Kimberly wanted to interrogate her more, but the doorbell rang again. More guests had arrived.
“We’re not done talking about this,” Kimberly said. “You are giving me details.”
“I am giving you this,” Twila said as she shimmied her middle finger in front of her wine glass.
Hahna’s jaw dropped as Twila laughed out loud. Kimberly shook her head and went to see who’d gotten to her house. Thank goodness it was her sane friend, Samantha.
Kimberly set her wine glass down and went to hug Samantha. “I’m so glad you came, girl.”
“I know you’re over here cooking up a storm. My aunt has retired from cooking,” Samantha said.
“DeAndre, this is our sorority sister Samantha. DeAndre is Twila’s boyfriend.”
Samantha smiled. “Nice to meet you DeAndre.”
“Likewise,” he said, as he slammed an ace of hearts on the table.
“Girl, come on in the kitchen with the women. They are over here killing the card table.”
Twila poured herself a second glass of wine as Kimberly and Samantha walked into the kitchen. Samantha waved and smiled. She seemed in better spirits than previous times they’d gotten together.
“Hey Samantha,” Hahna said as she hugged their sorority sister.
“Hey girl,” Twila said.
Kimberly was kind of glad Twila hadn’t hugged Samantha too. That would’ve been overkill.
“Twila, does your new boyfriend have a brother?”
Twila laughed. “No girl. Only a sister. But I didn’t know you were looking. I know quite a few guys who you might be interested in.”
Kimberly tried to give Hahna a sneaky look, but Twila laughed, so she knew it wasn’t sneaky enough.
“I’m not actively looking, but if someone who looked like that fell out of the sky and at my feet. I wouldn’t be opposed to an exploration.”
This seemed to tickle Twila more than anyone. She threw her head back and hollered.
“You sound like me, talking about an exploration,” Twila said.
“I’m sure you’re doing more exploration than I am,” Samantha replied.
“Call me Dora. ’Cause I wanna go on a trip with my backpack every day.”
They all deteriorated into laughter then. Even though Kimberly was still leery, this was the version of Twila that she loved. The one who could make everyone laugh, from Evangelist Samantha to Debbie.
“So, check this out,” Hahna said. “I have been meaning to tell y’all about this. I offered to buy Debbie her plane ticket for Jamaica, because she had been complaining about the cost.”
“Oh, good. Thank you for thinking of that, ’cause she would wait until the last minute and have someone paying three thousand for her ticket,” Kimberly said.
“Well, she already had her ticket, and she showed me the receipt for her dress.”
“Really,” Samantha said. “I just knew she would be the last one, and I could get some grace.”
Hahna laughed. “Well, she met a guy. An NBA player, and I don’t know what she did, but he’s fallen hard.”
“I know what she did,” Twila said.
“Teach me!” Samantha said.
Twila sipped her wine and laughed. “Jesus might not approve.”
“Oh,” Samantha said. “Give me some of that wine then and let me ponder my options. I might need to change up.”
No one questioned Samantha asking for a glass of wine. The sorority sisters wouldn’t make her feel like a hypocrite for having a glass. They all knew she was kidding about changing up anything regarding her chastity. A taste of wine was one thing, giving up the goodies was quite another.
“When are we eating?” Samantha asked. “Is everything ready.”
“Yep. We’re just waiting on one more person, and we can start,” Kimberly said.
“Before he gets here,” Hahna said. “I think I should warn Samantha.”
“Warn me?”
“Well, I wanted to invite a single guy for you to chat with, so I invited one of the frats that I thought you might like.”
“Oh, how sweet of you. No one ever thinks to do that,” Samantha said.
“You’re cool with it?” Hahna asked.
“Sure. Even if I don’t like him, we can still have good conversation.”
Hahna exhaled. “Oh, good. I thought you might be mad at me.”
“Not at all. Does he look anything like DeAndre?”
“Ummm . . . well . . . he’s chocolate. Yep, he’s chocolate.”
