“We don’t have an Aunt Gertie,” I reminded her.
“Well someone does and I’ll bet these butt ass ugly colors were found when her relatives cleaned out her closet. Or maybe her basement. We could just throw mothballs in for all orders over one hundred dollars.”
“We’re fine,” I assured her because that was my role. It always had been. Making sure they knew things were all right, that they could count on me.
“Wake up, brother. We are not fine. The only reason we’re doing even marginally better, which, let’s be frank, is a relative fucking term here, is because OAA is going through leadership changes. But they have excellent marketing and it’s working, they are bouncing back, Blake.” Lukas stared me down, daring me to brush aside his concerns as easily as I had Lacey’s.
“I promise I’ll look into it.”
“No, goddammit!” Lacey smacked my desk in frustration, making my nameplate slide to the floor. “Don’t be stupid, we need to do better. And to do that, you need to loosen the reins.”
“I said I would look into it, Lacey.”
“Right,” she scoffed and pushed off her chair. “Why do I even bother staying if my word means fuck all to you?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she stormed off.
“She’s right.” Lukas stood, his posture relaxed but everything about him was tightly coiled, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
“I don’t know how many ways to say I’m working on it.”
“Work harder,” he insisted. “Or better yet, trust the people you hire to do their jobs. If you don’t trust them, replace them.”
When it came to running my company lately, everyone had a fucking opinion.
Poppy
I had less than five minutes to get next door before Maple would officially start nagging me. I grabbed the pecan caramel cheesecake I made from the fridge, along with the jar of homemade caramel sauce to top it with and headed for the front door. Our Friday night dinners were a ritual. Sometimes Talia showed up if she didn’t have a show, but no matter what it was always me and Maple.
And if I was late, the third spot was taken up by her lecture on being on time. I yanked the door open and froze. Blake stood there with a bottle of wine and a smile. “What are you doing here?”
“I was hoping we could chat.”
I bumped him out of the way so I could lock my door. “I have plans. It’s rude to stop by someone’s house unannounced.”
“Boyfriend?”
I looked at him over my shoulder. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“Nope, just curious.”
Right. I barked out a laugh. He was so serious all the time, it must be exhausting. “Lighten up, Blakey boy, no one’s dead yet.”
Maple’s door chose that moment to swing open and reveal my grandma in her favorite turquoise silk and magenta pashmina. Immediately her gaze focused on Blake and she smiled. “Well hello there, young man. Poppy, who is your handsome friend?”
“Not a friend,” I clarified and pushed him out of my way. “More like a pest.”
But Blake wasn’t one to be out done. He stepped forward and grabbed Maple’s hand. “You must be Maple. Poppy told me all about you on our hike last weekend. I’m Blake Sayers, CEO, adventurer and wine guy at your service.”
She laughed and put a hand to her chest. “You are charming, I’ll give you that.”
“I’ll never complain when a beautiful woman calls me charming,” he cooed.
“Oh, give me a break,” I groaned.
But Maple was well and truly charmed. “You have to join us for dinner, Blake! I won’t take no for an answer, especially since you brought wine.” She grabbed his arm and glanced at me. “He brought wine, Poppy!”
“Yeah, so will the pizza kid if you order it.” I followed them inside, reluctantly and grabbed Blake’s shirt. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but if you bring my grandma into this, we are going to have serious problems.” I don’t know what his plan is, but if he thinks he’s going to use her against me, he’d better think again.
He frowned, blond brows dipped low. “You think I’d do that?” He leaned in with an angry whisper and I did the same.
“I don’t know, Blake. I don’t know you. What I do know is that you want my business which means you have an ulterior motive for this sudden interest in my life and charming Maple. I don’t care, but if you lie to her or hurt her, it won’t be about my company.” My chest heaved at the way his blue eyes darkened. He was turned on. By getting yelled at!
“Honey, I don’t need a protector, but I love you for defending me,” Maple called out, as clear as can be.
“She’s got amazing hearing,” Blake whispered.
“And don’t you forget it, young man,” she called out again, startling Blake. “Now get on in here so we can start supper with drinks and appetizers.”
I pushed Blake forward. “Let’s go, before she starts getting other ideas.” Maple was on a never ending quest to see me coupled up, or at least getting some, in her words. A guy like Blake, handsome and charming, would tick all of her boxes for me.
“Now Blake,” she began with a smile. “I want you to eat up while you tell me whether or not you have a girlfriend.”
I retrieved glasses for wine and water, pouring the former first because I figured it would make this meal more palatable. “Grandma, calm down. Blake is too young for you.”
Maple froze and looked at him, studied him for a long moment. “You have a point. He might short circuit the pacemaker.”
“You don’t have a pacemaker,” I reminded her.
She brushed my words aside. “It’s just a saying, honey.” She turned back to Blake. “So, girlfriend? Wife? Mistress? Mister?”
He choked on his wine. “None of the above. I am single and singularly focused on my work.” He bit into one of the sausage stuffed mushrooms and moaned. “Delicious.”
“So you’re here to con your way into my granddaughter’s pants or her company?”
