Acquired Asset

by ZN Willett

  “If he has he’s playing it cool.”

  Very cool, I thought.

  “Well, it looks like you’re up, here they come.”

  Four of the Board members walked over, along with Christopher and the Board Chair, Porter Braxton. Porter Braxton was a silver fox, literally. He smoothed his silver mustache before running his hand through his silver hair. He had on a dark European silver suit that hugged his slim physique. Porter was the ring leader and in the Colbys back pocket.

  “Quinn, the numbers are impressive.” Porter’s eyes creased, deepening his wrinkles.

  “Think of it as a Christmas bonus from the Cordells.”

  Porter turned to Christopher. “I’m surprised you weren’t a part of this.”

  I answered for him. “I was the one who brokered the Tokyo deal. The patent on the new software was included. As you know gentlemen, we own fifty percent of the software due as the result of that deal. The bidding has already begun. By the time the markets open on Monday the profits will be rolling in.”

  Daniel, one of the members who sat on our board chimed in. “This is very impressive indeed, yet I know what you are capable of, Quinn. You only recently received this territory, and if the figures add up, the dividends paid out to the stockholders will be the largest seen in years. Will you expand this to Europe?”

  “Of course Quinn will. It will be good for the company in whole. Why not allow everyone this amenity?” Porter added.

  “Oh, I plan to, but I would like to test it first. I have many ideas and we will have to roll out a new marketing campaign. After all the kinks are worked out I plan to expand it to Europe.” In a year or three. “Excuse me, gentleman.”

  I let them stew in their new-found acknowledgment of how capable I was as a business woman. I made a beeline to the bar for a celebratory drink when an arm linked with mine. “How long had you been planning this little windfall?” Christopher asked.

  “I just found out this week that the Triton Group was looking to buy the software. It came through early this morning while you were watching your TV show.”

  “You said nothing to me?” He snapped.

  “Why would I?”

  “I was up with you.”

  “True, though you eventually went to bed. I worked.”

  He bent over into my ear. “I worked something out, but it wasn’t that.”

  “Don’t worry; I’ll throw you a bone when I’m done.”

  I laughed and walked away.

  The party was stuffy, and everything I expected it to be. It was entertaining listening to everyone talk about themselves. I would slip in world news about the needy or downtrodden. No one was interested. I did receive an occasional glare thrown toward my direction from Mrs. Colby. Who I must say, was a stunning woman. I was not sure why Thomas would stray from that, even with her foul mouth.

  She looked stunning in the strapless emerald floor-length dress. The green crystal gown looked hand sewn. Thomas was an incredibly handsome man, but there was no competition in the looks department. All eyes were on Millicent Colby and rightfully so. The woman who graced our presence was far from the woman I met this morning. She was graceful and charming, yet that wicked gleam in her green eyes was a constant reminder that her soul was nothing of the sort.

  Christopher and I barely said a word all evening, though our eyes were in constant communication. Every time I looked up he was focused on me. Several times, I called him out on it mouthing to him, “Stalker.” That only enticed him to ogle more; and he was really good at it. The way that man’s eyes perused down my body . . . well . . . he was really, really good at it.

  When a pair of hands covered my eyes, I was tempted to cup Christopher’s junk. I was glad I hadn’t when I heard, “Quinny!” I turned around to the boyishly handsome husband of my best friend.

  “I thought you were skipping this one?” I asked.

  “I was planning on it, but my flight was canceled. I thought I’d have a child free evening!”

  “You mean wife free?”

  He laughed and gave me a hug. “That too. So, should we hit the bar first or the dance floor?”

  I loved Justin Harper, and he was always the life of the party. We started at the bar with a shot of tequila each. “Do you think the cost is a good estimate?” I asked, as the liquid burned down my throat.

  Justin was the person to whom I turned for construction advice. I would always use his company; however he preferred to handle smaller local jobs. The price of installing the wiring for the new software seemed high, and I called him in to go over the estimates. I may have known about this before last night, but Christopher didn’t have to know. “Everything seems feasible. They may go over a few hundred, however negotiate a cap and you will be fine.”

  “I can handle a few hundred thousand, thanks again.” I smiled.

  “Anything for you, Q. Now, let’s hit the dance floor.”

  Justin glided me gracefully along to the waltz. Well, his version of the waltz. The big guy had a lot more swag. There were moments of twerking and a lot of giggles as people snubbed our version of the dance. The orchestra played until the vocalists arrived, bringing us into the twenty-first century.

  “Lissa would have loved this. Say cheese.” He took a selfie of us dancing and texted it to her.

  When the orchestra played one of my favorite slow songs, I grabbed hold of his muscular arms and started to sway. Even in three inch heels, I wasn’t near tall enough to look over Justin’s gigantic shoulders, although I did notice the dark green eyes that were fixed in our direction. Christopher had a scowl on his face as he drank the dark liquid from his glass. We stared into the other’s eyes for a moment too long.

  “Is that McAsshole?” Justin asked.

  “What? And you watch way too much TV.”

