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“Don’t rush it,” Natasha advised. “Enjoy the lag time for now.”
They navigated to the hotel restaurant, where Ari sat waiting for their arrival. He greeted his wife with a kiss and then embraced Zaire.
It was obvious that Ari only had eyes for Natasha. He had been married before to his childhood sweetheart. When April died, Zaire and the rest of the family worried that Ari would never recover from his grief. But then he’d met Natasha. She and her son, Joshua, had given him a reason to live again.
“Seeing you two making goo-goo eyes at one another like this makes me believe in love,” Zaire said as she picked up her menu. “But if you don’t quit, I’m going to start feeling like a third wheel.”
Ari laughed. “That’s because you are.”
Natasha sent him a sharp glare. “Your brother is only teasing, Zaire.”
“He’s not, but I’m okay with it.” She chuckled. “I’m hungry, and it’s a good thing because he’s picking up the tab.”
* * *
When Zaire returned a couple of hours later, she found that her artwork had been placed on the walls and someone had unpacked a box of her books and placed them on her bookshelves.
Zaire glanced over her shoulder at the sound of footsteps. A young man dressed in a pair of navy slacks and white polo shirt said, “Hi, I’m Max. Tyrese asked that I help you with whatever you may need.”
She noted that he didn’t look much older than she. “Did you do this?” Zaire asked, gesturing toward the bookshelf.
He nodded. “Guilty.”
She smiled warmly. “Thanks so much for your help.”
“If you like, I can help you finish unpacking.”
“Sure.”
“So, what do you do here, Max?” Zaire inquired as they put away the rest of her books.
“I’m an administrative assistant.”
“Do you enjoy your work?”
Max smiled and nodded. “This is the best company I’ve ever worked for. I was an event planner at my last job, but they had a lot of financial issues. A year later, the company closed.”
Later that afternoon, Tyrese emailed the contract to Zaire, in addition to having his assistant hand deliver the hard copy.
Zaire went over the document, absorbing all of the information. She sat down in a chair she had borrowed from the conference room and opened her laptop.
She forwarded a copy of the contract to Natasha and her father’s attorney. Zaire had already made up her mind to sign, but she wanted to have another set of eyes review the document, as well.
Zaire unpacked another box of books before leaving for the day. She walked to Tyrese’s office to say goodbye, but he was not there.
She shrugged and then strolled down the hall to the elevator.
Tyrese was in the conference room. He saw her and gestured for her to join them.
Zaire stepped inside and quickly found a seat.
He introduced her to everyone and then moved forward with his presentation.
She noted that Tyrese seemed a different person when he was talking about his company.
“Someone asked earlier why we call ourselves a boutique marketing firm,” he said. “We are a company that offers media outreach, media planning and marketing for all types of businesses. This includes corporations who have their own public relations teams. The Moore Group specializes in raising the overall awareness of a brand, product or image of a company or person. We determine a strategy that will best publicize the product that will drive traffic and boost sales...”
Zaire bit back a smile at how animated he was. His passion and love for his profession drove him tirelessly. She understood that feeling well. It was something they had in common.
She was impressed by his knowledge of marketing and public relations. Zaire was grateful for the chance to work with someone like him. There was much she could learn from him.
Her eyes strayed to his perfectly shaped lips.
Zaire flushed when he caught her staring and quickly averted her gaze. Embarrassed, she made a quick exit when the meeting ended.
* * *
Zaire was exhausted but pleased with how much she had been able to accomplish. If it had not been for Max, it might have taken her a couple of days. Her furniture would arrive tomorrow.
She drove along the Pacific Coast Highway with her convertible top down. Zaire pushed back the strands of her hair dancing in the breeze.
She entered the house through the mudroom located off the kitchen.
“How did it go today?” Barbara asked when she walked into the kitchen.
“Mama, it was great.” Zaire set her tote down in one of the counter-height chairs at the breakfast bar. “Tyrese Moore is a really nice guy, it seems. His employees all seem to love working for him. Pilar wasn’t in town, but from everything she’s told me I know that they are very close.”
Zaire followed her mother out of the kitchen and into the family room.
“So what exactly will you be doing?” Barbara asked as she sank down on the sofa. She picked up the TV remote and turned down the volume.
Zaire sat down beside her mother. “I’m his partner. I’ll be leading a specialized program that we are calling our VIP Client Services. It will vary from simply booking time on a chartered yacht or private jet to requests of creating a special evening on an island staffed with celebrity chefs and topped off by fireworks. Basically, no task will be too small or too large.”
“So you partnered with his company in order to cater to the rich and famous?”
“Something like that,” Zaire responded with a chuckle. “If this works out the way I believe it will, Tyrese, Pilar and I are going to all benefit greatly from our partnership.”
Barbara smiled. “I’m happy for you, dear.”
Zaire hugged her. “Mama, you don’t know how much that means to me. I had every intention of working with Daddy until this opportunity came along—it was just too good to pass up.”
“Honey, I understand and it’s fine. Your father and I love you dearly. We taught all of you to think for yourselves and to make the best decisions for your lives.”
“So Daddy isn’t disappointed in me?” Zaire wanted to know.
“He isn’t,” Barbara assured her.
