Sweet Love

by Kayla, Mia

  I knew I could do this. There was no heart in this transaction. It was simply a favor to my nana, the woman who had basically raised me by herself because my parents were never home, working to build this company up.

  I’d do this job, like I’d promised Nana I would, just as I did my job at Financial State, within the allotted time period and get back to my life in New York.

  “I met a girl.” It was so random, yet it had everything to do with branding. “She hated the name Colby Chocolates, hated the packaging and how our original chocolate bar tasted.”

  “Hate is an intense word,” Kyle scoffed.

  Maybe I was exaggerating. A chuckle escaped as I thought of her face when I’d opened the candy bar and torn off a piece.

  “She actually doesn’t care too much for candy and chocolates. But she does think the branding is off.”

  Kyle rolled his eyes. “Tell me you’re not dating this girl because that would be an interesting dinner conversation topic, especially when you invite her to meet the parents.”

  I laughed without humor. “Maybe she has a point though. Colby’s is everywhere. It’s the name of every candy bar instead of embodying the candy bar itself.”

  Kyle shrugged. “Well … yeah. Dad grew this company to where it is today, and I’m sure he is pretty damn proud of his name and believes it should be plastered everywhere. On our uniforms. On trucks. On all the candy bars. A logo on the back of our other branded candies. Anyway, I don’t see him changing it up anytime soon.”

  That was the problem.

  “He has to think of what is best for this company, not feed his ego.” I moved my mouse to fire up my computer.

  I had gotten her first name but not her last. All I knew was, she had started recently, and Casey knew her. I wondered if she worked in our marketing area, and if so, that would make sense because she had an eye for things. If I had trouble locating her, I could always ask Casey.

  Kyle peered over on my screen as Charlie’s picture popped up. “She’s cute. Big bro, why are you stalking the new girl?”

  “I’m not stalking the new girl.”

  Interesting. So, she was our new computer tech person. I would have never guessed that.

  When I shut my screen, Kyle reached for my mouse and moved it, so her picture would pop up again.

  “So, what are you gonna do? Are you going to ask her why she doesn’t like our chocolate?” Kyle asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

  It hadn’t crossed my mind, but that seemed like the brightest idea my brother had ever come up with—to pick her brain a little more.

  “I think I’ll do that.” My voice was soft, reserved, as my eyes took in the woman on my screen.

  Charlotte Grayson had the brightest smile I’d ever seen on a company photo. Two dimples were set deep in her cheeks. It was the first thing you noticed about her. That, and the green in her eyes, the lightness in her wavy, blondish hair.

  “Big bro. Connor!” He waved a hand in front of my face, and then his smirk widened like he’d caught me doing something inappropriate.

  “What?”

  “What’s that look?” With a little shake of his head, he poked me. “Man … I think you might like this woman who hates our chocolate.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” I was simply here to turn this company around.

  My leave of absence at Financial State Bank had an end date and start date back to work. My job and my life were in New York. There could be no distractions. Especially not the green-eyed, blonde-haired beauty.

  Chapter 3

  Charlie

  Casey pulled back her brown hair over her shoulder. “This is where we eat. Not very fancy, but it’s okay.” She motioned around the area. “What I like about it is that the coffee room is separate from the break room.”

  Casey, being the good hostess that she was, led me to the vending machines that outlined the far end wall of the break room, specifically pointing out what each vending machine sold, which was not Colby Chocolates. I guessed that made sense, as chocolates were free.

  There were five round tables that could seat maybe six people each. Vending machines. A sink. A fridge and a microwave. A water dispenser at the far end.

  “Did you bring a lunch, or should we buy lunch? But if we buy lunch, we’ll have to go out.” She waved a hand in the air. “That’s fine with me, but that kinda cuts into our time, so in the summer, I usually just bring a lunch. Not like we can’t go out and bring our lunch. If that’s what you decide to do.” Her mouth was like a nonstop machine gun but with less noise.

  Part of me wondered if she needed a drink of water or if her throat was dry because I always needed a drink of water after speaking too fast in a short period of time. Also, I wondered who “we” was.

  “No … it’s fine. I brought my lunch and plan to bring my lunch every day.”

  I didn’t mention the fact that I was broke. Hence this job. Hence I also needed to save money within a short period of time because I had plans of my own. I wasn’t here because working as a tech girl for the largest candy and chocolate manufacturer was my dream job. It was by far not my dream job. This was simply a job to pay the bills, and I had bills to pay.

  “Okay. If you do, don’t keep your lunch at your desk. This location carries smells. One time, someone had curry at their desk, and chocolate and curry and … yeah, no.” She scrunched her nose.

  “No … I already put my food in the fridge.”

  She peered behind her at the only fridge in the room. “Oh. Did someone give you a tour of the break room this morning?” Her voice was tinged with slight disappointment.

  I linked my arm through hers. “No, Casey. I found it on accident.”

  She smiled then and patted my hand. Then, she almost skipped us to the table.

  There was an aura around Casey. A joyful one, a cheerful one, and one I needed in my life. Especially now.

