Mr. West (MISTER Book 2)

by Xyla Turner

  “Really, baby,” I confirmed as tears hit my eyes at that reaction. “Really.”

  Her little body came rushing towards me as she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my face.

  “This is amazing, mommy,” she exclaimed.

  I am sure those tears began to leak out. This was priceless and worth signing with the likes of Mr. West. It was more than a generous contract and deal. It was too generous, to be honest, but it was legit, and I would be able to fulfill one of my dreams and take care of my first responsibility.

  My official schedule did not start until the next week, so that meant I had a few days to go shopping and get myself some work clothes. They dressed business casual and wore jeans on Fridays. Everyone seemed to be pretty cool and some of them already knew my name. All because of this man, which according to him, was a forgone conclusion, that I’d be joining his team.

  Excited was not the word that came to mind, when I thought of the opportunity that he presented to me. Utterly ecstatic! I could have hugged him, but that would have been highly inappropriate. This was everything. Truly, I had no words to explain how much this was a dream come true. Absolutely unreal, but I wanted to keep dreaming.

  Ella wanted us to go to BBQs to celebrate again on Saturday, which was fine by me. They had good Hennessey wings. We also went to the mall and I bought yet again, more clothes for me, and some for Ella. I was splurging a bit, but only because I put aside the Disney money for this summer and the beginning of my down payment for the home I wanted to purchase.

  Innovate, Period was located in mid-town Manhattan and my commute was about thirty minutes. When it was time to start on Monday, I came in there looking like a new woman. Straightened hair, crisp suit, heels, a designer bag and expensive perfume. I was ready and excited.

  The first meeting I had was with Mr. West. We discussed norms, expectations and he even complimented me on how I looked.

  “That’s a good look, Dakota,” he nodded. “It establishes you as a businesswoman.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, as entrepreneurs, we don’t have nine-to-fives. As you mentor, I don’t operate during those times. A lot of times, some of my best ideas are random and come outside of those hours. I know you have Ella and I do not want to disrupt your routines, but I will need some flexibility from you.”

  It made sense, but I wasn’t sure what type of access he would need.

  “Ella has a pretty set schedule, but I can try to make myself available when necessary,” I said. “I’ll definitely be doing work outside of those hours.”

  He nodded, then proceeded to the next topic. After an hour and a half, he finished describing the roles and responsibilities. Then I was off to have more meetings and then finally grab a lunch. I did not know it would be with him until I saw Mr. West come into the meeting that I was having with the marketing team.

  “When you’re done, come to my office, Dakota,” he said.

  “Okay,” I nodded.

  When I arrived, he said, “We’re heading to lunch over in uptown. Grab what you need.”

  It wasn’t a question, just a command that he expected me to obey. Without any protest, I went to my space, grabbed my bag and then met him back at his office, where he waved me to follow.

  I think I expected him to have us in a car, being escorted. Instead, he had us hopping on the uptown train, where we sat, discussing my day. He asked me probing questions about the various meetings and then challenged me. Eventually, our conversation drifted to someone saying that I looked familiar and we discussed how random people remembered us from the show. We both seemed to think it was good that the show didn’t really take off. Oddly enough, because we didn’t want to be seen in the light it portrayed.

  “Just because someone is meeting with you from these teams, do not assume that they are the expert on your product, always do your research. It’s not indicative of them; they’re people that we’ve consulted, so they are skilled, however, what they are not skilled in, is your product. Understand?” He nodded. “Don’t lose your vision to someone else’s goals and vision. This is your baby. All yours. Well, outside of Innovate’s investment.”

  “Um… How is that different than you telling me I should expand my product? Isn’t that your own vision?” I tossed back to him.

  He chuckled and answered, “Not really in this case. What it is for you, is an alternative opinion, that is backed in research and speaks to the larger picture that sometimes we in our zealousness can limit our growth and potential. As your mentor, I may not always be right, but where I’m coming from is that I’ve seen so many obstacles that actually hinders the most brilliant minds. My only goal for you is to have a business that is sustainable and will provide you the freedom that you are looking for.”

  “So, you were supposed to be telling me a story,” I asked.

  “Ahhh, yes,” he said. “I went to high school and realized quickly the rat race was not for me. The very idea of being handcuffed to a desk for eight hours made my skin crawl. Being chained to a desk or somebody telling me what to do, did not sound like my cup of tea. Most people just thought it was my youth and rebellion talking. However, the stupid idea of just sitting in a classroom had me itching. I was diagnosed with ADHD. I’m not saying I don’t have problems with keeping attention, but I found it interesting that when I did get my focus on something, I could always see it through. This always baffled my teachers.

  I went to college and after one semester on campus, where I was busy finding ways to make products to make college students’ lives easier, rather than focusing on my own studies, I was on academic probation. I decided it was time to leave. Why waste another dime staying someplace I had no interest in being? So, I dropped out, got me an LLC, and began to continue my business of selling products to college students…”

  I cut him off and leaned in, before asking, “Were you selling drugs?”

