Page 4

Chapter four

S hape up. The words echoed in Mikel’s head as he walked into the boardroom. He was the first to arrive, which was not unforeseeable since he’d been an hour early. He felt the need to write out some notes regarding the plan he’d mentally formulated the previous night.

He called Cristo earlier that morning to invite him to the session. It was only appropriate that the company’s five creators should be there to hash out the details together. Cristo wasn’t overly excited since his child wasn’t the problem, but he agreed that action was long overdue.

Looking back, it had been 32 years since the four friends had begun the company. They started out with a spark of an idea, and it took off like wildfire. After two years, they’d become so big that they brought on Dom’s younger brother Cristo as a partner in ownership. Mikel was acting CEO, Dom the COO, Jessamine CFO, Nicola the Marketing Manager, and Cristo the Production Manager. They owned five magazines, four high- end restaurants, two hotel chains, and the adventure and event planning agency, Sense of Adventure. It was Sense of Adventure that had breathed life into all the other business avenues. Together, they ran a smooth operating company. There was no room for out-of-control offspring.

Pressing a button, Mikel requested a fresh batch of pastries and coffee from Java Dough, their very own bakery and coffee shop. The business was located inside the ADG building right next to Sense of Adventure.

Over the past year, Mikel watched Paris alienate herself from her friends, family, and colleagues. She’d lost her zeal for life and for helping others. He feared the consequences that might follow if his daughter didn’t learn to grieve more appropriately. While he appeared to be tough, Paris’s destructive behavior hurt him to the core. In some ways, he lost both girls on the same day.

Dom fought a similar battle with Vic. More than one client threatened to file suits against ADG when they found out Vic had slept with their wives. Try as he might, Dom couldn’t control him. Vic marched to the beat of his own drum. Luckily, his brother Jack was a kind-hearted soul who stayed out of trouble.

Jack’s strength surprised Mikel. Dom admitted the same on more than one occasion. Jack fell hard for Alli and had been quite upset when Brody won her heart, but he conceded like a gentleman. When Alli passed, he shut down for two weeks, and then, as if nothing had happened, he came back to work and moved on. He laughed, he interacted, and he moved his infatuation over to Paris, much to Paris’s dismay. While separated in age by five years, Alli and Paris looked like twins, though they had unique personalities and different hairstyles. The shadow of Alli that he saw in Paris, drew Jack in.

Lord, how he missed Alli. A tear rolled out of his eye and caught on the scar on his cheek as he thought about his daughter. She was happy and lived her life fully. He’d give anything for one more day with both of his daughters. Raising his hand, he brushed the tear from his cheek, recalling the day Dom had given him the scar. Sure. They’d fought over a girl once, but it had been nothing like the situation surrounding Vic and Paris.

Without the strength of family and friends, ADG might have perished, along with Brody and Alli. Somehow, the business survived. Today was a new day, and for the sake of them all, Paris and Vic were about to learn a hard lesson about tough love.

“Your pastries and coffee, sir,” said Mandy, as she set the boxes on the boardroom table. “Have a nice day,” she said as she exited the room. She nodded to Nicola as they passed each other.

Walking up to Mikel, Nicola leaned in, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissed him. “You were up quite early this morning.”

Mikel sighed. “I couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind.”

“Me either. After you got up, I went for a walk in the park. It was nice to enjoy the crisp morning air.” Grabbing two cups, Nicola poured them each some coffee. “Here, you look like you could use this.” Opening the pastry box, she grabbed herself a bear claw. “Do you want one?”

“Nah, thanks, hon. I can’t eat right now.”

“I understand. Let me start the meeting, okay?”

“Be my guest,” he replied. He was glad he didn’t have to.

“Welcome, strangers,” said Nicola as Jessamine, Dom, and Cristo straggled in. “How’d you sleep?”

“Sleep,” snorted Cristo. “What’s that?”

“So, no sleep then?” asked Dom. “I guess I slept as well as possible, considering the current state of things. I sent Byron to pick up the kids this morning. I figured sending the lawyer instead of one of us would give them an idea of the seriousness of their situation. They’re back at their condos, sleeping things off. Byron told them to be here at three for a mandatory meeting. They both agreed to be present.”

