by Sarah Morgan
“No?” He wished she hadn’t chosen to wear that cheerful coral lipstick.
Paige’s addiction to lipstick was a source of amusement to most people. To him it was one more thing that tested his willpower. It drew attention to her mouth, which made it tough on him because that was one part of her he tried never to look at.
He’d kissed plenty of women in his time and not one of those kisses had stayed with him.
He’d never kissed Paige, and he thought about it constantly.
“It’s not important.” She dismissed his question with the smile he’d seen her use a million times with her parents and her brother.
“What happened?”
She eyed him. “It was everything you said it would be, so unless you’re longing to say ‘I told you so,’ now would be a good time to move on. You don’t need details. Let’s just say it didn’t work out.”
He watched as she curled her fingers into her palms. “What happened, Paige?”
“Nothing.”
He knew her well enough to know that “nothing” was a whole lot of “something.” “I want to hear about ‘nothing.’”
“You’ll freak out and overreact. Then you’ll tell Matt and he’ll freak out and overreact. If I wanted Matt to know I would be sitting in front of him now, not you.”
“I promise not to overreact.”
“They wanted a few too many extras. Extras that weren’t included in our list. That’s your cue to say ‘I told you so.’ Laugh and get it over with.”
He’d never felt less like laughing.
Anger stirred inside him. “They made a move on you?”
She gave him a warning look. “You promised you wouldn’t overreact.”
“I lied.” He spoke through his teeth. “And I want details.”
“They thought we were the entertainment, but we handled it. That’s all you need to know.”
His vision darkened. “Give me their names.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. What are you, Batman? Are you going to beat them up on a dark night? I told you, we handled it.”
“But what if you hadn’t been able to?” The thought of what could have happened sent rivulets of ice down his spine. “You never should have put yourself in that position.”
“What position? We were doing a job. Trying to start our business. You want me to take female-only clients? Sit at home all day in case something bad happens?” Her tone told him that she was close to the edge and he took a deep breath. He’d pushed all her hot buttons and he tried hard not to do that.
“Now you’re the one who is overreacting. I’m not trying to protect you. All I’m saying is—”
“That you want to wade in there and take over. Defend me. That’s being overprotective.”
He rubbed his fingers over his forehead. No wonder Matt always got it wrong. It was like walking on eggshells in heavy boots. “Is that so wrong?”
“Yes.” Her eyes were fierce. “Don’t do that, Jake. Don’t look at me as if you’re ready to lock the door from the outside and never let me out. You’re the one person who doesn’t do that.”
He forced himself to relax. “You called Security?”
“No need. We had Frankie.” The corner of her mouth flickered into a faint smile. “The human weapon.”
“Frankie?”
“They’d already been drinking when we arrived and we knew right from the moment we walked through the door there was going to be trouble. We probably should have left then and cut our losses but we were so desperate for business we all agreed we’d keep going and hope it worked out.”
A film of sweat chilled his brow. “Paige—” he spoke through his teeth “—fast-forward to the part where Frankie turned into a superhero.”
“Eva was doing her usual thing where she speaks without thinking. She was aiming for good customer service and asked what would make their evening special.”
Jake swore under his breath. “Someone needs to talk to her.”
“Frankie already did. Anyway, predictably one of the guys said ‘you and me, horizontal, baby.’ He stuck his hand under her skirt. The next moment Frankie had thrown him and was standing with her stiletto jabbed in his abs.” She started to laugh. “I don’t know why I’m laughing. They certainly won’t be recommending us.”
“I don’t know why you’re laughing, either.” Jake gripped the corner of his desk. “If Frankie wasn’t a black belt with a bad attitude—”
“We would have handled it a different way, and Frankie has a perfect attitude. She’s the total opposite of Eva. Eva trusts everyone. Frankie trusts no one. Eva thinks the world is full of sunshine. Frankie sees black storm clouds everywhere. But the best thing is that she’s so slight, everyone misjudges her. There are no hints that she can knock you unconscious with one kick so she always catches people off guard.”
Jake started to breathe again. “From now on you deal with companies, not individuals. Go through formal channels.”
“Companies haven’t exactly been queuing outside our door. You have no idea how many calls I’ve made.” The laughter had gone and now she looked tired and dejected, as if all the spirit had been sucked out of her. “That’s why I’m here. This is me, crawling to you for help. Savor the moment.”
He’d never savored anything less. “It isn’t a weakness to ask for help, Paige. It’s sound business practice.”
“Couch it anyway you like, but it comes down to the fact I couldn’t do it by myself.”
“That’s crap.” He stood up and walked around his desk. “I know you hate being smothered and protected—”
“Yes, I do. And you don’t usually do it. You’re a pain in the butt—” she sent him a look “—but even when you’re being a pain in the butt and goading me, part of me likes the fact you don’t hold back.”
She had no idea what he was holding back.
“The skill of building a business is to recognize what you lack and employ people who can fill that gap. And that requires frank, honest self-appraisal.”
