Experiences Inc.

Monday Morning, Third Week in January

“Finally,” Jayla said when Racy answered her phone. “You didn’t read my texts.”

“Easier to call. What’s up?” Racy asked, pulling out of the driveway, done with babysitting for her sister. She had a six-month-old niece who Racy didn’t want to wake, so she’d set her phone to silent.

“There’s a man in your office who says he’s your new partner. Is this news to you?”

“It is, and it can’t be true. Uncle V would have mentioned it,” Racy said.

“I thought so too. According to Rio Vargas—did I say his name before?”

“No.”

“I put it in one of the many texts I sent you, but anyway, according to him, they closed Friday on your uncle V’s pawnshops and the three smaller businesses your uncle was a partner in. Maybe that’s why you didn’t know. He wants to talk to you, said he’d didn’t mind waiting until you arrived. When will that be, you think?”

“In about fifteen, if traffic holds. In the meantime, I’ll try my uncle.”

“Great. I thought about calling security, you know, in case this Mr. Vargas is lying, but what if he’s telling the truth? ”

“No, it’s fine. You’re fine. I’ll let you know what Uncle V says.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

“A new partner and what?” Racy said aloud. The only Rio Vargas she knew was the owner of Vargas Enterprises, and she only knew that because of a recent interview he’d done for a local news station that was highlighting area businesses that had made it big. His claim to fame was growing small companies into larger ones. She should be so lucky to have him for a partner.

This had to be a misunderstanding. He was in the wrong place or something. No way could he be there for her or for her company. She reached for her phone, hit the number to connect to her uncle. It rolled to voicemail. With Siri’s help, she sent him a text.

It would be nice if Vargas were my new partner, she thought, turning back just that quickly to what it would mean for her. Access to all his knowledge and expertise to start, which was just what she needed to grow Experiences Inc. and its new line of engineered products. And all that fine along for the ride too. She’d committed his appearance to memory—tall, dressed in a charcoal gray suit, white shirt, beautiful dark-gray tie flecked with blue. Head full of dark straight hair, medium cut, and really one’s hands could get lost in it, curling at the end near his shirt collar, a contrast to the brown of his skin. No facial hair to speak of, chiseled cheekbones. And did she mention the dude had beautiful brown eyes? She’d recorded the show and had watched it several times since, hence her knowledge of his many attributes. He was something.

Fifteen minutes later—thank you, traffic, for cooperating—she turned her 4Runner into the parking lot of her company, Experiences Inc., stopping beside a navy blue BMW sedan. It must be his, she thought, as Jayla’s hoopty was the only other car in the lot.

She took a breath, then released it slowly to calm herself. Jayla, pacing in front of the door, had enough nerves for them both.

“Is he our partner?” she asked, holding the door open for Racy to enter.

“Don’t know yet. I can’t reach my uncle.”

“Same here. I tried again too,” Jayla said, looking over Racy’s attire. “A day to go casual, huh?” Her hair was in those box braids Racy favored, falling down her back. Gray skirt, gray Henley-style blouse, and boots.

“I had Tiff’s kids this morning. Is it that bad?” she asked, looking down at her outfit for baby spillage.

“What? No, you look good. You always do. Feels like with him, though, one should be at their best. Lipstick?” Jayla added, hers in her hand at the ready.

“Thanks.” Racy swiped the tube across her lips and tried to calm the hell down. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” Jayla said, watching her boss be a boss, marching toward whatever that dude had in store for her and their company. Racy seemed nervous but not worried, so maybe this change in partnership would just be that, and Experiences Inc. and its growth could proceed as planned.

* * *

He was sitting on her sofa looking at his phone when she entered her office. A desk to her left, with a credenza behind it, the sofa on which he sat, with its small table in front of it to the right, was the extent of her office and its furnishings. He was the same TV handsome and wearing another suit, today’s in black, that rich deep black she loved on men, paired with a white dress shirt and a black tie flecked with red streaks, and all of it against a backdrop of him. It was a lot to take in so early in the morning. He was impressive, and all of it was staring back at her, devoid of even the faintest hint of anything she could read. Keeping his thoughts to himself, a thing she never could quite get the hang of.

