by Emery, Lynn
MiMi gasped. In one big swoop this woman neatly threatened her, Willa and Jazz. Her mind spun in crazy circles trying to sort through the twists. “Oh. My. God.”
“You, watch her,” Jazz said to the young man as she stood.
“Sure,” he rumbled. He didn’t move, but remained close to Nairoby with his hands clasped in front of him. “Relax, baby. Look like we gone be here a while longer. Don’t worry. My guys are keepin’ your dude company outside.”
Nairoby surprised him by merely shrugging. She sank down to the chair. “I’m not worried. Your police officer friend won’t be a party to us getting hurt.”
“Like he cares.” When Nairoby blinked rapidly at him, the man smiled widely as his gold tooth gleamed.
Jazz heaved a sigh and went to MiMi. “Get your shit together. Show panic and she’ll know she’s holding all the damn cards.”
“Are you kidding?” MiMi shouted, then took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “She already knows that, Jazz.”
“Maybe.” Jazz glanced back at Nairoby with a thoughtful frown. “Why didn’t she go to the judge over Jack’s estate and demand her property.”
“She still might, the evil witch,” MiMi spat. Then she breathed in and out. “No, she didn’t present a claim to the courts. If she’s telling the truth, then she would be a creditor of the estate. So that means she has a problem.”
“Now you’re thinking clearly.” Jazz gave a nod.
They both turned to stare at Nairoby. The longer they stood across the room without speaking, the more uneasy Nairoby seemed to become. She tried to hide it, but MiMi could smell the sweat of anxiety.
“She mentioned business partners, right?” MiMi said quietly.
“Yeah, so?” Jazz gave her a puzzled look.
“I have an idea.” MiMi marched back across the room as Jazz started to speak. “Why don’t you cause us all this trouble you’re talking about? Go on. Tell the world Jack stole your money.”
“I’m not an unkind person. I know what it’s like to be poor, and Jackson’s little girl would suffer. A reasonable settlement will quietly resolve the matter,” Nairoby said.
“Bull. You don’t strike me as reasonable at all. I want to negotiate with the full team.” MiMi sat across from Nairoby.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nairoby blurted out. “What—”
“You mentioned other business partners. Maybe they will be less willing to go public, air their problems in a court. The police could start to get a little too interested. Let’s have a nice chat in the morning.” MiMi looked at Jazz.
“We can use Willa’s conference line,” Jazz chimed in with a grin.
“Great idea since this involves Crown Protection, not to mention her children. There’s no need for threats. We’re reasonable women just like you, Ms. Villa.” MiMi felt much better as she watched the woman’s face. The warm brown color took on a grayish look.
“Hmm, let’s think it through first.” Jazz got up and pulled MiMi aside. She turned her back to Nairoby, but only lowered her voice a little. She gave MiMi a play-along-with-me wink. “Girl, don’t negotiate with these Dominican thugs. It’s too dangerous.”
“She says they’re business people,” MiMi replied in a stage whisper.
“Yeah, and I’m Michelle Obama,” Jazz retorted with a short laugh. “You know damn well what’s up. Look, give her to the FBI. They wanna follow the money. Maybe they’ll give you a deal, forget about taking your house.”
“Makes a lot of sense. I get her and the FBI off my back in one move.” MiMi nodded slowly.
“Excuse me, but I have excellent hearing,” Nairoby called out. “You don’t want to involve those FBI scum in our affairs. You’ll lose a lot more than a house.”
Jazz’s companion standing guard reached down and snatched something from her ear. He held up a small blue tooth hands free headset. “This ain’t for her cell phone. You can use it to listen in on people. We got a couple of ‘em from overseas. Latest tech shit.”
MiMi leaned close to Jazz. “Who is the ‘we’ he’s talking about?”
“Freelance security. I’ll give you details later,” Jazz whispered, and then she spun around.
“Here’s the thing, Nairoby. MiMi has less to lose because she really wasn’t involved in the game. Aside from being dumb enough to fall for Jack Crown…”
“Hey!” MiMi protested.
“Jazz continued as if MiMi hadn’t spoken. “Sure, the FBI will make her life difficult for a minute. But eventually they’ll clear her.”