  We were seated at a table when Casey jumped to a standing position and waved her hands in the air like we were at some big gymnasium-style cafeteria. “Alyssa, Alyssa, Alyssa. Over here …”

  Alyssa—a sophisticated woman with sleek, straight Pantene black hair, warm olive skin tone, wearing very high heels and a form-fitted suit—strolled toward us at a leisurely, not-in-a-rush pace.

  She dropped to the seat next to me and extended her hand. “Alyssa, as you know already. And you are Charlotte, also known as Charlie. You’re an implant from Wisconsin. Your mother just got married, and you are living in the elite town of Inverness with your new family. You have an evil stepsister, who in all aspects of the term is evil, and a doting stepfather, who is perfect. The end.”

  I blinked up at her. Is this woman psychic?

  Alyssa laughed. It was one of those worldly laughs that sounded perfected and practiced in front of the mirror. “Casey told me all about you. As you can tell, she can’t shut up.”

  Casey slapped Alyssa’s side. “You’re so rude. I can shut up, and I can keep a secret very well, especially if the secret means life or death.”

  I hadn’t even realized I’d talked about my family life to Casey. She did check on me the whole morning, and I did let little snippets of my life slip through. I hadn’t known my little snippets equaled my entire life story.

  I took my sandwich out of my paper bag. “Since you know so much about me, why don’t you tell me about yourself, Alyssa?”

  “Alyssa Brighton. Born and raised here in Illinois and currently working as CPA and head accountant for this company. Went to Columbia Business School. Graduated summa cum laude. Father is a successful lawyer with his own firm here, and my mother is the head of a nonprofit organization for blind children. I’m the youngest of four children. The only girl. You can imagine my pain.” She unpacked her own lunch from a square Louis Vuitton lunchbox. Even her lunch containers looked expensive.

  “No offense, Alyssa. What the hell are you doing at this factory?”

  She should be working at some high-powered accounting firm.r />
  I unwrapped my plain ham and cheese sandwich from the Saran Wrap. I’d made it myself this morning. It seemed a little grade school—compared to Alyssa’s steak, potatoes, and carrots and Casey’s fancy salad with radishes and almonds and kale—but this was me, and I loved my ham and cheese sandwiches.

  “Honestly, I needed to get away from my parents and my overprotective brothers. I couldn’t exactly sow my oats with the secret service of brothers following me everywhere I went. Plus, I swore I would never work for corporate. I like this company much better. A family-owned business is where I need to be.” She squirted some sanitizer on her hands before unwrapping her silverware from plastic wrap.

  Casey smiled big, her eyes squinting to the point where I couldn’t see her pupils. “She doesn’t need the money.” Her voice was whisper-soft, so only I could hear. “She works here because she loves it, and she hates rich people.”

  Well, I guessed there were some people who worked because they actually loved their job and didn’t give two craps about a paycheck. Unfortunately, I was not one of those people.

  “Nothing is a secret with Casey.” She stuck the fork in her cut-up steak. “I don’t hate rich people. I hate corporate America.”

  As I sat there, taking everything in, I realized they were opposites in every term of existence, but it was as if they’d known each other for years.

  “How do you guys know each other?” I said, mid-chew.

  “We room together,” Casey squealed.

  I almost choked on my sandwich. I coughed and then grabbed for my water, taking a long gulp down. Room together? Being as they seemed to be on opposite spectrums of the universe with their personalities and what they wore, I couldn’t exactly see them as rooming together. Nor could I see them as actually eating lunch together, but yet here we were, three mismatched peas in a pod.

  “We do,” Alyssa said without emotion.

  I didn’t know if she regretted her current living situation or just didn’t care. Looking at the diamond infinity ring on her right hand, I doubted she needed a roommate to make ends meet.

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Alyssa waved a hand in the air. “But it’s hard not to love her. Overbearing and nonstop chatting are a little bit annoying at times, but she makes it up in her caring and cleaning ways.” Alyssa’s voice was smooth, like one of those older movie stars who spoke with an air of authority, which made you believe that everything she said was true and there was no room to question her.

  Casey pushed her shoulders to her ears, grabbed Alyssa’s hands, and shook them within hers. “I love you, BFF. I wish you’d wear that necklace I gave you.”

  “Don’t make me take my words back.” She nodded toward Casey’s unfinished salad. “Eat.”

  I found out that Alyssa and Casey lived in Presidential Towers, a high-rise in the West Loop of Chicago.

  Alyssa was the head of the accounting department. She managed five people and was damn proud of doing it.

  When our lunch was finished and we were about to say our good-byes, Casey took out this little contraption from her lunchbox. “I hope you don’t mind. I have to test my blood sugar.”

  Immediately, I stood and took two healthy steps back. “I do.” Sweat beaded across my forehead and on the back of my neck. “Um … um … you can’t do that here.” I placed both palms against my chest and closed my eyes, tightly feeling the ground sway beneath my feet. “You know what? I’m going to go.” I about-faced, my eyes still closed.

  “Honey …” Alyssa gripped my shoulder. Her voice was meant to soothe me, but it did the opposite to my raging, beating heart. “You look a little green. Maybe you should sit down. Casey, baby, put that away, please.”