  Mr. West lifted an eyebrow, then burst out laughing. “No. Nothing like that. I was selling typing services, papers, car rides to get back home and shit like that. It was similar to a liaison or broker. I connected people with others who provided the actual services. Just like Innovate, Period and Innovate, Period+. One is an investment company and the other arm is a production company of sorts. One helps to manage the other. I invest my money, but also help the entrepreneur manage the money. Most don’t know how, which is why you have weekly meetings around budgeting and understanding it. This all started in college.”

  “Oh,” I nodded and sat back in my seat.

  “Would you have thought less of me if I had sold drugs?” he asked with those piercing eyes.

  Raising my hands up in the air, “I’m not one to judge. Hell, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

  I looked back to the menu, as a subject change needed to happen. That was the problem with asking questions. Then others felt the need to get personal as well. I did not plan to tell the man any stories about me. Well, I really didn’t have any. My mom died when I was eleven, left me with my dad, who remarried a year later. Sissy, half-ass, raised me, but didn’t care for me, while my dad drank himself into a stupor. That was until he was in a drunk driving accident, killing himself.

  That accident left Sissy to finish the job, when I was seventeen. I helped out with bills, enrolled in school, so she could keep her housing, and cooked for the woman. That was the only reason she kept me around, because she didn’t have to do much of anything. I had no other choice, but to get odd jobs, pay her rent, and stay out of her hair. She made it clear, I could move out at any time. So, when I got pregnant, I knew damn well, she was kicking me out.

  I shook my head at the memory and Mr. West must have picked up on it.

  “What was that?” he pointed to me. “That thought or memory you had.”

  Looking up at him, I quickly pondered if I should be upfront or just lie.

  “Thought about my step-mom kicking me out when she found out I was pregnant,” I answered and turned back to m
y menu.

  “The salmon is great here,” he interjected, which caused me to relax. He was letting me off the hook to tell the stupid ass story. This, I appreciated.

  “Great,” I closed the menu.

  “Well, give me what you’ve gathered so far regarding the setup. Any changes?” Mr. West asked. “What questions do you have?”

  We spent the next hour talking through some of my concerns and then he dropped some jewels. Like insider shit, which made me glad as fuck, that I chose him as a mentor. I wanted the best and Mr. Jonah West was the best.

  7

  Jonah West

  The next month of having constant and frequent access to Dakota, was doing things to me. Every day we had a meeting of some sort, though the idea was for us to meet weekly. Either she was coming to check in with me about something, or I was looking for her to share an idea. It was mostly me, because her project was really one that I thought could be a game-changer.

  The day I knew something was wrong was when I was on my way home after staying at the office late. Without thinking, I called her, and she answered.

  “Shit, sorry. I didn’t realize the time,” I said as I saw it was after eight in the evening.

  “No, it’s fine. Ella’s bedtime is at eight, so I’m free. I’m actually looking at that idea you were telling me about today.”

  “No shit. I was calling about it. There’s a site, that I wanted you to lookup. It seems that Sweden has a similar product, but it’s not for sale yet.”

  “Oh no, really?” She sounded disappointed.

  “That’s fine. In this political climate, it’s good for things to be American-owned. I couldn’t get the information, like I wanted, but…”

  “Uh, can you hold on, someone is calling me?” she asked.

  “Yeah, go and answer. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I told her and hung up.

  Why the fuck is someone calling her at almost nine at night. She does have a daughter, so I hadn’t even thought of what that might mean for Ella’s father. We never talked about personal anything, but I guess I just thought she was single and available. Why it mattered, I was not sure. She was my employee and I had no fucking business calling her after eight in the evening.

  The next week, I pulled back and if we didn’t have our assigned meetings, then I did not pursue her. I would send emails, but I also limited my time in the office. The week after, when I came to work that Monday, for our scheduled meeting, she came right out with her question.

  “Did I do something wrong?” she asked with those focused eyes on me.

  It wasn’t until her words hit the air that I realized what a fucking asshole I had been and was being. She hadn’t done shit for me to be distant.

  My head nodded, then I told her the truth. “I noticed that I was taking up a lot of your time and it’s not fair to the others that I mentor, so I was creating some distance. Now, if you’ll pull up our agenda, you’ll see that you had something due today.”

  I thought I could effectively switch gears as I refocused my attention to the business at hand. She wasn’t buying it.

  “So, then why does it feel like I did something wrong? Like you’re punishing me or something?” she asked, refusing to open her laptop or follow my lead.

  Closing my laptop, and forcing a breath through my nose, I asked, “Well, did you do something?”

  This caused her to snap her neck back, then she narrowed her eyes on me, and said, “No, but I would think that my mentor would be man enough to tell me if I did, instead of creating “distance’.”

  She put that last word in air quotes with her fingers next to her head.

  “Dakota, I don’t have time for this shit,” I informed her. “I got money to make and if it’s not with you, then it’s with someone else. All this shit, you’re talking about, has nothing to do with Skin for Her. Therefore, if we’re not focusing on that, then it’s not a priority. Should I reschedule this meeting?”

