningful connection.
It is not void of my signature style with the alpha male who will risk it all for the woman that brings him to his knees and the independent, loving heroin who is willing to love him unconditionally. If you’re open to two people living life unapologetically, then please proceed!
As always,
Crafting Romance with an Edge!
Sincerely,
K.C. Mills ❤️
Chapter
One
Tru Bisset
“There are two days left. We appreciate you stepping in. This project has been a total disaster and Cash is not happy. Try not to say too much to him. If you can get the shots without handing over an excessive amount of direction, that would be great. He’s in a mood.”
The short, thin-framed, antsy woman hurrying beside me, taking two steps to my one because of my five-ten stature, seemed super nervous and more than anything, stressed. Maybe she was just busy and had a lot to do because as we walked, she typed away, keying notes on her phone. Either way, I didn’t care much as long as she was leading me to my next paycheck. Not caring allowed me to remain in my constant state of non-giving-a-fuck-ness.
I was chill ninety-nine point nine percent of the time and today was no different, so per usual my demeanor was laid back. That was just who I was. Even this last-minute assignment with Cassius Avery didn’t broker a rise out of me. True enough, he was one of the most talked about music producers in the world and the hottest thing on the scene, which placed him in high demand, but to me, he was rent and groceries. This job was going to pay extremely well, considering I had been awakened at five this morning with a call requesting a last minute fill in for Mr. Billion Dollar Music Producer. His personal photographer received an emergency call that had him on a plane home to Mississippi, so here I was about to meet the man of the hour. Cassius Avery.
Money was money and I was being paid a lot to adjust my schedule, so I agreed to show up and do the shoot. Now, here I was, being rushed down a dark hallway with Antsy Girl, who seemed as if her head would explode at any minute. I had a mild idea of what it was like to work for celebrities and was hoping this poor, stressed out thing was being well compensated because my God she was clearly overworked. Thank goodness I had some of the good stuff to further mellow me out before I left the house or I would have been on a ten, versus the five or six I was usually on, due to her anxious energy.
We stopped abruptly at the end of the hall, facing a door where Antsy Girl turned to me, clasping her hands at her waist. She was kinda cute in a mousy sort of way. It had me wondering if that was done on purpose. A man like Avery was truly nice on the eyes and I was sure banging the women that worked with him would be a handicap where business was concerned.
“Look, I apologize in advance if he’s not very friendly but you have to understand Mr. Avery is extremely stressed right now. This was last minute and there is a tight deadline approaching. He has to get these photos done, on top of rushing a track, and this whole mishap with Rich really messed with his sense of control. Avery’s a man who has to have things in order and scheduled. Just, you know, do what you can and stay out of his way.”
A frown eased in place within seconds of her disclosure. I wasn’t understanding what the hell “stay out of his way” could mean. I was here to do a photoshoot for Avery. How the hell was I going to be in his way?
My high allowed me the pleasure of remaining mellow enough to overlook the absurdness of her demand. So instead of questioning anything said, I nodded. Right after, she pushed out a deep breath and knocked three times on the door. It opened and I was face to face with a giant. Not a true giant we read about in stories as children, but the man before me was huge.
He had to be at least six foot seven with an easy three hundred plus pounds on him. After a perceptive sweep of his humongous body, I realized it wasn’t fat either. There were muscles upon muscles upon more muscles. His face was hard, eyes barely open and positioned on a flat round face. There was definitely Asian descent somewhere in his bloodline.
He sort of reminded me of a Black, fit, sumo wrestler, if that was even a thing. He wore a mustache connecting to a goatee and his bald head was incredibly shiny but at least it wasn’t funny-shaped. Oddly enough he was handsome, extremely actually, in a scary “I don’t ever want to get on your bad side” kinda way.
“Steel, this is Tru Bisset. She’s replacing Rich for the next two days.”
Gigantor, who I now knew as Steel, looked down as if trying to decide whether or not he cared about my presence. There was no emotion, or anything I could remotely use to evaluate how he felt, until that smirk surfaced and he snorted, stepping out of the way seconds later to allow us, or rather me, entry.
“I’ll be out here if you need me.”
My brows dipped in as I looked down at Antsy because she was considerably shorter than me and backing away from the door. Seconds later, she was on her way down the hall that brought us here without so much as another word. I watched for a moment, not sure how or if I wanted to proceed before I heard a deep voice laced with annoyance.
“Shut the damn door.”