Twila burst into laughter. “Girl, who the hell did you invite?”
“Brandon Tyson . . .”
Samantha joined Twila laughing. “Well, this should be interesting. He’s been trying to get at me for years.”
“You betta let him catch you,” Kimberly said. “He’s a good brother.”
“How he gonna catch me? His big self would be outta breath trying to chase me.”
The doorbell rang at the wrong time, because they couldn’t stop laughing. Ron let Brandon in and at the sound of his voice, all four sisters were in tears. Kimberly waved her hands in the air.
“We have to stop. We can’t be laughing like this. He gone think we’re laughing at him.”
“We are though,” Twila said.
Kimberly marched out of the kitchen and called everyone to the dining room table. She had place settings at the table for ten, and a tiny table in the kitchen for the girls.
Everyone except Kimberly, Twila, and Hahna took their seats. The three best friends brought the final trays of food to the table, and then joined the rest of guests.
“Before we start this Thanksgiving feast,” Ron said. “I just want to thank my baby, Kimmie Kim, for working for two days straight in the kitchen. She is the thing I’m most grateful for. I have everything I need under one roof. My woman, my children, and gravy. God is in the blessing business.”
Kimberly gave Ron a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, baby. I’m grateful for you too. And I’m grateful for my sorors being here. Not just today, but for our wedding. I don’t know what I would do without y’all.”
“Your life would be incredibly boring without us,” Twila said. “And my life would be off the rails without y’all. I am thankful for y’all keeping me together. All day, all day.”
Kimberly laughed. Only Twila would throw a Kanye West lyric at the end of her Thanksgiving testimony.
“I am thankful for new opportunities,” Hahna said. “Sam has a book and movie deal, so I might be A-list in a couple years. I’ll make sure you all have my new number.”
Everyone laughed. Sam kissed Hahna’s temple and she patted his hand. He was always so modest about everything. The only area where Sam was over the top was loving on Hahna, and no one was going to argue with that.
“She’s talking about my opportunities, but Hahna has a meeting with a big private equity group,” Sam said. “I’m thankful there are extra saved people at the table who can pray for the success of that meeting.”
“Mission accepted,” Samantha said. “Glad to hear it. I am thankful for good friends, for understanding, and for grace. Even the extra saved folks need it, and I’m glad my sorority sisters have enough of it to go around.”
“I’m thankful that my dad is happy,” Sean said. “and that I get to spend a holiday with my little sisters.”
Kimberly blew her future son a kiss, and Ron gave him a fist bump across the table.
“I am thankful that Hahna, after running eighteen background checks, felt comfortable enough to rent me office space,” DeAndre said to a round of laughs from everyone. “If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met Twila. She’s the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time.”
Twila gave a little sassy nod and drank a sip of wine. Hahna and Kimberly didn’t even try to hide their “secret” look. They were just happy for their friend.
“I am thankful for all this wonderful food that has attacked my senses with aromas like my mama’s house,” Brando
n said. “So, can we stop talking and start eating?”
“Man of God, bless the food,” Kimberly said.
As they all bowed their heads and listened to Brandon’s spirited prayer, Kimberly felt full. There was still lots of excitement to come for them over the next few months, but it felt like her sisters were close to okay. With Hahna’s business losses and Twila’s trauma, it hadn’t felt that way in a while.
Next on Kimberly’s agenda, was landing Hahna some new clients. She wasn’t going to let Torian think he saved The Data Whisperers. If it was up to Kimberly, Sam’s party idea was going to save the day. Kimberly had her sister’s back and her future brother-in-law’s too.
Chapter 46
HAHNA
We had gone over the proposal for YS&S multiple times. Corden had prepped me and grilled me with a ton of questions about our due diligence strategy. We’d done our homework and discovered the company YS&S wanted to acquire. It was an athletic apparel manufacturer that had lost two major retailers in six months. Several others were looking to jump ship. Without a sufficient overhaul in strategy, it wouldn’t be a good acquisition.
