Slade watched Mandisa assess Macy carefully. He wasn’t quite certain what she was thinking, but he could tell by the squinting of her eyes and the lines on her brow that her mind was workingovertime.
“No, I spend most of my time in a lab or in an office running a business. I wouldn’t know you as a spokesmodel.”
Slade damn near choked on his laughter, turning it into a cough when Macy’s sharp gaze cut across the table and landed on him. Saved by their server’s arrival, they sat quietly as the young man filled their wineglasses with white wine, then deftly recorded everyone’s order for theevening.
“So, Dr. Avery, my Bull here tells me you make makeup? Is thattrue?”
“That’s a pretty broad description of what I do. I create beauty products, not just makeup. I use science to create formulas to address cosmetic needs for women ofcolor.”
“Just women of color? That seems like a very small market share. Wouldn’t it be wiser to cater to all skin tonesinstead?”
Their server returned with their selections, and the conversation was abated for a few moments. When the server was gone, and they had each taken their first bites of food, Slade hoped Macy’s ignorant line of questioning would recede. But after another glass of wine, the young woman found her courage and continued to pressMandisa.
“Take Venus, for example. Our brand caters toeveryone.”
Slade was ready to jump in and defend Mandisa’s honor when he saw the edge of Mandisa’s lip lift in a cynical half-smile that told him she had this. A celebratory gleam in Macy’s eyes caught Slade’s attention. He shook his head. Macy was so pleased with herself, she didn’t see what Slade saw—Mandisa’s brilliance preparing for the battleahead.
“Actually, Macy, Venus does not cater to everyone,” Mandisa countered. “Venus makes products that cater to mainstream America. If you’re white, blue-eyed, and blonde, Venus products will work gloriously on you. But if you have the slightest bit of melanin in your skin, Venus products will make you look like you learned cosmetics application at a clownschool.
“It’s a fact I think your husband is well aware of. That’s probably one of the reasons he wants me to come work for him. Without a line that caters to women of color, Venus is leaving money on the table. Besides failing to cater to an entire population demographic, there’s also the greater problem of Venus’ contribution to the historical and social issue of perpetuating the idea that only white, blonde women arebeautiful.”
Slade let an uncaring smirk rise unchecked on his face. Watching his woman educate Macy on a business, financial, and social issue wasn’t just hilarious, it was sexy as hell. Mandisa sent him a cavalier wink across the table. Game, set, match, she had this, and everyone at that table knew it, especiallyBull.
* * *
For the rest of the evening Mandisa watched the bitter bitch sitting next to her hoover multiple glasses of wine while Slade, Bull, and Mandisa talked business. To anyone watching it seemed cordial, but Mandisa could see Slade was doing his level best to keep from slitting Bull’s throat every time the man tried to find a different method of pressuring Mandisa for a final decision on thedeal.
Mandisa was unmoved by Bull’s tactics. She didn’t respond to bullying. She needed Bull to know that if she was going to make this deal, it would always be on her own terms. When she was tired of the boardroom back and forth across the dinner table, she excused herself to the ladies’room.
She used the restroom, washed her hands, and sat down in front of an empty seat at the vanity station. Satisfied most of her makeup was intact, she retouched her vibrant red lipstick that had been sacrificed to the meal they’deaten.
“You’re sleeping with him, aren’tyou?”
Mandisa looked up in the mirror to see Macy standing behind her. Mandisa calmly placed her lipstick in her purse and continued checking her reflection, unbothered by Macy’squestion.
“Seeing how you’re married to Slade’s father and Slade’s a grown man, I don’t understand how that’s any of yourbusiness.”
Mandisa saw a spark of jealousy streak across Macy’s face, leaving her lips flattened into thin strips and her eyes squinting. Considering all the plastic surgery Mandisa could detect on the human doll’s face, she was thoroughly impressed Macy could scowl at her likethat.
Mandisa would be amused by Macy’s reaction save for the fact that the woman was Slade’sstepmother.
Why the hell would she be jealous overSlade?
“I hope you don’t think it’s serious. You’re not exactly histype.”
“And let me guess. Who is his type?You?”
When Macy squared her shoulders and placed both hands on her tiny waist, Mandisa knew she’d hit the nail on its head. This foul bitch was really jonesin’ for her husband’sson.
If this ain’t some nasty soap operashit.
“Listen Macy, I’m not concerned about what you do or don’t want from Slade. The fact is you’re married to his father. The man I know, however briefly, would never cross that line. So whether I’m sleeping with Slade or not is irrelevant. Even if I weren’t a factor, he still wouldn’t touch you with a ten-footpole.”
Mandisa pulled a bill out of her purse and made a deliberate show of shoving the folded paper into the bathroom attendant’s tip jar. She gave Macy a parting smile and made certain to add a little extra sway to her full hips as she walkedaway.
* * *
Slade grabbed his glass of water and emptied it. He could feel the contents of his stomach rising, a frequent event whenever he was in his father’s presence for longer than a few moments at atime.
