He winks and hightails it out of my room before I can respond. I breathe a sigh of relief, followed by a chuckle.That ass.
I grab the card from my bedside table before hurrying back to my desk. I need to hide the coke in a better place. Pulling open the drawer, I gather up the remaining baggies and hurry back into my closet. I grab an old handbag off the shelf and shove them in, but I find myself pausing before I put it back.Maybe I’ll take one with me just in case.So I grab one little bag then put the handbag back on the shelf and shove another in front of it.There, no one will find them.
Finally, I go back to my desk and put the little baggie in my handbag. All the tension washes out of my body at the thought that it’s there just in case. Of course, I won’t need it. I’m only going to work, into meetings with people I know, and everyone else works for me. I’m the boss, the one in charge. I will be fine. Or at least I’ll keep telling myself that.
Picking it up by its cute little handle, I head downstairs. The living room is a hive of activity, with Harlow and the rest of my brothers having breakfast with the rest of my family. Mrs. Heyton is bustling around, pouring coffee for anyone who needs it and prepping travel mugs for the ride in.
“Jacinta,mein kleiner schmetterling,there you are. I have your chamomile tea ready for you.” Mrs. Heyton bustles back into the kitchen as everyone says good morning to me.
“Wow, don’t you look amazing!” Harlow says as she gets up and gives me a quick hug. “We good?” she whispers in my ear, and I squeeze her extra hard.
“We’re great. Thank you, I’m feeling great.”
“Those shoes and that bag are gorgeous.” Hope sighs, pointing at them. “I’ve never been able to pull off that pink. It clashes with my hair.” She tugs on her red locks in frustration.
“Ahh, but they come in other colors. I think there’s a couple more pairs in the wardrobe. Why don’t you grab them for yourself while we’re there?” I suggest, taking the to-go cup of tea Mrs. Heyton returned with. “Thank you.” I give her a kiss on her soft cheek, and she pats my own.
“Bitte schön. Can you girls each take a mug of coffee for your bodyguards,bitte?” Hope and Harlow nod, but I scrunch up my nose and hold up my handbag in one hand and my tea in the other. Mrs. Heyton rolls her eyes, but before she can say anything, there’s a knock on the glass door. Riku is standing on the other side.
Holden lets him in with a smile. “Morning, man, just in time for coffee.”
Mrs. Heyton holds out two more travel mugs from the sideboard.
“For you and Simon,” she tells him, and he gives her this gentle smile before speaking in rapid German. Their conversation is so fast that I can’t pick it up with my small smattering of the language, but I see Harlow smile and nod.
“Did you actually understand that?” I ask, and she smirks.
“Yup, remember what I said about languages being my thing? German is one I picked up as well.”
“Well, what are they saying?” I ask her.
“Basically, he’s telling her thank you, then he explained that when you’re just going to the office, you’ll only have one guard, and it’s Simon’s day off. He’ll only join when you go out in public.” She turns to me. “I think that’s the same for all of us.”
“Alright. Is everyone ready?” Dad stands up, draining the last of his coffee. “Let’s get moving.” There’s a mad rush as everyone grabs everything they need. Kai and Thomas have already left, checking on the helicopters, and Harlow is the only one who seems to have her shit together. She throws her faithful backpack over her shoulder and strides out the door without a care. I check that Jax still has my other bags, and when I’m sure he does, I grab Hope, and we power walk after her. When we get there, Thomas and Kai are running last-minute checks, and Hope’s and Harlow’s security guys are there, already holding the to-go coffee courtesy of their charges.
We split up into two groups. Harlow, the guys, and her bodyguard take the one with Thomas flying it, and the rest of us take the other.
Once settled, it doesn’t take us long to get into the air and make our way to Neighpalm headquarters. When we touch down, we split up. Emma and Molly are making their way to the Couture level, and the rest of us are heading to the board room on the top floor for our meeting.
As we get settled around the table, Hope clears her throat, drawing our attention to her. “I told Cole to give us an hour before he comes in. That gives us time to discuss anything we need to before he joins us.”
“That was smart, Hope, thank you.” Poppy pats her on the shoulder as he passes her to take his seat at the head of the table. While he’s retired from everyday Neighpalm business, he’s still chairman of the board and leader of these meetings. Nana and Dad take a seat on either side of him as the rest of us spread out around the table, pulling out laptops and notebooks. Today is Harlow’s first board meeting and Hope’s first one as a member of the board, not the PR representative. She and Holden sit next to one another so they can give a Records report.
“Okay, let’s get the ball rolling. The agenda should be in your emails. Business reports first. Dec, let’s start with you. Anything to report for Productions?” Poppy opens the floor, and Nana is poised to take the minutes of the meeting. We’ve always kept everything in the family so that we can discuss things without having to worry about loose lips. Hope was the only outsider ever allowed to attend. Cole, the new PR guy, will be the second.
“Productions is doing well. We’ve recently signed Jarred Reed, Cayden Storm, and Hayden Christie to our talent management branch, and we’ve just wrapped filming on Sean Walsh’s latest film. No major hiccups apart from Selena Cross lying to us about her riding abilities, but Maxine was able to jump in and help us out with stunts for that movie. Both movies will be releasing in the spring, so we’ll run a media campaign in the lead-up to that. I’ll arrange a meeting with Cole to spearhead that. We’ve also got a lot of applicants for the Ninja Starfish reality show. We’ll start filming auditions for that in December with the guys and Holden acting as judges.”
“Excellent. That’s good news. Alright, Kai?” Poppy turns to my bronzed brother, who casually leans back in his chair. His long hair is looking a little shaggy, and he’s dressed in shorts and a Neighpalm Energy Drink T-shirt. Apart from formal events, we can’t get him to put on a suit.
“Product development has just come up with a new flavor, which will be launching in the summer, as well as announcing our new X Games team. The Blaze twins have come on board, but I’m still scouting one or two more. I want a fresh look for the new flavor, but I haven’t hit the right combo yet. Tyler and Tristan are coming in to talk to me next week about some options. I want their input. I don’t want to put together a team that doesn’t get along. We saw the fallout of that with Ninja Starfish, and I don’t want to go through that with one of mine.” I see various heads nod around the table.
“That’s smart, because that was a fucking disaster.” Holden groans, taking a sip of his coffee. “But I’ve promised them full control of choosing when we run that comp. Dec and I are just there to guide them.”
“Smart decision on both your behalf,” Dad praises Kai and Holden, and even though they’re grown men, they both puff up slightly. Dad has never been stingy with praise, but they lap it up anyway. I mean, I’m the same damn way, so it’s not like I can blame them for it.
“Who’s next?” Poppy looks down at his agenda before turning to Hope and Holden. “Okay, you two, what’s going on with Records?”
“As you know, I’ve taken over management of Ninja Starfish. They’re one of our biggest sellers at the moment, so I want to personally get them back on track. Hope is overseeing the rest of the business.” Holden looks to our new sister, who smiles and takes over.
