Actually, Bianca had fled to Paris to get away from the chain around her neck otherwise known as Cooper Riley, Jr., her fiancé. But only one other person knew this truth. Initially, forestalling the marriage everyone else believed was a fait accompli was also why she’d expressed interest in running the West Coast locations. But now, after months of talking with her cousin Toussaint, her confidant and the brainchild behind their company expanding out west, Bianca wanted to relocate to continue spreading her independent wings, expand the Livingston dynasty, and make the brand shine under her direct supervision.
“Need I remind you that I have not only a culinary certificate from Le Cordon Bleu, but I also have an undergrad and a graduate degree in business administration?”
“No, little sis, you don’t need to remind me.” Jefferson’s smirk highlighted the dimple on his casually handsome face, his tan skin further darkened by the August sun. His brown eyes twinkled with merriment. “But do I have to remind you that I have a double master’s in business administration and finance?” After receiving an MBA at Morehouse, Jefferson had garnered a second one from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Bianca, knowing that she couldn’t go toe-to-toe when it came to her brother’s education, tried a different route. She walked away from Jefferson and sat in one of the beige leather chairs in the artistically appointed office. Reaching for a ballpoint pen that lay on his large and messy mahogany desk, she adopted a calmer tone, yet couldn’t totally drop the petulance in her voice. “Jefferson, the only reason Dad is promoting the idea of your heading up the location is because you’re the oldest.”
“And the son—don’t forget that. You know Dad doesn’t want to see his baby girl fly too far from the nest.”
“Okay, probably that too,” Bianca conceded. It was no secret that when it came to her father, Abram “Ace” Livingston, she was the apple of his all-seeing eye.
“Besides, how are you even considering relocation when you’ve got a fiancé chomping at the bit to get married? Cooper has been more than patient with you, Bianca. Not many men would let the woman they love move to the other side of the world, even if—as you successfully argued—it was for the union’s greater good. What did you call it? Increasing your company value and the marriage’s bottom line? As if being a Livingston isn’t value enough? No, Bianca, Cooper allowed the wedding to be pushed back once already. He’s not going to delay it a second time, and you know he isn’t moving to LA.”
Bianca abruptly rose from the chair where she’d been sitting and walked to the window. “You’re probably right,” she said, quickly wiping the tears that had leaped into her eyes. “If everyone has their way, I’ll be married in six months with a baby on the way in nine.” But how can I marry Cooper after what happened in Paris?
“Hey, sister, are you all right?”
Bianca jumped. She hadn’t heard Jefferson rise, hadn’t been aware that he’d walked from his desk and joined her at the window. “Actually, no, if you want to know the truth. Jeff, I—”
“Hey, man … Oh, Bianca, I’m glad you’re both here.” Toussaint Livingston burst into Jefferson’s office and rushed toward his cousins on the other side of the room. “We need to roll to your parents’ house right now. Emergency family meeting.”
Their conversation forgotten, both Jefferson and Bianca turned and talked at once.
“What’s the matter?”
“What’s going on?”
Bianca’s heart raced with concern. “Why are we meeting at Mom and Dad’s house, Toussaint, and not in the conference room?”
Toussaint turned and headed for the door. “That’s what we’re about to find out. I’ll meet y’all there.”
Fifteen minutes later, Toussaint, Jefferson, and Bianca joined their family members in the living room of Ace and Diane’s sprawling Cascade residence. Toussaint’s parents, Adam and Candace, and his brother, Malcolm, were already there.
Toussaint and his cousins were the last to arrive, and as soon as they sat down, Ace cleared his throat and stood. “We’ve got a situation,” he began without preamble. A pregnant pause and then, “Somebody’s stealing company funds.”
Reactions were mixed, with bewilderment and anger vying for top billing.
“Who is it?” Bianca angrily asked, ready for battle though the culprit remained unnamed.
“We don’t know,” Ace replied. “But it’s definitely an inside job.”
The family members looked at one another, a myriad of thoughts in each of their minds. Who could it be? How did this happen? Is the guilty party somehow connected to someone in the room? One family member even pondered the unthinkable: Is the thief one of us?
“What kind of money are we talking about?” Toussaint asked. “Hundreds, thousands … more?”
“Several hundred thousand,” Ace replied, his tone somber and curt.
Again, responses were symphonic.
“What the hell?”
“Who could do such a thing?”
“Oh, hell to the no. We’re not going to take this lying down.”
“You’re absolutely right, baby girl,” Ace said to Bianca. “We’re not going to stand for this at all. Nobody steals from our company, takes from our family, without feeling the wrath of a Livingston payback.”
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2009 by Lutishia Lovely
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Dafina and the Dafina logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-2944-1
ISBN-10: 0-7582-2944-5
Heaven Right Here Page 28