“I can’t afford to employ anyone right now. We have no business.”
“What do you want from me? Why are you here?”
“Because Frankie threatened to kick my butt if I didn’t talk to you,” she said, “and she’s too good at that to ignore the threat. But mostly I’m here because I feel responsible. Eva and Frankie did this for me. They could have looked for jobs, but I persuaded them this was a good idea. And now we have no business and we’re making no money and I can’t sleep and—it’s horrible. I don’t know how you do it.”
Jake resisted the impulse to hug her. “You need to stop thinking about it and focus on building the business. If a door closes, open the next one.”
She nodded. “That’s the theory, but a lot of doors are closing.”
“Matt doesn’t know any of this?”
“No. I can’t deal with him right now. We’d argue about it and I’m not giving up my dream because of a bunch of oversexed lawyers.” She rubbed her fingers over her forehead. “What can I do, Jake? Tell me what to do. I need help.”
“Apart from the lawyers—” and he had his own plans for them “—who have you called? Last time I saw you in the restaurant you told me it was going well.”
“I lied. It’s not going well. I have called everyone. Everyone we ever worked with at Star Events, everyone we wanted to work with, and everyone we hadn’t even got around to thinking about working with. I have pounded the streets and apart from the lawyers, the only business we’ve got so far is to deliver one person’s dry cleaning and make a birthday cake for a ninety-year-old who is, by the way, Eva’s new best friend. Which is lovely, but doesn’t create any business. I had no idea it would be so hard.”
“It’s always tough at the beginning.” Jake gave her the advice he would have given to any other person asking for his thoughts on a start-up. “You face countless rejections. Everyone does. It’s part of the process.”
“There’s tough and there’s ‘not h
appening.’ Right now this isn’t happening and I’m spending hours a day on it.”
“You’ve got to look past the highs and lows.”
“I’m still waiting for the highs. Even a molehill would be welcome.” Her crooked smile tugged at him and he resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her.
“The highs will come.”
“What if they don’t? At what point do I give up and look for a job? I don’t have time to do both. If I stand any hope of making this work I have to give it my all, and if it were only about me I’d carry on until the bitter end, but it isn’t just me.” She bent to rub her ankle and a glint of silver caught the light as something slid forward from the neck of her shirt. “I’m worried about Frankie and Eva. I’m responsible for them, and I wasn’t prepared for how that would feel. I’m lying awake at night panicking about it.”
He stared at the necklace. It had been hidden under her shirt, invisible.
A million memories came flooding back.
She caught his eye and quickly tucked it away.
“I didn’t know you still had that.” His voice was as rough as sandpaper and she blushed awkwardly.
“You gave it to me the night before my operation. For courage. Remember?”
He remembered. He remembered plastic cups brimming with really bad coffee, tired-looking doctors in white coats, too busy saving lives to stop and talk. He remembered echoing corridors and anxious relatives. And Paige. White-faced and brave, keeping everything inside. Except for that one time when she’d lowered her guard and opened her heart.
That one time he’d crushed it.
“I assumed you’d lost it years ago.”
“No. I kept it safe. It reminds me to be strong when life is tough. And right now life is definitely tough. I’m scared for the future, not for me because I have my parents and Matt, even though I would hate to have to turn to them, but for Eva and Frankie. They put their faith in me. I can’t let them down.”
The necklace was no longer visible but it didn’t make a difference because now he knew it was there.
It felt strangely intimate, seeing something he’d given her in close contact with that creamy skin.
His throat closed. He dragged his gaze from the neck of her shirt and forced himself to concentrate on what she was saying. “You didn’t force this on them. It was their decision.”
“But they wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t driven it. This was down to me and—” She rubbed her fingers over her forehead. “You’ve run your own business for ages. How are you not stressed out every minute of the day?”
“I’m not employing people I’ve known since I was ten years old.”
“Six,” she said absently. “We were six. Eva fell over in the classroom and Frankie picked her up, which has pretty much been the pattern ever since. But it isn’t one-sided. Eva softens Frankie. She makes her laugh and relax. We’re a good team, but somehow that makes it harder, not easier.”
“I can see how working with your closest friends would add an emotional dimension, but you have to ignore that side of it. Don’t let emotion color your judgment.”
“How? How do you switch that off? How do you stop your feelings getting in the way?”
“You bury them.”
“Eva and Frankie were there for me right through the bad times. I don’t want to let them down. I’m scared of messing this up.”
And that, he knew, was the only reason she was here.
Because of her friends.
Nothing else would have brought her to his door.
“Stop thinking about it. Just do it. Take a deep breath and jump.”
“I’ll fall.”
“You’ll fly, Paige. Don’t think about your business, think about the job. Stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong, and focus on what needs to be done. Do the job. Do what you’re good at. Once you’ve done a few jobs, others will follow.”
“But how do we get those first jobs? If you have any advice I will gladly take it.” She swallowed hard. “I’m starting to think we need a miracle.”
