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“Thanks, Grammy,” Viv sighed as she placed an arm around Carlotta’s shoulders and pulled her closer.
Francine smiled and looked up at Caesar. His gaze was unwavering as it followed every movement of Viv’s svelte form. She patted his back and hugged him. “Aw, baby, you look lovely, too,” she cooed, seeing the smile tug at his lips.
Caesar looked down at Francine. “Thank you, Granny.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Does anybody want a drink?” Caesar asked when they stepped into the living room.
“Sure, if you’re playing bartender,” Francine retorted.
Caesar raised his hand. “I got it covered. What’ll it be?”
“I’ll have a gin tonic,” Francine called.
“Same for me!” Carlotta said as she selected a different set of jazz CDs to play.
Viv was getting comfortable on the love seat. Francine and Carlotta watched as Caesar stepped from behind the bar and walked over to her. He brushed the back of his hand against Viv’s shoulder.
“Are you gonna have something to drink, Plum?” he queried softly when she looked up at him.
“A glass of wine—Riesling, if Miss Frankie has it.” Her alluring dark gaze lingered on his incredible face a bit longer than necessary.
“So, are you two ready to discuss the business and what’s expected of you?” Carlotta asked when Caesar stepped back behind the bar.
“It’s obvious this is a package deal. The two of you want the two of us.”
“That’s right,” Francine confirmed, nodding. “How do you feel about that?” She posed the question to Vivian who had been rather quiet.
“Well,” she began, glancing back at Caesar, “we both want a chance to run the business. If we have to do it together, we’ll give it our all.”
Francine and Carlotta exchanged curt nods and moved to sit together on the long sofa. Between them were three manila folders.
“There are a few key deals that need your attention right off the bat. Thank you, sweetie,” Francine said to Caesar when he handed her a gin tonic.
Carlotta sat her drink on the coffee table. “These deals are in the last stages of negotiations. All that’s needed now are the final go-aheads. Meetings will be abundant,” she warned them, pushing the folders across the marble-topped table.
“The two of you should get together and discuss them,” Francine advised, taking a sip of her drink.
Viv took the files and placed them between herself and Caesar on the love seat.
Carlotta and Francine stood and headed to the white double doors at the rear of the room. “We can finish talking over dinner,” Carlotta called as she and her business partner headed to the dining room.
“When do you want to go over this stuff?” Caesar asked, picking up one of the folders and thumbing through the contents.
Viv toyed with a curl lying against her cheek. “I guess we should find out when the first meeting is.”
Caesar nodded, his long brows drawn as he scanned a page in the folder. “Humph, from the looks of it, we have a meeting in the morning.”
“What?” Viv whispered, snatching the file out of his hands. “I don’t believe it.” She shook her head at Caesar and smiled. “I guess we’ll have to get together after dinner.”
“My place or yours?” he asked, a fiendish smirk crossing his mouth.
Viv tossed her bouncy, clipped locks and stood. “The office.”
Caesar nodded. Even he agreed it was probably the safest place.
Chapter 3
“You and Miss Carly are tryin’ to baptize us by fire,” Caesar playfully accused during dinner.
Francine and Carlotta laughed.
“It’s the best way!” Carlotta assured him.
“Besides,” Francine added. “We’re confident you two can handle it. We wouldn’t entrust you with our life’s work, otherwise.”
Viv cleared her throat as she cut into the succulent white meat of the Cajun-styled mahi. “Can we at least get an overview of the deals that are about to be closed?”
Carlotta set her fork aside. “The largest deal is the Tydes’ account. A couple from Jamaica—brother and sister. They own a lovely bed-and-breakfast and they’re interested in carrying a line of our dolls in their gift shop.”
“What line?” Caesar asked, cracking the shell of a crab leg.
“Our Island line,” Francine replied. “The Tydes are interested in carrying them exclusively.”
Caesar nodded, dipping the crab meat in a bowl of butter sauce. “How do you two feel about it?”
Francine and Carlotta exchanged wide grins.
