At Your Service

by A. C. Arthur

  She didn’t argue. Instead she handed it to him and turned around, lifting her hair from her neck. Major stepped closer to her, reaching around so that he could fit the necklace at her neck and clasp it. His fingers lingered at her nape, gliding along the soft skin as he inhaled the fresh floral scent she always carried. He stepped back, prepared to leave the table.

  “Do you have a business card?” she asked and thanked the man when he handed her one.

  “What are you thinking?” Major asked when they stepped away.

  “How do you know I’m thinking something?”

  “You get all crinkly right here when you’ve got an idea or something on your mind.” He pressed a finger to the center of her forehead and she immediately relaxed until the crinkle was gone.

  She smiled. “I do not.”

  He laughed. “Liar.”

  It wasn’t until two hours later, when they were in the backseat of the car, that she decided to tell him what she was thinking. Even though she wore a seatbelt, she turned sideways, lifting one leg to rest on the seat.

  “What would be really great to see is a complete line of African-inspired accessories from an African American fashion house. Let’s uplift and display our heritage. RGF did a collection a few years back where they worked with a Nigerian designer. Maybe it’s time for a new collection, find some new, talented African designers, and this time stretch it beyond the clothes to include accessories. This could be the kickoff to the accessory division and you could probably create an entire show based around these collections.”

  Major didn’t miss the excitement in her voice as she talked. He could see where she was going with this.

  “It has appeal,” he said. “A lot of appeal.”

  “Right! Unique pieces like this one could be included,” she said, reaching up to feel the necklace he’d bought her. “Maybe something inspired by your mother’s grace and beauty and your father’s strength and leadership.”

  “And your tenacity,” he said before unhooking his seatbelt and sliding across the seat until he was touching her. One hand went to her leg that was on the seat while the other reached around to cup her face. “Your beauty and your independence. Your intelligence and compassion.”

  “No,” she said softly, blinking quickly. “This would be about your family, the Golds, and everything they’ve built. It would be a direct reflection of all that your family has come to mean in the fashion industry.”

  “A reflection of love, loyalty, family—all things that are important to you.”

  She was shaking her head again and he didn’t want to hear her denial because he knew better now. He could see it so clearly. Everything she really wanted in this world and all she would deny herself so that her family could have it instead. Before she could speak, Major leaned in to touch his lips to hers. The kiss was soft, slow, lingering, and before long she was moaning and leaning in to him.

  “It’s my turn to thank you,” he said when he was finally able to pull his mouth from hers.

  She looked as dazed and off balance as he felt at this moment. “Thank me for what?”

  “For coming into my life and opening a door I thought I’d bolted shut.”

  She was about to say something else but the car came to a stop. Minutes later they were climbing out and walking through the lobby to the elevators that would take them to his penthouse.

  They walked in silence and, for the second time tonight, he wondered what she was thinking. Had what he just said been too much? Were they never going to talk about how this arrangement had changed both their lives?

  It wasn’t until after they’d prepared dinner together, eaten and then moved to the couch in his living room, that he broached the subject again.

  “We have a little over two weeks before the public breakup is scheduled.” He’d thought about this during the meal and wanted to see how she was feeling about it first. Then he’d drift into the muddy waters of feelings.

  She tucked her legs under her and draped an arm over the back of the couch, tilting her head as she looked at him. “I was thinking about that earlier today. We could always say I caught you cheating. I saw a picture of you with another woman in a tabloid and decided this is not the life for me.”

  “Wow, that’s all it would take? A picture and you’d walk out on me?”

  He’d exaggerated his reaction on purpose but the insinuation that he’d cheat on her prickled.

  She shrugged. “I mean, it plays right into your title, so at the end of the engagement you’d just go back to being the Fashion House Playboy again. We both walk away unscathed.”

  That wasn’t likely. He was already feeling the effects of being with her and doubted that would get better when she was no longer in this city with him.

  “What if it’s just a picture? And you’re overreacting?”

  “But what if it’s not? What if settling down with one woman isn’t going to work for you?” She seemed so adamant about this, a little more than he liked. “I mean... Look, you’ve been scorned before, so I wouldn’t blame you. We’ve already gone over my trust issues, so if anybody understands, you know I do.”

  But he didn’t want her to understand and, for the life of him, Major didn’t know how to best get that point across to her without possibly scaring both of them to death with some mushy declaration of love.

  Was he in love with her?

  “Look, it’s been a really long day. Can we talk about this tomorrow?” She uncurled her legs and stood. The nightshirt she wore was like a football jersey but it was hot-pink with double zeroes on the front and “Sexy” written on the back.

  “Yeah, sure. We’ve got time.”

  She nodded. “Right, seventeen days.”

  So she was counting, too. Major stood and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. She hesitated but eventually gave in to the hug. He didn’t know how long they stood there like that, his face buried in her neck, hers buried in his, their arms holding on tight because the time to let go was getting close.

