“Precisely. I would feel much better, and sleep easier, if I knew you were just next door.”
There was a moment of pause and he feared that she would still refuse. Surprisingly, as the moment passed, she bobbed her head and broke the silence.
“Alright, then. I shall place a call to Halley’s security.”
“No, let me, please. It’s quite last minute. I will speak to Hardy James, myself and get him to understand the situation.”
Agreeing, she said, “Alright, sounds good.”
The announcement came to fasten seat belts for take off and as soon as they did that, Keisha relaxed further in her seat, closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Kane would bet a thousand dollars that she was probably doing that to avoid speaking to him.
She wasn’t peeved, he knew that – so he could live with the silence. In fact, putting it to good use, he brought out his iPad and started to go through the charts again.
Whoever was behind this would be found out. He hoped that the money would be recovered and the damage repaired.
Chapter 3
The moment Keisha stepped out of the private jet, the heat of Miami’s summer hit her face with the force of gale wind. She grimaced, flinched inwardly and reminded herself that this was why she loved Colorado. The springs made the climate cooler through the summer. Miami was a different case entirely. It was a good thing they had beautiful beaches.
Perhaps, by the time the day was over, her body would be desperate to take a dip in the cool pools of the Hilton Hotel. Wells Holdings dealt with stock and goods, from furniture to electronics, to food, you name it. However, they left the sale of services to others. Like the hotel business, for example.
Kane had once told Keisha that Richard Wells had believed in leaving enough space in the sky for other stars to shine. It had turned out pretty well for him. And since the company had a sort of merger with Hilton, their staff always stayed in their hotels during business trips, all over the world. It was a good arrangement, seeing as the Hilton Hotels made sure they used every product Wells had, from Wells – the best in the business. Evelyn would say, “If we all scratched each other’s backs, no one would be left with a frustrating itch.”
A great business strategy, if you asked her.
“Ahh…Miami,” Kane sighed as he came to stand beside her by the door. “It never changes. The city, the noise –”
“The heat,” Keisha cut in.
“Ha-ah! That too. Yes, that too. It really is quite hot.”
“Very hot.”
She started her descent down the stairs and by the time she stepped off the last step, Kane was already ahead of her.
“Where to now? The company or would you like to check into the hotel first?”
Keisha let a small smile form on her lips, pleased that he had sought her preference. “The company. The rest can wait. Besides, the short nap on the flight did me some good.”
She had meant to just escape having to have another conversation, as she was slightly put off at the time. Not surprisingly, she had fallen asleep for real. That was what she got for barely getting four hours of sleep every night, all week. The body could not be cheated. All in all, it was a good nap and she felt all the more rejuvenated for it.
By the time they got out of the airport, a car was waiting to take them wherever they wanted to go.
“Mr. Wells, Ms. Young.”
“Hello, Jonas!” Kane greeted the chauffeur.
“Mr. Clarke, a lovely afternoon to you. It has been a while, hasn’t it?” Keisha greeted, a warm smile on her face. Jonas was one of her favorite people.
Jonas flashed her a bright grin as he received her luggage from her.
“Half a year, and you still look as beautiful as ever. It is good to see you once again, Ms. Young. And you too, Mr. Wells.”
“Of course, chip me in so I don’t feel left out. We all know the one who has your heart here is my beautiful P.A.” Kane grumbled, but loud enough that they all heard, and funnily enough, that it made them chuckle.
“Don’t be jealous, Mr. Wells. You don’t look so good, all swollen up with envy,” Keisha teased and got into the car. Kane had done the gentleman's duty of holding the door opened for her, and only joined when he saw her settled in. It was the same moment Jonas came around and took the wheels.
“How is the family, Mr. Clarke? Your wife and the twins?” Keisha genuinely wanted to know.
“They are doing very well, thank you. Emilia is now officially a certified doctor and the twins are at that stage where they chew on anything and disrupt everything…” There was a pause as he gave an exaggerated sigh. “They said it would be fun.”
Keisha’s lips curved into a big smile, for despite Jonas’s attempt to hide it, the love, pride, and joy clothed in those words echoed and hung in the air.
“Congratulations to Emilia and I’m sure the twins will come around soon.”
“Amen.”
That was all the conversation that was had between Jonas and Keisha before the engine revved to life and they began to pull out of the airport.
Keisha turned to Kane who had already become lost in studying the chart in his hands.
“You are not going to see anything new, you know?”
It took a while for him to respond, she almost thought he hadn’t heard her, but he had.
“Maybe, maybe not. I do not even know where to begin. We can only keep this from the press for a while. I am starting to believe that this is a calculated attempt from a competitor to bring us down. This much fraud, undiscovered for so long… what if the board members change their mind and start to think that we are in fact behind these? And the counterfeit goods in the market? How did this happened under our nose for so long?”
Something twisted in Keisha’s heart for Kane. Despite his less-than-applaudable state of affairs with women, one thing that would forever remain true for Kane Wells, was that he was a good man and he did not deserve the least bit of this trouble. He treated his staff well, he was a man of integrity and honor, and he hated to see people suffer.