“Great,” said Nicola. “We should have everything ironed out by then. I’m letting you all know right now that I expect us to stay in this room, except for bathroom breaks, until we nail down a plan to deal with their behavior.”

“I agree, and I think it’s more than fair,” replied Dom. “We have to protect them as well as our company.”

“Yeah, too bad we weren’t able to do that sooner,” commented Cristo. He was no stranger to loss. Before the loss of his son, he’d also lost his wife six years earlier to cancer.

Jessamine walked up behind his chair and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I know, Cristo. I wish that too. Losing Brody and Alli has been a tough blow for us all.”

“Cristo,” said Dom, “while we’re discussing taking care of family and the business, I feel I need to get something off my chest. I’m quite concerned about you as well. Your conduct at some parties has been questionable. You’re making some of the staff uncomfortable. I need you to tone down the drinking when you’re at work events. If you’re not careful, I fear we’ll have a sexual harassment suit on our hands.”

Cristo leaned in, narrowing his eyes at his brother. “What? Are you kidding me, Dom?”

“No, he’s not,” backed Mikel. “I’ve seen it too. You grabbed Mya’s butt right in front of a couple of reporters yesterday. As far as I know, you two aren’t in a relationship, and she’s turned you down before.”

“She’s just playing games. She has feelings for me, too.”

“Has she told you that?” asked Nicola.

“Well, not in so many words, but I know she does. We have something special. She enjoys flirting with me.”

“I haven’t seen her flirt with you,” replied Mikel. “It doesn’t matter. You need to use discretion. Either drink less or don’t drink at these events if you can’t control yourself. That’s all there is to it.”

“Geez, Mikel, you know I’d never intentionally hurt anyone.”

“Sweetie,” said Nicola, “we know you don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, but when you allow your pain to take over and you start drinking heavily, you’re no longer yourself.”

“I guess I’ve been hitting it kind of hard since the anniversary,” he replied sheepishly.

“Do you need help?” asked Mikel.

“Let me ask this,” replied Cristo. “Do you feel I need help?”

Dom considered him for a moment. “Not necessarily. One can hardly fault you for falling off the wagon when the anniversary comes around. If anything, you could use some counseling, which I know you don’t want, but maybe it would help you obtain closure? We’ve all gone through it, and while I can’t speak for everyone else, I know it helped me immensely.”

“I found it helpful as well,” replied Mikel, “and I’ve never been the type to go to counseling.”

“Okay,” replied Cristo. His voice hesitant. “If you think it’ll help, send me some recommendations for decent people, and I’ll think it over. No promises, though.”

“Good,” replied Jessamine. “It’s a small step forward,” she said with a smile, even though she knew Cristo most likely wouldn’t think it over. He’d never been one to share. That aside, she knew he was a good guy.

“Now,” said Mikel, “on to more pressing issues.”

Nicola straightened her willowy frame in the chair, her black jaw-length hair falling forward as she moved. Reaching up, she pushed her sweeping bangs aside and narrowed her green eyes in concentration. “We’ve got a pretty big problem at the moment. Cristo, I don’t know if Mikel gave you all the details, but last night, Paris and Vic were arrested.”

“Oh, shit,” he replied. “I knew something happened, but you didn’t give me that information.” He looked at Mikel with questioning eyes.

Mikel nodded. “I know. I kept my mouth shut because I needed to process. This is a sensitive situation, and I didn’t want to let my anger take control.”

“What did they do now?” Cristo asked with concern.

“First, I want to address something that affects us all,” said Nicola, pursing her maroon lips. Vic and Paris are creating an abundance of negative publicity. The most recent headline said, Careless Heiress Tarnishes Family Name. Another said, Vic Alarie Sleeps with Local Judge’s Wife . Obviously, headlines like that are damaging to our company.”

Mikel shook his head. “Dom and I keep running interference, and they keep messing up. How are we supposed to protect them, and our company, from these types of mistakes?”