My eyes hiked up to Steel again and he smirked, motioning for me to enter with a dip of his head. This was amusing to him, which had me wondering what the hell I had signed on for. When I stepped into the dimly lit room, I felt a little more at ease. You just never knew with these celebrities. They have a tendency to be into weird stuff. I looked around, taking in all the details and realizing we were in a recording studio. An extremely nice one at that. The décor threw me a little based on the dingy, rundown building we were in. The equipment was fancy, new, and looked worthy of every bit of the hefty price tags I was sure were spent to purchase what I was admiring. My experience had connected me with a few artists so I was familiar with studios, but this… Shit, it was nice as hell.
“’Sup, I’m—”
“I don’t need your name for you to do a job. Don’t put the camera directly in my face and try not to talk unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
My features went tight and Steel snorted behind me where he took up residency guarding the door. I paid him an evil glare before I walked over to the sofa and began removing equipment from my camera bag. After gauging the lighting and the proximity of the room so I could evaluate what I needed to get quality shots, I selected my lenses. Once I had my camera ready, I stepped up beside the grump I assumed was Cassius Avery.
“Do you have anything specific you want to capture or you want me to just shoot what I feel?”
The man’s hands froze from moving about the soundboard before him. His chin dipped slightly, as if he needed a moment of prayer to deal with me and my very innocent yet necessary question. As he lifted his head slowly to give me his attention, my first thought was….
Shit.
My second thought…
How the hell is he so damn handsome with such a fucked up personality?
I had seen him on TV, online in interviews, and even a few cameos in videos for songs produced by him. But not one of those things did this gorgeous creature any justice for how easy he was on the eyes.
In person.
This man was extremely handsome. Caramel skin, dark eyes, thick brows that appeared groomed, but in a natural way. His low-cut beard was considerably fuller than I recalled ever seeing on him, but it worked. Not to mention those damn lips, currently tight from annoyance I caused but didn’t have any feelings about.
He hired me to do a job so…
“If I’m not mistaken, that’s your job. I’m the producer, you’re the photographer. If I need to tell you how to do your job, then what the hell am I paying you for?”
“You’re paying me because your guy bailed on you last minute and apparently you need the damn photos. The money is good, but not that damn good. S
Steel, the only person in the room I was remotely partial to at this point, snorted again and released a little muffled laugh. At least he could do more than just be big and emotionless. His boss, on the other hand, simply stared at me, those damn intense eyes and beautiful lips both tight. That lasted an eternity before he spoke again.
“Just shoot. I’ll go through what you send over and find what I need. Take a few clips of video as well… or is that too complicated?”
Is he for real?
I had worked with a few celebrities and not all of them had the best personalities. Some were downright annoying but none were really rude. At least not any I had worked with. So his whole vibe was blowing me. Like seriously blowing me. Granted, I was no billion dollar music producer but I was still a creative and vibe was everything. He should have understood that.
However…
It’s just a job, Tru. Take the damn photos and keep it moving. Two days. That’s all.
“You’re the boss.”
Asshole!
I smoothly tossed out my declaration and began taking test shots to make sure I have the lighting right. He didn’t say another word, only pulled the headphones around his neck up over his head and began moving his hands on the soundboard again. Once I was ready, I began shooting, careful not to put the camera right in his face. As instructed. Truthfully, I didn’t want to be anywhere near him for fear that I would curse his entitled ass out. My mind moved into a zone and I quietly began doing what I was getting paid to do. Capture the best parts of him.
For the next two hours, I took random shots of Cassius. The more I clicked and hit record, the more intrigued I was with him. There were three of us in the massive room, but he seemed to be in a world of his own. At first I had no clue what he was doing but after a while I realized he was putting together a track, only we weren’t privileged enough to listen while he created. In between, he had a notebook handy where he scribbled down what I learned to be lyrics. That took some snooping because he held it protectively close when writing, and when he wasn’t, it was flipped over in his lap with the pen clipped to the side.
Either way, his movements were impressive and I was excited to capture them, or rather, him. The way his face expressed things, such as when he was deep in thought or frustrated because something wasn’t flowing right. My favorite was when I was blessed with that subtle smile of his. It was all so, sexy. He was sexy, but not that personality of his…
While he worked, Steel stood guard, not offering me any conversation. So I had nothing but time on my hands. That meant while shooting Cash in the act of creating, I was allowed the opportunity to pay attention to details. Things about him others most likely missed. Things I found myself looking forward to experiencing, like the way he chewed the corner of his lip to hide his excitement when pleased with his progress or the way his tatted fingers stroked his chin when he stared into space because he was deep in thought.