  Too close and he had to do something about it.

  After she’d gone to bed, he went into his office to think about how he could keep Nina in his life. Because suddenly the thought of her not being there was more important than anything else, including his new business.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “COME IN!” MAJOR called and straightened his tie seconds before the door to his office at RGF opened.

  “Hey, what’s up man?” Maurice said as he walked in.

  Major frowned.

  “What’d I do? I just got here.”

  “I was expecting someone else,” Major said, shaking his head.

  The huge grin that immediately spread across Maurice’s face was annoying.

  “Oh. Let me guess. Nina?” he asked because Maurice obviously couldn’t resist being in a position to pick on the older twin for a change.

  “Yes, Nina. I sent her a text asking her to come down, so she should be on her way. What do you want?”

  “Just checking on you. Is everything ready for the big launch? I’m ready to start passing out Brand Integrated cards.”

  “Not quite,” he said. “And before you start, it has nothing to do with Dad. In fact, I’m going to talk to him tonight. I should have done this a long time ago, but better late than never.”

  Major had been thinking along those lines all night long. By the time he’d gone to bed, Nina had been asleep, and he’d eased into the bed so he wouldn’t disturb her. But she’d awakened anyway and had rolled over to where he’d been waiting with open arms. They slept cuddled together all night. Or rather, she’d slept and he’d rested his chin on top of her head, going over the plan he’d made and praying it would work.

  “Good. And, yeah, you should have done it a long time ago. Anyway, I also wanted to give you a heads-up that Mom wants to talk to you.�
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  “About what?” Major asked, not looking at his brother but reading the latest email Ruben, his lawyer, had sent him. They’d been going back and forth all day.

  “Don’t know. She wasn’t specific when she questioned me about why you weren’t answering your phone and sent me to find you.”

  Major had asked Landra to hold his calls today and he hadn’t paid much attention to his cell if he glanced at the screen and it wasn’t Nina or Ruben. “I’ve been working on something important and time sensitive,” he replied.

  “Okay, well you can tell Mom that when she finally catches up with you. But I’ll get out of your hair right now and let you handle whatever it is that’s got you so focused.”

  He looked up to see that Maurice was standing but wasn’t walking out of the office. Instead his brother was looking at him closely, as if he could see through the words Major wasn’t offering. It was moments like these that he hated being a twin.

  Major sat back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his chin.

  “I did something I swore I’d never do.”

  Maurice crossed his arms over his chest. “And that is?”

  “I want her to stay so I needed to figure out a way to make that happen,” he told him.

  There was no clear reaction from Maurice, which was usually the case. Only those who knew him very well could tell what he was thinking or feeling; that’s how good he was at keeping his poker face. To let Maurice tell it, that’s the way it had to be in the world they lived in. After his college years, Major agreed with the characterization to an extent.

  “So is she staying?” Maurice asked after a few seconds of silence.

  “Not sure yet,” Major admitted with a shake of his head. He swiped his hands down his pant legs because he was worried about the answer to that question. “Gonna tell her when she gets here.”

  “What if she doesn’t want to stay? Or if she doesn’t want to stay to be with you? How’re you gonna handle that?”

  “Like we handle everything else—we move on to the next thing,” he said, praying that wouldn’t be the outcome.

  “I got a feeling she isn’t like anything else you’ve ever dealt with before.”

  “How do you know?”

  Maurice shook his head then turned to start for the door. “I know you better than you know yourself, bro. And that probably goes the same for you with me. I knew you’d fallen for her that first day in Desta’s office.”

  And that’s exactly when it had happened—that day she’d bumped into him. That had been the start of it all.

  “If you were her, would you stay here and continue to build your business?” he asked when Maurice was at the door. “If it was a great business opportunity and helped you achieve all your goals, but you’d be leaving your hometown and your family...would you stay?”

  “If it were just about business, yeah, I’d stay.”

  That was cryptic even for Maurice and Major was left staring at the empty doorway because his twin was gone before Major could ask him to explain.

  She still wasn’t here yet and he’d texted her fifteen minutes ago. Major stood and paced his office second-guessing himself and hating that feeling. He never second-guessed, always knew the right thing to do for himself. But now there was someone else. And what if she didn’t want to stay?

  There wasn’t time to explore the issue for the billionth time because his cell phone rang. He leaned over to grab the phone and saw that it was Ruben.

  “Yeah?”

  “Okay, I’m working on these new contracts and there are a few places that have to remain blank until you get me more information,” Ruben said.

  “Fine. Can you just email them over to me now? I need them like ten minutes ago.” His tone was testy, and he didn’t want to admit it was because he was so nervous.

  “Are you sure this is what you want to do? I mean, it seems sort of sudden and Brand Integrated has been your project for a while.”