  “Come on. Lissa told me about Christopher Colby. Oh, and don’t knock Grey’s Anatomy!”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, so she opened her big mouth, huh?

  “You knew she would. When I told her I was staying overnight here, she wanted me to take notes. “

  “What do you have so far?”

  “Only that you keep eyeing the guy.”

  “I’m not—”

  “Come on Q, it’s me. From what I have witnessed so far, the man is all over you.”

  “He wants to be.” I admitted.

  “So does Guy. When I told him I would have to reschedule our meeting on Monday, and I would see you, he seemed surprised you were here.”

  “We had a date scheduled.” I felt guilty ditching him last minute.

  “So you dumped his ass for McAss?”

  “Guy and I are only friends. I should have let you finish my office.”

  “Tell that to Lissa—‘sorry dear, I can’t be at the birth of our daughter, I have to finish Quinn’s office’—I would have never been able to have kids again!”

  We both laughed.

  “Guy doesn’t seem to take no for an answer.”

  “I can’t blame the man. Quinn, you have two guys obviously interested in you.”

  “Yay for me!” Stating that as sarcastic as possible.

  He laughed. “Come on, you need another drink.”

  As we waited for the bartender, I heard in my right ear. “How does it feel to have someone else’s hands on what will eventually be mine?”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “You keep thinking that, Colby.”

  “Dance with me?” he asked.

  “I think the lady’s dance card is full tonight,” Justin challenged.

  Christopher glared at him. “I think it’s up to the lady to decide.”

  Justin stepped in front of him. “No, I think it’s up to me to decide.” He growled then snapped his teeth.

  “Down boys.” Justin and I both laughed. Christopher didn’t find that funny. “Christopher, meet Justin Harper.”

  Justin held out his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I thought I would have to sucker punch you after hearing
my girl’s rant and rave over you. But, when Lissa told me you were a thirty-two-year-old man and friends with Quinn, I was relieved.”

  “Justin, you would have gone after a kid?” I asked.

  “When it comes to my girls I would have to choke the little brat.”

  “I really feel for them having you as a dad.”

  Christopher shook his hand. “Am I missing something?”

  “Justin is Becca, Missy, and Anna’s dad. The girls who were at my house when you decided to stop over unannounced, remember?”

  Understanding crossed over his face. “It’s nice to meet you, and your girls are cuties.”

  “They are little hellions. Don’t let them fool you, they’re like their mother.”

  “Christopher hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting Lissa.” I added.

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Christopher smirked.

  “Hey, do you like basketball?” Justin asked.

  I turned and gave Justin one of my, ‘what are you doing,’ looks. He winked and looked over my shoulder.

  “Love it. Why?”

  “We have season tickets for the Lakers. Why don’t you come with us one night, when the season starts, and you can meet Lissa.”

  “Justin . . .” I warned.

  “Q, she is dying to meet McAss—umm, Mr. Colby.”

  Christopher slid a hiked up brow my way. “Is she?”

  “Don’t be flattered, jerkwad. Lissa wants to meet the spawn of Satan.”

  Justin choked out a laugh. “Look man, I’ll get your information from Q and we can set up a day.” He shifted toward me. “I’m going to find the restrooms, keep my drink cold. Christopher.” He nodded.

  Christopher turned toward me pleased. “You’ve been talking about me to your friends?”

  “I talk about my work.”

  He took a step closer. “You talk about how much you want me.”

  I rolled my eyes and angled my back to him. I could feel the heat of his body pressed up close to me. My heart sped up and goosebumps formed as his fingers traced my bare shoulders down to my arms. The warmth of his breath saturated my neck as a haze fell over me.

  “You look beautiful,” he whispered softly. “And very sexy in red.” The party faded away, and all I could focus on was his breath tickling over my ear as he spoke. “Your skin is soft and you smell delicious.”

  I turned around to face my nemesis, and all I thought about was how his fingers felt inside me.

  “Christopher.” An older, dark-haired woman came up to him and kissed him on the cheek. If I didn’t know him better, I would swear he blushed. She leaned toward me and said, “You must be Quinn.”

  That caught my attention. I smiled at the kind looking woman. We were both shocked when she kissed me on both of my cheeks.

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” she added.

  “Quinn, this is Constance, the woman who raised me. Constance, this is Quinn Cordell.”

  She clasped my hands with hers. “You are beautiful, dear.”

  “Thank you.” I smiled as I looked over toward Christopher, who was looking everywhere but at me. “It is nice meeting you as well. I bet you have all kinds of blackmail stories I could use about Christopher.”

  “Oh dear, I have stories for days. I also have pictures.”

  “I must see them!”

  “Okay, I think it’s time for me to dance with Constance.”

  “Quinn, excuse us while I school Christopher on how to do a proper bump.”

  I watched as they shook and shimmied together. If I didn’t know better, I would say Constance was more of a mother to him than his biological one.

  “Are you having a good time, Ms. Cordell?”

  Speaking of the devil. “Yes. This is very impressive.”

  “Ah huh. I hear you were able to acquire software that allows rooms to come to life?”