“Actually, it’s the deal we’re most excited about,” Carlotta admitted. “Of course, the final yes would be given by the two of you. We’ve informed our clients and employees on the change of power. You can expect everyone’s full cooperation.”
Dinner passed very quickly. Caesar and Viv had a lot of questions about the D.M. Doll Factory and how it functioned. Of course, Carlotta Desmond and Francine Morrison were two savvy businesswomen with a wealth of knowledge. By the time dinner had ended, Caesar and Viv were fully informed on what was expected of them.
“Do you need to stop by your house for anything before we head to the office?” Caesar asked Viv, his hand rested against the small of her back as they walked through the foyer.
Viv shook her head. “I don’t need anything,” she assured him, smiling when he patted her back.
“So, what do you think?” Carlotta asked Francine as they stood beneath the beveled living room doorway and watched their grandchildren leave.
“This is gonna work,” Francine predicted, sending her friend a knowing look.
“Man, when they told us you and Viv were gonna be working here, everybody went crazy. Workin’ for a football player and a singer? Only in America!”
“Well, it’s the off-season for me,” Caesar said. “And Viv had some downtime before really gearing up for her new CD’s touring and release. So our schedules just seemed to work out!”
Caesar and Viv laughed at Jermaine Wilkes, one of the night watchmen at the factory.
“We just hope we don’t embarrass ourselves,” Caesar told Jermaine and the other guard, Thomas Gentry.
Thomas waved his hand. “Please! With those two backin’ you up,” he said, referring to Francine and Carlotta, “they’ll help you out of any pinches you get into around here.”
“Besides, everybody who works here loves to help out,” Jermaine assured them. “With you two, they’ll be fallin’ all over themselves to offer assistance.”
Vivian laughed as she patted both men on the shoulder. “I don’t know about all that, but you got me feelin’ a lot better.”
“Anytime!” Jermaine and Thomas replied in unison. They shook hands with Caesar and watched him follow Viv to the elevators.
“Oh my…goodness,” Viv breathed, her midnight eyes widening when she stepped past the double doors leading to the president’s suite. “They’ve redecorated since I was here last. Look at this.”
“I know,” Caesar agreed, taking in the plush elegance of Francine and Carlotta’s office.
The room was magnificent. It looked less like an office and more like a combination living room, dining room. In the far corner, there was a built-in bookshelf stocked with as many horror, romance and psychological thriller bestsellers as there were business manuals, newspapers and financial journals. Between the polished oak shelves was an impressive glass bar and a small white refrigerator. A fabulous white-leather living room set sat before it. On the opposite side of the office were two glass desks that faced each other. On the wall next to them was a built-in black entertainment center trimmed in gold. A huge TV and stereo sat there. The shelves held a DVD player and movies on one side, a hefty stash of jazz, R&B and classical CDs on the other.
“Damn, when do they find time to work?” Caesar teased, inspecting the titles in the movie collection.
“I’ll say,” Vivian agreed, though both she and Caesar knew their grandmothers deserved the best.
Francine and Carlotta began the D.M. Doll Factory right out of the Brooklyn housing project they lived in as young women. When their husbands left for work, the two of them spent hours designing dolls and clothing. It was just a hobby, something to keep their minds off the reality of living in such poor conditions. When a business fair came to the city one year, Francine and Carlotta took a chance and showed their ideas to a young man seated at a bank booth. He thought the ideas were so great, he talked his bank into fronting them cash to produce the dolls. Moreover, he educated them on the procedures for starting and running a successful business. The factory flourished out of their tiny apartments, then into the houses they moved to later that year. Soon, the need for even more space became necessary.
Vivian took a seat behind one of the desks and turned the dark, tanned swivel chair to the windows. “Caesar, remind me to thank Miss Francine and my grammy for my gorgeous new office.”
Caesar, who was still kneeling in front of the movie case, looked up at Viv and frowned. “Your new office?”
“Mmm…” Viv confirmed, enjoying the myriad city lights twinkling in the distance.
“I know you don’t think all this is yours?” Caesar queried, rising to his full height.