“You on the other hand won’t be so lucky,” MiMi picked up. “I suspect your partners didn’t know you had a side hustle going with Jack. Maybe you want cash fast to fix your problem.”
Fear, anger and calculation took turns chasing across Nairoby’s pretty face. Calculation won. She gave MiMi a sly smile. “I must apologize, MiMi. You’re not the empty-headed decorative piece of ass Jack described. I’ve totally underestimated you.”
“I’m flattered,” MiMi shot back. “Convince me not to sick the FBI on you.”
Nairoby nodded. “You’re only partially correct in your assessment of my situation. My associates found out about the money. I had to tell them because they were about to audit the books.”
“Crooks who audit?” MiMi glanced at Jazz.
“They keep track of their transactions like any business,” Jazz replied.
MiMi blinked at her friend. Jazz knew way too much about organized criminal enterprises for her own good. She’d talk to her about that later. “I see.”
“They’re not happy with me, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want their money. They’ll contact you, dear, once they… chastise me.” Nairoby wore a tight smile.
“What?” MiMi turned to Jazz for translation, but the man spoke first.
“They’ll deal with her and still come for you. Gettin’ her picked up by the police won’t get you off the hook,” the man said. He shrugged when MiMi and Jazz both stared at him in surprise.
“They know where to find you,” Nairoby said more bluntly. “So we’re in this thing together.”
“She’s right,” MiMi said.
Nairoby stood with a cautious glance over her shoulder at the rough young man. “I suggest you find a way to raise cash. Paying me is the only way to satisfy my associates. Now I’ll be going. I hope my driver is in good health.”
“Humph, they didn’t trust her to come alone,” Jazz said quietly to MiMi. Then she nodded to the young man. “He’s fine. I just wanted to make sure we could talk without interruption. Now that I know he works for your buddies, even better we kept him outside.”
Nairoby nodded. “Ramon works for me.”
“Tell your pals you stuck to the script,” Jazz said promptly. “Keep letting them think MiMi is a, how did you put it?”
“An empty-headed decorative piece of ass,” Nairoby said with a relish at each word.
“Yeah, that,” Jazz said. “We’ll figure something out to satisfy them.”
“Only money will satisfy them,” Nairoby replied sharply. “Nothing less than the six hundred thousand dollars Jack owes me.”
MiMi swallowed hard. She glanced from Jazz to the young thug. He responded with a low whistle. “Six… Did she just say six hundred thousand?”
“Damn,” Jazz said, drawing out the word until it had four syllables.
“I’m in so much trouble.” MiMi gazed at the stylish messenger of doom.
****
Life had to go on. MiMi had a baby to take care and a job to keep. She worked at home the next day. To her surprise Kerry didn’t object. But eventually she had to go into the office. So off she went despite a throbbing headache. Elle asked her several times if she was okay. Tyler kept eyeing MiMi each time he passed her office. The fourth time he walked by MiMi stood at her desk.
“Yes, Tyler. I’m still in the office. You can take a break from stalking me,” she called out.
Tyler came back to stand in her open door. “Yo
u’re not that important.”
“Funny, Darcas thinks so. Just got an email praising my last marketing idea. Wanna see?” MiMi pointed to her lap top.
“Humph.” Tyler gave her a sour expression and strode in the direction of his office.
MiMi resisted the strong urge to throw her heavy paperweight at his back. She’d earned and a bonus for exceptional performance. Not even for the satisfaction of seeing Tyler drop like a stone. Instead she settled for muttering insults about him. Elle’s voice interrupted her revenge fantasies.
“I’m pretty sure assault is against the law.” Elle folded her lanky frame into a chair. As usual she looked comfortable and elegant at the same time. “What’s the little chump done now?”
“Spying on me as usual,” MiMi plopped down in her chair and massaged the back of her neck.
“Yeah, me and half the office noticed.” Elle’s expression turned serious. “Something is going on. I don’t know if we’re going to have a layoff or the company is being bought out or what.”
“Could be both. They go hand in hand you know,” MiMi said. She rested her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes.
