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She swallowed. “When you have no choice, it isn’t brave.”
“Of course it is.” His mouth tilted in a half smile and she felt a twinge of envy for all the women he’d kissed.
Unfortunately she wasn’t one of them.
And she never would be.
Unsettled, frustrated with herself for spinning fantasies when reality was right in her face, she turned away. “Thanks for the advice.”
“I’ll give you one more piece.” He didn’t try and touch her again, but his voice held her captive. “Weigh up the pros and cons, but don’t overthink this. If you focus on the risks, you’d never do anything.”
“I feel as if I’ve lost my security.”
“Your security wasn’t the job, Paige. Jobs come and go. You give yourself security, with your skills and your talent. You can take those elsewhere. What you did for Star Events, you can do for another company, including your own company.”
His words gave her a burst of much-needed confidence.
And they made sense to her.
She felt like a wilting plant that had suddenly been given a large drink of water.
“Thank you.” Her voice was croaky and he gave a smile.
“When you find yourself working eighteen-hour days for seven days a week you might not want to thank me.” Jake strolled off to rejoin the others but Paige stayed where she was for a moment, thinking about what he’d said.
You give yourself security.
Eva and Frankie were laughing at something Matt had said and it was so good to hear them laughing that her own spirits lifted.
She walked back to them. “What’s funny?”
“We’ve been thinking up company names.”
“And?” She could still feel Jake’s touch on her hand, and she wondered how the casual brush of his fingers was enough to send a thousand electrical currents soaring through her body.
“We’re trying to sound bigger and better than Star Events.” Eva grinned. “Global Events. Planet Events. Universe Events.”
“We’re not only an events company.” Paige settled herself on the arm of Eva’s chair, careful not to look at Jake. “We’re more personal. And we need to differentiate ourselves from the competition.”
“We’re going to be a happy company. That makes us different,” Eva said.
“It’s lifestyle as well as events. While you’re busy working we can choose the perfect gift for your wife, or arrange flowers for your mother-in-law.”
“Or we could poison your mother-in-law,” Eva said happily. “Belladonna muffins.”
Frankie ignored her. “It sounds as if we’re offering a concierge service.”
Paige thought about it. “That’s it. That’s what we are. An event concierge service. We don’t just organize your event, we do all the extras. If you’re our client, we take care of all the little things you never have time to do.”
Eva snuggled back against the cushions. “So all we need now is the name and an office.”
“We need clients more than we need an office. We can work from the kitchen table to begin with. We’ll be out and about most of the day anyway. Or on the phone.”
Frankie frowned. “Where do we start? I’m a floral designer. A gardener. I can arrange flowers for your birthday party or your wedding, and I can do a design for your roof garden, but don’t ask me to cold-call clients. I can’t sell myself.”
“But I can.” Paige reached for her bag and pulled out her phone. Jake was right. Organization was what she did best. The excitement was back, and this time so was the confidence. “That’s the point of our company. I can’t do the flowers for your engagement party, but I know someone who can. That’s you by the way.” She glanced at Frankie. “And cooking isn’t my thing, but when Eva and her team cater your work party it will be something people talk about for months.”
Eva looked mystified. “I have a team?”
“You will have.”
“Outsourced,” Matt advised. “Don’t inflate your payroll.”
Frankie gave a crooked smile. “And don’t make anyone kale and spinach smoothies.”
“She does that?” Jake winced. “If a woman ever made me that, our relationship would be over.”
“It’s breakfast,” Eva said cheerfully. “Your relationships never last until breakfast, so you’re safe.”
“Breakfast is the most serious meal of the day and the word serious doesn’t appear in my vocabulary.”
A statement Paige knew to be untrue. She knew that Jake advised on cyber security at the highest level. Her brother had once told her Jake was the smartest guy he’d ever met. It was only in his relationships that the word serious didn’t appear.
And she knew why.
He’d talked to her about it, before she’d created a rift between them.
“This is exciting.” Eva gave Frankie a light punch on the shoulder. “I’m going into business with my two best friends. Maybe you could give me a fancy title. That would make my day. How does Vice President sound?”
Paige felt a flicker of tension. Being responsible for herself was one thing, but being responsible for both her friends was something else entirely. Jake, she knew, employed hundreds of people in several cities across the globe.
How did he sleep at night?
How did Matt sleep at night?
Paige glanced at her brother and he gave a faint smile of understanding.
“Ready to ask me for help yet? You might find I know a thing or two if you ask me. And Jake deals with start-ups all the time. He gives advice and he invests. We both have contacts. We can talk to a few companies—get you introductions.”
Paige didn’t want to ask Jake for help.