  Major pinched the bridge of his nose and let his head fall back. He’d thought about this all last night and had decided it was the best solution.

  Next to her family, Nina’s business was everything to her. So, if he could make it that she had access to the best technology and equipment while continuing to build on the platform she’d created, she’d definitely think twice before turning down the opportunity. She was too good a businessperson to not at least give it sincere consideration. For Major, the decision was about making it easier for them to be together as a real couple. And because he didn’t know if she’d readily accept that, this business plan was his best option.

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” he said to Ruben. “Bringing Nina into Brand Integrated takes care of the problem of our businesses overlapping each other. She can just oversee the accessory hub division, combining that with her app, and we’ll still be able to offer fashion houses the same benefits. In fact, bringing At Your Service under the Brand Integrated umbrella will benefit her, too, because she’ll get immediate recognition instead of having to build her name.”

  “What are you doing?”

  Major spun around at the sound of her voice. She was standing in the doorway, looking every bit as good as she had when she’d walked out of his penthouse an hour before him this morning.

  “Hey,” he said to her and then, “Ruben, I’ll call you back. Send the papers over now.”

  He disconnected the call, slipping the phone into his pocket just as Nina stepped all the way into the office.

  “If the papers you’re referring to involve At Your Service coming under the Brand Integrated umbrella, you won’t need them because I’m not selling my company to you,” she said, her voice even, cool and very angry.

  * * *

  “Just hear me out,” Major started after he circled around her to close the door to his office.

  But Nina was already shaking her head. “I know what I heard, Major. And I’m telling you now it’s not going to happen.”

  “It can be a great thing,” he said.

  She whirled around and he was right there just inches away from her.

  “For who? And how long have you been thinking about this?” Her heart was thumping in her chest, her fingers clenching and releasing at her sides.

  “Not long—but just let me explain. There’s so much more I want to say.” He ran a hand across the back of his neck and sighed heavily. “This isn’t how I wanted to start off. Let’s take a seat.”

  “No,” she said, yanking her arm away when he reached for her hand. “I don’t want to sit.”

  She’d rather be standing when he tried to stab her in her back. Just as her mother had done to her husband and children. The comparison came quick, slicing through her with white-hot pain.

  “How could you even suggest something like this?” Because, dammit, she’d started trusting him. She’d started to feel things for him even when she knew she shouldn’t. But she wasn’t going to fall apart in front of him. She wasn’t going to let the ridiculous fantasy she’d begun to weave in her head make her look like a fool in front of him. Not the way her father had cried over her mother’s leaving.

  Instead she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin before asking, “What gave you the impression that I’d ever want to come under the umbrella of your business to gain recognition?”

  “Nina, that’s not what I said. You only heard part of the conversation. What I’m proposing is much bigger. It means so much more than just you gaining recognition for your little app.”

  “My ‘little app’?” She backed away because on top of the pain freely flowing now, fury bubbled in her stomach and her entire body began to shake. “Is that how you see my company? Haven’t you seen the bump in sales RGF has gotten since we linked my ‘little app’ to your website?”

  Sales in three of their key casual clothing lines had jumped forty-three percent since
the partnership began. RJ had even sent her an email this morning requesting they get together to discuss how they could make the arrangement permanent. She’d spent the bulk of the afternoon preparing a report on drafting terms for a formal permanent agreement. On top of that, RJ had asked her to be prepared to share her thoughts about the trade show with him. She’d outlined her complete idea for the African-inspired accessory line for RGF and how they could link its launch to At Your Service.

  But Major wanted to take her company and make it part of his. He wanted to take every ounce of trust and genuine rapport they’d built in these past weeks and treat it as if it were nothing, as if they were nothing.

  “I didn’t mean to say it that way. I know your app is doing well. That’s part of the reason I thought of this. Could you just calm down for a second and let me explain everything?” He’d dropped his arms to his sides, giving up on trying to touch her.

  That was a good thing because she wasn’t sure how well that was going to go if he tried again.

  “How dare you?” she began, trying like hell to keep her anger under control. She needed to move or she was certain she would explode. She’d trusted him. Dammit, she’d promised herself to never trust anyone, not on this level. People broke your heart, always.

  “Was this your plan all along? Was the whole trial period and fake engagement all a part of some diabolical takeover of the company I’ve worked so hard to build because it was similar to your own?” The words stung her throat, hurt and some other emotion swirling to form a sour mix deep in her chest.

  “Nina,” he said, his tone stronger than he’d ever used on her before. So strong it stopped her in her tracks where she now stood close to the window. “I’m in love with you.”

  Her hands began to shake. A sign of weakness. She was breaking, just like her mother’s departure had broken her father. Jacoby’s drinking and smoking had increased in the months after Lynn left. Twelve-year-old Nina recalled the extra packs of cigarettes she saw in his bedroom trash can and the bottles of vodka that appeared throughout the house.