Page 50 of Rich and Rotten

“You have one location, am I right?”

“Yes,” I replied, then allowed him to further flesh out what the fuck he meant by referring to my spa as a “small” brand.

He sat back and fixed his suit jacket before continuing.

“We have some well-known spas with locations nationwide interested in partnering with us. The Valora started as a boutique hotel, and look at what we’ve achieved. That’s why I want this to work between us.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Ricky. I don’t want Hush to expand across the country. My spa does numbers as if it has a location in every state and internationally. It’s based in a small town just an hour from New York City, yet we attract clients from near and far.”

“Somebody didn’t take the time to read over our mission statement,” Yaya muttered as Ricky turned red from being embarrassed.

Hush was a passion project, something I needed to do while navigating uncertainty and rediscovering myself outside of motherhood. We knew every client who walked through our doors and witnessed them come in broken down and leave refreshed. During the holidays, I would rent out Miller’s Pointe for a Christmas party and give yearly bonuses to my staff because they deserved it for all of their hard work. I didn’t need anyone to tell me anything because my business was small enough for me to know.

My fear was that if I decided to scale bigger, I would lose that small-town feeling. I knew it was necessary because our waitlist was fully booked for at least a year, as people were eager to experience what we offered. But the thought of expanding still scared me.

The meeting in the Dominican Republic was the only one I was excited about. Two locations in the US and one in the Caribbean were all we needed. I agreed to this meeting already knowing that I wouldn’t be impressed and that I wouldn’t want to move forward with a partnership.

I couldn’t let him know that, though.

My father had always told me to treat business like poker. Never let them know your next move until you know that it’s a win.

“We heard what you can offer us if we choose to put our location in your hotel. I think we all have a lot to discuss and see the actual numbers, and then we’ll be in touch.” I stood up, ready to get out of my heels and actually enjoy some food.

I spent the day between different meetings and even allowed Ricky to talk me into sitting through one of the conference panels. The panel was a reminder of why Hush had never attended this conference, and why I would continue to run my business the way I wanted. All the spas were so focused on copying each other. When I saw how interested Ricky was in the panel, I knew we wouldn’t be the perfect mix. He would run Hush like all the other spas at the conference, and he would do it because he wanted to cater and please his hotel guests, not because he genuinely cared about the clients.

“Sounds like a plan. Do you need me to make a reservation for you at Alora? I heard it’s like pulling teeth to eat there,” he snickered, knowing he owned one of the most popular restaurants on the strip.

“We’re good. I was able to get Mrs. Sterling a reservation,” Nazir’s baritone voice boomed across the conference room.

Ricky smiled nervously and shook Jonah’s hand. “Perfect. Let me know if there is anything that you need from me while you’re here in Vegas. Make sure to continue checking out the panels, too…some informative things.”

“Some informative bullshit,” Jonah mumbled.

Yaya tugged on his pant leg while looking up at him, and he looked down at her with a different expression. I wanted to know what happened in that room between them.

I needed to know.

Nazir held the door open for me, and I climbed into the back of the truck. Yaya and Jonah decided they would grab dinner together and then do some shopping. I wanted to change out of these clothes and get some food.

I popped a piece of gum into my mouth while looking over at him. “Don’t tell me that you lied about the reservation.”

He looked up from his phone. “Nah.”

I watched as the driver took us back to the hotel, since the meeting was at a different hotel. Ricky’s family owned a bunch of hotel chains in Las Vegas, but The Valora was their most well-known establishment.

Nazir’s phone started ringing, and I busied myself out the window while pretending not to listen to his conversation.

“Yeah, I’m out here until Monday. I can come pick her up from my mom’s house… Nat, you need to stop trying to handle everything. What did I tell you about that? I’m always going to be here, and I’m gonna handle it for you.”

I couldn’t hear what the woman was saying, but I knew he was speaking to a woman. My heart twisted when he told her he’d always handle things for her and be there for her. Where was that energy when I needed him?

“Got you. Have her call me when she’s done playing with her friends.” I could hear screaming coming from his phone as he laughed. “Alright, put her on.”

My ears perked up. From his tone in how he said it, I could tell he had children––at least one. He couldn’t convince me otherwise, and I would never believe it either.

“I’m working… I’ll talk to her tonight… Bet.”

He ended the call, but I refused to turn my face from staring out the window. I wouldn’t let him see that I was bothered––hurt even. He couldn’t see that my eyes were becoming misty because he was giving another little girl the father she deserved, while I had to lie to my daughter. Her life was an entire lie, and she would never forgive me once she understood what I had lied to her about.