Love is in the Cards

by K. L. Brady

  "I can neither confirm nor deny." Tessa chuckled. Cody feared a mutiny, huh? Maybe he still knew her after all. "Kidding. Sort of," she lied.

  "I bet. Listen, just because Cody sent me to keep an eye on his interests doesn't mean that's why I came. You've probably never noticed me, but I've watched your career from the sidelines. It's an honor to meet you."

  Meeting him was an honor for her, too. She'd say so if she weren't so choked up with lust.

  "I'm an admirer," he continued. "But I'm also leading the integration efforts. It's my job to make your company's acclimation to Hart Enterprises as...pleasurable as possible."

  His mind-numbing smile forced drool from the corners of her mouth. She tapped the back of her hand against her lips to sop up the rogue slobber.

  "My work will require several meetings with you, you know, to coordinate. You and your team will need Hart equipment, network accesses. We should collaborate on your office space configuration, too." He said before glimpsing her stoic expression.

  "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

  "I've got a perfectly good set-up right where I am."

  "It's not at Hart. Don't get me wrong; I empathize with you. Here, this is your first home, but you will have to move. Better sooner than later. " He slathered his voice in butter to sweeten the command. "This space is Sweet Media. You're Hart Enterprises now. It's difficult, but you'll adapt. That's what strong leaders do."

  Tessa still heard an order, and he repeated it with more bass this time around.

  "I'm sorry. You lost me somewhere around admirer. Naturally, I can't deal with this right now." And with those final words, his cuteness faded. "I've got a staff of personnel waiting to ask about issues for which I'm certain I have no firm answers. I need to get back inside."

  "Understood," he replied.

  "Unless you've got answers."

  "I've got answers, but I'm all but positive your team isn't ready for them yet. If you don't mind, I'll listen in."

  She shrugged. She might've lingered in his gaze a little longer, but her employees awaited her return.

  "Also, given the late hour, maybe we can meet for breakfast?” he asked. “You know, to discuss the logistics...integration."

  "I'll check my calendar."

  "Done. I spoke to Mabel. She said your schedule is clear. We're good for nine."

  Tessa mumbled, "Benedict Arnold," referring to Mabel. She'd encroached into enemy territory. "Fine, then. See you at nine."

  "I look forward to it," Kyle said.

  "Bring your A-game, Mr. Anderson."

  He looked in her eyes and smiled as if he'd been looking for danger and found it. "Should I hire a bodyguard?"

  "Look at me, Mr. Anderson. I'm a woman in a suit and heels." She eyed him from head to toe. "If you needed protection, trust me, one bodyguard wouldn't be enough. You may need two."

  They parted ways, but a palpable heat and desire lingered between them. Shame. All Tessa wanted to do was flip him the bird, crawl into her corner, find a happy place with a bottle of Xanax, and turn on The Spinners’ Greatest Hits or Earth Wind & Fire.

  Instead, she did what strong leaders do, returned to calm her staff's fears.

  * * *

  An hour and a hundred questions later, she exited the stage and entered the zone, her new home. She remained lodged squarely between the proverbial rock and hard place. The whirl of Cody's mass confusion threatened to subsume her, but she maintained a tight focus on two critical next steps: first, protecting Keep It Real from the "Always and Forever. Our Hart to Yours" way of thinking and, most importantly, holding on to her staff.

  Frustrated, tired, confused, and back home, at last, Tessa called Mia. Her particular brand of misery called for her bestie’s company and wine, lots of it. On her scale of red wine days—one bottle being celebratory and four bottles being apocalyptic—today was a two-bottle day, teetering on three.

  Mia soon arrived and joined Tessa. She found an adjacent couch and collapsed on it. "I've turned over this situation in my head a million times," Tessa said. "Every time I draw the same conclusion."

  "What's that?" Mia replied.

  "I've got two options, and both of them are red-button, point-of-no-return nuclear."

  Mia peered at her friend as she gulped down a long sip of wine. She expelled an "ahhhhh" of relief before offering Tessa her two cents, twice more than Tessa ever wanted to hear.