“Are they really mistakes?” asked Cristo. “I mean, if you slept with a judge’s wife, wouldn’t you know?”

“I’m sure he did,” replied Dom. “That’s the problem. He doesn’t care. There are no consequences. “Perhaps mistake isn’t the right word, but you get what I’m saying. It’s a problem, and it affects us all.”

Cristo looked at Dom and Mikel with empathetic eyes. “What are we gonna do?”

“That’s why we’re here,” said Nicola.

“To discuss what we should do,” added Dom.

“We could give them a warning, and if they end up in the papers again, they’re fired,” said Cristo. “No more trust fund. No more company.”

Jessamine pounded her fist on the table. “That’s not an option. I don’t want to punish our children when they’re obviously hurting. I might be a softy, but there has to be a better way.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, dear. Not everything can be fixed with a hug,” replied Dom. Jessamine rolled her eyes at him.

Biting his bottom lip, Mikel nodded as he further processed what Cristo had said. “Cristo may be onto something. I’ll admit, I had a similar thought. What if we can achieve the best of both scenarios?”

It was two-thirty in the afternoon when Paris pried herself from bed to answer the loud banging on her condo door. Whoever it was, was quite persistent. Prying open the peephole, she saw Mya on the other side. She rolled her eyes.

“Paris!” yelled Mya. “Are you awake?”

Groaning, Paris closed the door to the peephole.

“I can hear you,” Mya snapped.

“Good then read between the lines,” she said as she turned away from the door. Mya immediately began banging on it once again. “What do you want?” asked Paris.

“Let me in!” she yelled.

Not wanting to argue, because of the pounding headache she was experiencing, Paris walked back to the door and opened it. Mya shoved a glass of orange juice and three generic painkillers into her hands. “Super,” said Paris. She tossed the painkillers in her mouth and downed the juice. It felt refreshing as it rolled down her throat. Turning away, she went back to the settee and flopped down on her back.

“Get ready. Your father didn’t send me over. He doesn’t want me to do you any favors, but your mother asked me to be sure you made it to your meeting on time. May I ask? What exactly did you do last night? No one would tell me. Just that Chase Lansell and I are to be at the meeting, too.”

“None of your damn business,” said Paris. “I can’t imagine why they’d need you there.”

“Don’t snap at me. I didn’t do any of this to you,” she said as a tear rolled down her face. “We’ve been best friends since we were in middle school.”

“Not anymore,” replied Paris. Her voice came off colder than even she had expected. “I can’t stand to look at you. I’m going to my room to get dressed.” She left Mya standing in the living room with tears silently flowing.

Mya thought back to earlier days when she and Paris were still in college. They would plan weekend trips home from school because they hated being away from one another. They spent their summers volunteering at the same camp for underprivileged children, because they wanted to make a difference together. She and Paris were strong, kind, and caring women who could previously rely on each other to be present. Now, Mya couldn’t even get Paris to utter one kind word to her.

Mya walked to the bathroom, shut the door, and turned on the faucet to splash cold water on her face. She gazed at her pale, shaky reflection. She didn’t understand why it had to be like this. Grabbing the hand towel, she dried her face and continued to stare back at herself. She looked awful. Her hair was matted with tears, and her blue eyes were red and puffy. She rarely slept anymore. Nightmares plagued her sleeping mind, and when she woke, they didn’t go away. The sound of the crash and Alli’s screaming played on constant repeat. Paris’s anger was a recurring trigger.

“Mya,” said Paris as she pounded on the door, “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hair and shook out her arms. “You can do this,” she said quietly to her reflection. Turning, she opened the door and was met by Paris’s owly stare.

“You gonna pull it together?” asked Paris. The coldness was still present in her voice, though she was speaking with more control.

Without a word, Mya pushed past her and headed out the door. Calling over her shoulder, she said, “Chase’s meeting us in the lobby. Your mom sent him to get Vic.” Paris didn’t acknowledge her. Mya turned to see what she was doing. “Damnit, Paris!” she yelled. Paris had opened a bottle of pills and was about to pop one in her mouth when Mya snatched the bottle away.

