“Derek, let’s go!”
Portia looked at her watch once more and tapped her shoe impatiently as she stood on the front steps waiting for her brother the next morning. It made no economical sense for them to drive two cars from the same place to the same place, especially while living in New York. But on days like this, Portia almost wanted to take her own car so she didn’t have to waste time waiting. She watched her carbon copy step through the door and was reminded again of how much they looked alike. Same dark eyes, caramel coloring and wide smile. Even with Portia’s chemically achieved deep red hair, they still got the double take every now and then when they were out in public together.
“It’s barely seven o’clock, Portia.” Derek pulled the front door closed as he squinted into the sunlight. “What’s the rush?”
“The rush is I have a pile of stuff on my desk that I need to get to before my meeting with the distributor this morning,” she was already halfway down the steps. “Unlike some people, I can’t spend my days schmoozing the public. I actually have to do real work.”
Portia and her brother were the co-founders and heads of Solid Step Footwear, but the way in which they spent their working hours were entirely different. While Portia spent her time as Chief Operating Officer managing employees, overseeing distribution and generally taking care of the day-to-day activities of the company, Derek spent his days drumming up new business and expanding their brand. Portia knew both roles were essential, but sometimes it felt like her brother was busy partying while she did the grunt work.
“Hey, if I didn’t schmooze, there would be no real work for either of us to do,” Derek slipped on his sunglasses as he got into the front seat and started the engine. “If you’re feeling that overwhelmed though, just let me know. I can scale back on the events and spend more time on operations.”
Portia shook her head. “No. We agreed a couple months ago that I would handle operations and you would be the face of the company.”
“And so far, I think it’s been going pretty well,” Derek pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic. “You have better intuition on business things than I did. Plus, you’re neurotic enough to keep everything organized. Knowing you are taking care of the day to day really takes the pressure off me from worrying about that. And I know how much you hate all the networking events.”
Portia agreed that the arrangement they had now was working out best for both of them. When they first started Solid Step Footwear out of their parent’s basement, they had nothing more than a few sneaker designs and a dream. Now, several years later they had a thriving designer footwear business producing quality fashionable footwear. Their main focus was still sports footwear, with Derek at the head of design. But they had also diversified into some casual and dress footwear and were starting to see traction in those areas as well.
In the beginning, they both managed the business together as CEOs. But with the growth they experienced in the recent year, they made the decision to have Portia focus on day-to-day operations while Derek focused on managing and promoting the image of the company. The idea had been Morgan’s. Solid’s image consultant who, not long after being contracted with the company, had also become Derek’s girlfriend.
“Yeah, I guess,” Portia pulled down the visor and popped out her make-up compact. “I’m just worried about whether we will have enough capital to meet the requirements to go public. We are only a few months out.”
Her forehead wrinkled at thoughts of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) they had been working towards the last couple months.
Derek nodded. “Don’t worry. We will. I’ve got a few investors in my pocket who are thinking about coming on board.”
“Well you better get them to do more than think about it or we might have problems.” Portia applied gloss to her lips. “We should find a time to sit and talk about where things are right now. The two of us need to decide what we want to do if we don’t meet our capital goal. That way when we get in front of the board we have a united front.”
Derek smiled. “Why are you being so negative, P? We’re going to meet the goal. Don’t worry. Morgan and I have been working these investors. We’re confident they’ll come on board. In less than two weeks, we should have them signed.”
“And if we don’t?” Portia paused with her eye shadow brush midair to glance over at him.
“We will.”
She frowned but said nothing more. She hated when Derek put her off like this. She wasn’t trying to throw cold water on his plans, but she liked to have a back-up plan. And a back-up plan for her back-up plan. People were always promising things in business. But until they signed on the dotted line and transferred that money over, nothing was certain. Portia preferred to plan based on the certainty of uncertainty than on the possibility of something else.
If she had been talking to one of her employees, she would have demanded more. But this was her brother. They were equals in the business, so she would respect his position on things for now. That, however, didn’t mean she wasn’t going to make preparations of her own. Which was the reason she ended up at Milo’s desk before she got to her own.
“Hey, girl. How was your performance last night?” Portia perched on the edge of the desk of her brother’s assistant.
“It was amazing,” Milo grinned as she looked up from the computer. “Even better than opening night when you came. They made us dance an encore piece. My feet are aching.”
“I bet,” Portia shook her head. “I don’t know how you do that and hold down a full time here.”
“It’s called not having a social life,” Milo laughed and tugged at her long brown hair. “But once I find one, you’ll be hearing from me.”
Portia nodded. “I understand that. I know dance is your dream so I’ll always support you. Just make sure you give us lots of notice. It’s going to be hard finding a replacement.”
Milo nodded. “I will. So what’s up?”
Portia leaned forward. “I was wondering if you could let me know what’s on Derek’s calendar for this week.”
Milo raised an eyebrow. “As his assistant, you know I have to tell you to go ask him.”
“But as my best friend?” Portia cooed.
Milo smirked. “But as your best friend, let me see what I can find.
