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“Yeah, well, gotta spend money to make it. Right?”
“No. Not in this context. Just, no.”I wasn’t prepared to admit it—even under torture—but I was looking forward to seeing how Chelsea planned to handle the first hurdle I’d laid out for her. Nobody made eye contact with me as I entered the company building through the lobby and headed toward the elevators. They all knew better by now, I supposed.
My thoughts were still on my brother’s situation. Chris was the foundation that made everything I did easier. With him, all we had to do to snap up new clients was point to Chris. Had it not been for Trish and her catastrophic exit from Rose Athletic Representatives and my life, I wouldn’t have felt so reliant on my brother. Instead, he was the biggest name we had left by far, and without him, I didn’t know what our future would hold.
As his brother, I wanted to help him right the course before it was too late. At the CEO of a multi-million-dollar business, I needed to make sure I had a backup plan.
In other words, I needed to find someone remotely comparable to Chris’ star power to bring on.
I was meeting with Tia Klein this afternoon, the up-and-coming golfer slash Instagram influencer. She was apparently above average on the course, if not quite a top tier pro. But she also had millions who clung to her every word about makeup products and fashion online. She wouldn’t be a Chris Rose, but I had to test all my options. Maybe someone who had proven they knew how to leverage their looks and position to carve out a social media following would be a good start. A new breed of client, even.
When I reached my floor, I found a small gathering of people near the break room. Men and women were crowded around outside trying to arch their necks to look inside. Once they saw me coming, it was like Moses and the Red Sea parting.
Excited murmuring turned to hushed whispers as those who had spotted me scrambled to their desks to pretend they were working.
Inside the break room, I found Chelsea and Tia Klein talking as casually as old friends.
I frowned. “Tia. I wasn’t expecting you for a few hours.”
“Scheduling conflict,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I was just letting your personal assistant know about it.”
“Right. Well, I can see you now, if that’s what this is about.”
More of my employees were doing the wise thing and inching their way out of the room by the second. Still, I could feel the presence of the nosiest ones lingering to listen behind me.
Tia had silky black hair and a firm athlete’s body. She might’ve passed for gorgeous to some, but I found her supreme air of confidence to be more of the holier than thou brand, which put me off her immediately. She had exotic features that made her appear almost cat-like—a feature she seemed to emphasize on purpose from the way she swayed as she crossed the room toward me.
“Chelsea was telling me how close you two are.”
I felt my stomach clench. She was what? “Did she tell you anything else?” I asked carefully.
Chelsea looked at me in a way that made me positive I was going to want to strangle her in a few seconds. “I was just saying how you’ve been so kind to me. Really the best boss I could’ve hoped for.”
I manufactured my best smile. “Right. I’m glad you’re enjoying it here.”
“Well,” Tia said. “I was hoping I could move our meeting to tonight. I’ve got a fundraiser thing at my place. Maybe you could come and we could get a few drinks in us before we talk boring business? And bring this girl.” She gave a little tilt of her head toward Chelsea. “I like her.”
Once Tia was gone, I pushed every lingering employee out of the break room and closed the doors. I turned to face Chelsea, who had her back to the counter.
“She was nice,” Chelsea said.
“What was that?”
“Leverage?”
“Tell me why I shouldn’t just fire you on the spot for fucking with a client of mine? Telling her how close we were? It couldn’t be farther from the truth. And I don’t want you talking to potential clients or existing clients without my express permission. God knows what you could screw up if you say the wrong thing.”
“You shouldn’t fire me on the spot because you want to chase me away. You think I won’t be able to handle the punches you’re going to throw, and you want to watch me walk away with my tail between my legs. You won’t fire me because that’s not how you decided this was going to go, and you’re too stubborn to change your mind on that.”
Truth be told, I was currently remembering when I was between her legs. She looked even better after five years apart. She was full figured, wild-eyed, and I still hadn’t been able to forget how it’d felt to be inside her.