“Don’t answer her,” I told him. “Grandma, don’t make me put you in a home for old horny ladies.”
She shrugged and brought the paella to the table, while I helped with the salad and sangria. “If you do, the men will know exactly where to find me. Might not be so bad.”
Blake laughed and I was half a second from just leaving both of them on their own. “That is true.” He turned his gaze to Maple. “For the record I never have to con anyone into my bed or a contract. They always come willingly.” They shared a laugh and I knew that getting rid of Blake Sayers would be harder than I thought.
* * *
“Hey boss lady,” Talia said, rushing to me the moment I stepped from the elevator. “So I was lurking outside the break room early this morning between pounding coffee and making copies, and I heard two of the board members talking.” She hurried me into my office and shut the door, carefully setting my coffee on the desk.
“Careful, Talia, you’re becoming a great assistant.” I wouldn’t have been able to function without her during this transition.
“Great? I’m about to surpass that right now. They didn’t say who but I’m sure we could guess, but they said they ‘may as well sell their shares now while he’s offering more than the stock is worth. She may look like a hooligan but she’s turning things around’.”
I sighed and took my seat, sipping the coffee as I listened. I couldn’t figure it out. I was kicking ass and taking names, helping boost marketing to bring in more customers and I’ve found creative ways to reach out to new customers. There have been some blunders, but for the most part I’ve done a damn good job. “Why don’t they like me?” I wasn’t one given to too many bouts of insecurity, but I am human.
“Because you’re succeeding on your own terms. People who do things the so called right way love to hate on those who don’t, but succeed anyway.” She was the best friend I could have ever asked for, rubbing gentle circles in my back to keep me from going out of my mind.
&
nbsp; “Do you think selling is the right thing to do?” It had only been a few months but selling didn’t feel right. “I don’t really know anything about running a company this size and what do I know about outdoor apparel?”
“You wear it, don’t you? Been hiking and kayaking and all kinds of outdoorsy shit your whole life, haven’t you?” I nodded, shocked at the passion in her words. “This is your company girl, keep it and learn what you don’t know. Grow it how you want it to be. The department heads love you.”
“Not Levi,” I told her petulantly.
“Yeah but that’s only because he wants to stick his dick inside your body. Everyone knows that.” She rolled her eyes with a smile. “Everyone else loves you, so do what you want and fuck those who disagree with you.”
“I’m not sure it’s all that easy, Tal. I’d love to stick around. I actually like it here and I think I can really lead this company. But maybe thinking that makes me delusional?” Wasn’t denial the first stage of being crazy?
“Don’t you know, Poppy? All great leaders have a touch of delusion.” She tapped the side of her head and laughed.
Maybe she was right, but I really didn’t know if keeping Out & About Apparel was what was best for the company. Just because I wanted to keep it, didn’t mean I should. Did it? Then again, it was my company. “At least the one thing I have is time.”
Talia sighed and pushed up off my desk. “I’ll come by tonight with eggrolls and gin and we can talk about something fun. Like the guy who sent those flowers this morning and that mystery box the day before.”
I rolled my eyes. “Or we could talk about literally, anything else.” Blake had sent a giant bouquet of lilies plus an orchid and a pair of hiking boots, comfortable and hideous. And part of Peak Adventures Apparel.
“We could,” she eyed me carefully. Too carefully. “But I’d rather get the truth out of you. Now I have to get back to work.” She gave a finger wave and dashed off, the perfect amount of energy for this place. I don’t think I would have navigated corporate culture as well without her.
But I couldn’t tell her that Blake Sayers was interested. Because he wasn’t, and if he was, it was a feigned interest because he thought he could charm me into giving up this company that had been in the Masters family for years. I didn’t know Arden, but I know he loved this company and I’d do what I could to make sure it stayed in good hands.
Blake
“This is Blake.” I answered the phone, distracted with a new sales report that showed Out & About Apparel had ticked up a few points and the gap between us grew wider.
“Mr. Sayers, do you have any idea why I’m staring at a Space Invaders arcade game and two confused delivery men?” Poppy’s tone was all business, totally professional, with just a hint of amusement.
“An arcade game? Hmm, I haven’t the slightest idea. Perhaps you have an admirer?”
“That’s doubtful. There’s this…bribe vibe coming from it,” she said like it was a serious thing.
“A bribe vibe?”
“Yeah, it feels very bribe-y. I’m afraid I’ll have to return it.”
That wasn’t going to happen. “You can’t return it without playing at least one game, Poppy.” I like the way her name popped off my tongue, like an explosion. “You know you want to.”
“You just want me to keep it and be all grateful to you every time I look at it.”
Was Poppy flirting with me? She damn well was. “Not at all. I want you to think of me when you look at it. When you play. Hell, when you run into it in the middle of the night.”
“That kind of thinking could lead to stalking. I would think a guy like you wouldn’t court that kind of danger.”
“A guy like me? Handsome as sin and ten times as charming?”
She barked out a laugh. “Wealthy, Blake. I’ll bet you’ve had your fair share.”