  “It has been in the works for a while Mrs. Colby. But yes, I was able to assure we would have royalties from the software. The prototype should be finished by the end of this week.”

  “I plan to come and see it for myself.”

  “I would love to show it to you. In fact, why don’t you stay in the test room? I can have Mia send you the forms to fill out before your arrival.”

  “No need. Vanessa dear,” she called out.

  Christopher’s assistant came running over. “Yes, Millicent?”

  “Can you contact Mia and arrange for me to test out the new sensory room when it’s ready.”

  I responded. “There is a form that needs—”

  “I know that!”

  I looked at Vanessa; a bit put off, but quickly got my wits back. At the same time, Christopher and Constance walked over. “How would you know about the form Vanessa is beyond me; since only I and a handful of others know about it? I don’t know what Mr. Colby allows from his employees, however you are not allowed to speak to me in that tone again. You may be surprised with how influential I am at recruiting new assistants.”

  “I work for Mr. Colby!” She stated.

  I took a step closer for her to really hear me. “That may be, but let’s see for how long.”

  She snarled at me and looked to Christopher for assistance. When he stood next to me and bitch browed her, I did an inner high-five.

  “Vanessa, whatever was said to Ms. Cordell, you need to apologize or you will find yourself thrown out on your ass.”

  “Christopher, the girl wasn’t that bad.” Millicent commented in her defense.

  Hell she wasn’t!

  “Mother! Vanessa, I can’t hear you.”

  She gave Christopher wide, pathetic eyes, and looked toward me. “I apologize, Ms. Cordell. I will make sure I have everything ready for Mrs. Colby.” With that, she turned and stomped off like a petulant child.

  “The girl was only trying to help.”

  “Mrs. Colby, with all due respect, she knew exactly what she was doing.”

  She scowled at me for a moment and excused herself.

  “It seems there was more excitement here versus on the dance floor. Are you okay, dear?” Constance asked.

  “I’m fine. Thank you.”

  “I have warned Christopher about that girl. She should have been discharged a long time ago. I’m glad there’s someone who doesn’t put up with her sassy mouth.”

  “If you would excuse us, I would like to dance with Quinn,” Christopher interrupted. Most likely to change the subject.

  “You two go and enjoy yourselves.”

  “May I have this dance?” he asked, bowing down and extending his hand.

  I stared at his hand and Constance nudged me to take it. Christopher guided us onto the dance floor as the music changed to a love song.

  Of course it would.

  If I didn’t know better, I would say it was all planned, although he wasn’t that good, was he?

  I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me in with his hands around my back. We swayed to the music for a while until he looked down at me and said, “I was surprised you didn’t gloat about the software.”

  “Why would you be surprised? You had the same contract I did. It was stated in it.”

  “It was, but I didn’t realize the company had actually perfected it.”

  “Next time maybe you should do your homework a little better. I brokered that deal only because of the software. When I heard about the possibilities, I thought it might pay out someday.”

  “You were willing to invest money into a sinking chain on a whim?”

  “It’s those hunches that have gotten us where we are today. In fact, it was a hunch that I knew you were scouting us for a takeover. Now look at us.”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “You are a cunning businesswoman, Ms. Cordell.”

  “Thank you.” I beamed.

  “You’re also a very beautiful one.”

  We gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, and he placed his head on top of mine.

  “Constance seems like a lovely
person. Even after raising you.” I smiled and looked up at him.

  “I can’t lie, I was a handful. Reagan was the good child. She’s making up for that now, though.”

  “I read.”

  “She’ll outgrow it. She’s rebelling against my mother for her past sins.” I looked at him quizzically, but he wasn’t going to elaborate. “That’s why I’m trying to get her more interested in the business. She has a good eye for looking at the small but important details that may otherwise be overlooked. She may be a great help with the installation of the new rooms.”

  “She can put up drywall?”

  “Quinn, she can assist with the esthetics part of it.”

  “Are you trying to pawn your sister onto me, Colby? She could assist you.”

  “She could, however she will learn far more from you than me.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “My mother has taught her how to be a shrewd businesswoman. I think she needs to learn that it’s not always about climbing over others’ backs to get what she wants.”

  I pulled back, shocked. “If anyone heard you they might think that you’re human.” He pinched his lips tightly. “Aw, you know you’re an ass. Have her call me. So, what’s the story with Constance? Mama Colby was too busy?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Oh no, you don’t. Look at her.” We both looked over as Constance watched us like a proud mother. Justin was standing next to her eating. He waved. I smiled and waved back. When he winked and gave me a thumbs up, I shook my head and laughed.

  Christopher may not have realized it, but he was a different man around Constance than his mother.

  “My mother was a business woman first. She had us I think, because she was expected to. I love my mother; however children were more of an accessory for her. The best thing she did was to bring Constance in to help out.”

  “You can tell that she feels the same way.”

  “She may not be my biological mother; nevertheless I owe a lot to her.”

  There was a gleam in his eye, one that I had never seen before. We finished our dance and walked back over to Constance and Justin.

  “Christopher, Quinn, I’m going to head out. It was nice meeting you man, and I’ll make sure to get your information from Q.”