Page 85

Cassius’ brow furrowed. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

“How about this?” Aella pivoted so they faced each other. “Since I can’t leave, why don’t you order and grab lunch? When you get back, I’ll tell you everything. That’s if you don’t have anything else lined up for the day.”

Pretending that his declaration didn’t give her an influx of butterflies, Aella moved to her desk to pull open the drawer that held several food menus, picking one at random.

“How do you feel about Sabor de España?” she questioned, whipping around to face him.

“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite spots.”

“Finally, something we agree on,” she grinned. “I’ll take the Chicken Spain.”

“Bet. I’ll be back in a few.”

Thirty minutes later, he was back, and they were stuffing their faces while Aella revealed all of her current work hurdles.

“I’ve never run into something like this, ever. Everything with this launch has been problematic from start to finish,” she sat back in her chair, planting her hands on her forehead. “We’re supposed to be doing a surprise drop next quarter, but everything that should have been easy is falling apart.”

Setting aside his to-go container, Cassius studied her. “Not to be that person, but can you push it back?”

“I could. But I’ve already done it once. To do so again is a poor reflection of Aged Creek Whiskey and me. I’ve poured my heart into this from the beginning, and I hate that nothing is going as planned,” Aella revealed sadly.

“Why? What’s the motivation behind this particular launch?”

“The recipe was one of my great-grandmother’s. She never got a chance to see it come to fruition because very few women in this industry were taken seriously back then. I found it by accident while my sister and I were helping our mom clean out some junk in the basement, and I hit the ground running with it. I hate that she never had the opportunity to bring her dreams to light. And if she had, it likely would have only been because she made a man the face of it, as was typical with my family,” she rolled her eyes.

“Word?” Cassius replied thoughtfully.

Stabbing her fork into her rice, Aella sighed wistfully. “Don’t ask me how many greats are supposed to be in front of the grandfather that laid the foundation that eventually became this company, but he’s not the backbone and damn sure didn’t put in half as much work as his wife did. But no one thought she was competent enough to know what she was talking about to listen to what she had to say.”

“Because she was a woman,” Cassius offered.

“Ding, ding, ding. Letting people believe it was his idea made a way for her to share what she loved with the world.”

“And that’s why your stubborn ass has been fighting me every step of the way,” he deduced, rubbing his chin.

“It’s never been you. I just don’t want to get so buried beneath a man’s accolades and success that no one remembers my name when I’m gone. Women in general, let alone those in our lifestyle, have to fight not to take a back seat. I mean, look at my mom. Had she not told me that her bookkeeping skills were so essential to expanding my dad’s organization that he was willing to marry her for them, I would have never known she played a vital role in his success. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a wife and mother, but that wasn’t her only role. She gets zero credit for that. The last thing I want is to come off as egotistical or like the center of attention because that’s not what I mean at all. I just want to matter and for people to know I mattered.”

Sitting back in his seat, Cassius patted his thigh. “Come here, Elle.”

She stood without argument, trudging to the other side of the desk. Gently pulling her into his lap, Cassius kissed her temple. “I promise that no matter what, I’ll never allow you to become second to me. We’re partners. Equal. Anything you do is just as important as what I do, and any contribution you make to my success will always be acknowledged and appreciated. Deal?”

“Promise?” she held out her pinky, making him chuckle.

Wrapping his significantly larger digit around hers, Cassius locked eyes with her. “Promise. Childish ass.”

“Whatever, Negro,” she grinned. “Now, since I’ve opened up and told you what’s bothering me, what’s going on with you?”

“Damn, here I was thinking we were having a moment, and the whole time, you were plotting to get what you wanted,” he teased, shaking his head.

“Rule number one, never trust a mobster.”

“Your little ass is not a mobster.”

“My husband is, though,” she shot back smugly.

“Real cute,” Cassius tittered. “All the shit from the past few weeks has been on my mind heavily. That likely won’t be the last time you glimpse that side of me, and I don’t want that to change how you view me.”

Aella didn’t miss a beat before responding, “We both know that I haven’t been exposed to any of this firsthand, but I was aware of everything you came with when I agreed to do this.” Palming his cheek, she turned his head so their eyes met. “You won’t run away or scare me off.”