“Remember not to give them too much,” Corden said.
“I’m not going to give them too much.”
“So, we know the acquisition isn’t necessarily a good idea for them. Just lead them to the water.”
I shook my head but didn’t get upset, because I knew Corden was as invested in us getting this client as I was.
“You know they’re going to ask about what we’ve put into place regarding data security,” Corden said.
“That’ll probably be the first question if they’ve done their homework.”
“Right. You’re good on the response?”
“Yep, I am. Calm down Corden. We got this. And if we don’t land this engagement, it’ll be good practice. We’re going to be good again.”
Torian walked into the office wearing an impeccable blue suit, and a little bit too much cologne for my tastes. I typically didn’t wear any fragrances in a business meeting, but maybe that was a rule women adhered to and not men.
“You certainly love your Tom Ford cologne, huh?” Corden asked.
I closed my eyes and chuckled. Corden just couldn’t help getting a dig in when he didn’t like someone.
“You like that?” Torian asked. “It is one of my favorites.”
“Let’s hope everyone at YS&S feels the same way,” Corden said. “Boss, I’m going to make sure the catering is on the way. We are at minus one hundred twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, Corden.”
Corden left me and Torian alone in the conference room. It didn’t bother me like it had bothered me before, because I had talked to Sam about it and had his blessing.
“How’s your little party planning going?” Torian asked. “Got many RSVPs yet from Atlanta’s elite?”
“I feel like you’re saying this as a joke, but I’ll respond anyway. We’re getting lots of RSVPs. Atlanta loves a party.”
“Let’s hope you don’t spend all that money in vain. It’s not like you can afford it.”
“Are you an ally or an enemy?”
“I can’t believe you’re asking me that. How could I ever be your enemy?”
He asked that question with such tenderness and compassion that if I didn’t know him, I might’ve thought that he was sincere.
“You have done things to me that weren’t exactly friendly. But I don’t want to rehash any of those things right now. I’m trying to keep my mind right for this meeting.”
“Oh, okay,” Torian said with a chuckle. “Do I need to send my PowerPoint deck to your manservant?”
“Corden is not a servant. He is my right hand. If we land a few more engagements, I might move him up to partner. Sylvia is my admin if you have admin-level tasks you need to accomplish.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” I parroted back.
I understood that maybe Torian had regrets about our breakup, but I didn’t. He’d left me, and I was better off without him, especially since Sam had come into my life.
“Hahna, I don’t want things to be tense between us. I brought this potential engagement to you with the best of intentions, and to make both of our businesses money.”
“I appreciate you for thinking of us. I don’t think things need to be any way between us. Not tense, not friendly. We don’t need to have a rapport. We can recommend each other’s businesses without that.”
“Wow. Are you serious?”
“I am serious that I don’t want your friendship.”
Torian gave a wicked chuckle. “I get it. Your man told you to come in here and lay down the law. Let the ex know that there won’t be any shenanigans. You were always loyal like that.”
“What would you know about loyalty? Anyway, my man has zero concerns about you or this meeting. I told him about it, and he shrugged and asked me where we were going for dinner.”
“Okay, whatever. You’re right. We don’t need a rapport. Let’s just get through this and get our money.”
“Perfect.”
Corden returned with the caterers who in a flurry set up the continental breakfast items, juice and coffee station. If this was an actual client and not potential client, the buffet would be more robust, but if they hadn’t spent any money, they got muffins and juice.
“All right boss. Are you ready?” Corden asked.
“Yep. You ready?”
“Sure am.”
Torian watched our interaction, shook his head and laughed. We ignored him.
Sylvia poked her head into the room, “The client just buzzed in at the gate.”
“Thank you, Sylvia. Corden, you want to go and escort them in?”
“Yep. I’m on it.”