Viv was twisting her chair to and fro, basking in the success that surrounded her. The tone of Caesar’s voice didn’t affect her at all. “Until Miss Frankie and Grammy get back, it is.”
“The hell you say!”
“What?” Viv replied, turning the chair around. She saw Caesar standing behind the other desk, his fists braced on the glass top.
“There is no way you get to have all this, Viv,” he coldly assured her.
Viv’s gaze widened. “You can’t possibly want this office?”
Caesar’s long brows drew close. “Why the hell wouldn’t I?” he barked, spreading his arms wide. “Look at this place.”
“Yes, look at it, Caesar,” Viv prompted, standing behind the desk. “It’s clearly a woman’s office and since this isn’t a permanent thing, there’s no time for you to clutter it with sports magazines, basketball goals and your weight machines.”
Caesar’s thick lashes closed over his striking amber stare as he struggled to control his temper. “That may be so, Plum, but I’m not about to give this place up to you.”
Viv massaged her neck. “We’ll just have to share it, then.”
“It worked for our grandmothers,” Caesar retorted, taking a seat behind the opposite desk.
Headed to the bar, Viv cast him a tired look over her shoulder. “Yeah, but they are friends.”
Caesar’s deep chuckle rose and he leaned back to prop his long legs on the desk. “Ah, Plum, I’ll hate it when you leave.”
“Ah, Caesar, I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Viv assured him, pouring herself a glass of wine.
“Let’s get to work, shall we?” Caesar advised, rising and moving away from the desk to grab the folders off the coffee table.
Viv took a seat on the long sofa. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Finally, the two of them settled down to work. They spent close to two hours reading files. Afterwards, they tossed questions and ideas back and forth. Not once did it occur to them that they were getting along so splendidly. Soon, they were sharing the sofa.
Vivian began to sing softly as she scanned the last file on her list. She didn’t notice Caesar watching her. He had set his papers aside and was sitting with his elbow propped along the back of the sofa.
“That sounds so good,” he whispered, gaze soft.
Viv glanced up at him and smiled. “Thanks.”
Caesar turned his attention back to his papers. “Would you sing for me sometime?”
“Ha!” Viv bellowed, slapping her hand against her thigh as she laughed. “Yeah, right!”
“What’s wrong?” Caesar cried, a murderous frown beginning to cloud his face.
Viv pushed her thick curls away from her face and pinned Caesar with an amused glare. “Caesar, please, do you remember the last time I sang in front of you?”
Caesar shifted his huge frame on the sofa, grimacing at the sound the leather made. “I don’t remember that.”
Viv set her papers aside. “In high school? Your grandmother had that big cookout before our senior year?”
“Oh yeah…yeah I remember now,” Caesar whispered, nodding his head. “That was somethin’ else.”
Viv’s smile was far from humorous. “Yeah, it was somethin’ all right. I got up to sing and all I could hear was you giggling and talkin’ in the back.”
“I did that?” Caesar asked, feigning shock. He pressed one hand against his chest and his slanting, deep-set stare was mockingly innocent.
“You know you did that,” Viv told him, her black stare narrowing. “You were so loud, I heard you say I sounded like a man.”
Caesar’s full, rumbling laughter burst forth. He fell face-first onto the sofa, pounding his fist against the leather cushions. Vivian began to kick him with her foot.
“I’m sorry, Plum!” he cried, almost breathless from laughter. “I was just a kid!”
Viv punished him with another shove from her foot. “That’s no excuse!”
Caesar held his hands over his head to ward off the blows. “Plum, I was too young to appreciate your singing then.”
Viv couldn’t help it and her contagious laughter soon filled the office. “Good try, but I’m not fallin’ for it.” She moved to leave the sofa. Caesar’s large hand closed over Viv’s ankle and he stopped her.
“I’m sorry, Plum. Honest. If you give me another chance, I promise to be a better listener next time around.”
Viv drew her dress above her knees and knelt on the sofa. “You promise?”
“I promise,” he instantly replied, his gaze unwavering.
