Page 10

Aurora Rivers, her executive assistant, was already waiting for her at her desk right outside of Charlotte’s office. They exchanged their typical morning banter before Charlotte rattled off the tasks to prioritize for the day. For her sanity to remain intact, the acquisition needed to go without a hitch.

“I handled all of that already,” Aurora said, performing her happy dance as her desk chair spun in a slow circle. “I wrote down all the things we did with the acquisition last year, made some improvements, and scheduled ahead.”

“So proactive. If only we could clone you, Rora.”

“The world couldn’t handle that much awesome,” Aurora chuckled, grinning and tossing her long strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder.

Not one to waste time, Charlotte made her way to her office, smiling at the large glass of ice water and her second cup of coffee already waiting. Aurora took everyone’s hydration seriously.

Light from the floor-to-ceiling windows along the outer wall streamed in. The gentle morning beams illuminated the wall behind her desk, catching on the shelves in the center and the pieces of pottery and photo frames she collected over the years. There were books too, each a treasured artifact from her collection of rare first editions. The warm light pulled the muddy yellows and reds from the two abstract paintings hung on the wall, one on each side of the shelves. She purchased them a decade ago from an unknown artist she found online. Right after she hung them up, she landed her first major deal, cementing their existence as good luck charms.

Imani Hill sat in her usual lunchtime spot, dark eyes fixed on her phone screen instead of the view out the window to her left. Her black hair braided back in neat tracks on one side, exploding in a beautiful array of springy coils around the rest of her head.

They met Charlotte’s senior year of college, though Imani was a freshman at the time. Despite being one of the few rigidly heterosexual people in her life and polite in most interactions with strangers, the first glimpse Charlotte got of her future best friend was of her verbally eviscerating some man for putting his hand on her ass. Charlotte decided then and there they would be friends. Not just a genius with numbers, but a whiz for business as well, it seemed rather obvious Charlotte should recruit her to help build an empire. Fourteen years later, it was still one of the best decisions she ever made.

“That smirk tells me your date last night went well.”

Imani’s warm eyes glanced up, pearly white smile stretching wider as her thumbs flew over the screen.

“Oh, it went very well. You should try dating again. You deserve to have sex as good as I just had.”

“I have a date tomorrow, actually.”

Charlotte slid into the seat opposite, watching as Imani’s fingers stilled and her attention snapped to Charlotte.

“Say what now?” Her eyes lit up, dark pools sparking with intrigue. “The barista?”

Charlotte nodded, opening her container and upending the dressing across the top of her salad, putting the top back on.

Of course, Imani would put it all together almost immediately. Three weeks after Charlotte stumbled into the out of the way coffee shop, Imani cornered her in her office, full of questions about the Blend & Brew’s distinctive logo. Imani managed to drag every detail out of Charlotte one after another. The woman was just too observant.

“You finally grew a pair?”

She swallowed thickly, snapping the lid back on. Charlotte lifted her container and shook it to spread the dressing over the contents of the salad, feeling a tightness forming in her throat.

“In a manner of speaking.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Opening the container, Charlotte grabbed her fork, stabbing a piece of chicken as she relayed the events of the morning.

Imani stared at her for a long moment trying to sort out what exactly Charlotte had done.

“You asked the attractive redhead with the nice ass who you have been flirting with for months to be your what—fake girlfriend?”

Charlotte glared at a piece of spinach and prepared herself for Imani’s no doubt subtle approach.

“That’s the gist of it, yes.”

“You’re—I can’t believe—Why? Why complicate this, Char? Why not ask her out and see where it goes?”

Imani’s rich complexion was flawless, even as the look of utter bewilderment took over.

“She’s given no indication she would be interested in anything serious,” Charlotte countered. “And frankly, while I find her attractive, I don’t have the time.”

“Liar.” Imani looked heavenward and released a huff of frustration before opening her own container to reveal her sandwich. “You’re just scared of letting anyone close again.”

“So, what if I am?” Charlotte snapped, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest.