“Ms. Greene! Ms. Greene!” The paparazzi hollered my name as I walked into my office building, my Jimmy Choo heels clicking on the ground with each step.
Being the daughter of two successful designers has its perks, but you better believe that I worked my ass off to become who I am today: Stephanie Greene, CEO of Claudette Reed, one of the hottest brands that New York has ever seen.
My dad, Matthew Greene, CEO of Greene Designs, spoiled me as I grew up. I was his little princess back then. I still am, but now I rather that he calls me “queen” instead. He said the only queen in his life is my mom, Emma.
My mom told me that I needed to earn everything, that I wouldn’t get anywhere if I was handed everything on a silver spoon. Dad and mom bicker about it a lot, but I’m very much my mother’s daughter and decided to go to college and work for the position of CEO in the family company.
Claudette Reed started as a little boutique when I was young, I was even there for the ribbon-cutting, and it’s soared to unimaginable heights in the past two decades. I took over officially less than a year ago and brought in more high-end designs.
Mom loved ready-to-wear, and it was her specialty, but my father’s forte was red carpet, and the glamour of it always made my eyes sparkle.
I would spend all my free time going through my dad’s portfolio, asking him about this and that, he would tell me stories about celebrities and gossip about some clients. He’s my favorite person in the world, but he has his flaws.
I only learned about his reputation of being a womanizer once I took over my mom’s position as CEO of Claudette Reed after she fell sick. I was less than thrilled to learn the things my father had done, or moreover, who he had done. The list seemed neverending and I had to put my hands over my ears when my assistant wouldn’t shut up about it.
The elevator dinged indicating I was on my floor and I stepped off of it into my favorite place in the world - my studio.
Yes, it’s not just an office floor with cubicles and phones to answer, I turned the floor into an actual studio with machines, mannequins, patterns, fabrics, notions, you name it, we have it.
I didn’t want to be the CEO who is all talk and no play, I’m the type of person who likes to get their hands dirty with their work and be a part of the process from start to finish.
“Good morning, Ms. Greene.”
“Good morning, Louisa. What is my schedule today?”
Louisa looked down at her tablet as we walked together to my office.
“Let’s see, for starters, you have a progress meeting with the investors in an hour, then you have lunch with the CEO of Knightingale Suits, and-”
I groaned and rolled my head at the mention of Knightingale. Dominic Knight, the “Master of Suits,” as the magazines call him. He’s got an ego the size of New Jersey and the money to give him the right.
“Steph,” she said in a gentle tone as she hugged the tablet, “You need this partnership with him. Claudette Reed needs this partnership.”
“Remind me why I’m doing this again?”
She sighed and pursed her lips as she closed the door to the office. She then turned to me, “The business took a big hit when your mother fell ill and you were yet to take over. To put it simply… we need his money. And we’ve never done menswear before, so this could be a real boost for us.”
I plopped down into my cushy chair and sighed, “Alright fine. What do I have after that?”
“Nothing. You wanted to keep your schedule clear in case you had to spend all day convincing him that a partnership would benefit him as well.”
“Right,” I set my lips into a thin line.
I made this appointment a month ago after the business’s accountant gave me a call to inform me that we wouldn’t have enough money to put on our annual showcase.
“Thank you, you can go now.”
She nodded her head and left my office.
My office is almost entirely glass. I hate feeling trapped somewhere, I get claustrophobic and feel like I’m being suffocated. This way, I can see what everyone in the office is doing and how progress is being made throughout the day.
They say I’m controlling, but I don’t care. Dominic Knight may have the dumbass title of “Master of Suits,” but I have the title of “Baddest Bitch in Fashion.”
I’m pretty sure it was a backhanded compliment, but I also thought it was a strong title for a strong woman and I decided to roll with it.
Like my mother, I take no shit from anyone, but when it comes to my creative vision, I’m a control freak like my father, and everyone knows it. Claudette Reed is not the company to work for if you aren’t professional. Everyone here walks with their heads high and their outfits on fleek.
Our dress code here is simple: Dress in what makes you feel confident.
Thanks to the glass windows, I noticed Louisa hurrying back to my office and stepping halfway through the door.
“Ms. Greene, your aunt is here.”
My eyebrows flew up and I looked past Louisa's shoulder to see the tall and slender figure of my aunt Isabella approaching. The woman aged with grace and her hair was still jet black without a single hint of gray.
“Stephanie,” she smiled and put her arms out for a hug.
I stood up from my chair and approached her with a smile, “Aunty Iz, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?”
I motioned to the chair across from my desk and she took a seat before answering me.
“I heard from Isaac that he hasn’t seen you in some weeks.”
I grinned weakly and looked down with guilt. Isaac has been one of my best friends my entire life, and I practically bailed on him once I took the role of CEO and pushed him to the side.
Wow. I really am a bitch.
“I’m sorry, aunty Iz, I’ve just been really busy here.”
“I can see that,” she looked over her shoulder and toward the rest of the office. She then turned back to me, “You’ve done great work here since you took over.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course, your mother was genius as well.”
“IS genius,” I corrected her with a smile, “But like you say, I’m the perfect 50/50 of my parents.”
She smiled at me and nodded her head slowly, “This is true. Your mother’s wits and your father’s talent.”
“Makes for a successful business,” I joked and aunty Iz smiled at me.
I didn’t tell anyone about the financial crisis that the business was dealing with because I didn’t want to stress anyone. I also wanted to avoid having my father throw a lump sum of money into my account overnight to help.
His business needs money just as much as mine does, and I wouldn’t be able to keep my title of “baddest bitch” if I wasn’t able to dig the company out of this little hole.
“You sure are making a name for yourself, kiddo.” I smiled at her and she continued with a troubled look, “Just… don’t forget about my son.”
“I could never.”
“Look, aunty Iz, it was great seeing you, but I have a meeting to prepare for.” “Of course, of course,” she said with a smile as she stood from her chair, “I’ll leave you be. Hug for the road?” I smiled at her and walked over to hug her before we said our goodbyes and she left. I exhaled deeply and sat back down behind my desk. Isaac has been making moves on me since we were kids. He’s only a year older than me, and when we were 6 and 7, we had a “wedding" in my living room where I used a pillowcase as a veil and he wore a costume top hat. A teddy bear was the officiant. I chuckled remembering it. We had been through everything together, even college. While I studied business and design, Isaac studied machinery like his mother. My parents are his godparents, and Isabella is my father's best friend, so we spend holidays and birthdays together most
I stood at the window of my office and admired the city as I cooled down after my disaster of a progress meeting. I guess you can’t have a good progress meeting with your investors if your company hasn’t made any progress in months.I sighed and focused on my reflection in the glass window. I’m almost the spitting image of my mother with her brown hair and luscious curves, but I have my dad’s bright green eyes. Both of my parents are tall, so it makes sense that I’m naturally 5’9”. My heels can never be more than 3 inches high so that I don’t tower over men.Having a bold personality and confidence is one thing for a man to see you as powerful, but to physically look down at them would be overkill, so I keep my heels to a minimum.Today’s attire was a body-hugging, pink dress with matching lipstick and nude heels with a black strap and buckle ac
Our eyes hadn’t left each other for the entire conversation. I was refusing to show the slightest bit of weakness in front of this man.Dominic inhaled deeply, “You have the title of “Baddest Bitch in Fashion,” So why do you need me?”“It’s not that I need you, it’s that I want you.”“Oh, I like those words,” he teased with a sinister look and leaned forward, so I clarified myself,“I want your partnership.”“Oh,” he said with a dramatically disappointed tone and slight snarl on the corner of his lip as he leaned back in the chair, trying to be playful.Maybe I’m being too serious. I’m being too professional and I’m pushing too hard. Should I flirt? No, he would take it the wrong way and that’s the last thing I want.
Dominic POVShe was the most interesting thing I had ever come across. She seemed ruthless, and I could understand her nickname a bit more.Stephanie Greene was strong, confident, gorgeous, and I could tell that she was going to be a complete pain in my ass, and I was strangely excited to work with her.I didn’t care about meeting everyone or seeing her workspace, I was just curious how far she was willing to go to get my partnership.Her outburst when I mentioned wanting 60% of the profit was hilarious and I had to pinch my lips together to keep from laughing. The embarrassment that I saw then was the most humility that I had seen from her the entire time and I thought it was adorable.“Office, Reggie,” I told my driver as I got into the car.I wasn’t expecting to stay so long in the restaurant. I thought she wo
After my day with Dominic Knight, I felt entirely drained and had a splitting headache. How can one guy be so draining? I swear he was testing me, but I wouldn’t fold. I wouldn’t give in to the childish games he was trying to play.I shook my head to get rid of my negative thoughts as I walked up to my parent’s house and opened the door.“Mama?” I hollered.“Ms. Stephanie,” greeted one of the maids of the house with a smile.“Good evening, Gretchen. Where is my mother?”“She’s in the library.”“Thank you.”I made my way toward the back of the house where the “library” was. It was really just a study, but with the giant rack of books that had accumulated in there over the last year, we all started to call it the library.
