Page 83 of So Close

“Along the same vein as what you’re already posting in the lead-up?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t mean to be critical, but it’s a little … medicinal.” I rub my palms against my skirt again, noticing they’ve begun to shake a little.

She rolls her eyes. “That’s because Aliyahreallywants to stress Baharan’s contribution to the formulas. The Cross brand is luxury, self-indulgence and hedonism, so the packaging is upscale and beautiful. Aliyah’s worried that it will slap you in the face as a Cross Industries product and Baharan – who’s done most of the work developing the products – will become something of a silent partner.”

“I get it. Let me see what you’ve got so far.” I watch her stand, forcing myself not to look at the liquor.

I don’tneeda fucking drink because I don’t have a drinking problem. I have a memory problem, and that’s because I don’t eat right, don’t drink enough water, and don’t exercise regularly. I just need to get through this cleanse and I’ll be ready to tackle the world – and the Armands.

A week or two to reset, and my head will clear. Lily coming back has been stressful. “How many of us are left?” I ask Clarice.

She pauses in the doorway, her hand on the knob. “Three. With you, four.”

“Three?!” Damn it. We had twelve full-time employees when Baharan absorbed us. “What happened?”

Clarice shrugs. “Aliyah cut us in half pretty quick, and she wasn’t wrong to do that. We’re only working on Baharan now, so –”

“Wait. What?”

“Yeah.” She sighs heavily and brushes her bangs back from her forehead. She wears her hair shorter than before, chin-length with flipped ends. It suits her. “That’s why we lost half of the people Aliyah kept on – they missed the challenge of taking on new clients. We don’t even have a separate website now, Amy.”

My office tilts on its axis. Everything goes dark for a moment. My blood roars through my ears. My God. Why didn’t Darius say anything? Why tell me he’d get my company back when it doesn’t even exist anymore? Social Creamery managed the accounts of pop stars and athletes, celebrities and corporations. Our specialty was growth, and we could replicate authentic results with Every. Single. Client. Every. Single. Time.

How was it allowed to shrivel into nothing?

“Hey.” She takes a few steps back toward me. “I thought you wanted it this way. That you were focusing on the family business.”

“They’re not my family! They’re goddamn leeches, sucking the life out of everything.” I ram stiffened fingers into my forehead, where a headache has been building all morning. “Shit! I let Aliyah push me around and push me out. That stupid bitch. She couldn’t stand that I’d built something on my own. All she’s ever done is ride the coattails of the men in her miserable fucking life.”

Clarice hurriedly shuts the door.

I stand. “I don’t care if she hears me. I don’t care who hears me. It’s the fucking truth.”

“You don’t want another scene.”

“Don’t I? I’m about to rip this place apart.” I dig my nails into my palms. “I’m … Just give me a minute, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. Sure. I’ll … um, just get those logins for you and the rest.”

“Thanks.” I move around the desk, eyeing the bar cart. Why the fuck is that in my office anyway if I’m not wooing clients? I’m not allowed to have liquor at home, but I can drink at work …?

“Hey … Amy?”

I look at her.

Her brown eyes are soft as velvet, but her jaw is hard. “You did it once. You can do it again.”

“Right,” I scoff, shaking my head and turning away. I hear the door shut behind me. I settle into the desk chair and discover the cushion is hard. Apparently, actually using the chair wasn’t expected.

My gaze turns to the wall separating Darius’s office from mine. Fury bubbles like lava in my gut. He’s misled me, neglected my life’s work and failed to stand up to his mother. I’m so disgusted it makes my skin crawl thinking of how he’d touched me just hours ago. What a pathetic piece of shit.

How the hell do I fix this? I’ll have to start over. Do I want to start over within Baharan? On the one hand, I’ve earned the right to use the resources at my disposal. On the other, repeating a mistake and expecting a different outcome is the height of stupidity. The biggest problem is that Baharan, my most recent “client,” is a piss-poor example of how my team can manage a company’s social messaging. It’s stagnant, dated and – worse – boring.

But … I can make that work for me by completely overhauling it. Then I’d have a recent case study of massive improvement. I’ll have strong examples in two completely different industries with the launch of the new cosmetics line. I’ll also help Baharan, which I don’t want to do. Haven’t I already given them enough? Then again, I would prove Aliyah wrong definitively.

The flip side of that is to just get the fuck out. I could say Social Creamery was so successful I sold it to Baharan and am now developing something next level. I can leverage some new features and apps. The platforms themselves are only a component. The most significant factor is understanding and delivering the desired messaging; I still know how to do that. Clarice can help me with the rest.

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