“Hey, give it back!” she shrieked.

“Percocet again?” Marching past her, Mya went back into the condo.

“Don’t you dare!”

“I’m doing this because I care about you!” Paris launched herself at Mya, but not before Mya had dumped the contents into the disposal and flipped the switch on. The disposal clanged and gnashed as it ate up every last pill.

“You dirty little bitch!” screamed Paris.

The words stung, but Mya refused to give Paris the satisfaction of showing it. “You need to be sober for this,” she replied confidently. “I’m not sorry for what I've done. Alli wouldn’t want to see you like this. She would have done the same.”

Paris raised her hand and slapped Mya across the face. “Don’t you dare bring her into this!”

Mya, covering her cheek from the sting, said nothing. She walked out the door and headed for the elevator. She couldn’t let Paris see her cry again. Inside the elevator, she hit the button to close the door before Paris had a chance to get in. She could take her own car down. When the doors opened on the main floor, Vic and his assistant Chase were patiently waiting and immediately recognized that something was off.

“Whoa,” said Chase, “what happened to your face?” Reaching out, he gently touched the redness. Mya looked like she might cry, so he wrapped his muscular arms around her and pulled her into a protective hug.

“Paris happened,” she sniffed as the second elevator door opened and Paris stepped out.

“What did you do to her face?” asked Vic.

“Come over here, and I’ll show you,” said Paris. Vic looked like he wanted to strangle her. She loved egging him on. She watched as he took an angry step toward her, his muscles twitching. Chase immediately put his five-foot-seven frame between them, holding up his arms. Paris stuck her chin out at him, then turning on her heel, she scurried away.

Mya looked up at Vic. His jaw set and muscles tensed. “It’s not worth it. What would you do, anyway?”

“I should lay her out,” he said through gritted teeth. “She deserves it.”

Raising an eyebrow and pursing his lips, Chase shook his head. “Just—no, dude.”

Reaching out, Mya placed her hand on Vic’s chest. “Don’t stoop to her level. Ever. Even if you broke her jaw, you’d do more harm to yourself than you ever could to her.”

“You know I’d never hit her,” he said more calmly. “I’m just shocked that she’d hit her closest friend. It's bad enough she hit Meagan the other night. She’s becoming abusive.”

“I know. According to Paris, we’re no longer friends.” Mya smiled sheepishly. “We’d better get moving. We’ll be late.” Paris had already exited the building.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Chase as he looked her over. “Do you need another hug?”

Mya smiled at the handsome, toned Native man standing before her. They would have been perfect for one another, had it not turned out he preferred men. Over the years, as they got to know one another, Chase became her honorary big brother. He had a big heart and took it upon himself to watch out for her when Paris ended their friendship.

“You know I always need another hug—but we don’t have time for that right now. Raincheck?”

“Always,” said Chase.

“I still can’t believe she hit you, of all people,” said Vic.

“Me either,” replied Mya. Her face was swollen, and it still hurt, but she didn’t regret destroying the few pills left in the bottle.

“If she ever does that again—”

“She won’t,” said Mya. “I threw her pills down the disposal. We have to get her off that junk.”

“Dang!” said Chase. “You’re a badass, sister!”

“Yeah, you’d think she would’ve learned after landing herself in the hospital,” said Vic.

“She has to want to quit,” replied Mya. “I'm not really sure how serious the pill issue is. I know she overdosed, but I don't know if the pills are actually an addiction or her thinking she wants to end her life?”

“What's the difference?” asked Chase.

Mya looked at him with confidence. “The difference is, if she isn't taking them regularly, she can stop if she wants to. If she's popping them regularly, then it's an addiction and will require serious help from a rehab center. My gut says it's the former. I honestly think she felt so low she wanted to see how far she could take it. She wanted to die. Not that this scenario improves the situation. She still needs help.”

Vic shook his head. “How does one get her to stop flirting with death?”

“That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?” asked Mya.