“Gee thanks, Miss Sunshine. Now I’ll look as haunted as you. So you want to tell me what’s up?” Elle crossed her arms. “I’m not buying you lunch until you tell me.”
“I’m not hungry,” MiMi retorted, eyes still closed.
“Crap, but I am. Now I have to come up with another way to twist your arm.” Elle pretended to pout.
“I’ve got one. Threaten to force me on a work retreat alone with Kerry and Tyler.”
Elle gave a grunt. “Nah, I’m not that cruel. C’mon, just tell me.”
“I’m stressed about life. My sister and parents are acting… like they do. I have bills to pay. The usual.” MiMi sat up straight. She wasn’t about to pull Elle into the world of FBI investigations, Dominican underworld figures and murder.
“I know what it is,” Elle said, her tone serious. “Roderick’s death must be hitting you hard. When is the funeral?”
“Saturday, but I’m not going. I’ll just send flowers and a card to his parents.” MiMi didn’t want to see the handsome man she knew lying in a coffin.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do. Grieving can sneak up on you, even though he was a lying, narcissistic over-sexed cheater. Forgive me for speaking ill of the dead,” Elle whispered with a look toward the ceiling.
“Girl, the Lord knows you aren’t sorry.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Forgive me for not being sorry, Lord,” Elle joked. “Sure you’re okay?”
“If you ask me that one more time…” MiMi squinted at her.
“Last time, promise. So like I told you, something is up. Yesterday two grim looking guys in suits showed up. They were in Kerry’s office for almost two hours. I can’t find out who they are though…” Elle gave a grunt of irritation.
“I thought you had Chuck and Drew so whipped they’d do anything for you,” MiMi replied, referring to the building security guards.
Elle frowned. “They wouldn’t talk.”
“So ask Lana,” MiMi said, referring to the receptionist on their floor.
“She called in sick yesterday. Tyler got the call from downstairs. You know he won’t tell me.”
“Then for once you’ll have to settle for finding out the facts along with the rest of us,” MiMi said. She tapped out a reply to one of the reps at a clothing manufacturer.
“Devon, from the warehouse, happened to be here for a meeting. He swears they were cops. Why would the police be here? Nah, I think his past scrapes with the law has him paranoid.” Elle picked up a mint from a bowl on the edge of MiMi’s desk. “Let’s get barbecue. I’m starving.”
“What was that?” MiMi lost interest in the still long list of unread emails, some flagged as important.
“There’s a new deli on Fourth Street. Trina in marketing says the food is awesome,” Elle said around the candy in her mouth.
“No cops, you said the two guys that came were cops,” MiMi pressed.
“I said Devon thinks they were cops. You know he’s twitchy about the police since he got busted twice for speeding.” Elle gave a chuckle.
“Was one guy tall with red hair, the other one short and compact?”
“Yeah, he was kinda cute for a short guy. The tall one works out, I can tell. Tried to see if they were wearing wedding rings and…” Elle blinked back from her wandering train thought when Kerry stomped in.
“MiMi, we need to meet right now.” Kerry left without waiting to see if MiMi would follow.
“What the hell?” Elle whispered.
MiMi shrugged and forced a smile. “Probably has another bee up her butt about one of my projects. She’s got nothing better to do than to pick on us lowly worker bees.”
Elle wore a worried frown. “Watch your back. I got a bad feeling.”
“You and your bad feelings.”
MiMi tried to laugh, but it came out like a hoarse cough because of the tension grabbing her by the throat. Elle shoved a mint into MiMi’s pocket. With a sigh of resignation that Elle’s intuition was on target, MiMi went to Kerry’s office. Once there her heart beat even harder when she saw a tall man in a dark gray suit. Tyler stood to one side of Kerry’s desk. His thin lips twitched briefly into a smirk before it disappeared again.
“This is Glenn Stuart from our corporate office, VP of the Logistics and Operations division. He’s representing corporate executive management,” Kerry said, aiming the words like darts at MiMi. Her expression radiated hostility and satisfaction at the same time. “He also happens to be a lawyer.”
“Nice to meet you. Please, have a seat. Why don’t we have coffee?”