“I’m so sorry I haven’t been in touch lately, I’ve been an awful friend. It’s just been madness after taking over. Trying to get people to see me more as a businesswoman and less as a model, you know?”“No,” he answered sharply with pursed lips and it made me laugh. His face softened, “But don’t worry about it.”“Do you want some wine?”Isaac narrowed his eyes at me.“You just want to get me drunk,” he teased with a mischievous look. I was about to deny it when he threw his head back and kept going, “You want to get me tipsy and then take advantage of the fact. Admit it, you’ve wanted to get me in bed for years.”His tone was teasing, but a part of me felt uneasy at the idea. If anyone would get tipsy and taken advantage of easily, it would be me.
The new contract was emailed to me just two days later, and I signed it after carefully reading it to be sure that Dominic didn’t put any of his own loopholes in it.I had hoped our work together could be done more separately and communication would be done via email or phone calls, but Dominic insisted on me coming to his office building and working with him there.I arrived at the building in the late morning and was greeted by the paparazzi. I guess I now know where they go after I arrive at work and they get their daily photos of me.“Ms. Greene! Ms. Greene! Can you tell us what you’re doing at the Knightingdale Suits house?”I smiled at the man who asked and told him, “Let’s just say that big things are happening for Claudette Reed.”More questions came and the cameras continued to flash, but I made my way insi
“Each design will require two signatures to move onto the next step. That way, we each get to see it and be sure that everything is in order. My patternmakers and seamstresses will-"“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!” He cut me off and adjusted in his seat so he could lean across the table at me. “What makes you think I’m going to let your people sew? My people have far more experience with my suits than your people do, and there’s not a chance in hell I’m letting any of your barbies lay hand on my material!”I rubbed my temples. This man is not going to be easy to work with. But I just told the paparazzi that big things were happening for Claudette Reed before walking into the building. I can’t lose this deal.“Okay, how about this: Your people will handle the outside of the suit, but my ladies will assemble the lining. Then… we can hire a
Whitney was put away after Ben found traces of her plotting with Dominic and Gwen, wanting to destroy Stephanie after she stole Isaac from her. Thanks to some good old fashion hacking of security footage that showed her purchasing the same green monster that was delivered to the Greene mansion, and some searching of phone records, she was arrested as an accessory and for conspiring.Eli and Isabella shared that they have secretly been an item for quite some time and are openly a couple now. It took Isaac a while to get comfortable with the idea, but he accepts their relationship and is enjoying seeing his mother so happy.He looked out at the rows of people and spotted them together, smiling at each other as Isabella adjusted his tie. There was an empty seat that separated them from Emma, who was speaking to Dylan, the ring bearer, about something before he was up. The Perry's were there as well; Emile and his parents Emmanuel an
Both Isabella and Eli looked at Isaac in shock with their mouths slightly agape at this revelation and blunt truth that just escaped his lips. They stood there like statues for a long moment before responding to him.“I, uh… you… you got another threat?” Isabella asked Stephanie to clarify.She nodded her head. “Yes. We have Ben right now looking for the name of the person who declared Dominic DOA after the crash to see who could have possibly done this.”“Well shit,” Eli mumbled.Isabella had her lips parted in astonishment and her eyes were slightly wider than usual. “Well, do you have any suspects?”Isaac peered over at the small eight-year-old that was near Matthew and Emma but remained silent. Stephanie shook her head as her mind was still in a baffled, hazy state. Emma thought of Louisa, and Mat
With the merriment of the day slipping away and the feeling of safety slowly withering, Isaac pitched the idea of heading to his mother’s house and spending the day there instead. With the lack of security detail on the Greene's mansion, no one protested leaving the place. After a phone call to Isabella, they each packed a bag and planned to spend the night over at her house. Stephanie, Isaac, and Micah would take Isaac's old room; Matthew and Emma would take the guest room, and Dylan so kindly offered to sleep on the couch. Isaac wasn’t too sure about this boy anymore. The devil’s spawn openly offers to sleep away from everyone else? Alone, on the ground level of the house? Since he became a father to Micah, whether biologically or not, he grew a new need to protect his family. It was more fierce than before. Before, he simply wanted to keep the people he loved safe; but now, it’s like a spark of fire in his veins that gets
After leaving Ben to his expert hacking to find the name of the person who identified Dominic’s body, Matthew returned to the living room with his wife, daughter, soon-to-be son-in-law, grandson, and newly adopted son Dylan.The room seemed to have gone still; the only noticeable movement and sound was the crackling fireplace. He glanced around at everyone to see them all lost in their own thoughts. His daughter was feeding his grandchild with a blanket draped over one shoulder for privacy. She looked under the blanket at her newborn with both adoration and worry.Isaac’s eyes were far off, almost seeming to be in another dimension with the lack of life in them. His wife’s eyes weren’t any more lively, though, and for a moment, Matthew regretted walking back in here without any good news. His heart skipped a beat once his wife turned her head to him, noticing him reappear in the corner of her eyes.
