Noel Greer’s office was a citadel of wealth. Everything from the lobby to the interiors I could gleam of the open cubicles spoke of old great wealth. Workers moved at high speed responding to calls, and moving boxes and papers from printers to offices. The linoleum floors were cleaned to a shine, echoing mine and Penny’s clicking heels. The top floor held Noel’s office. The frosted double doors had brass knobs. Penelope put her hands on the knobs and took a deep breath. “Are you okay?” I asked. She looked nervous. Really uncharacteristic of her. Her hands trembled. She looked up. For the first time, Penny’s eyes weren’t cold and lifeless, they were filled with sadness and something akin to longing. She smiled softly. “I’m fine. Unpleasant memories but nothing a bottle of wine can’t cure later.” With that, she pushed the door open to reveal the expansive expensively furnished office. As big as the office was the furnishing was simple. Huge computer screens displaying stock reports f
I can’t say we made the Grants friends for life, especially since getting Noel Greer to bring in his workers and complete the building of the hotel sent Douglas Grant running all over the place trying to save himself. Nolan was prepared to drag him to court if he tried to contest the contract they signed. He was prepared to do anything if Douglas played foul. I never knew Nolan was that merciless until now, he wasn’t giving Douglas the time of the day and I guess that’s expected given what Douglas put him through with the whole engagement charade with Lurane, then the tricky contract that would have put Nolan on the streets.I can say in all honesty though that I somewhat feel sorry for Lurane. Imagine having all your wealth taken away from you because your father took a risky bet. Even when we were friends before I realized what a wicked deceitful bitch she was, she grew up in wealth and enjoyed the good life and though she tried to live low-key then, it was still evident that withou
The building in which the space for our business was located, I don’t think I’ve talked much about it, it was beautiful. It was in a complex on the block of one of the most bustling places with beauty shops and everything in between. There was a quaint little traditional coffee shop with a very friendly owner, apparently, she was the widow of a famous popstar and an ex-model, she reminded me of Iman who was the wife of David Bowie, who surprisingly was a popstar too before he died. She had come around the moment Yolanda and I hung up our shingles to advise us on what was trendy, what decors to put up, and all that. She was a really sweet woman. As was the man who owned the pastry shop. He was a sweet Italian, Lorenzo, who had brought us a box of donuts to welcome us. Everyone was friendly. The only shop not taken was the one above us which was nice because the former occupants had been a records-owner couple. Nolan had insisted on dropping Nolen off at school today. It’s not like I ha
“Are you alright?”I looked over my shoulder from the closet at Nolan. He was sitting on the bed watching me with a critical gaze. I smiled at him.“I am.”But I wasn’t. How can I be alright when the man who broke my heart 7 years ago appeared at my doorstep looking far different from the scrawny kid he was before? At age 17 I felt lucky that Jason, one of the hottest boys in my class who never looked my way for once suddenly asked me to be his girlfriend. I remember how it happened. Sophie, Lurane, and I used to go straight home after school every day, even on days when there were football games. I wasn’t always invited but Sophie and Lurane were, still, we went home because who cares about boys running across a field kicking a round object like fools? But on this day Jason had approached me after school and right in front of Lurane and Sophie asked if I wanted to watch the game.My mouth couldn’t have dropped wider than a whale’s. I was so shocked that for a long time, I couldn’t an
“Your problems are mine, I want to share them with you.”Those words resonated with me as I dropped off in front of CoColanda ready to bury myself in a good day’s work and forget all about the torrent bubbling inside of me. I waved at Lorenzo on my way in, the sweet man probably had a box of donuts waiting to give to Yolanda and me, any more of those and I won’t be able to fit into my clothes again.Yolanda wasn’t in yet, well I had come earlier than usual so I don’t blame her. I hadn’t been able to sleep throughout the night because I was worrying so much about everything. But when I woke up this morning I knew what I had to do; forget Jason and move on. And I did just that.But when I heard the familiar voice a few feet away saying, “It’s so nice to meet you too,” I paused in the doorway and swung around.I could either choose flight or fight since he hadn’t noticed me yet, he was just closing the door of the coffee shop behind him. But I was done being a coward. I reminded myself t
“So I’m guessing you’ve finally come back to your senses?” I glared at the wench seated on the couch in my new office as soon as I walked in. She was sitting with her legs bent under her bottom, her blonde hair swept over one shoulder, and her bright blue eyes were bright. Her red lips curved up in a smile. “You kept me waiting, Nolan.” I moved to the only armchair available and took a seat making a mental note to get the lobby ready as fast as possible so Veronica, my new secretary, will not have to lead anyone to my office without my approval anymore. Although, I suspect that Lurane must have bullied Veronica ‘Ronnie’ into leading her into my office. “Lurane,” I said simply as I unbuttoned my jacket to get comfortable. She uncurled her legs sensually, holding my gaze as though she was expecting me to fall to my knees and kiss her feet. “I am glad you came…” “Of course, I came you, naughty boy.” She stood from the sofa and made to come to me but a raise of my hand stopped her.
“I don’t know what to do Yolanda,” I confessed to my sister. She looked up from the boxes of cloth materials she was unpacking. She had ordered them so she could make some dresses. Our grand opening wasn’t going to be like the usual ribbon-cutting stuff, we were going to have our first show on our grand opening. As soon as the doors were open for the first time to the public the hired models would strut into the main floor displaying Yolanda’s designs. I had come up with the genius idea, of course. Glad to know my brain is still working creatively with everything I’ve been thinking of lately.“What do you mean?”I raised my head to eye her cynically. “You know what I'm talking about."Even now the crew working on Jason’s space upstairs were working away, every sound of their drill and hammer reminded me that he was close by. Reminding me that he had leaped out of my past like everyone else recently but he was an unwelcome diversion because he was the first boy I ever gave my heart to
“Hey, baby,” I said into the phone excitedly, glad to get a break from talking about Jason.But it wasn’t Nolan who spoke, it was Fiona and she sounded panicked.“Miss Jones, you have to come quickly.”The joy I initially felt at getting a call from him soon faded and was replaced with a feeling of foreboding. “Is Nolan alright? Why are you with his phone? Is he there?” I asked without taking a breath.“I wish Nolan could come to the phone now but I’m afraid he’s…” she paused and with each second that stretched out, I couldn’t breathe. I know Fiona, Nolan trusts her because she is levelheaded and smart, and very little makes her flustered. Whatever happened to Nolan must be really bad if she can’t tell me.I forced myself to calm down and tried not to think of the worst. Yolanda had stopped going through the inventory and put catalogs aside as she raised her brows to ask if everything was alright.“Fiona, I want you to tell me what happened.”She took a deep breath. “Mr. Pierce came i