Even that brief conversation had left her feeling unsettled. Asking for help would mean getting close to him, spending more time with him. There was no way she was up to that.
“You’ve helped me enough. I want to do this on my own. I can do this, Matt. You’ve been bailing me out of trouble since I was four years old. It’s time I did something on my own.”
“You do plenty on your own.” He sighed. “At least let me help with the legal side. Company setup, tax, insurance—as Jake said, there’s a lot to think about.”
It made sense. “All right. Thank you.”
Matt stood up. “I’ll call my lawyers in the morning. You need a business plan—”
“I’ll work on it tonight and tomorrow.”
“Talk it through with me. And we need to talk about funding.”
“Matt, you’re smothering me.”
Her brother gave her a long look. “I’m offering you business advice and financial backing, and before you turn it down you should probably check with your business partners.”
“I want you to help and advise,” Eva said immediately, “especially if you’re not going to charge. I’ll cook for you in return. In fact I’ll do anything except look after your psychotic cat.”
“I’ll look after the cat,” Frankie muttered. “She’s suspicious of humans and I get that. If you’ll help, I’ll care for the roof garden all summer.”
“You already do that for me. And you do a great job. I’d employ you in a heartbeat.”
Paige glanced up from the list she was typing on her phone. “You’re poaching my team before we’re even officially a business?”
“All the more reason to use me in an advisory capacity. I’m less likely to steal your staff.”
“Fine! You win. You can advise. But no hovering over me. I want to do this myself. If this is a success I want it to be because of me.”
“But if we fail, then we could blame him.” Eva’s cheeks dimpled. “I’d be happy to bask in success but losing my job twice in one week would dent my confidence horribly.”
Paige heard the uncertainty in Eva’s voice and a blaze of determination shot through her. She’d do this right. Whatever it took, she’d do it.
“We still need a company name, and we need it to say what we do.”
“We do a bit of everything from the sounds of it,” Eva said. “Whatever you want—your wish is our command.” She said it with a dramatic flourish and Paige put her phone down.
“That’s it.”
“What is?”
“It’s brilliant. Your wish is our command. That’s our tagline. Or our mission statement or whatever it’s called.”
“You’ll have people phoning you for sex,” Jake drawled, reaching for another beer.
The flickering candles sent a golden glow across his lean dark features. Watching him woke up parts of her she would have rather stayed asleep.
She was almost relieved that he’d returned to being annoying. “Do you have anything helpful to contribute?”
“Unless you want men phoning you with indecent requests, that observation was helpful.”
“Not everyone thinks about sex all the time. We need a company name that goes with that. Genie Incorporated? Genie Girls?” She pulled a face and shook her head. “No.”
“Clever Genie.” Frankie deadheaded a rose.
Matt stirred. “City Genie?”
“Urban Genie.” It was Jake who spoke, his voice low and sexy in the darkness. “And anytime you three want to rub my lamp, go right ahead.”
Paige turned toward him, a sharp rejection on her lips, and then she stopped.
Urban Genie.
It was perfect.
“I love it.”
“I love it, too.” Frankie nodded and so did Eva.
“Paige Walker, CEO of Urban Genie. You’re in the driving seat, heading down the freeway to fortune. I’m happy to be your passenger.” Eva raised her glass and frowned. “My glass is half-full.”
Frankie grinned. “I would have said the glass was half-empty. I guess that says a lot about the difference between us.”
“We each bring our different strengths to the business and there are no passengers.” Paige reached for the champagne bottle and topped up Eva’s glass. “You’re driving, too.”
“Hey, I can change a wheel but I’m not driving the car.” Frankie brushed soil from her sweatpants. “That’s your job.”
Their faith in her was as scary as it was heartwarming.
“Three women drivers,” Jake drawled, glancing at Matt. “Better start taking the subway.”
Paige knew he was winding her up but this time she didn’t care.
Anticipation and excitement rushed through her. She was starting her own business. Right now. And with her closest friends.
What could be better?
“Urban Genie. We’re in business.” She raised her glass. “Eva, go and rescue your lucky shirt. We’re going to need it.”
Four (#ulink_0e44ddcd-6918-52d0-8fc6-a16391551632)
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, unless your best friend is a cook.
—Frankie
“Wake up.” Paige put a cup of coffee down by Eva’s bed but her friend didn’t stir. “I’m going for a run, and when I get back you need to be awake and ready to go.”
There was a sound from under the covers. “Gowhere?”
“To work. Today is our first day as Urban Genie. We’re going to make it a good one.”
Paige’s head throbbed. She’d been up half the night making lists and notes. And trying not to second-guess her decision.
What had she done?
Would they all be better off looking for jobs?