  At that, she stood up, nodded and declared, “Oh yeah. Let me know when you’re in a better mood and can create “space” for me, and not be an asshole.”

  She was at my door when she finished, but I called after her and projected, “I am an asshole, thank you for closing my fucking door.”

  Real smooth West.

  Fucking smooth.

  The goal was not to get her to hate me again, but damn, it needed to be something opposite of the way I was feeling. She was getting too close and it was causing discomfort.

  I left my office and had Zoom calls for the rest of my meetings. Being in the office with the heaviness of seeing her and that look of disdain on her face, was not how I wanted to spend my time.

  The next day, on my way in, I saw her outside with a man. They looked to be in deep conversations, but there was something off about the two of them. He seemed to be trying to plead with her, but she had a passive response. Then he leaned in and she started to laugh.

  Wow, I wasn’t sure that I had the privilege of seeing her laugh so openly like that. Making a decision, I walked across the street and waved, “Good morning.”

  She nearly jumped back as I came from behind her.

  “Mr. West,” she exclaimed. “Good morning.”

  “Everything alright?” I asked and looked at the guy who was a few inches shorter than me, but just as bulky.

  He didn’t greet me, and I didn’t expect him to, by the way he was looking at me. It was one of recognition. The man knew who I was, but I had no idea who he was.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” the man nodded towards Dakota.

  He walked off and once he crossed the busy New York street, I looked down to see Dakota’s curious eyes on me.

  “Is that why you had to get off the phone with me? Boyfriend?” I quipped as if I was a gotdamn teenager.

  What the fuck was wrong with me?

  As I thought it, she asked me. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Dakota raised an eyebrow and turned up her upper lip. “This cannot be you.”

  Without saying another word, she crossed the street. She went into the office building, leaving me there to ponder on why I was resorting to being a fucking teenager in high school. Then I had the flashback of me trying to get Bethany Verna to go to the prom with me. However, she didn’t want to go with me because Buck had already asked her. So, I spread a nasty rumor that the guy, Buck Hannity, had the clap. Therefore, Buck went to the prom with no one and Bethany went with me. Now, would I do things differently almost thirty years later?

  Absolutely fucking not.

  I played to win.

  Always.

  So, I marched up to my office, looked up Dakota’s schedule, because it was my fucking company. Then as calm as I could, I found her in a meeting with the marketing team.

  Walking inside, I pinned my eyes on her and barked, “Clear the room.”

  I was not a tyrant, but on the rare occasion, if something crawled up my ass, then folks knew to get and stay out of my way.

  They all started scrambling like flies, but Dakota took her time, because she was not scared of me. This was the same woman who shared on national television for me to fuck myself.

  Since the woman took her time, she was the last one to leave with her same face twisted up, as if she was disappointed. She had no idea.

  “Not you, Bowers,” I barked, nabbing her by the elbow and closing the door behind me. “You want to know who I am?” Wrapping my arm around her center, I lifted her on the table near the door and placed my body in between her legs. As I moved into her space, I placed one hand on her hip and one gripping her jaw.

  “Who I am is a man that takes what he wants. I will move fucking heaven and earth to make shit happen. To not take any shit from anyone. I do not dance to other people’s music. I make my own. Nothing owns me. No one owns me. So, forgive me, if I can’t get this fucking woman out of my head. She’s trying to control me with her hazel eyes, snarky attitude, and looking up to me like I hung the moon. How can I resist her? This beautiful cre
ature who got under my skin five years ago and refuses to release me from her talons.”

  I bit her bottom lip, then the top with my teeth, before giving her a short kiss as my lips engulfed hers.

  “That is who I am.” I bit her bottom lip again. “A man that can’t possess that which is in his grasp.”

  Taking her face in, I saw that she was flushed, shocked and those dilated pupils, revealed that she was aroused. Letting her go, I stepped back, nodded and left the room.

  What the fuck was wrong with me? This was a Human Resources violation. Shit, this was a lawsuit. It was a poor decision. Plain and simple. However, it was real, and I meant every gotdamn word.

  A piece of me felt better. Now she knew why I was saying stupid shit. Passive-aggressive was not my modus operandi, so now that I finally said it out loud to myself and her, maybe we could deal with it.

  I was wrong.

  Dakota and I had a meeting later that day, in which she did not mention one word about what happened and continued on as if there was nothing to discuss. Like that episode in the conference room was a figment of my imagination.

  She was smart though and unlike me, made a wise decision and not engaged her primary investor or mentor in anything that would lead to us down the road of no return. So, we went back to being mentor and mentee. I kept my communication outside of the office to email and texts. Still, we met often, shared ideas and I continued to help guide her in this process of having her own company. She was smart, had good business sense and was very innovative. There was a grittiness about the woman that always made me appreciate working with her. It was that out-of-the-box thinking that was necessary to be successful.

  8

  Dakota Bowers