They found a Starbucks nearby, grabbed some coffee, and sat together in the back of the café, facing the door. Troy was talking about his plans for Stuart Mitchell Enterprises and how excited he was about stepping into his father’s footprints. Crystal watched him, listening intently as she sipped her coffee. His eyes twinkled with a boyish charm that made her smile. He was so passionate about what he was saying that it disarmed her.
But it was hard for her to focus on what he was saying. She found herself distracted by his appearance. She watched his lips as he spoke. The way he moved his hands, and gestured. His expensive coat, his watch, his resemblance to his father. The man had impeccable style. Every piece in his current wardrobe was impressive. But that was no surprise. The Mitchell family had amassed a fortune over the years. In publishing alone, they had several top urban magazines in their portfolio. Hipster was the most successful one. But all of them were performing well. They also had their hands in a number of lucrative marketing and advertising campaigns. Troy had certainly been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. And with a very high self-esteem, evidenced by the soliloquy he launched into now about his success so far.
“My father’s vision for Stuart Mitchell was narrow,” Troy was saying. “When he started the company, it was the early nineties and he was thinking print media. Everything is digital now. So my plan is to make sure each of our publications has a highly visible online profile, like Hipster does.” He smiled at her then. “I applaud you for having the foresight to make that happen.”
Crystal raised her coffee cup in a mock toast. “If you’re not digital you don’t exist in this day and age.”
Troy agreed. “That’s what gives Hipster such an advantage. Unlike its competitors, Hipster’s average reader is between the ages of eighteen to forty. That’s a young, progressive audience and they expect their favorite magazines to keep up. You’ve been successful at doing that.”
Crystal nodded. “Sounds like you did your homework, Troy.”
“Of course.” He sat back in his seat and looked at her. “My father can’t stop singing your praises. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been hanging out with him a lot while he shows me the ropes. And he talks about Hipster like it’s a miracle. His investors were urging him to cut his losses and pull the plug on the whole thing. He was considering that. But he said that when you walked into his office and told him your vision, he knew right away that it was a perfect fit. He has great respect and admiration for you.” Troy smirked playfully. “I can see why.”
Crystal frowned a little. “What does that mean?” she asked. “You just met me. You couldn’t have seen much.”
He shook his head. “Not true,” he said. “I’ve seen plenty. For one thing, you met me and my team this morning. Then you excused yourself to go and personally conduct an interview that you could have easily handed off to one of your writers. That tells me you’re serious about your job, and about the magazine overall.”
Crystal grinned as she listened.
“As if that wasn’t enough, I got here and found you nearly in tears after an interview.”
She shifted uneasily in her seat. She hadn’t thought he noticed the tears in her eyes. And, truthfully, she didn’t appreciate him bringing it up.
He held his hand over his heart. “That type of compassion for someone you just met is incredible. Especially in media. You hear so many different stories from day to day that you kind of become desensitized to it. Numb. You know what I mean?” He shook his head. “But not you. I could tell that you were emotional about it, even though you tried to play it off. I understand you wanting to keep your professional mask on. But, truthfully, I liked seeing you vulnerable like that. It speaks volumes that you can feel that type of compassion for someone whose life is so different from yours.”
Crystal stared back at him and smiled. Of course he had no idea how wrong he was. Lisa Jackson’s life paralleled hers in more ways than Troy knew.
“Tell me about yourself, Crystal,” Troy said. “I’m curious about you.”
She smiled broadly now. “Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard all there is to hear from Fox.”
“Nah,” Troy said, waving his hand. “I want to hear from you. Not all the professional shit you talked about earlier. I want to know who Crys Scott really is.” He smirked. “What’s your story? Where do you live? What kind of car you drive? What type of music you like?”
Her eyes narrowed instinctively. She wondered where this was going. She noticed that he had slipped out of his professional speech. She let out a soft sigh. “I live in Brooklyn. I drive an Audi.”
Troy’s eyes widened, impressed. “A five?”
“A six.”
His eyes widened even more. “Whoa. Okay.” He sat back and flexed a little on her behalf.
She laughed.
“Okay.” He nodded, impressed. “I imagined you in something more subtle.”
Crystal was distracted for a moment by an angry customer arguing with the cashier. Her grande latte wasn’t whipped to her standards or something. She gave Troy her attention again.
“I like speed. And power.” She took another sip of her coffee.
