“I see.” He said as he put down a file on her desk. “Here’s another potential buyer.”
“Let me guess. Roman Santos?” She said with a grimace.
He just nodded.
“Let’s just say he and I have already…met.”
“I like how you’re working the A-list angle. Hopefully you can bring in some of his friends as clients.”
“What I’m most worried about right now is making sure my friend doesn’t get dropped from her label.” She said. “I know next to nothing about these two guys - Roman or Bryce. I need to make sure they have good intentions.”
“I’ve heard rumors that you and Bryce are getting to know each other pretty well.” He said with a smirk. If it was anyone else, Harper would’ve brought out the bitch who lurked inside. But because it was her boss who she had a close connection to, she knew it was just playful teasing.
“Your mom should’ve warned girls like you to not listen to gossipers. Their facts are almost always wrong.” She said with a smile.
“Whether or not you two are really getting to know each other, I think you should seize the opportunity to see what he wants to do with the label.”
“That’s not a bad idea. But wouldn’t that kind of be…deceitful?” She said with a questioning look.
“You’re an attorney, Harper. If you haven’t realized it by now, being deceitful is part of the job.” He crossed his arms and looked at her seriously. “And being deceitful isn’t necessarily the same thing as lying. It’s an art. The ability to obfuscate, to be vague.”
“Should I be taking notes?” Harper said with a sarcastic tone. “Because you’re definitely schooling me on how to be a lying piece of shit attorney. The type I never wanted to be.”
“Honesty can only take you so far, Harper. Sometimes you have to bend the truth to find how things really are.”
“I’ll take your suggestions into consideration.” She said, turning back to her laptop. She hoped he’d take the hint and let her get back to work.
“I’m serious, Harper. Selling the label isn’t a big deal to me or the firm. But it’s your chance to prove yourself. It’s your chance to show that you’re one of the big boys.”
“And how can I do that?” She asked. “It’s a pretty simple transaction.”
“If you’re able to get…a lot for it, it will be attention to the firm. And any publicity is good publicity.”
“So you’re basically telling me in vague terms to start a bidding war?”
He just smiled at her as he left the office.
What type of woman did he think she was? A seductress? A woman who had the power to manipulate men and get them to spend more on something than it was really worth?
She wasn’t that type of girl. She’d always tried to make herself look good, yeah, be presentable and fashionable to the general public. But it was never just for the purpose of getting a man, let alone trying to coerce him to do something that wasn’t in his best interest.
“I’m a good person.” Harper told herself as she thoughtfully chewed on the end of the Montblanc pen that one of her professors had given to her as a graduation present from law school. “Sure, these guys have money to blow, but I’m not going to lie to them.”
The fact is, the label wasn’t doing too well. The fact that there were any parties interested in buying it was a surprise in itself.
The few artists on the label roster were quickly aging out of the music-buying demographic. And as much as Harper didn’t want to admit it, Lola was in that category. Sure, her songs were still charting. But when doing research on the company, Harper realized that the singles had sold less and less as the years went by.
“Harper, there’s a call for you on line 2.” Her secretary said.
“This is Harper.” She said cordially as she picked up the phone.
“Good morning. This is Bryce’s assistant. Please hold for Bryce.”
Harper rolled her eyes. She forgot that people like Bryce still had people place their outgoing phone calls. How elitist. Like, how hard was it to pick up a phone and dial a number?
“Hey Harper.”
She felt herself melt as she heard his dark, husky voice on the other side of the phone. Suddenly, all her misgivings about his phone etiquette flew out the window.
But then she suddenly remembered last night. What had happened to her. The attack.
Had that been real? Or was it just the product of her imagination? She’d been working so hard that day. And then drinking. Did that have some sort of impact on her mind?
She bit her lip, wondering if he’d say anything about it.
The ball was in his court.
“Good morning.” She said. She was trying to keep cool. Stay collected and confident. Not freak out like a middle school girl with a crush on a member of a boy band.
“I was wondering if you’d have time to meet for lunch today. At the Country Club. Just to go over a few business things. Maybe get to know each other a little more. I find it easier to do business when I know a little bit about who I’m dealing with.”
“Who you’re dealing with?” She said with a smirk. “That sounds…interesting.”
“You know what I mean. I’ve gotten as far as I have through my personal relationships with people. A lot of people in my position treat others like robots. Automatons. Whose only purpose in life is to serve the rich. That’s not who I am.”
