Chapter 3
“I’ll have to make sure she has no contact with anyone on the studio side.
If she does, she’ll find a way to snake me out of any future deals.
” I went over my game plan as I parked the car in front of Rose’s building and immediately noticed something was off.
The sign above the door had been removed. “Damnit! Am I too late?”
I hadn’t heard anything about her doors closing.
Maybe she was just having the sign replaced.
If she had gone out of business, maybe I could convince her to give me her contact details for her staff.
Hell, that would be even better than having to partner up with her.
Just as I took out my phone to call her, hoping her number was still active, I saw someone walk inside the tinted double doors.
Maybe they were just remodeling. It was too bad she had all the windows darkened. I couldn’t see what was going on inside. After another deep breath and a curse about my donuts, I grabbed my purse and stepped out of the car.
When I walked inside, I found a tall woman standing next to the front desk. Her arms were so toned that I almost asked her what her upper body routine was. At first, I thought she might have been a part of the security team—until she turned to me and greeted me with a bright smile.
“Hi! Welcome to RVC Securities. I’m Jasmine. How can I help you?”
I wasn’t surprised to find a new secretary greeting me. It was typical. From what I remembered the last time I helped Rose, she had a high turnover rate. Apparently, she was as great a boss as she was a friend.
“Yes, thank you. My name is Jericha Brown. I was hoping to sneak in a meeting with Rose Connors. Is it possible for her to make time in her schedule for an old friend?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Her expression changed from hopeful to slightly aggravated. “Rose doesn’t work here anymore.”
“She doesn’t?” I frowned; she said it as if Rose was just another employee, not the owner.
“No, she sold the company about three months ago. We’re under new management.”
“Ah, I see, but you’re still in the security business?” I asked. It wasn’t unlike a buyer to come in and change the entire business structure.
“Yes, we are.” She smiled. “We still offer private and professional security services.”
“Perfect. I’m here to talk about a potential deal.” If I failed to keep the relief from my face, Jasmine didn’t let me know about it. “Would it be possible to have a meeting with your new owners?”
Jasmine’s expression warmed again as the smile spread across her face. “I’ll check. Please have a seat and I’ll call him.”
I took a seat in one of the gray chairs just beyond the entrance while Jasmine made her call. She spoke too low for me to hear, so I had to wait for her to come to me to confirm any potential meeting.
“Ms. Brown? I spoke to Mr. Statton. He said he will be here shortly and has agreed to meet with you before he starts his day.” She smiled. “Can I get you anything while you wait? Coffee? Tea?”
“No, I’m fine, thank you. I’m glad to hear he can take the time to meet with me. Thank you for calling him.” I nodded, keeping my thoughts about him starting the day so late to myself. It was me who needed the favor, so I had to keep it cute.
Where I was sitting, I could see my car parked just outside.
I watched a bird flying above it and prayed it didn’t use it as target practice.
The relief when the bird flew away was a short-lived experience.
Because just then, the little black convertible with the big, Black asshole owner pulled up right next to mine.
He sat in his car, chomping on my donut!
When he was done, he tossed the wrapper onto the ground, got out of the car, checked his reflection in my car window, and headed for the entrance. That was when my stomach sank.
There is no damn way this is the same guy!
He waltzed in like he owned the place and greeted the woman at the front desk. It was without a doubt a nightmare in the making.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered to myself. “Please don’t let that be him.”
“Mr. Statton. Good afternoon!” Jasmine spoke to him cheerfully.
“Fuck.” I sighed.
Might as well pack up my shit and get the hell on!
I was so caught up in my thoughts; I missed when Jasmine directed him to me. He turned, looked at me, and started laughing. “Oh, this is just perfect.”
“I’ll see myself out.” I stood, prepared to eat my foot…literally.
“No, no. You’re here to talk business, am I right?” he asked as Jasmine looked between us, confused. “I won’t let a simple accident impede a potential deal. Let's talk.” He opened the door to his office and waved me in.
I swallowed my pride and reminded myself why I was there.
Huge contract, girl. Major. Big money. Years of success and industry connections. Suck it up and get it done!
It took an extra bit of effort to continue my path as I passed him and smelled the sweet scent of strawberry glaze on his lips. Salt, meet wound!
The wound burned a lot less after I stepped into the office and saw the stack of papers on the edge of the small coffee table by the window.
They were all in Rose’s name, and most had those alarming red stamps across them.
“Past Due!” If ever there was a perfect confidence booster, that was it.
He might have purchased the business, but it looked like it was still struggling.
“How can I help you?” He paused. “I’m sorry. Because of my surprise at seeing one another again, I don’t believe we were formally introduced. I’m Raymond Statton, the new owner of this wonderful establishment.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Statton.” I gave him a firm handshake and took pleasure in the shock on his face. It happened every time. Men never expected it. And yeah, I laid it on a little thick for them, really leaned into the grip.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Brown. That is your name, right?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “Jericha Brown. I own JLB securities.”
