Chapter 29

The Grammys was the best night I've had this year thus far. I only wish Shayla had been there. Instead, I took Mother who was very adamant about not going. But with Joseph's help, I was able to convince her to go with me. Janet presented me the Grammy Legend Award. That... That was something magical. The fact that she was proud of me and I was ever so proud of her as well... The fact that we got to share that moment together as siblings, really meant the world to me. We finally dispelled the rumor that Janet and I were the same people. The whole room and I'm sure the whole world had a good laugh about that. I told Shayla this is our year. It's only February and we've done so much together as individuals and it's showing in our marriage. Shayla only has a couple of cities left and then she'll be back home for good. I seriously cannot wait.

"Hey Shana," I smiled as I walked into Sandy's office.

"Michael!" she beamed. "Congratulations on that Grammy Legend Award last night," she stood up to hug me.

"Thank you," I hugged her back. I honestly did not expect that from her, but that was kind.

"I know Shayla is soooo proud of you."

"She is. I wish she could have been there, but you know she's on her book tour and whatnot."

"That's right! I got her newest book by the way, so whenever she comes back in here, do you think she would sign it?"

"For you? Of course, she would. She loves you, Shana."

"Well, that's good to hear. I kind of got the feeling that she didn't like me for some reason."

"How'd you get that vibe?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I just felt like she didn't like me."

"That's so far from the truth. My wife likes you, trust me. If she didn't, she wouldn't even speak to you. She's spoken to you on quite a few occasions."

"Eh. You're right."

"Right," I laughed. "Can you tell Sandy I'm on my way up? I have to talk to him about some things."

"Definitely," she hurried back behind her desk and picked up the phone. I made my way to the elevator to go upstairs. Just thinking about the Grammys last night, gives me goosebumps. All that love in one room for me and my music. The excitement Janet and I shared over the award she presented me. How proud my mother was of me. And everything... Shayla called me last night expressing her regret on not being there, but I promised her we'd be attending a lot more Grammy Award shows, so it's no big deal. She was so proud and absolutely loved the fact that Janet was the one who presented the award to me. I know for certain, she'll attend the Soul Train Awards with me, so I'm not worried one bit.

"Michael! Congratulations on that big Grammy win last night!" Sandy smiled as he came to meet me at the elevator.

"Thank you. Out of all my award wins, I think this one meant the most to me."

"Because of Ms. Janet?"

"Because of my sister, of course," I nodded.

"Shayla's on her book tour, isn't she?"

"She is. She'll be back before we know it though."

"I miss her probably a tad bit more than you miss her."

"Ha ha ha. Very funny," I fake laughed.

"Nothing funny about it," he smirked.

"Sandy, we've got to talk business," I reminded him.

"Right!" He clasped his hands together. "You and Shayla. Shayla and you. My favorite couple. When are we announcing this marriage that so many people keep calling my office about? Shana receives a thousand calls a day asking about you and Shayla."

"Really?"

"Really. Come on," he led me into his office and shut the door. "You and Shayla are the hottest thing since sliced bread, right now. The more you call Shayla your soulmate, the more my phone blows up and I'm sick of it," he joked. "No, but in all seriousness. When? Because now I'm ready to start booking interviews."

"We haven't decided yet."

"Haven't decided yet? Michael, how much does it take to tell the world, 'hey, we're married' and call it a day?"

"It doesn't take a lot, but we want to wait for the right time."

"You or Shayla? Because right now, I'm just hearing that from you. You know Shayla and I talk from time to time. Shayla is my girl. You know this. She's ready for it to be announced. She told me how she got hounded in Cleveland."

I sighed, "she told you that?"

"You thought she wouldn't? Just because I'm your manager, doesn't mean I can't be your wife's friend. She told me all about Cleveland and how she had to get Roland to accompany her for the rest of the tour."

"Sandy, you know I'm very particular. There has to be the right time for me to do these things."

"And how is that helping your wife? She's getting all the flack for this. Not you." Sandy's right... The longer we wait, the more Shayla is hounded about it. I'm not getting hounded about it because I'm not out and about right now to be questioned about it. But Shayla was touring all over the country without Roland where my fans had easy access to her anything they wanted without a problem. My negligence and thoughtlessness have put Shayla in this predicament where she was once roaming free with her dreams of having to be guarded at all times because I choose not to announce this tiny little detail.

I sighed, "okay."

"Okay.... What?" he inquired.

"We'll announce it as soon as possible. But no interviews yet, okay?" I warned him. "We're already gonna have the paparazzi all in our faces asking the who, what, when and whys of our relationship. Let it simmer down a little bit before we do any interviews or photoshoots."

"Alright," he nodded. "I can agree with that. Do you know how soon you want me to start booking those sorts of things or...?"

"No. For that, Shayla and I will come to you. We'll talk about it together."

"Sounds good. Look, Michael, I don't want you to think that I'm pressuring you into doing anything. You know that's not what this is about. This is about Shayla. I'm looking out for Shayla right now."

"I know," I nodded. "I'm looking out for her too, ya know. She's my wife. Not yours, Sandy." I reminded him.

"Don't you think I know that?" he laughed.

"Sometimes I think you forget."

"You must forget I'm gay."

"Far from it."

"Then quit worrying about it," he laughed.

"I'm gonna go ahead and get out of here," I bid him farewell and went back down the elevator. How the heck are we gonna announce this?"

"Bye, Michael," Shana beamed. "Don't forget to tell Shayla that I bought her book."

"I won't forget. I promise," I shot her a smile and exited the building. Shayla and I are really gonna have to discuss this announcement. How we're gonna do it when we're gonna do it and most importantly, everything that's gonna come with it. Whether everyone is still going to care or not.