Milo tapped on the keys of her computer quickly. “Let’s see. He has a phone conference this morning and a late lunch this afternoon at Balthazar.”
Portia’s ears perked up at the name of the restaurant known for power lunches. “And who’s that one with?”
Milo chewed on her lip. “Chase Weston and Don Bradley. Morgan’s supposed to be there also.”
Portia nodded as she made a mental note of the names. “What about tomorrow?”
Milo shook her head. “Tomorrow morning, he’s not here until noon. He has a meeting over in the Bronx first thing.”
Portia frowned. “The Bronx? Who’s over there?”
“James Mathers, A-K-A Triple Crown,” Milo said with a smirk.
Portia’s eyes widened. “The rapper Triple Crown?”
Milo nodded. “The very same. And before you ask, I have no idea what it’s about. I didn’t even book the meeting. I was just given the details and asked to put it on his calendar.”
Portia frowned. “Okay. Thanks, Milo.”
“You know I got you, babe.”
She was still frowning as she headed back to her office. Why hadn’t Derek told her he had a meeting with a platinum selling rapper? That was information she would definitely consider important. Was he a potential investor or was this a marketing thing? Either way, she needed to know the connection. Triple Crown wasn’t exactly a family friendly artist. Connecting with a public figure like that was something that should have been a joint decision. She would have to have a talk with her brother as soon as possible.
She was steps away from her office when a figure rounded the corner stopping her cold in her tracks.
If she hadn’t seen Khai less than twenty-four hours earlier, she would have thought she was imagining his sea green eyes and the mischievous smirk he managed to have while chewing his ever-present gum. But the moment he stepped into her personal space and the light woodsy scent of his cologne hit her, she knew she wasn’t seeing things.
“Am I going to need a restraining order?”
His eyebrow lifted but the mischief never left his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Why are you here, Khai?”
He slipped his hands into his pockets. “For work, of course.”
“Really.” Portia narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t see you for six months and then it’s twice in less than twenty-four hours? Kinda feels like I’m being followed.”
He leaned forward. His voiced dropped low enough to send tingles up her spine. “Listen, PJ. I don’t know what kind of fantasies you have running through your head, but I am here strictly for business.”
Right. And she was the Miss Universe runner-up. Solid had concluded their business with Khai months ago. If he was here for something new, she would have heard about it. Which meant Khai was up to something. She just didn’t know what.
“If you’re gonna stalk me, can you not involve my brother and my company? This is a really important time for us.”
He smiled. “I’m not stalking you, but you might want to look into your neighbor Carl. That wall in your bedroom closet? I think it has a view.”
Portia gasped “Eww! Creepy Carl is spying on me? I knew it!”
Khai nodded. “Yeah, you should probably get that dealt with.”
She shuddered. Her weird neighbor had always made her skin crawl. He was home all the time and never had visitors. Whenever Portia was in the backyard, she was convinced he stared at her over the fence. She should have known the shared wall separating her house and his was also a problem.
Khai stepped closer, well within her circle of personal space. “So, have I earned enough goodwill for a do over?”
She let her eyes roam over the man standing in front of her, appreciating the view for a moment. He was taller than her, lean and wiry, but with just enough muscle roping his upper body to keep a girl looking. Even beneath today’s outfit of leather jacket over jeans and a graphic tee, she could tell. Especially since the t-shirt was so well worn it was almost threadbare. He was hot, and not just for a white guy. Which was probably why he had walked his fine self into her dreams more than a couple times since she’d met him. But Khai was a problem that she couldn’t take on right now. He was the kind of guy that could mess up a girl’s schedule, and ain’t nobody got time for that.
She shook her head. “Khai, you don’t want to date me. You’re just bored. I wouldn’t even have heard from you if we hadn’t run into each other in the supermarket.”
Khai looked at her for a long moment. “Sweetheart, I bury and find information for a living. Do you really think I accidentally ran into you in the supermarket?”
Portia pursed her lips.
He reached up and fingered a strand of her hair before tucking it behind her ear. “You shop at that supermarket every Wednesday. You show up at around 2:35, park two spaces away from the entrance and leave around 4am. You and Bob are on a first name basis and he’s the only cashier you go to. You usually go straight home after but sometimes you stop at the gym for a quick workout which makes me wonder when you ever sleep.”
Her mouth fell open. “You are stalking me.”
He shook his head. “Not stalking. Just looking out for the people I care about.”
Okay.
He’d gotten her. She had absolutely no response.
None.
“Come on, Portia.” The usual confidence that lived in his eyes flickered momentarily. “One date. One do-over.”
Her chest tightened. Her resolve weakened. He always did this. No matter how much she prepared for him, he always found a way to creep under her determination to resist him. But she wouldn’t back down this time.
She stepped back. “You just creeped me out and failed to prove that I shouldn’t report you to the cops. Besides, you don’t even tick the boxes on the list.”
He opened his mouth. “The list?”
Portia stepped around him and headed to her office. She could feel his eyes follow her down the hall.
“List? What list?”
She chuckled to herself and kept walking. “Bye, Creepy Khai.”