“Oh, yes. Now I know where I remembered the name from. I came across your business during my research before acquiring this company.” He pointed to the chair, offering me a seat before he sat down. “So, what brings you here today?”
“Rose was an old friend of mine, and I had come to offer her a short-term partnership,” I explained. “I realize she is no longer a part of the company, but I would still like to potentially discuss that deal with you if you’re open to it and have the capacity.”
“Sounds interesting. What are you thinking?”
“We have a large contract approaching, and I need additional manpower,” I explained. “I’d need some of your men to join my team for a temporary sub-contract.”
“And you chose this company for that?” he laughed.
“You find that funny?”
“Not to speak bad about your friend, but she was horrible at this business.” He leaned back in his chair and pointed to the stack of papers I’d noticed when I first arrived. “Looking at current numbers and her historical reports, I’m not even sure why she ever opened it.”
Because she was a backstabbing ho!
“I’m sorry to hear that. Forgive me, but it had been a while since we spoke. I didn’t know things had gotten so bad.” I stood. “Maybe I need to look elsewhere.”
“I didn’t say that. I’m running the show now. However stressful it may be, this still needs to be a successful endeavor. I had hoped to offload this place quickly—it's what I usually do—but I need to take more time to build it up before it even looks remotely enticing to a buyer.”
“If it's so bad, why did you buy it?” I waited for his answer with a raised brow.
“I like a challenge. Unfortunately for me, your old friend is a tremendously good liar.” He sucked his teeth. “She lied about how bad things really were. Did some fantastic masking of the financials too. If I could find her, I would sue her.”
“She’s missing?” I frowned. I had been out of the loop for a while, but it seemed unlikely I wouldn’t have heard about her going missing.
“Deposited the check, transferred it offshore, and no one’s heard from her since.” He tapped the desk with his finger. “I have a private detective working on it now.”
“Wow.” I shook my head. “Never thought it would get that bad for her. Surprised she didn’t just ask her father for help.”
“She would have, I’m sure, but her father is the one who pushed for the sale.” He reached under his desk and pulled out a bottle of water. After taking a long sip, he looked at me. “So, what’s the proposal?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard about the new studios built just outside of town?”
“Yes, of course. Talk of the town.” He paused. “You got the contract? So many people were clamoring for that. If I had been around sooner, I would have tossed my hat in the ring.”
“Yes, I got it, and it kicks off soon. I secured contracts to provide security for them for the foreseeable future. But, as luck would have it, I recently lost my lead guy. I need someone to help me train the new hires, and if you have any staff currently in need of work, I’ll gladly use them to fill the slots. ”
“I definitely have guys, and they’ll be thrilled to hear about guaranteed work.” Raymond scratched his chin. He sure was a fidgety man. “A few of them are muttering about joining someone named Mitch. Apparently, he has a new start up, and he’s offering great rates for the guys.”
“Damnit, he works fast.”
He grunted at my outburst. “You know him?”
“My lead guy who left,” I answered. “That would be Mitch.”
“Oh, so you didn’t just lose a guy. You’ve been backstabbed.”
“I assume it has something to do with Rose’s company crumbling.” My mind went to work solving the riddle in front of me. “He sees an opportunity for himself. If he can undermine me and sneak in the backdoor with a ready-made team, I lose everything. I understand that now.”
“It would seem like, in a way, Rose has screwed both of us.” He fiddled with the bottle of water.
“It looks that way.” I nodded.
“Well, of course, we will need to discuss the details further, but it looks like this is a way to help us both out.”
“Might be.” My shoulders relaxed. I could tell by the way his eyes darted over to the stack of bills, Raymond was a smart man. He had bills to pay and wouldn’t shut down a perfect opportunity for petty reasons.
“How long do you need the deal to last?” He asked.
“Initially, six months,” I reported. “After that, we can revisit things.”
He scratched his chin. “I can hang around for that long.”
“Hang around?” I inhaled sharply. The last thing I need is another man running off and ruining my business!
“Like I said, I’m always moving.” He folded his hands in front of him. “This was supposed to be a sell and dump situation. Unless you have the cash to buy me out now, I’m going to have to stick around.”
“That I don’t.” I shook my head.
“It looks like we got a new partnership on the horizon.”
“Great.” I picked up a card from the desk with his information on it. “I’ll have my assistant send over everything you need for your full consideration.”
“Oh, and one more thing.” Raymond tossed his locs over his shoulder. “Try not to trip me again?”
I chewed my lip for a second then shook my head as I turned to leave. “I honestly can’t promise that.”
“Not even if I let you have the donut?” he called after me as I walked out of his office.