Not to mention, I had an up close visual of the artwork that littered his skin, allowing me the pleasure of admiring the pieces without coming off as intrusive or just creepy. A lot of my time was spent wondering what the meanings were behind some of them, such as the date on the inside of his wrist, 10.19, or why he chose to ink the letters F-R-E-E just below the knuckles of his left hand. Some were self-explanatory like Billion Dollar Cash on his left forearm. That one I knew was thanks to the talent that placed him in high demand and countless tracks rotating on the radio and streaming outlets. Billion Dollar Cash was announced at the beginning of every track he produced. I found myself repeating it in my head, when I was bored and didn’t know what else to do with myself or my time.
“I wish I could at least hear what he’s working on. This silence is fucking killing me,” I mumbled and almost jumped when I heard a deep, gruff voice from behind me.
“This is his thing. It’s how he works. No one gets to hear it until it’s how he wants it to be heard. Most producers need to have their tracks blasting through speakers, bouncing off the walls, but not Cash. It has to be in his headphones. You won’t hear it until he’s ready.”
“When the hell will that be?”
“Tomorrow.”
Steel had been so quiet I almost forgot he was in the room. When I turned to face him, those thin eyes were on his boss before they made it down to me.
“Tomorrow? That’s kinda fast.”
“Not for him but doesn’t matter how fast. It’s when Sienna will be here to record.”
“That’s what he’s doing, making a track for Sienna? Like ‘Hearts Break’, Sienna?”
I knew my voice was a little animated. I was actually kind of excited about possibly seeing her. She was dope as hell and one of the biggest names out right now. She was more worthy of my interest than Cassius Avery. During one of the many times my ex had crushed my soul with his cheating ways, “Hearts Break” had been on heavy rotation in my life.
I loved that damn song.
“Yeah, it’s why he’s so tight right now. It was a last minute thing for the album she’s about to release and he doesn’t work that way. Cash requires order and routine. They called in a favor, so here we are.”
“Wow, so he’s making the track today and she’s recording it tomorrow. Impressive. I kinda almost don’t think he’s such an asshole after the way he talked to me earlier. Almost.”
Steel chuckled. “He’s still an asshole. Cash can make a track in the blink of his eye. Don’t let that impress you. I seriously think he makes them in his sleep but this one is important. Kinda have something to prove so he’s stressing it. I don’t know why; the man is a gotdamn genius with this stuff.”
He really was.
I knew his music well and couldn’t take away from his genius but the man himself? No matter how sexy he was, his whole vibe reeked of asshole.
“So is that why I’m here?”
“Yeah and no. He signed on to do a documentary about his life. They need photos and video clips. Since he refused to let the production team follow him around twenty-four seven, he got his own guy. The one you’re filling in for. Rich was handling this part but Rich’s mom got sick. It’s pretty bad so he had to jet. Nora handles all that stuff. She found you I guess, so here you are.”
Steel showed little to no emotion. It was odd but befitting considering a man of his size. You don’t expect a man like Steel to give off warm and fuzzy vibes.
“So all I do is take photos and video?”
“Yep.”
“Any advice?” I grinned and peered up at him. He lowered his eyes to me briefly before offering a simple response.
“Nope.”
“Great,” I groaned. I was scheduled to be with these two for an undisclosed amount of time for the next two days. So until the asshole relieved me of my post, I was stuck.
Not the greatest feeling in the world but at least it would pay my rent for the next three months.
“You think he’ll mind if I take a quick break?”
“Probably but go ahead.”
Steel stepped out of the way and pulled the door open for me. I didn’t care if my current employer would have an issue with it or not, I needed to fire up or there was no way I was going to make it through the rest of this day.
Chapter
Two
Cassius Avery
I felt a tap on my shoulder and pressed pause on what I was doing, removing my headphones. Steel stood over me which had me doing a quick sweep to find the photographer who was supposed to be capturing the creative process of the track I was working on. She, of course, was nowhere to be found.
Probably quit because of how I talked to her.
Steel had been with me for as long as I could remember, so after reading my mind he answered the question I hadn’t asked.
“Bathroom or something. She asked to take a break.”
I grunted and leaned back in my chair, raking my fingers through the mass of curls that had sprouted out of nowhere. Well technically not nowhere considering I hadn’t gotten a real cut in over two months. A shape up here or there, but that was about it. My hand lowered and my fingers moved to my beard, where they glided across the hair that covered the lower half of my face. I needed to handle that as well, but not for the next couple of days.