His brows furrowed, betraying the battle of thoughts that was certainly going on in his mind. Keisha’s hands itched to reach across and smoothen them out, but that was not her place.
“That’s because they chose the best place to do it – right under our nose. Can you see under your nose, Mr. Wells?”
He looked at her, his eyes widened in incredulity. She knew he thought her ridiculous at that moment.
“Well, can you?”
“Of course not.”
“My point, exactly. Stop beating yourself up. Dwelling on how it happened will not take us forward. We need to talk about damage control. Once the press gets wind of this, they will come for us, other competitors will come for us. We might already be facing suits from dissatisfied customers who are disappointed with the counterfeit supply.”
“The question whose answer I want to know is where did all the original goods go? Where are they?”
“Probably in a warehouse, waiting for the storm to pass before whoever is in charge here starts making his bucks off them.”
“Or perhaps, already in the black market, being traded behind our backs.”
“A very unpleasing thought. What happens when the press finds out?”
“Damage control?”
“How do we do that?”
“By taking control of the situation now. First, we must stop all productions. Second, release a formal press release about the situation. If we tell our story first, they will not be able to…”
“Spin it in their favor,” Keisha completed.
“Precisely. We would tell them that the culprits are being fished out, as we speak.”
“We will also assure the audience that search teams have been sent out to recover the hijacked items, and everyone who comes with proof of having bought counterfeit goods will be granted compensation for their troubles.”
“Speaking of that, it would be best to get the sear
ch team out there as soon as possible. Question the drivers – if we can still get to them, about the point of intersection. Check surveillance cameras. Warehouses in Miami and near Miami.”
“We must also begin to follow the money. There must be a trail. It should take us to where the funds are…”
“Or at the very least, reveal the identity of the thieves.”
Kane nodded. “Tell Blackwell to prepare the staff for a meeting. I want everyone there. I want to look into everyone’s eyes as I speak to them.”
Keisha fumbled, dropped her note pad on which she had been scribbling furiously, brought out her cellphone and began to type.
“Also, there will be a board meeting after that one. There will be a lot of meetings until we figure out who the hell is behind this.”
Keisha finally got time to breathe as she hit send. Her lungs expanded and filled with air. It was such a great feeling.
“Whooo!”
Kane’s eyes melted with compassion as he turned to look at her. “I rushed you, didn’t I? I apologize.”
How many bosses apologized for “overworking” their employees? Not many… Give Mr. Kane Wells Boss of the Year.
Saying nothing of the thoughts going on in her mind, she simply smiled and said: “You pay me well for my job, Mr. Wells. It would only make sense to do it well.”
His cheeks began to spread, mirroring the smile on her face, although his was so much deadlier. So deadly it made her stomach squirm, and heart hitch.
“And that is why I have you beside me. Just look at how we were brainstorming a few minutes ago. We do work well, Keisha. Very well, and I’m glad.”
Those eyes, electric green eyes, sent a jolt through her sensors, making her nerves crackle with them. It felt like a thousand watts of shock.
****
By the time Keisha checked into her hotel room later that night, she was beyond exhausted. Dropping her bag on the bedside table, she kicked off her shoes and fell face down onto the Californian king bed.
Her legs ached from walking too much, her back from standing too long and the shoes she had worn – the worst choice for the kind of day it was – had gifted her toes with blisters. Not to mention that she was famished.
All she wanted to do was soak herself in that hot tub the suite promised and fall asleep that way. Maybe if she had a boyfriend, he would be here to carry her out of the water when it got cold and straight to bed.
Oh great, now she was fantasizing. Even if she had a boyfriend, there was no way he would just drop his life and accompany her on a business trip. Except, of course, if that boyfriend was a colleague – or her boss.
Sighing, she shook the thoughts out of her mind and made a mental run through her day, checking all the activities in her mind’s to-do list.
They had held the board meeting indeed, released a press statement, and arranged talk to the press tomorrow. They had also contacted the police and investigations were heavily underway. It seemed like they had managed to accomplish all the plans for the day. So, why did it feel like she was leaving out something?
She racked her brain harder and when the answer came, a loud groan left her lips but ended up as muffled sounds in the sheets.
She still hadn’t called home. Her parents. Jordyn. Oh well. There was no way she could put that off, not when she knew they would be dying to hear how her day went. It was just as well.
She had to get out of these clothes anyway and have dinner if she didn’t want her stomach to start acting out again. She loved her job, it was a great one, but on days like this… she just wished she didn’t have to work so hard.
Okay, quit the pity party, Keish and get off your ass.
With another groan, she pulled herself off the bed and started to strip. As she did, she started to make another to-do list. That was her thing. The list helped her function. She was hopeless without them.
Take off clothes… bathe, call room service while bathing, order food, and wine – yes, that too. Call mum and dad after dinner. Call Jordyn afterward. And finally, get some sleep.
By the time she got around to calling her parents, it was almost 11p.m and she worried that she would be interrupting their sleep, but she called anyway. She was well rested – thanks to the hot tub. And she felt more energized – thanks to the sumptuous dinner of lamb ribs and olive soup. She could handle a conversation now.
