Page 28 of Hostile Takeover

It’s no longer a business meeting, but a family celebration as everyone bursts out of their chairs and comes over to congratulate us.

“I’ve been trying to set him up for so long!” Sadie says as she hugs me. “We’re definitely getting that coffee now!”

“Okay!” she says with a big grin. “Let’s do it!”

I’m filled with such happiness that I’m having a hard time believing it’s real as I watch Kyra being absorbed into my companyandinto my family at the same time.

It’s been two weeks and this woman has already changed my life in so many ways.

I’ve never felt so happy. So complete.

She makes life exciting.

I’m looking forward to everything with this amazing woman.

And it starts now.

Epilogue

Kyra

One Year Later…

“Miss Black, what do you think of these?” Natalie asks as she shows me the photos from yesterday’s photoshoot.

“Love that model,” I say as I look them over. She looks like she could be the girl next door or sitting in front of you in a college class. She has natural beauty.Exactlywhat I’m going for. “Did you pick her out?”

“I did!” Natalie says with a big proud smile.

I smile back at her. “Great job!”

I’m about to keep walking, but she takes a deep breath like she wants to say something. I give her a second. “I just wanted to tell you,” she says to me, “that I love what you’re doing here. I love this new direction you’re taking us in.”

I thank her as a sense of pride fills me up.

Instead of firing me like I thought he might, Brandon put me in charge of the entire beauty division of The Hammerhead Group. I’m now in charge of overseeing and making decisions for all eighteen beauty-related companies in the huge Hammerhead portfolio.

Each individual company has their own CEO—I put Aisha in charge of She’s The Sun—but they all have to answer to me. They get to steer the individual ships, but I’m steering the armada.

Brandon loved my vision of bringing real beauty back into the world, so he cut me loose and let me transform my vision into a reality. I got some pushback among the executives at some of the companies, but the employees and more importantly, the customers, all seem to love it. They’re finally feeling beautiful again now that they’re seeing women just like them on their city billboards, magazine ads, and on their TVs.

I want them all to feel as beautiful as Brandon has made me feel.

I thank Natalie and continue walking through the corporate office of Versenchy Perfumes. I have a meeting with Angie, the CEO, in a few minutes, but I’m getting the feel of the place first, speaking with the employees on the ground instead of walling myself up in an ivory tower like most other high-ranking bosses. The people working inside the trenches are always the ones with the most insight and the freshest ideas.

“Miss Black!” one of the sales reps says as she approaches with a nervous smile. “Can I have a second of your time?”

“Of course!” I answer with a warm smile. “And call me Kyra, please.”

“Okay,” she says, looking less nervous. “Kyra. I have an idea for a new line of perfumes for teachers.”

“For teachers?”

“Yes,” she says with a big excited smile. “Something subtle that’s also hypoallergenic, so they’ll be able to wear it around students. My sister is a teacher and none of the teachers at her school can wear perfume because there’salwaysa kid in the class who’s allergic to everything. They all want to, but they can’t. There’s nothing made specifically for them. It would fit in with the wonderful new marketing campaign about to launch. Could be a new untapped market…”

I like it. Perfume for teachers. It could work.

“A+ Perfume,” I say, contemplating it. “A Whiff of Wisdom in Every Spray.”

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