  "You took a major blow today and adeptly navigated incredibly difficult circumstances." Mia turned toward an adjacent coffee table where a picture frame and a swear jar spilling with fives sat. She picked up a photo frame wrapped in so many layers of toilet paper; she couldn't tell whether to put it on a roller or flush it. "What's this?"

  "A picture of...HIM. It was in an old box. Interesting that I’d find it now of all times. I couldn't stand the sight of his stupid face because he's a piece of—"

  "Hey!"

  "What? I mummified it three days ago. I used generic. He's not worth my good Charmin—or paying five dollars in the swear jar to curse him out."

  "You’re not getting off that easily. Pony up."

  Tessa jutted her chin toward the overflowing vessel of shame. "I'm fresh out of fives, as you can see. I'm sick of cleaning up my language." She ripped a page from a nearby notepad and scribbled "IOU."

  "If you want to see something funny, check out the back of the frame. There's another photo," Tessa said. "Cody snapped it when we got seafood curry at that ThaiPhoon place. You remember the restaurant, right?"

  "At DuPont circle? Yep."

  "The evening was supposed to be a surprise. I was shocked all right...at the velocity at which the food exploded from my orifices."

  "Ew.

  “I hate surprises.” Tessa snatched the photo from Mia's hand, chucked the memory into the trashcan with a perfect swish, and brushed her hands together. "Trash. The sound of that thunk makes me feel better. I'm punch drunk. I've had the crap kicked out of me for two days. Bobbing-and-weaving isn't finessing; it's survival."

  "True. But before you veer completely off the reservation, perhaps consider taking a breath. Inhale. Exhale. Separate the business from the emotion. The acquisition may be better for Keep It Real than you think."

  "I've got brain damage from the jabs I've taken today, and even I know better than that."

  “Before I continue, we need more wine.” Mia laughed and trotted off to retrieve the last of Tessa's Cabernet Sauvignon from her newly added basement wine cellar.

  Meanwhile, Tessa dripped lavender and jasmine essential oil into her diffuser and tuned her iPod to her father's favorite song selections. Earth, Wind & Fire. She piped them through the Bose sound system wired through her house.

  Above the beats, she heard Mia's footsteps approaching.

  "Give yourself some mental space. You need to think this thing through." Mia said. "And I can't help but believe there's more to this than business. I sense something between you and Cody."

  “Of course there’s something. I thought we were soul mates," Tessa said, regretting speaking the words; the sound evaporated from the air.

  "He went full coward on you, but you two are made for each other; you’re good for each other."

  "Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. You're my BFF, so I hear you, but I'm not listening. We both need to pump our brakes." Tessa jerked her head back and narrowed her eyes. She propped up her French-manicured feet and clutched a wine glass large enough to hold a baby head. "First of all, Cody's engaged, and he will be walking down the aisle with whatsherface in a month. Second of all, nothing about Cody or Hart or Cody Hart is good for me or Keep It Real."

  "A besties' job is to speak the truth, even when you least want to hear it. Today, the honor goes to this chick right here," Mia pointed a thumb at her chest. "Listen, I feel you, okay? Cody broke your heart, bought your company, and then had the nerve to shack up with a fiancée.”

  "I'm struggling to see the bright side of all this."

  Mia set
down her wine glass and focused her full attention on Tessa, who winced in anticipation of what she'd say next.

  "But, would working with Cody be so bad? Yes, he may be a jackass, but he's a savvy one. Maybe he could help solve the profit problems. Furthermore, the man is easy like Sunday morning on the eyes. I mean, he puts the 'ine' in 'fine.'"

  "Really? You had to go there. Not that you're exaggerating, but the kicker is," Tessa began, "when it comes to fine, Cody's got nothing on the COO. Have mercy!" Tessa fanned herself as they giggled themselves silly. The wine had officially kicked in.

  "Is this situation ideal?" Mia continued. "No. It sucks. Royally. I know you'd rather meet Cody again in a position of strength. But let's think of Hart Enterprises as a parking spot for Keep It Real, not a permanent destination. In time, you'll figure out a profit plan and save enough money to buy him out."