He stared at her. “I don’t know what it is about you,” he said. “I can’t put my finger on it. But I like you. You seem like the kind of woman I will enjoy working with.”
She grinned. “What kind of woman is that?”
“Smart, driven, focused. With a passion for power and speed.” He chuckled a bit. “Sounds like I’m describing myself.”
Crystal chuckled, too. But at his arrogance.
“Tell me more.” He took a bite of his pastry.
She shrugged. “There’s really not much to tell.”
He looked skeptical. “Come on,” he coaxed. “Tell me about your family. What do you do for fun?”
She smiled. “I don’t have much family.”
“No siblings?” he asked between bites.
She thought about Malik, but decided not to dredge up that old history right now. “No,” she said simply. “But my cousin is like a sister to me. I hang out with her a lot. My parents. I have a few close friends, but I’m not much for crowds. Not unless it pertains to my work.”
“Are you married?” he asked.
Crystal let the question linger between them for a moment before answering. It felt inappropriate on some level, him asking her that. But she decided to answer him anyway.
“I’m not.”
He nodded, a grin tickling the corner of his mouth. “Neither am I.”
Her eyes narrowed again. “But that’s about to change soon, right? Aren’t you engaged to Vanessa Nolan?”
She could tell that he hadn’t expected her to know that. After all, the engagement was only a couple of days old. There had been no big announcement. In fact, Troy had kept an extremely low profile for the most part. Until now. Fox spoke about his sons from time to time, though. He had mentioned the engagement to Crystal after a weekend away in Vegas. Vanessa Nolan had some very prominent parents. Her mother was Roxy Nolan, a former Miss USA. Roxy was gorgeous, exotic, and had a body that put women half her age to shame. Vanessa’s father was Harvey Nolan, one of the top civil rights attorneys in the country. He had been a partner at the firm of Wakefield Crawford since its inception in the eighties, and was one of the power movers in the political arena. He rubbed elbows with the likes of Obama and Clinton, and many urged him to pursue political aspirations of his own. Instead, he was content to continue mostly pro bono work at the firm, while maintaining strong ties to D.C. and reaping the rewards of both.
Harvey was one of Fox’s old friends, which made their children’s relationship a sweet twist of fate. Troy had proposed to Vanessa at her parents’ anniversary party in Las Vegas, surrounded by their family and closest friends. According to Fox, it had been a beautiful and romantic display.
Troy laughed. “I see my father talks a lot.”
She nodded. “He’s very proud of you. He mentioned you have a brother. His name is Wes, isn’t it?”
Troy appeared to tense a little at the mention of his brother’s name. He looked at Crystal oddly. “That’s right.” He seemed uncomfortable. She wondered what that was about.
“Your dad is a pleasure to work with,” she said. “He’s laid-back and calm. But he’s a lion in the boardroom and he expects results. I respect his business sense and he respects my vision. We’ve done well together. From time to time, we chat about our family life. He mentioned your engagement the other day and he could barely contain his joy.” She smiled at him.
Troy returned the gesture and seemed to relax a little. “He’s happy.”
“Are you happy?”
He stared at her blankly. For a moment, she regretted asking the question. Just as she opened her mouth to apologize, he spoke.
“You know what I’m happy about?” He smiled and his eyes sparkled. “Taking over Stuart Mitchell and working with movers and shakers like you.” He drank the last of his coffee and winked at her as he set the cup down.
Crystal smiled and decided that was a nice way to end this. She felt they had crossed enough professional boundaries for one day. She rose to leave.
“I’m looking forward to working with you, too, Troy.” She extended her hand to him across the table.
Troy looked up at her. “You have to leave so soon?” Disappointment was evident in his face and tone.
She nodded. “I do. But thank you for the coffee.”
Reluctantly, he rose and shook her extended hand. As he had done earlier during their first meeting, he held her hand longer than necessary.
“Take care,” he said.
Her grip tightened involuntarily, and she pulled her hand away hoping that he hadn’t noticed. Grabbing her purse off the table, she forced a smile, and waved as she rushed out the door.
He watched her go, wondering what it was about her that piqued his curiosity so. Being around beautiful women was nothing new. He was engaged to one of the most gorgeous creatures he had ever laid eyes on. Crystal, though, had appealed to him in ways that weren’t purely physical. Her intelligence and drive made her more attractive somehow and Troy found himself wanting more.