While we were waiting for Corden to bring back the YS&S delegation, I tried to get in my zone. I was used to this. I’d spoken to some of the top managing partners in some of the top corporations and firms in Atlanta. I was well known, and I was respected. I had nothing to prove, except that I had a viable security strategy—and I did.
When Corden opened the door, Torian and I stood to our feet. Immediately, I knew that something was wrong. From the look on Corden’s face, he knew it too. The YS&S team was too young and unfortunately, too black.
There were three of them. One black guy who couldn’t have been more than twenty-five, one black girl, who was about the same age, and one white woman who was under forty.
Torian and I shook hands with them as they sat at the table. I watched with interest as they shuffled papers and folders amongst themselves before giving me and Torian each a folder. Mine had a bent corner and a coffee ring on the front.
“Thank you for taking the time to come out to The Data Whisperers office today,” I said. “I’m Hahna Osborne, owner and this is Corden Johnson my senior data analyst. Torian tells me that you have some data analytics needs that we may have solutions for.”
The young man spoke first. “Thank you for the invite. I’m Ryan, and my colleagues are Dawn and LaKeisha. Torian and I hoop together and when he told me the amazing stuff you’ve been doing over here; I knew we had to get in on the ground floor.”
I stretched my face a bit to keep from scrunching my nose in confusion. No last names or titles given. That was telling. What amazing stuff? What ground floor?
“So, what kinds of analytics products are you looking for?” Corden asked.
It was a level setting question. What did they know about data analytics at all? Because neither one of us wanted to waste our breath and energy if they didn’t even understand the analytics space.
I gave Corden an approving nod. I would’ve asked the same kind of question next.
“Well, we know that we want to make data driven decisions,” Dawn said. “We want to be able to say to our clients, this is what we say we do, and here are the numbers that show we do what we say we do.”
My eyes widened a little. I couldn’t help it. It was a tossed word salad wit
h none of the toppings I liked.
“We need dashboards,” LaKeisha said. “Everyone is using dashboards to get their points across these days, and we need to have that same kind of cutting-edge technology. It’s the dashboards for me.”
I looked at Torian and flipped open the folder in front of me. There was an introduction sheet for the YS&S team. I pulled it out while more buzzword bingo happened.
I felt my nostrils flare as I read their titles. LaKeisha was a junior associate. Dawn was an associate. Ryan, the one who’d made this meeting happen, was a paid intern.
Torian had me clear my calendar, do research, and put on new pantyhose for a paid intern. This wasn’t just a waste of time. It was an insult from YS&S.
I stood to my feet. “Thanks for coming out to meet with us. You can ask Corden any additional questions. Feel free to enjoy the buffet.”
“Y-you’re leaving?” Dawn said. “Torian, you assured us we could get facetime with the owner of the company.”
“I was here. You’ve got your facetime.”
“But I have questions for you specifically about how a data breach can destroy a company,” Dawn said. “I am writing a dissertation you see. I’ve been trying to get a meeting with you for months.”
I gave them all a tight nod. “Corden can answer any questions you might have.”
“Well, can I get a quote from you?” Dawn asked again. “I’m sorry, no one knows Corden Johnson.”
“I don’t give quotes. Have a good day.”
I rushed out of the conference room, so that I could make it to my office before the tears fell. I barely made it. I locked the door, and put do not disturb on my phone, and had a good cry.
I knew Torian hadn’t done this on purpose. He was way too arrogant to sit in a meeting with junior staffers. He also thought that decision makers were coming to the table. Those three probably weren’t even authorized to speak on behalf of the company. Meanwhile, Corden and I had prepared a kick-ass proposal for YS&S and they probably weren’t ever going to hear it.
So, it was time to look harder at the party and list of RSVPs. I’d lied to Torian about that. There wasn’t as much interest as I’d hoped. Part of me wanted to throw in the towel and become Sam’s full-time cheerleader and hype girl. I would be good at that, and I didn’t have to worry about my reputation or a data breach.
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