“Word of mouth is the most powerful form of recommendation.”
She nodded. “We need a big event that will impress people, but no one is going to recommend us until they’ve hired us, and no one will hire us until someone has recommended us. And I’ve been thinking about that—” She bit her lip. “What if Chase Adams is telling people not to hire us?”
“He isn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Chase Adams has been out of town and out of contact for a few weeks. His office said he’s on vacation.” He frowned. “Which is strange, now I think about it.”
“Why is that strange?”
“I’ve known Chase for ten years. He’s never taken a vacation. At least, not the sort where you don’t answer your phone.”
“Great. So Matilda was fired, we all lost our jobs and he’s on vacation! I hope he’s having a really great time.” Anger barely masked the misery and Jake made a decision.
“When he finally reappears, I’ll handle him. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking of running a corporate event.” He hadn’t, but it would do him no harm to hold one. “Showcase some of our work. Invite current clients and a few people I’d like to have as clients but who currently haven’t seen the light.”
“It sounds like a good idea. I hope it goes well.”
“It will, because Urban Genie will be running it. Actions speak louder than words. You’ll do a great job and by the end of the evening you’ll have more work than you’ll be able to handle at your kitchen table.”
“You want us to run it?” There was a shine in her eyes. “That’s...too big a favor.”
“It’s not a favor,” he said smoothly. “When I run an event I want the best, and I know that’s Urban Genie, even if other people don’t know it yet. Talk to your team and come back to me with a detailed proposal. Stun me. I want your best, most creative ideas.” Because that was what would guarantee her more business for the future.
She stirred. “How many guests?”
“I want it exclusive.” He narrowed his eyes, thinking of how it would work best for Paige. “Senior staff only.” She needed to meet people who could make decisions and sign off on the budget. “Small and select. One hundred maximum. Any venue suggestions?”
The uncertainty left her and she was all professional. “Rooftop. Glitzy. Manhattan at its starlit, magical best. Do you have any dates in mind?”
“I want it in the next month.” It was an almost impossible challenge at such short notice. He waited for her to tell him it couldn’t be done, that an event of that nature took months of planning, but she didn’t. In fact he could have sworn there was a glimmer of a smile on her face.
“Downtown?”
“I leave that decision to you.”
“There’s the Loft & Garden at the Rockefeller Center. They have a beautiful English garden with a reflecting pool.” She was thinking aloud, her eyes unfocused.
“Don’t they have a list of preferred vendors?”
“Yes. I’ll need to talk to them. At this short notice, our options will be limited.”
“You don’t think you can do it?”
“We can do it. But we might need to be creative. And persuasive.” Energized, she whipped a tablet out of her bag and he watched, curiosity getting the better of him, as he saw her access a list.
“Which app are you using?”
“I’m not. I couldn’t find one that did what I needed so I use a spreadsheet that I customized.”
“That’s not very time efficient.”
“It works for me.”
“I’ll design you something better. Something tailored to your needs.”
She looked up and smiled. “Let me organize your event first. When that’s a success maybe I’ll be able to afford to commission you to build me an app.” She typed quickly. “I’ll make some calls. See what’s available and get back to you. I’ll send you a shortlist and
you can choose. You’ll want to make some sort of corporate presentation?”
“No. Too formal.”
“Maybe an informal version? Giant screens, with a show reel of highlights? And maybe stations with tablets and laptops where people can access some of the technology and ask questions.”
“I like that idea.”
“You’ll need a professional lighting company.”
It fascinated him to see her like this. Animated. Confident. Sexy. Unfortunately it did nothing to support his attempt to see her as Matt’s little sister. “The venue can’t switch the lights on?”
“It’s not about lighting the space. Lighting is more than making sure people don’t trip over—it’s about making your event memorable. I presume you want memorable?”
What he wanted was her, naked in a darkened room.
Screw lighting.
And he knew it would be memorable.
“You’re the expert.”
“Frankie will manage that side of things. She has often used lighting companies to enhance her floral designs.” She glanced down. “Catering? Any specific requests?”
“I’m going to leave it all to you, or rather Eva.”
“You don’t want input?”
“Unlike you, I don’t insist on doing everything myself,” he drawled. “I delegate, and this time I’m delegating to you. I don’t micromanage.” Especially not in this case. He wanted to have as little contact with Paige as possible.
For both their sakes.
“What’s your budget?”
“Tell me what I need to spend to make sure this is the party everyone is talking about for months.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yes.” It would give her scope to run an event that would stand out and guarantee her other business. “Come back to me with a venue and a date and I’ll have my staff put together a guest list.”
“I know you don’t want to give me a brief, but is there anything you hate? Apart from ties. I know you hate ties.” Her gaze lingered at the open neck of his shirt, and then lifted to his. “What else do you hate?”
“New York when the snow melts, warm beer, people who lie, being crushed on the subway with a million other people—”