Later, in her room, Zaire searched through her closet to find something to wear the next day. She decided on a pair of gray slacks with a bright yellow silk shirt.
She washed, blow-dried and flat-ironed her naturally curly hair. Zaire intended to wear it in a sleek style, so she wrapped it. She hardly ever wore it straight, but she was in the mood to try something different. This change in her was motivated by Tyrese Moore.
Zaire had developed a crush on her new partner. Tyrese intrigued her.
When they had had lunch together yesterday, Zaire had noticed that every now and then Tyrese displayed what she could only consider a secret expression. He was kind, professional and passionate about his work, but extremely private when it came to his personal life. He had been dubbed by the press as elusive, which contrasted with his choice in profession.
A couple of times, she’d felt the heat of his gaze on her, but Tyrese had been careful to avoid being caught looking at her for any long period.
He was attracted to her. Zaire was sure of it, but she was also pretty positive that Tyrese would never act on that attraction.
She felt a certain sadness at the thought.
* * *
Tyrese remained in his office long after everyone else had gone home, which was not unusual for him. He was normally the last one to leave and the first one to arrive.
The telephone rang.
He picked it up without taking his attention from his computer monitor. “Hello.”
Silence.
“Hello,” he repeated.
Tyrese waited a moment for a response. When there was none forthcoming, he was about to hang up.
“Ty...it’s me.”
His mouth took on an unpleasant twist. “What do you want?”
“I want you to give me a chance to explain.”
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” he snapped. “I’m tired of this. I told you to never call me,” he said, his mouth thinning with displeasure. “You need to respect my wishes.”
“Please,” the woman pleaded on the other end of the line. “Please don’t hang up on me. Ty, I know that you loved me and I want you to know that I never lied about loving you. I meant every word. I—”
He cut her off by interjecting, “No, I’m not doing this with you. Do me a favor and never call me ever again.”
“It’s been five years, Ty. There is something you really need to know. You don’t know what I had to go through to find you.”
“You needn’t have bothered,” he replied. “I thought I was clear. I never want to see you again.” His face felt tight with strain. “Just leave me alone.”
“It’s not that simple, Ty.”
“You ruined my life with your lies and manipulations. What’s done is done. I would say that’s pretty cut-and-dried.”
Tyrese hung up.
Although he hated to admit it, even to himself, the call had unnerved Tyrese. He wanted no reminders from the past. Instead, Tyrese wanted to focus on the present and the future.
His mind centered on Zaire. She represented the future of his company.
Tyrese took a deep breath and exhaled, adjusting his mood.
He admired Zaire and her enthusiasm. She had entered the spotlight after publishing her thesis highlighting the unique approaches M.G. took with brand marketing. One of Zaire’s professors had attended college with Pilar and had sent her a copy of the paper.
Tyrese was surprised initially that Zaire had decided not to follow in her father’s footsteps. It was fortuitous for his company that she had come to him with her proposal.
Even now, he could feel the warmth of one of her infectious smiles. He was extremely attracted to Zaire. Tyrese cautioned himself to be careful around her. The last thing he wanted was to have to face a sexual harassment charge.
Chapter 3
“How are you enjoying your new career?” Sage asked as she and Zaire sat down to eat lunch a couple days later.
“I love it,” Zaire said. “There’s a lot to learn, but everyone has been so great. This is such a great opportunity to partner with someone like Tyrese Moore straight out of grad school.”
“I’m kind of surprised at that,” Sage said. “Not that you’re not qualified. We are now a part of that world that you’re catering to, so you do have firsthand knowledge.”
“I think that’s why I’m perfect for it, although we weren’t raised with silver spoons in our mouths. But I think it takes a person familiar with privileged lifestyles to lead a program like this.”
Sage nodded in agreement. She took a sip of her water before asking, “So, what do you think of Tyrese Moore? Ryan says that he’s nice but keeps to himself mostly.”
Zaire broke into a grin. “He’s so handsome, Sage. I have to remind myself all the time that he’s my partner. He’s been in New York for the past couple of days for meetings with prospective clients. I have to tell you—I’m glad he’s gone. I need some time to gather myself.”
“Yes, you do,” she murmured. “Especially since you work with this man. But at least he’s not your boss. That would definitely be frowned upon.”
Zaire’s expression stilled and grew serious. “You and Ryan fell in love when you thought he was just some guy you’d found on the streets. That was a workplace romance. Look at Livi and Blaze. Same thing.”
“Our relationships were different, Zaire,” Sage said. “You and Tyrese will have to work closely together.”
“I don’t see a problem with that,” Zaire commented.
“Zaire, I’m just saying that you have to be careful. That’s all. Tyrese has his other employees to consider, as well. The last thing you want is to be the subject of workplace gossip.”
“I don’t care what other people think,” she uttered. “But I get what you are saying.”
“Keep your relationship out of the office,” Sage advised.
“I hear you.”
Zaire finished up her meal.
As they walked out of the restaurant, Sage said, “I hope I didn’t upset you.”
“You didn’t,” Zaire assured her. “You gave me something to think about.”
“I’ll support you no matter what you decide.” Sage checked her watch. “I need to get going, sis. I have a prenatal appointment, and Ryan’s meeting me at the doctor’s office.”
Zaire placed a hand to her sister’s round belly. “Take care of my little niece or nephew.”