She sighed, cradling the phone up to her ear.
“Sure. What time?”
“How about 1:30? I’ll send a car for you.”
“That won’t be necessary.” She said quickly.
“Please, I insist. I want to make sure you get there safely.”
Was that his way of acknowledging what had happened? But his words were so vague, it could mean absolutely anything.
“Fine. I’ll be ready.”
“I look forward to seeing you, Harper.” He said. His voice was comforting but still so sexy and seductive to her. She felt flustered and didn’t know how to respond to that. She wasn’t used to men being that…nice to her.
“I’ll be there.” She said curtly and hung up.
She swiveled around in her chair and looked out the window. Her friends were probably just getting up and here she was at work, confused as hell about what was going on in her life.
Roman’s words repeated in her mind: the talk about vampires. Her mother’s illness, which she still hadn’t heard about from the source. How she had an ancestor from Africa who was imbued with supernatural powers…that was supposedly passed down to her.
She stood up and crossed the room and started pacing. That’s what she did when she was anxious or upset. That and organize.
But she looked around, seeing that everything was in its proper place. Yeah, she could be a little OCD at times when it came to cleaning and organizing, but that’s just how her mind worked.
She attributed it to being brought up in a slightly…disorganized household. But that was putting it mildly.
She shook her head and tried to think through the events of the previous night.
Suddenly, the thought occurred to her to call one of her friends.
She sat down and took out her phone and quickly dialed Lola.
“Girl, why you calling so early.” Lola croaked groggily when she picked up the phone.
“You obviously had fun last night.” Harper said with a laugh.
“I had to celebrate my single’s success. Now let me know what’s up with you so I can go back to bed and get some shut-eye.’
“When I left last night, did you happen to see me from the rooftop?”
“Yeah, we all were watching you to make sure you got there safely. I knew the security on the ground were watching you, too, because I asked DeJuan to have his boys keep an eye on you.”
“That’s so strange.” Harper said. She took a deep breath.
Had she really dreamed that whole thing? Had she had too much to drink? Did someone, God forbid, gi
ve her a date rape drug that made her black out? Have that horrible dream about being attacked?
“What’s wrong? You got home safely last night, didn’t you?” Lola’s voice was full of concern. She knew Harper well enough to know that she was one of the most pragmatic, rational people she had ever met. For Harper to even ask about something as inconsequential about how she got home meant that there was a problem.
“I just have these weird memories from last night. I can’t tell if they were a dream or not.’
“Okay, you got me worried.” Lola said. Her voice sounded alert now.
“I remember getting attacked. And then being taken by Roman Santos to this bizarre, scary place where he told me about being a…” Harper swallowed hard, shaking her head, not believing what she was about to say one of her most trusted friends.
“Told you what?” Lola said seriously. “What did Roman tell you?”
“He told me that he was a vampire, believe it or not.” Harper admitted.
“Oh my God, are you serious?” Lola shrieked. “Girl, that’s serious. I’m not playing with you. I’m in the music industry and I know all about the Illuminati and it’s no joke.”
“So you’re saying you believe me?” Harper asked incredulously, thankful that she had friends that were willing to listen and not blast her for being overly-dramatic or a liar.
“I believe that you think you saw what you saw and heard what you heard.” Lola said matter-of-factly. “I’ve heard of stranger things, too.”
“Thank God.” Harper said. She wiped a tear away from her eye. “I thought I was crazy.”
“That’s what they try to do. Make you feel like you’re going insane. That you’ve lost your grip on reality.” Lola explained earnestly. “That’s when you’re at your most vulnerable.”
“I’m afraid, Lola.” Harper said quietly.
“I am too. There’s something really strange about why those two billionaires want that record label. I’ve been thinking about it and it doesn’t add up. We’re not that profitable. We’re all a bunch of has-beens. Sure, we can sell a few units of digital downloads, but people aren’t buying like they used to.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Lola.” Harper said. “But I agree. There’s something so odd about it. It’s so unsettling.”
“You need to be more vigilant than ever. I think they have their sights set on this deal, for whatever reason. Promise me you’ll text me every hour. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Harper couldn’t help but laugh. But she felt loved by her friend.
“My mom is here. I’m okay, girl. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
“It better not,” Lola said slowly. “We’d be lost without you.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The chauffeur held the door open for Harper as she sauntered out of the limousine and up the red carpeted steps to the entrance of the country club.