Upon arriving at the boardroom, the trio stepped inside. Paris had already taken a seat at the table.

“I’m glad to see you all made it on time,” acknowledged Nicola. “I trust everyone got enough sleep after the party?” her words were directed at Mya and Chase. “What happened to your face, dear?” she asked.

Before Mya had a chance to answer, Paris chimed in. “I slapped her.”

“You did what?” her father used his angry parent voice.

Paris, becoming defensive, said, “She was talking about Alli and—”

“Paris,” said Mikel, “I don’t care what she said. You don’t hit people. Ever. I thought maybe you would have learned your lesson after last night.”

“Where did we go wrong?” asked her mother, shaking her head. She ran her fingers through her long, sweeping black bangs. “I just don't know what to do with you?”

“Don’t let her fool you,” said Mya. “She hit me because I dumped her Percocet into the garbage disposal.” She wouldn’t let Paris off that easily. She needed to take responsibility, and that meant Mya couldn’t cover for her anymore.

Paris turned bright red. “I should slap you again!”

“ENOUGH!” boomed Mikel. “You’ll shut your mouth and listen. You’re done with pills. If I catch you popping another pill or hitting anyone, you’ll be ejected from this family so fast your head will spin. Do I make myself clear?”

Paris's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, but she nodded her understanding.

Vic let out a snort as he tried to stifle his amusement. Jessamine shot him a warning look.

“Things are changing here and now,” said Nicola, tapping the table with her pointer finger. “You’re creating bad blood within the company and bad headlines outside. No more bad headlines. No more firing people for no reason. No more sleeping with other men’s wives. No more stealing. Mark my words, if you do not turn things around, you will lose everything. We’re done letting your bad behavior slide. We all suffered great loss. You will no longer tarnish Alli and Brody’s memory.”

“Do you understand what’s expected of you?” asked Dom. Neither Vic nor Paris said a word. “This is serious. We’ve worked hard to build this company, and we’re not letting you destroy it or this family. So, do you understand?”

“Yes,” Vic replied solemnly.

“Sure,” said Paris.

“Okay,” replied Nicola. The look on her face said she wasn’t buying it. “If you mess up again, you’ll have a rude awakening.”

“We get it,” said Vic.

“Now, one more matter of business,” said Mikel. “Mya, you too are on our radar.”

Mya’s look turned to panic. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“We’re all concerned,” said Mikel as he motioned his hand to include his partners. “You’ve suffered greatly with these losses. Not only did a friend of yours die, but your best friend has turned her back on you.”

“Are you kidding me?” asked Paris. “She isn’t suffering.”

“Zip it,” said Mikel. “With your permission, we’d like to pay for you to go to grief counseling. We can’t make you go, but we hope you will. If you refuse, we may need to discuss moving you to a different part of the company because we cannot sit back and watch Paris continue to take her anger out on you.” His eyes shone with sincerity.

“That’s a load o—”

“Paris, so help me,” said Nicola. “If you don’t stop now, I’ll personally take your trust fund away.”

Paris closed her mouth instantly.

Continuing, Mikel said, “Think it over. You don’t have to answer right now.”

“If you’d like to discuss things further, dear, we can talk more after everyone else leaves,” said Jessamine.

“Okay,” replied Mya. She didn’t know what to think, but perhaps further discussion would ease her mind. “I have some questions for after the meeting.”

“Perfect. I’m certain I have some answers,” said Jessamine.

“Now,” said Mikel, “if there’s nothing further, this meeting is adjourned with the exception of Mya.”

Paris and Vic got to their feet and exited the boardroom, followed by Dom. Vic scowled at Paris, and she scowled back. “You’re an awful person,” he said. “If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Knock it off,” scolded Dom. “You did this to yourselves. I honestly don’t want to see either of you until the gala next weekend. I’m putting you on an involuntary leave of absence to think about your actions. Now get out of my sight before I come up with a worse punishment.”

Both Vic and Paris veered toward the nearest door to escape Dom’s angry glare. Neither spoke a word as they hoofed it back to their respective condos.