  "With anyone else, I might agree. But he's like the paid hitman who missed his target the first time. He's my Achilles heel, my blind spot, my weakness. I trusted and believed in him—and when he left, he meant to take me out."

  "Mmmm...take you out? Or move on with life?" Mia said, see-sawing her hands.

  "He broke it off with a card, for goodness sake. And now I'm supposed to smile while politely eating the bull crap because he bought my company?" Tessa shook her head. "Humph. I wish I would. He didn't want the company when we could've led it as equals. Now, he still can't share the chair." She had a flashback to their game of Big Business.

  "Share the...what are we talking about, again?"

  Mia didn't understand the history, and Tessa possessed not an ounce of energy to explain.

  "Power. I'm not ceding mine to him. I refuse to be collocated with him. I was a good woman and friend to him. And did I stalk him when he broke it off, cyber or otherwise? I think not. I left him alone. He should've done the same for me. I don't deserve this, and I won't accept it."

  "You're right about one thing. I mean, the way he ended your relationship was shady at best."

  "Let's not forget cowardly...and spineless."

  "No arguments there. But how often would you see one another, anyway? Certainly, not every day. He's running an entire enterprise. Keep It Real will be a small fraction of it."

  "It may be a small part, but you don't really believe he's paid ten-point-two million to ignore it, do you? Oh, he'll be very hands-on, condescendingly picking apart every decision I've ever made. Trust me, you weren't at our first meeting. You didn't see his smug, fat, arrogant, fat, smug face," Tessa said.

  "You said smug and fat twice," Mia said. "Just pointing that out."

  "The worst part is, every time I see him, I'm reminded that Hart Cards is the manifestation of my plan for Sweet-Hart Cards. The business plan, the concept - all from right here." Tessa tapped her temple. "He took my original plan and then used it to compete with me. What kind of man does that? Hart Enterprises intended to destroy Sweet Media and Keep It Real Cards right along with it. At least Cody's father did."

  "I had no idea." Mia's mouth fell open, and she flattened her hand against her A&T sweatshirt. "I mean, I knew about the bad blood, but destroy?"

  "I don't dredge it up. But I'll never forget what he did. I mean, after that, how am I supposed to trust him to do right by my business, let alone dating someone new?"

  "You've dated plenty...although it's been a while since you allowed yourself to get lost in a serious relationship."

  "What can I say? I doubt myself. If I could be so wrong about Cody, how could I tell the difference? To me, it's insurmountable. Even if I want to forgive him, how can I?"

  "Forgiveness isn't for him, Tessa. It's for you. So, you can let go and move on. I suppose, if this situation is that untenable, you could always negotiate a golden parachute and then use the buyout to seed your next big thing."

  "Abandon my company? Reward my team's loyalty by skittering into the night like some kind of coward? That's what Cody does, not me."

  "They'd follow you...we'd all follow you."

  Tessa released a deep sigh and peered out of her palatial window into her idyllic neighborhood. She considered the notion of starting over and relished in one fact: she was a miracle.

  She had been set up to fail, yet she succeeded. What would he do if she asked for a buy-out?

  "He'd never allow me to walk away clean," Tessa concluded. "If he's not destroying me, he's fixing me. He's also got a savior complex."

  "He should know by now you're not Lois Lane; you're Wonder Woman."

  "Precisely. He won't let go of Keep It Real unless we become a liability. He hates to lose. Why do you think the court battle with his sisters went on for so long?"

  "Renee and Regina. They must be thrilled about this acquisition," Mia said sarcastically. “Why's there so much bad blood?"

  "Girl, Papa was a rolling stone, and most of their turmoil is rooted in that fact. At his fairytale, upscale wedding to Renée's and Regina's mother, Devon Hart fell in love at first sight with Cody's mom, who was sitting on the groom's side. A few years down the line, she got pregnant...before the divorce. Let's just say the math didn't add up."

  "Wow. Any chance they'll help you?"

  "Over the short ledge of a steep bridge, maybe." She grabbed a notebook from the table and started scribbling.

  "Didn't I read in the paper that the acquisition isn't truly complete until the final shareholder vote?"