She sat at the edge of her bed, wrapped in a robe, her hair wrapped in a towel, phone in her hand, legs crossed, her feet tapping away mindlessly, as she listened to the ringer.
On the third ring, her mother’s voice blared through the speaker.
“Hello, Keisha… oh goodness, we were thinking we wouldn’t hear from you until tomorrow. It’s late already.”
A twinge of remorse squeezed inside of her, but she let it pass.
“I’m sorry, Ma. You cannot imagine the day I’ve had. Did I wake you up?”
Amanda Young sighed, and Keisha’s lips curved as she felt her mother's smile.
“Of course not. I was just watching the latest episode of This Is Us. And your father is busy with God knows what on his computer. Do you want to speak to him?”
“Sure, Ma, but in a bit. How are you doing?”
“We are doing just fine. It’s you we are worried about. How was the flight?”
“Peaceful. I managed to grab a short nap. It was helpful.”
“Ahh. That’s good. I know you must have worked yourself silly today, with this new nasty business that’s up with the company. Are there any leads yet?”
“None, Ma. But we are working on it. Looks like it’s going to be a really long case, but we will be back in Colorado soon.”
“Take all the time you need, just stay safe. I’ll have Betty dust your apartment for you every now and then, until you get back.”
“Thank you, that’d be great.”
“And how’s that hunk doing? I imagine all of this must be making him really sad.”
Keisha knew who her mother was talking about, of course. Amanda had met Kane a few times and the two of them had hit it off instantly. And sure, her mother knew about her crush. She had managed to figure it out on her own before Jordyn had let the beans spill.
“He’s troubled, that much is obvious. And very angry. Although, he’s trying his best to keep that from showing. He is holding on to a tight rope. I’m afraid he might snap soon.”
Even now, she could just see him. He had been nice to her through the day, and to most of the workers, but he had not been happy with Blackwell, not at all. Neither had he been happy with the rest of the board nor the entire accounting department. The probing was starting from there, of course. It did not help that they had seemed dumbstruck when he had demanded an explanation.
Several times, she had seen his hands curl into a fist. It had taken him two or three deep breaths to release them. She had even feared at some point, that he would just lose it and hit someone or something, but he didn’t.
The sympathy in her mother’s voice when she spoke, touched Keisha.
“You cannot blame him. This is his legacy and the legacy of his father before him. Imagine everything you have ever worked for, crumbling to pieces because of some greedy bastards. I’d be pissed, myself. I hope this gets sorted out, and Wells Holdings comes out of this in one piece.”
“Me too Ma, me too.”
“Amen. You dad is here now. I’m handling the phone over to him.”
Keisha nodded and waited until she heard her old man’s voice. The cherry tone melted her worries and her smile widened into a grin.
“How’s my gummy bear doing?”
“Oh Dad, I’m twenty-six now, that pet name is so twenty years ago.”
“Still, you’ll always be my pumpkin. You sound tired, sweetheart. What’s the matter?”
“Just a long day, Pa. As we knew it would be.”
“You work too hard and you don’t even have to, your ma and I can take care of you well enough.”
Yes, her pa
rents were very successful and she never had cause to want in her entire life, but they had also taught her to be very independent.
“Y’all didn’t know that when you made me get a job when I was twelve. You made this workaholic, so you don’t get to complain.”
“We were only teaching you responsibility, girl,” her mother cut in.
The eye roll Keisha gave was exaggerated. “So, let me be. Besides, they pay me pretty well.”
“Money that you do not necessarily need, baby. You’re our only child. Who do you think will take over all of this, when your mother and I go?”
The prospect of her parents' death was not something she liked to think of. Feeling a slight throb at the side of her temple, she rubbed mindlessly.
“Charity? I don’t know. I just like having my own, Pa. And I love this job. I really do.”
She heard her parents sigh over the phone, “Oh well, we know and we respect that. I hope this ends quickly and well, too. Thanks for calling in tonight, sweetheart. Do keep in touch.”
“I will, Pa.”
After the goodbyes were said, she ended the call and wondered whether to call Jordyn or not. The question was answered when her phone rang. One look at the caller ID showed that it was the devil calling.
“What’s up, boo?” she asked as she answered the call.
“I should be asking you that. You know what’s up. As always, your godson is finally asleep and I’m trying to catch up on my work backlog. I assumed you would be back in your suite and getting ready for bed by now?”
“Yup. I just got off the phone with Mom and Dad.”
“Oh, how are they?”
“You saw them yesterday, J.D, you know how they are.”
Her friend chuckled, causing Keisha to shake her head. Jordyn was something else entirely.
“Well, anything can happen in twenty-four hours, the world could end. How’s Miami?”
“Hot.”
“Oohh. Looks like Mr. Wells would fit right in. What’s the situation?”
“Bad. Very Bad. We are facing actual bankruptcy if we don’t manage to find a way out of this, very soon.”
Jordyn whistled. It was low and long.
Have My Baby Page 3