“Message me with developments.”
I’m about to respond, but Rae is already ten feet away, walking down a side street with her head down like we’ve never even met.
I won’t waste any more time feeling unsure of myself. The first step in kicking ass is believing you can. The second step is doing your homework. I’m getting started on that right now.
4
Phoenix
There’sa knock at the door. “Nix.”
I catch a glimpse of the clock on my desk and see that I’ve wasted most of the day. “Come in,” I say and lean back in my chair, stretching my muscles.
Coco walks in, smiling as she strides up to my desk. She’s toying with the loose strands that have fallen from the messy bun on top of her head. “Sorry I’m late today.”
I found Coco living on the streets four years ago. She tried to pick my pocket, but I caught her red-handed. She looked like a deer in headlights when I grabbed her wrist. I didn’t have the heart to yell at her once her eyes began to fill with tears before I even got the first word out.
Her hair was dirty, her clothes were torn, and everything about her screamed homeless. Instead of turning her in to the cops, I bought her lunch. She told me her life story while she ate, and I knew by the time she finished that I couldn’t just cut her loose.
Her mother was a crack addict who didn’t even bother to put food on the table, and her father split before she could even remember. When Coco was fourteen, her mother lost their home, and instead of sticking with her, Coco took off on her own. She couldn’t live in the crack dens that her mother frequented without becoming an addict herself. But like most teenagers with no place to go, she became homeless and used crime to survive.
At first, I had her live with me so I could make sure she wasn’t an addict too—those things can only be hidden for so long. When I was satisfied enough, I hired her officially as an employee of Ash Holdings. And when she became of age, I set her up in an apartment down the street. She cleaned up well and is smarter than I ever imagined.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting you until later. What’s up?” I don’t even know what time it is, but my mind’s been bouncing between work and Eva. But mostly Eva’s mouth is winning.
Coco’s fingertips run along the edges of my mahogany desk, but her dark eyes don’t meet mine. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
I know the look. She wants something and is trying to play coy, but I know better. She acts the same as she did when she was sixteen.
“Shoot.” My index finger traces the line of my lips as I fight the urge to say no immediately. Coco never asks for much, but when she does, it’s usually something big.
“Well,” she says and takes a seat across from me. Her dark, skintight jeans are in stark contrast to the ultramodern white leather chair I had specially designed for my office. She’s chewing her lip as her eyes move around the window behind me but never meet mine. “I’ve been with you for a long time now, and I feel that I’m ready.”
“You feel that you’re ready?” I already hate where the conversation is going. It didn’t matter that I felt responsible for her or that she was like an adopted little sister—I’d feel no differently if she were blood. I wouldn’t want anyone, especially a girl, to become part of my world.
“Being your assistant is fantastic and all, but I started working for you in the hopes that you’d teach me the ropes.” She starts to giggle, covering her glossy pink lips with her hand. “I rhymed.”
A smile tugs at my lips only for a moment, because I catch a glimpse of the scared little girl I once knew. “I just don’t know if you’re ready yet, Coco.”
I’m the one who isn’t ready. Coco is the closest thing I will ever have to a sister, and the last thing I want is for her to get mixed up in my world.
“Nix, what if something happens to you? Your entire operation would cease to exist. Think of me as a way to continue on with your legacy.”
I raise an eyebrow because she’s full of shit. “Is something going to happen to me that I don’t know about?”
She shakes her head, causing a few more pieces of her brown hair to tumble to her shoulders. “No.” She finally brings her eyes to mine, narrowing them. “But things happen, and it’s good to have a backup. I’m sure you have a will in case you die, but what happens to all the people who depend on you? If I don’t take over your business, someone will that you don’t know, and you can’t guarantee they’ll carry on your work.”
“I didn’t know I had a legacy that needed to be carried on.”
I’m being an asshole, but getting Coco more involved means putting her at greater risk. Being my personal assistant is one thing—there’s a deniability that she still maintains if I’m ever arrested or her ass is ever hauled in for questioning—but dragging her in deeper puts us both at risk.
She pulls a piece of lint from her sweater and flicks it at me. “Don’t be a dick, Nix.” The look in her eyes is anything but friendly as she crosses her arms out of frustration. “I can do the job. I’ve earned my place here, and I know more than you think.”
Pulling the chair closer to my desk, I lean across the top and clasp my hands together. “Tell me what you know.”
I give Coco a perfect score for ballsiness. Not many people would talk to me like she does, but she knows me better than anyone. She’s been my right hand for years, catering to my every whim and making sure I keep my shit together. Without her, everything would fall apart.
She tilts her head with a cocky smirk. “You need me to make a list for you?”
