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friendship between MTV and hip-hop, particularly TRUE
hip-hop. From its earliest phase up to this very day, MTV has shown consistent reluctance to broadcast our music and, if I proceed with a project of this magnitude, I intend to send a message. We’re going to keep this one BLACK and I want to do it with Cassandra Harrington. Now, let’s get back to the budget for this thing. How much are you talking?”
    “Page fifteen,” Andre said, directing Keshari to the professionally prepared binders that he’d arranged to have assembled for their meeting.
    Keshari put on her reading glasses and scanned the lengthy list of meticulously organized itemizations until she reached the bottom line on the fifteenth page.
    “Twenty million dollars, Andre? Fuck, most movie budgets are not this large.”
    Andre chuckled. “Remember, this is a year-long promotional and recruitment project. That kind of undertaking does not come with a small price tag.”
    “Yeah, and since this record label’s doors opened, we’ve never put this much money into a single project. I’m not going to hop in with both feet without looking at things from every angle.”
    “Of course, this project can be done cheaper, Keshari. You know that and I know it. There are numerous areas where we could cut corners and narrow the budget…possibly by as much as five million,but it would not be a true reflection of Larger Than Lyfe Entertainment’s image. As far as the public and the music industry are concerned, we are the top of the food chain and we’ve got a reputation to uphold. Now, if it’s any consolation to you, I submitted the budget for this project to accounting for a prelim review. The findings of that review are on page thirty. Accounting appears to believe that I did a very satisfactory job. I didn’t leave a stone unturned. From airfares to advertising to venue rentals, all of it has been calculated into the budget. I put months of work and rework into this before ever bringing it to you.”
    Keshari flipped through the binder and skimmed accounting’s notations.
    “I’m gonna review all of this for a couple of days. Are you prepared to go to press release?”
    “You bet,” Andre answered.
    “You haven’t told anyone else about this project, have you?”
    “Come on. You know me better than that. Of course not. I’m as concerned about the risk of a leak on a project this major as you are.”
    She reached over to the console and buzzed her assistant.
    “T, what’s my schedule look like this Saturday?”
    “The first half of your day is clear,” Terrence said. “Anything else?”
    “No, thanks.”
    She tapped the console off again.
    “I want you to come up to the house on Saturday. Nine o’clock. I’ll have made a firm decision by then. In the meantime, I want you to fine-tune the details of the proposal to get ready to pitch to Alton Harrington over at VIBE Network. He’s Cassandra Harrington’s son and the chairman of the network.”
    “Sounds like you’ve already made a firm decision,” Andre said, smiling confidently.
    “I really like your idea. I know where we can take it…particularly with this enormous budget…and I know what it will mean overall to this record label. But I need to be sure of what I’m getting into, so don’t go popping that bottle of champagne just yet.” Keshari smiled back at him.
    She looked down at her watch. The two hadbeen in discussion for almost two hours.

    “Shit! I’ve got to get out of here. Is there anything else that we need to cover?”
    “We can certainly cover anything that I missed on Saturday. I’ll see you at Rasheed’s party tonight,” Andre said.
    Keshari tapped the console on her desk and rang the garage. “Mario, bring my car around. I’m on my way down.”

M isha Tierney keyed in the access code at the entrance to Keshari’s home. The gate sealing off the mansion’s entrance slid open, Misha waved to the two guards at the security office, then her silver BMW