  I gripped Alyssa’s forearm, and she led me back to the table, where I sat down.

  “It’s put away,” Casey said.

  Slowly, I opened my eyes, my breathing and pulse still ragged.

  Casey placed one soft hand on top of mine on the table. “You have an aversion to needles or something like that? Because I get it. My roommate was like that. And my mother, she can’t be around when I have to check my blood sugar. When I was younger, my father did it—”

  “Casey …” Alyssa’s stern voice stopped the chatty box from chattering.

  I dropped my head in my hands and rubbed at the temples. After a beat, I found my voice again. Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, I said, “I have an aversion to needles—to blood mostly. Any blood. Even if it’s a paper cut, I faint at the sight.” I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, practicing my calming techniques.

  Alyssa patted my back. “Well, it’s really good we know that now. I wouldn’t want you to inadvertently faint or something like that, especially not on your first day of the job.”

  It took a few seconds to get my bearings and for my breathing to even out.

  Casey smiled. “Are you okay? Do you need some water?”

  Alyssa had ahold of one of my hands, and Casey had ahold of the other.

  I shook my head. “I’m fine.”

  And for a tiny bit, the first time since I’d moved into this new town, as these two new girls held my hands, I knew that everything was gonna be okay. At least here, at work, it would be.

  “You know what is better than water?”

  I peered up at Alyssa.

  “Alcohol.” She smiled. “Happy hour tonight, and we’re not taking no for an answer.”

  Connor

  It was funny how time went by so quickly when you were on a deadline.

  I breathed through my next few seconds, peering at the sea of little people walking to their destinations below me. At this height, looking down, it seemed like I was on top of the world, but looks could be deceiving.

  I’d been racking my brain on new concepts for the rebranding initiatives, working through lunch at my desk, trying to think of new ideas I could have my marketing team work on, but other than what Charlie had said this morning, my mind was coming up blank.

  Maybe I could outsource, hire another marketing firm. But the reputational risk was too huge. It couldn’t get out that Colby’s was struggling.

  Leaning closer, I rested my head against the floor-to-ceiling window. It didn’t matter, right?

  I never considered this my company. It was my parents’ company, not mine.

  If I’d had it my way, I’d rather they have worked at regular jobs, be home at regular hours, and then they would have had more time for us.

  I don’t care about this company.

  I don’t care.

  But the more I said it, the more I knew it wasn’t true. Then, all of it—all those long hours, all my bitterness to my family, their time away from me and Kyle while we were growing up—would have been in vain.

  This company needed to thrive. More than the livelihood of my family depended on it. Other families depended on it.

  The door opened behind me, and Kyle strolled in. I almost groaned out loud.

  “You’re still here?” I deadpanned. “You need a job.”

  He plopped down on the seat in front of me. “I have a job. I sell socks.”

  Socks. A socks company that was failing. My parents had given him enough money to start his own online company. After graduating with a business management degree, he’d decided that he wanted nothing to do with Colby’s and he wanted to start something of his own.

  From a young age, my brother had gotten everything he wanted. That was how I saw it anyway.

  By the time he had been born, money had been less tight, and business had been booming.

  Although my parents had never been around for me, they had been more present for him. Still busy but at least there. You’d think I’d hold a grudge against him, but I loved the bastard.

  “You need to look for more retail stores to sell your socks.”

  He needed to branch out from just his website. He needed business to drive traffic to his website, but I’d already told him this multiple times.

  “Yeah …�
� He kicked up his feet and placed them on my desk, his ankles crossed. “I’m going to a sock convention.”

  I shot him a look. One day, he’d grow up. Something or someone would knock him on his ass, and he’d get his shit together.

  “Hey, is Claire out there?”

  Claire was my temporary secretary.

  “I didn’t see her.”

  She was most likely hanging out with Nana, eating cookies in some corner.

  “I need her to set up another meeting with the marketing team. They need a reset.” I couldn’t outsource, so my marketing team needed to step up and revise their vision for Colby’s until we were on the right path.

  “Call Nana. She’s probably with Claire.”

  I laughed because I had thought the exact same thing, them being around the same age. There were people who loved this company so much that they would work here till their dying breath—and that wasn’t an exaggeration.

  “I’ve got to get back to work.” I turned back to my computer, ready to fire it up.“Did you need something? And your feet, off my desk.”

  He sat straighter in his seat. “Yeah, Casey, Alyssa, and that new girl are going to happy hour later. I’m heading to O’Malley’s after work. Want to join me?”

  I perked up. “Charlie’s going?”

  Kyle’s smile widened. “So, the new girl’s name is Charlie?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  He pushed out of the chair and stood, smirking. “I’ll see you at O’Malley’s.”

  I stared blankly at the screen. “I didn’t say I was going.”

  “You didn’t have to. I know you are. It is written all over your face.”

  My eyes met his as he walked to the door.

  “Charlie, huh?”

  I shook my head. “Shut up.”

  “See you at five thirty.”

  And the door shut behind him.

  Desperation settled deep in my gut. I didn’t have time to mess around.