“Here’s a carafe on the table with cups, sugar and cream.” Tyler waved at hand at the round meeting table set in a corner of Kerry’s spacious office.
“Thanks,Tyler. That will be all,” Glenn said. He inclined his head slightly to signal dismissal.
“I, uh…” Tyler looked to Kerry for a sign.
“Follow-up on those calls we talked about. Also set up the conference room for the ad layout meeting at three today.” Kerry cleared her throat.
“Right. Of course.” Tyler grimaced as if walking out of the office hurt.
MiMi would have enjoyed his obvious disappointment at being shown the door any other time. But his departure was a more ominous signal. Taking a page from Jazz’s bold playbook, MiMi decided to make the first move.
“So, Mr. Stuart, what brings you all the way from corporate in Dallas?” MiMi looked at him without paying attention to Kerry.
Rather than answer, he went to the table and poured coffee into a cup. “Call me Glenn. What would youlike added?”
“Cream, two packets of sweetener. The pink stuff,” MiMi said with a smile. She relished the soft hiss of annoyance from Kerry.
Apparently Stuart noticed as well. “Most meetings go better with coffee, don’t you agree?”
Kerry’s face tinged pink as she gave a brittle smile. “Yes, of course. None for me thanks. I’ve been running on the stuff all morning. One more cup and I’ll be a jittery mess.”
“We wouldn’t want that for sure,” Glenn said mildly.
MiMi glanced from him to Kerry. His tone carried a hint of warning, maybe even reprimand. Kerry’s nostrils flared and she cleared her throat. The reaction seemed to confirm Kerry had made some kind of misstep. Kerry glared at MiMi as if she were to blame.
“We have a serious issue to discuss with you.”
“About my work?” MiMi raised an eyebrow at her boss.
“Not directly, I had the unpleasant experience of being visited by the police. Someone you know was murdered, and you’re involved,” Kerry snapped.
“What Kerry means is, we need to know if Fashion Sense or Zen Corporation has any exposure to negative publicity,” Glen put in. He came over, handed MiMi a cup.
“I’m not a suspect.” MiMi answered Glenn, bu
t she scowled at Kerry. She put the cup on Kerry’s desk. “So there is no danger to the company image.”
“You left out a few minor details about your trip to the Dominican Republic, like being jailed on drug charges. This company could be dragged through the mud with you if the media gets wind of it. That’s why you’re going to be placed on an indefinite leave of absence, with pay for the first two weeks.” Kerry glanced at Glenn.
“Let me repeat, I’m not a suspect, and nothing has been in the news. I was found not guilty of the charges in the Dominican Republic. My work has been outstanding. I also haven’t violated any company policy, and I have a contract,” MiMi shot back with heat.
“We can’t let employees with complicated personal lives damage Fashion Sense.” Kerry stood and crossed her arms.
“Really? Then we’ll have to shut the place down, because that describes about sixty percent of the office. Including you.” MiMi pointed at her.
“Don’t change the subject,” Kerry shouted and slapped a hand on her desk.
Stuart put his cup down with a thump. “Enough. Outbursts and trading accusations are extremely unhelpful.”
Kerry stood fuming. She seemed ready to burst from the effort of not speaking. After about ten seconds she sat down again. Stuart gave her a clear look that said, “Pull yourself together.” Then he faced MiMi.
“We have no intention of terminating you,” Glenn said. The word “yet” hung in the air unspoken. “You’ll be paid for a month. By then I’m sure you can can resolve any issues.”
“But we…” Kerry squeaked but clamped her lips together at a sharp glance from Stuart.
His affable expression had vanished. He’d turned into a bottom line executive. He let his gaze rest on MiMi for a few seconds. “You’re correct. You haven’t violated company policy or committed any kind of criminal offense against Zen or its subsidiaries. You do have a contract, which includes a clause about causing damage to Zen in any way. Legally that can be considered pretty broadly.”
“My attorney might see it differently.” MiMi tried to sound tough, but her stomach twisted.
Glenn let out a sigh. “Look, MiMi. You love your job, am I right? You’ve worked hard to make Fashion Sense a retail powerhouse.”