He thought about the question she had asked him about his engagement. Whether he was happy. He cared about Vanessa, there was no question. But happiness was something that had eluded him all his life. He found it interesting that Crystal had asked him that. As a journalist, he guessed she had developed a knack for asking the right things. It was something he hadn’t considered for some time. And now, the question haunted him like a ghost in his mind.
Are you happy?
He gathered the trash from the table, and deposited it in a garbage can on his way out the door. The cool autumn air smacked him in the face as he emerged and melded into the crowd on the streets of New York City.
* * *
Crystal greeted her cousin Destiny as she entered her apartment. She took off her coat, and flung it across the sofa. Destiny had given her a spare key a year ago after injuring her ankle in a fall. Crystal lived a few blocks away, and had come by often in those days with groceries and toiletries for her cousin. Now that Destiny was healed, she wondered how long Crystal would continue the practice of letting herself into her apartment unannounced.
She shook her head jokingly at Crystal now. “Girl, give me back my keys.”
Crystal pouted, and hid them behind her back. “I’ll call next time. I promise.” She held up the bag of Cuban food she brought with her. “I come bearing gifts.”
Destiny laughed and led the way into the kitchen. Crystal followed, set the bag of food down on the long oak wood table, and poured herself a glass of wine. This was the type of indulging she tried hard to avoid, knowing what it did to her petite frame. She told herself that today was an exception. Comfort food and alcohol were just what the doctor ordered.
Destiny grabbed plates and utensils and joined her. “How did your interview go today with the Jackson family?”
“I’ll tell you all about it,” Crystal promised, “but first we gotta eat. I’m starving and this food is smelling good.”
Destiny agreed. “I hardly ate all day. Too stressed.”
Crystal frowned and glanced at her while she prepared her plate. “Stressed? About what?”
Destiny sighed. “I just got off the phone venting to Mommy. I broke up with that nigga Dwayne.”
Crystal shook her head, grinning. “I thought you stopped saying the ‘n’ word after you saw Twelve Years a Slave.”
Destiny sucked her teeth. “Yeah,” she admitted. “It’s hard to stay woke, though, when you’re dealing with a nigga like Dwayne.” She surveyed the food Crystal had brought over. She put a couple of empanadas on her plate, and told herself to be satisfied with that. Destiny had always been a hefty girl, but now that she was nearing the age of thirty, she was determined to get her weight under control, once and for all. She doubted that she’d ever transition the way that Jennifer Hudson had. But she thought she could at least get her Jill Scott on.
Crystal laughed. “What happened?” she asked, though she truthfully couldn’t care less. It seemed like Destiny and Dwayne broke up every two weeks. She was sick of hearing about it, but loved her cousin too much to say so.
Thankfully, Destiny had vented to her mother enough already. She looked at Crystal and rolled her eyes dramatically. “He’s a fool, like Mommy said, and ain’t never gonna change,” Destiny said simply. She started fixing her plate. “Now tell me about the interview.”
“Girl!” Crystal took a long sip of her wine. She sat back, her eyes dancing as she spoke. “I had the craziest day! Arnold Jackson’s sister was the only family member at the rally today. So I interviewed her and the family lawyer. It was a lot harder than I expected it to be.”
Destiny glanced at her cousin sympathetically. She had witnessed firsthand how devastating Malik’s death had been for Crystal.
“I knew going into it that the subject was a sensitive one for me,” Crystal said. “Had I known I was going to be interviewing his sister, I probably would have let Dana take the lead. It was like looking at myself in a mirror ten years ago and seeing how scared and broken I was then.” She shook her head. “I was pretty shaken up.” She shoveled some rice into her mouth and chewed.
Destiny nodded. She stared at her cousin oddly. Something was off. “Sounds traumatic,” she said. “So why are you so upbeat when you talk about it?”
Crystal glanced at her cousin. Her face melted into a grin and her eyes were more alive than ever. “I got to meet the Boy Wonder today.”
Destiny’s eyes widened. She stopped chewing and sat back in her seat. She glared at Crystal, a smirk now appearing on her own face as she let her words sink in. Finally, she nodded. “Tell me everything and don’t leave out a single detail.”
Crystal chuckled so loudly that it sounded a little maniacal. She gleefully launched into a recap of her workday and Destiny was all ears.