More than a couple but I didn’t want to talk about that.
“Sorry. It’s probably scary when you live through it. Anyway Blake, I appreciate the gesture but really, there’s no need for this.”
What was it about this woman, constantly turning me down? I couldn’t remember the last time I had to work this hard to get a woman interested. “There’s never a need, but I thought you’d like it.”
“Why,” she asked suspiciously.
“Because I saw you wearing that shirt in a photo with you and Maple. Okay a few shirts.” She was silent for a long moment and my teeth clenched waiting for a response. One more mistake and she might stop taking my calls altogether. Then a loud, raucous laughter spilled from her mouth.
“I loved that shirt. It was my first find at the thrift store and I turned it into a tank top and wore it until it fell apart. I wore it all the time. Maple hated it.” She laughed again, so amused by her memory.
“And the game?”
She laughed again. “I still have an old Atari 2600. And it works.”
Dammit, now I really was starting to like her. I needed to take control. “I assume you have other games?”
She snorted. “I’m not an amateur, so of course I have other games Blake.”
I loved the way she said my name and now I knew my path. I knew the way forward and it began with working Poppy Masters out of my system so I could take her company. A two pronged attack would be best. Maximize my odds and all that. “Then we have to have a game night.”
“A game night? Do a lot of game nights on your jet, do you? Or maybe it’s the yacht for Monopoly.”
“You’re a regular Kevin Hart aren’t you?” Another sexy laugh escaped and I gripped the phone tight, ignoring the other places that grew tight. “You know, a night where two people of equal, more or less, gaming skills go head to head in a battle for the ages.”
“You have a flair for the dramatic.”
“I have been told that before, you know. But I accept it as the compliment you meant it to be.” That laugh would fuel more than a few late night fantasies. Or maybe real life fantasies. “So what time should I stop by for game night?”
“You shouldn’t, Blake. Look, this is fun, talking on the phone and even flirting a little, but I’m not going to let you seduce me just so you can get your hands on OAA.”
She was smart to be cautious because right now I felt like the fucking Big Bad Wolf. “What about letting me seduce you because you know you’ll like it. You’ll come hard and often.” Maybe it was too much. Too forward, but she was a woman who was straightforward and I assumed she appreciated it in return.
“You think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you?”
I had to laugh because she was nothing if not blunt. “I do, because I haven’t had any complaints.” I was a damn good lay and I knew it. Soon, Poppy would know it too.
“You wouldn’t though, would you? I mean, you’re handsome sure, but you’re also rich and influential in some circles. What most women might consider a catch.”
“I like where this is going,” I tell her, feeling uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t describe.
“So maybe, in their desire to please you and seem like good future wife material, they aren’t being honest about your, ah, carnal skills?”
“Damn Poppy, don’t hold back.”
“Just a theory. I could be wrong, but I won’t be finding out.” She was so confident she could resist me but I could hear the thread of desire in her voice, giving it a slight wobble and pitching her voice lower. Poppy might not want to want me, but she did.
“Then you’ll have no trouble resisting my charms tonight. See you at six.” I ended the call before she could tell me not to come.
“Real smooth, Blake. It’s like you totally…oh!” Lacey grinned as she bounced in and took a seat on the edge of my desk. “So, where are you taking her?”
“Who?”
“Is that how we’re going to do this, the hard way? Fine. Where are you taking Poppy, the woman whose company you’re attempting to take over while you try to get her in bed?”
“It’s not like
that, Lacey.”
“No? You just happen to want the one woman in the world who can give you the thing you want most. Right.” Arms crossed, she rolled her eyes and grunted her disapproval. “I really hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Don’t I always?” My decision making was one of my best skills. I set my sights on a goal, plan out every step and execute each one to perfection until the goal is achieved. It had helped me take Peak Adventures international.
“No, but you always think you know what you’re doing.” She hopped off the desk and turned away. “Good luck.”
“Is that why you came in here?”
“No.” She shrugged again, smiling with her whole face like she used to when she was a girl. “I came in here to bitch at you about the apparel again but you already look so down I couldn’t pile on.”
“Well, I appreciate it.”
“Not that it would matter anyway,” she said as she walked out of my office.
Maybe my baby sister was right and I did need to take a closer look at the apparel, but first I needed to see behind the scenes. I spent the rest of the day gathering data from the research department to get the answers I needed. There was so much to go through because we were constantly in search of answers on demographics, market share, buying trends and any other factor that could help us sell more of our goods to more people.
The answers were, at best, inconclusive. Clearly we needed to do better and there was a problem somewhere. Peak Adventures was one of the top names in outdoor sporting equipment and extreme outdoor sporting goods, but people went to my competitors for apparel. My company needed OAA and as much as I hated that fact, I was more determined than ever to make it true.
“Mr. Sayers it’s time for you to leave.”
“What time is it?”
“Five thirty. There’s a car waiting downstairs,” my assistant said as she grabbed my jacket and shoved in my arms. “There’s a call for you, Mrs. Sanchez. She wouldn’t say what it was about.”
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