Page 25 of Devanté
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. You’ve been working in LA for like a week and you’re thinking about moving there?” Janet snapped at me over the phone.
“It would be easier for me to get back and forth to meetings. Now that I’m landing this deal with Shaw, ninety percent of my business endeavors are in LA. It makes sense.”
“Okay, so maybe it makes sense but I like you here in the Bay. I’m, closer to you.”
“Ah, now we get to the root of things. You’re going to miss me.” A smile spread across my face as I looked at myself once more in the hotel mirror.
“Yeah, yeah. I guess you could say that. It is nice being able to come over whenever I want to and use your shit since you did it to me while we were growing up.”
I’d been closer to Janet since I’d lived in San Francisco for the past two years but now my business ventures were calling me to LA. My deal with Shaw wasn’t the only plate I had spinning in the City of Angels. I had an energy drink endorsement and I owned stock in several companies that were starting up…all were in the LA area. It made sense.
Even though I knew all of that, Blake kept biting into my thoughts like a determined predator. The shadowy details of our last encounter rang vibrant and fresh in my mind. I’d gone years without talking to her and if we happened to cross paths, she acted like I was invisible. It sliced through my ribs each time. Now, we had to work together and there was no ignoring me.
“I knew you were doing that shit on purpose, Jay. You like to piss me off.”
“I do. Its what sisters are for. Get over it.” She paused a beat then said, “So when are you thinking about moving out there?”
“In the next few months. It depends on how things play out with Shaw Luxury Cases.”
“You’re hinging your decision to move based on this deal with Shaw? What else is going on with you? I mean I know you’re always about your business but why is this deal the deciding factor?” She peered through me like a pane of glass.
“Nothing…” I shrugged my shoulders then grabbed my sunglasses and keys.
“Liar. Don’t make me come find you.”
“You’re not coming all the way to LA, Jay. I know you.”
“Well, you never know. If it involves kicking your ass for lying to me then I might.”
“Yeah, yeah. A lot of trash talking and nothing to back it up. Listen, I gotta go. I have a meeting at Watson Marketing in a little while. I don’t want to be late.”
“Okay, cool…wait did you say Watson Marketing? The same Watson Marketing where Blake works?”
“Goodbye, sis.”
“Devanté!”
“Yo, you’re breaking up. I gotta go. I’ll…you…later.” I ended the call then went outside to meet my driver.
When I got in the backseat of the Lincoln, Molly was already there. iPad inches away from her face. “Any reason why you wanted this to be your only meeting of the day?” She asked, not taking her eyes off the iPad once.
“I just do,” I shrugged. I wasn’t willing to divulge any sensitive information. Not even to Molly and I trusted her with my life. I drummed my fingertips on the armrest as I watched palm trees zoom by. They splashed greens and browns across a pure blue cloudless sky.
“Something special about this meeting?” Molly asked.
“There’s something special about every meeting.” Of course there was something special about this meeting. I was getting ready to come face to face with what used to be my best friend in the entire universe. Molly didn’t need to know all my business though. She knew enough.
The Watson building was a tall diagonally slanted structure that looked to be made completely from glass. Upon closer inspection, I saw columns of white concrete and rows of solar panels. A giant silver W statue sat in the middle of a fountain in front of the building making me wish I was little again so I could dip my feet in the water.
The thought took me down memory lane to when Blake and I were kids and we snuck into a fountain in the mall. I convinced her because she was too strait-laced to do it on her own. Once she got her feet wet, she had the time of her life. It only took a little convincing. Okay…a lot of convincing. Hopefully, this meeting would be like getting her in the fountain again.
“Molly, do you mind if I take this meeting on my own?” I asked before getting out of the car. She looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“What is up with you and this meeting, Devanté? You’re being weird.”
“Nothing. I want to feel out the creative marketing director on my own.” Molly eyed me for a few more incredulous seconds before grunting at me.
