11. Rebrand #2
But I didn’t say anything, I just watched her. Because I wanted to see what she’d do when she didn’t get her way.
“I think it’s a great idea, pumpkin. Really, I like it.
” Of course Dillon was gonna back her. I cleared my throat and adjusted my glasses, still not saying anything.
But Dillon picked it up, even over the Zoom call.
“But. The decision I leave in Marlon’s hands as it’s him who has to oversee everything and him who has to approve the staff taking it on. ”
I grinned.
I could see the annoyance flicker in her face.
A normal person would’ve backed down.
“Look,” she said instead. “I get it. Y’all know Marlon longer. Y’all trust his vision more. Or whatever the fuck. But I’m just as much of an owner in this company as he is.”
My dick jumped, not gonna lie.
“I’m not saying this to be bossy,” she continued, “but I expect the same level of respect he gets. This can work and I want y’all on board, but don’t think for a second I need your permission to move. We’re doing it. All I need is a date for the first showcase.”
Then she turned to me. “Marlon?”
Couldn’t help but smile at how she handled that room.
“The 18th,” I said.
She nodded immediately. “Three weeks. I can work with that. I’ll reach out to Lavender for HR to get a memo out for internal roles. Everything else I’ll handle.”
She looked around the room one last time.
“Questions?”
No one spoke.
“No? Good. Have a great day, gentlemen.”
Chairs shifted and papers gathered as they filed out one by one.
“Good job, Hunny. I’ll be there on the launch date. I’m so proud—” Dillon started but Rory waved him off.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. ‘The decision I leave in Marlon’s hands as it’s him who has to oversee everything and him who has to approve the staff taking it on. Fuck off, traitor.”
And she ended the call before he could reply, leaving her standing there. She exhaled slowly when the door closed as the last men left, her shoulders dropping just a little.
I felt something I don’t need to be feeling ‘cause it sure ain’t business.
After the meeting, I stepped off to the side and waited for her. She stayed behind for a second, gathering her laptop, closing out her notes, making sure everything was in order before she moved. When she was finally done, I watched her come toward me, then I pushed off the wall.
“You did good in there,” I said. “You looked presentable.”
She slowed in front of me, one brow lifting. “Presentable?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the best you got?”
I shrugged. “You want a speech?”
She crossed her arms, looking me over. “I want you to at least pretend to be impressed by me.”
“I am impressed,” I said. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Hm,” She stepped closer. “You picked that date real quick.”
“I knew you could handle it.”
“Or you wanted to see me fail faster.”
I shook my head once. “If I thought you’d fail, I wouldn’t have backed you.”
She stuck her tongue out, then leaned in slightly, closing the space between us like she planned on picking up where we left off in her office.
But I stopped it. “Too soon.”
Her smile didn’t drop, but it shifted from playful to measured.
“Marlon—”
“I said no.”
“Please?”
“Rabbit.”
A pout. “Fine.”
She pulled away but I stopped her. Just because I wasn’t gonna fuck her on the boardroom table, didn’t mean we couldn’t talk.
Huh.
To think I wanted to spend time talking to her.
“Ain’t as easy as you thought it would’ve been, was it?” I gestured to the room. “Don’t take it personal. You young so they wanna see if you can handle pressure.”
She studied me. “I’m guessing you’re testing me too.”
“Slightly,” I said. “But you did exactly what I expected.”
She nodded once.
“Right. Well, thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to plan an event in less than three weeks. I got zoning to talk to, business licensing to handle and don’t get me started on budgeting.”
She moved to step around me and I stopped her again.
“Let me know if you need help,” I offered.
She paused and glanced back. “Yeah right.”
“I’m serious,” I said. “I don’t know your connections, but I have a few of my own.
She cocked a brow. “Really now, Mr. Shut-in?”
I chuckled. “We supply a lot of the wines for government galas and a lot of private ones as well. I think I know where to start with this so lean on me as needed. Besides, this process should be simple enough, a lot of these men in power are just looking for new places to cheat on their wives.”
She giggled. “See, I knew the cigar lounge was a good idea.”
“And putting it next to a hookah spot? A stroke of genius.”
She bowed. “Thank you, thank you. Hold your applause.”
Now I was laughing. “On a serious note, whatever you need, let me know.”
She watched me for a second.
Then I added, “And keep the budget small, aight? I don’t need you blowing this out of proportion and overspending. Like your Jem or some shit.”
She blinked. “Who?”
“Jem. And the Holograms.”
“Marlon. What are you talking about?”
“The show,” I said. “You know.”
She shook her head slowly. “No the hell I don’t.”
“Come on,” I said. “Your mom used to love that show.”
“Oh, right! We watched it together all the time,” she said. “Oh wait. She died when I was two. So.”
I exhaled. “Do you have to be so… crass?”
“Crass,” she repeated. “Sometimes I forget you’re a million years old.”
“Hey.”
She tilted her head. “What’s the last piece of recent media you consumed anyway?”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Music. Movies. Art. Anything.”
“I don’t have time, Aurora. I work.”
“So does everybody else,” she said. “Welcome to capitalism.”
I sighed. “I saw Rush Hour in theaters.”
She blinked. “Rush Hour? Like… the first one?”
“And I listened to LL Cool J’s album a few years ago.”
“LL Cool J?!” she repeated.
“What’s wrong with LL Cool J?”
“Nothing,” she said. “If this were 1998.”
“Oh, ha ha.” I pressed my glasses up my nose. “Let’s just get back to business, aight? Now, I need you to walk me through it.”
She frowned. “Through what?”
“This plan,” I said. “If you about to run something under my roof, I need to know exactly what you doing.”
She studied me for a second. “I just did a whole presentation…”
“Yeah, but you got a new system, right? Lemme see how that works.”
She narrowed her eyes like she was trying to figure out if I was serious or just trying to keep her here.
“Fine,” she said, flipping her laptop back open. “Pay attention.”
“Don’t get smart.”
She angled the screen toward me, one hand resting on the edge of the desk as she scrolled.
“This system is gonna track inventory, manage shipments and handle vendor coordination—everything stays in one place so nothing gets lost or miscounted and we don’t end up with a room full of papers again.”
I shot her a look and she blew me a kiss.
She tapped the screen, moving through tabs seamlessly.
“And this part right here,” she added, “will help with booking for the events. So we don’t overfill and piss people off.”
I nodded once, leaning in slightly to look closer.
She didn’t move back.
“Where you get this system from?” I asked. “It looks custom.”
“A friend,” she said casually. “All he wants as payment is wine for his little dinner parties.”
I huffed a quiet laugh. “The good old bartering system.”
She smirked. “Yeah, I knew your old ass would like that.”
I glanced at her. “Careful.”
“Or what?” she asked, not even looking up from the screen.
I stepped in enough for her to feel me against her.
“You keep pushing me like you think I’m soft or some shit.”
She finally looked up then. “I don’t think that at all, Mr. Sinclair. Trust, I can tell you’re very very hard.”
Her eyes trailed down to my crotch and I didn’t even have to follow it to know what she’s referring to.
“Anything else you need, Mr. Sinclair?” she asked.
“Nah.”
“Good,” she said, closing the laptop and heading for the door knowing that in this current state, I couldn’t follow. “Because I’m about to run this shit. Ta-ta for now and um— take care of yourself.”