  "That's true. It's a few weeks away, and I've got my dad's votes. Cody and his sisters are fully aware of that fact...or soon will be."

  "Is there any way to stop the vote...or influence it?"

  "I don’t have any ideas right now. Collaborating with Cody could risk our jobs, Keep It Real, everything—and strategizing with the sisters could destroy Hart Enterprises...and Keep It Real Cards along with it."

  "What happens if you hold your nose and...stay?"

  With a melancholy expression, Tessa fell back against the sofa. "That is the one move that could destroy me."

  Keep It Real Cards

  You Got the Promotion.

  Surprising? Nope!

  Deserving? Well…

  * * *

  Let's Keep It Real—Judging from the trail of dead bodies you snatched off of the ladder of success to get ahead, probably not.

  Congratulations, anyway!

  Chapter Nine

  Cody

  * * *

  The Chandra had barked the words, "We need to talk," causing the rush-hour ride home to fill Cody with dread. Not only did he have to resist leaning into bouts of road rage during the slog home, but he also braced himself for a confrontation with his fiancée over his ex.

  Once home, he crept up to his penthouse door, lugging his briefcase and love offerings, along with a load of panic and emotional baggage.

  Regret overcame him like the swine flu. He usually trusted his instincts and never second-guessed himself. For the first time since he took the company helm, he'd given second and third thoughts to a business strategy that perhaps deserved fourth and fifth.

  Still in the hallway, he emptied his arms on the floor beside his feet and stuck his key in the lock. Before he could wrap his hand around the cold brushed nickel knob, the door flung open. Chandra stood there; her angelic face was tightened and she breathed like a charging bull. Her snarled expression doused him, like with a bucket of ice water.

  He handed her the Tiffany’s gift.

  "Diamonds?" Her smile was as fake as his sentiment. He barely inhaled a full breath before she snatched the bag out of his hand and the life out of his lungs. Then, ungraciously, she slammed it into a nearby trashcan. "Original."

  Truth be told, they were both guilty of shorting one another in the communication and intimacy departments. He'd practiced daily since she moved in.

  "Don't you dare. Don't even think about pulling one over on me. I can see the lie written across your face. Just explain to me why you didn't tell me all the facts this morning. How about you lead with the truth this time?"


  He dropped his belongings and reached out to her, but she yanked back, shuddering at the prospect of his touch.

  "Please, sit down," he pleaded.

  She crossed her arms over her chest, stomped toward the ample leather sectional, and plopped down in a hard thunk.

  "It's not what you think.” He'd always thought men sounded ridiculous, saying those words. It was usually exactly what we think, and this was his second time pulling this card. "This morning, when you and I spoke about the deal with Uncle...Mr. Sweet, I skipped a few details. Erm, Hart Enterprises acquired Keep It Real today. Tessa's company is integrating with Hart Cards."

  He dropped the bomb; now, he awaited the explosion.

  "First of all, how can you nonchalantly tell me Hart bought Tessa's company as if that is somehow disconnected from you?"

  "The company made the—”

  "You are the CEO and owner of Hart Enterprises. The company didn't buy Tessa's company; you did," she said.

  "Yes. True, but—"

  "And before you even attempt to Jedi Mind Trick me, let me be clear about one thing. I'm a Realtor, so I may not be savvy about acquisitions and mergers, but I know how to Google and read. It doesn't take a Wharton graduate to figure this out. The questions regarding your motives become deafening when we consider you two were one proposal away from marriage."

  Cody's stomach curled.

  Volcano Chandra might've erupted if he'd confessed the entire story. He and Tessa were less than a proposal from marriage; they were a "yes" away. He dared not speak that truth.

  "She and I haven't spoken a single word to one another in five years. This wasn't about her. Ever."

  "Five years, five days, five minutes. Zero words, a million words. The number of words you speak or the length of time between them doesn't matter if you're still in love with her."

  "But—"

  "No, let me finish. Your motives are murky, at best."

  "Chandra..."

  "Cody. You've always warned me not to ask questions I didn't want the answer to. Now I'm asking. Before I commit my life to you, I want to know. Straight up. What's happening?"