With Micah getting to come home just before Christmas, the entire family got to spend the holiday together. The family was in the living room on Christmas day exchanging gifts and taking turns holding the baby when the doorbell rang.*DING DONG*Everyone looked around the room at each other. It seemed like everyone was here. Who could be visiting?"Are you guys expecting anyone?" Stephanie asked her parents as her father got up to open the door.Her mother shook her head with a frown. "No, I have no idea who it could be."Stephanie was admiring her son in her arms when Matthew walked back to rejoin the group just a minute later. He stood next to Stephanie with a confused look."Who was it, dad?""No one was there. But this box was on the mat." He extended his hand to give her the small box. Step
The police came to the cabin, and an entire investigation began. It turns out, the remains found underneath the cabin belonged to a Dani Winter, who was Dominic's high school girlfriend. Her records showed that she had given birth to a baby boy on Dylans birthday, then disappeared shortly after, and they quickly put two and two together - leading them to investigating Gwen. Kay had been speaking with clients of hers, as she is a womens rights activist and only photographs females, and had come across a number of women to testify against Gwen. They said that they had gotten involved with Dominic romantically, but he would get aggressive, and his sister would cover it up for him and make up excuses. All of the women said that they felt she was dangerous. Also the mention of her obsession and protectiveness with Dylan was unsettling. Even Louisa testified and said that Dominic had threatened her boys lives if she hadn
The following day, it was confirmed at Dominic was the fatality in the crash, and it was reported to be an issue with the manufacturer of the car, so all rumors or claims against Stephanie were voided and her name was entirely cleared. The fact that she had her event and went into labor the same time as the wreck had also cleared her from any possible accusations of having something to do with his fatal crash as well. She learned of every person’s own original plan to destroy Dominic and felt so much love hearing that everyone was planning something different. Her parents shared that they were going to buy him out, and Stephanie felt relief that they no longer had to do that. She would have felt awful if her parents gave up everything, including her childhood home, to take him down. Besides, there was still the chance of backlash with that plan. Ben had heavily considered Matthew’s idea of wi
What did I want to happen to Gwen? I guess to answer that, I would need to know exactly what she had done before I tell them to lock her up. Maybe Ben and Isaac had learned that she wasn’t really Dylan's mom and we could start the search for his real mom? But what if his real mom was the woman in those dreams? The dead one, who was Dominic's high school sweetheart that he supposedly killed. “I don’t… I don’t know….” “It’s okay,” Isaac said as he pet my hair. “It’s been a long day, and you need to rest. We can talk about the rest later.” Too tired to argue, I merely nodded my head, and everyone slowly left the room. Except for Isaac, as I asked him to stay on the bed with me. We faced each other and looked at each other silently for a while. “I can’t believe you came,” I said as I stared into his hazel eyes. “It took me a while, but once I re
Everyone gathered around the bed where Isaac and I lay together, baby Micah cradled between us. The doctors came in to take him to the NICU and make sure that everything was alright, and with parting words and kisses, I let them take him.Once gone, I nuzzle closer to Isaac, and he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head.“You named him after your brother,” my mom said with tears in her eyes and her chin quivering, her hand trying to hide her reaction. Dad held both her shoulders before hugging her from behind with a gentle smile on his lips.“Yes,” I responded. “Do you like it?”She threw her hand down and made a hmph sound as she answered, “Like it? I’m the one who picked it,” she and my dad both laughed. “We love the name. Thank you, baby.”It was past midnight now, and in the room