The maitre’d showed her to a back portion of the restaurant, hidden from the rest of the elite members who were dining.
Her heart started beating faster when she saw Bryce sitting there, pouring over financial documents. His brow was furrowed as he concentrated, his deep set eyes examining what was set in front of him. He was wearing a navy suit jacket but no tie. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned, showing the top of his gorgeous chest.
She couldn’t help but be intimidated by his masculine beauty.
“Harper.” He said, looking up with a slight smile. “Thanks for joining me.”
“I haven’t been here before,” she said, looking around. “They usually don’t like my type in places like this.” She said with a laugh.
He shook his head. “Things are different now.”
“They can say what they want, but I don’t see any people of color here except for me.”
“I’m working to change that.” He said softly. “As one of the Board of Directors, I’d like to extend a complimentary membership to you for the duration of your natural life.”
She gasped. A membership at a club like this probably cost a few hundred thousands dollars a year. Not to mention the application fee, which would probably run a half million.
But reality sunk in. She had to reject the gift.
“I’m representing the other side. You know I can’t accept something like that.”
“I’d extend it to you whether or not the deal got finalized. We try to recruit members from the elite parts of society. And from the research I’ve done on you, you’re certainly an up-and-comer.”
She grimaced at the word ‘research.’ It immediately brought back to her mind the ‘conversation’ she had with Roman last night. Whether it was a dream or not, it felt real.
“I try my best to represent my community. My people. And I’m certainly not going to accept any sort of gift that would bring my integrity into question.” She said sternly, not flustered by the gorgeous man’s slight smile.
He sat back and crossed his arms. His eyes were locked with hers - her dark amber and honey brown eyes were narrowed in consternation, while Caribbean blue eyes showed slight allure and amusement.
“If this happened to be a test of your principles, you certainly would have passed.”
She bolted upright in the chair. “Do you mean to tell me that you were…testing me?”
He shrugged noncommittally, but that was all the answer she needed.
“I’m going to pretend that didn’t happen.” She said coldly. “I’m incorruptible but don’t appreciate having some billionaire like yourself try to trick me like that.”
“I just needed to see who I was dealing with.”
“You’ve said that before. I trust that you’ve had bad experiences in the past.”
“You have no idea.”
The waiter interrupted them as he poured them some water.
“So tell me, Bryce,” she said, daring to use his first name in such a casual way. “Why are you so interested in this record company?”
“First of all, I grew up listening to a lot of the artists. Your friend Lola, for example. But while I want to protect the artists and see them succeed, I’m more interested in a little algorithm that Brian Washington, the founder, developed.”
“An algorithm? You mean to tell me that Brian is also a programmer?”
Bryce nodded. “I’m surprised you don’t know that.”
Harper took out her Louis Vuitton folio from her oversized Ostrich Birkin bag and began taking notes.
“How did you find this out?” She said, tilting her head as she asked the question.
“I have my sources.”
“And you’re assuming that any intellectual property that he developed would be included as part of the sale because he was an employee when he invented it?”
He nodded again.
She put the pen to her lips thoughtfully.
“And what’s so important about this technology?” She queried.
“To call it a mind control device would be disingenuous, but it has a way of providing choices to people in a way that’s extremely convincing.”
Harper scribbled down “Set up meeting with Brian Washington ASAP” on her note pad and closed the folio and put it back in her bag.
“And you intend to use it to get people to buy more of whatever you’re selling?” She asked.
“The opposite. I want to destroy it.”
Harper gasped as his harsh words. Destroy. It seemed so violent coming from a man like him.
“People need to be able to execute their own free will. Don’t you agree? Or do you want to be a mindless puppet, doing the bidding of whoever controls the technology to do it?”
“I’ll need to speak to Mr. Washington. I’m shocked he hasn’t revealed this information.”
Bryce said nothing but took a sip from his water.
“And your cousin, Roman…” Her voice trailed off.
“Yes, he wants it too.”
“He wants to destroy it as well?” She asked.
“Kn
owing him, he’ll want to do the opposite. He’ll want to be the one in control. In power. All these years, he’s been nipping at my heels. Wanting to take my place. In my family, I’m the first born man. With that comes special privileges.”
“I see.” Harper said. But she was dying to figure out if what happened last night was real or a dream. She had to ask. “Were you downtown last night?”
ROMANCE: His Ebony Blood Jewel - A Novel (BWWM, Paranormal, Vampire, Billionaire New Adult Romance) Page 8