“Ms. Hightower,” he said, standing, watching her subtly look him over as she approached her desk. It wasn’t much different from what he had done when she’d walked in.

“Mr. Vargas,” she said, depositing her purse and laptop bag on her desk before moving toward him, hand outstretched to shake his. “I’m Racine Hightower, which I guess you know. What’s this about you being my new business partner?”

“I recently purchased VWay’s Pawnshops from your uncle Vernon. He also allowed me to purchase his partnership interests in three other businesses, Ron’s Barbershop, Tasty Treats Dog Bakery, and Experiences Inc. We closed on the sale of it all on Friday.”

“I’ll need to confirm this with my uncle first.”

“Of course. I brought along a copy of the closing documents for your files. It’s on your desk, if you want to look. I’ll have the digital version sent over later today.”

“Thanks. Do you mind?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he said, resuming his seat and watching her. At her desk, she opened the folder and began to read.

She skimmed through most of it, spending time on the main points of the sale of VWay’s Pawnshops to one Rio Vargas of Vargas Enterprises. The amount he’d paid for it all—yikes. When she was done, she turned to face him.

“I still want to confirm this with my uncle, but yes, according to these documents, you are my new partner.” Her phone rang just then. “My uncle,” she said. “How’s that for timing? Will you excuse me?”

“Of course.”

She headed straight to the bathroom, privacy her goal, as Jayla was known to lurk about the halls, listening. “Hey, Uncle V, thanks for returning my call.”

“Hello there, Ms. Racy. I had to run Yari to the doctor or I’d have called earlier. You’ve heard the good news. Met your new partner.” He sounds happy, Racy thought, trying to remember if he’d ever seemed so joyful. He’d sounded fatherly over the years, making sure she, her mom, and her sister were taken care of after her dad’s passing, but happy?

“I did. As a matter of fact, he’s here now.”

“Oh, so he told you?”

“Yes, and he shared the closing documents with me.”

“What an offer, huh?”

“It was nice. I didn’t know you wanted to sell.”

“Very few people did. It’s not something I talked about. I was of two minds about it, really. Continuing to help the community versus doing things I’ve always wanted to do before Yari and I were too old to do them. Your dad’s passing only strengthened that desire. The Bible instructs us to trust and to wait patiently—that the Lord knows what we want even before we ask and that what we want, he wants for us.”

He paused for a moment before continuing. “And in walked Mr. Vargas, the answer to my prayers. December, I think it was. He wanted into the microlending business, he said, and was pleased to have the chance to do so with my pawnshops. He asked about the other companies I owned, as he wanted to look at them too. He didn’t mind that they were partnerships either. Hell yes, he could have them. Who was I to tell him no, to look a gift horse the size of his company in the mouth? It was a nice clean break for me. You know who he is?”

“Not personally until now. I saw him on TV recently. He incubates small companies.”

“Yes, ma’am. His motto is from seedlings to trees. Which is perfect for you, launching your new line. Mr. Vargas has assured me that nothing will change with the partnership except ownership. He’s looked through the business plans you gave me. He asked a bunch of questions I hadn’t thought of but should have. He’s sharp, that one. He’ll be good to have in your corner; otherwise, I wouldn’t have sold it to him.”

“I wish I’d known.”

“Our contract didn’t require me to notify you, and Rio wanted it to be a surprise. It was actually part of the terms of the sale. I had to keep silent, which I did. I didn’t want to risk that, not after getting Yari excited about the idea. You’ll let me know if there’s a problem?”

“I will. Thanks, Uncle V. Congratulations! I’m happy for you and Yari.”

“Thanks, and we’ll talk soon.”

She took a breath, a little relieved. Mr. Vargas and his paperwork were legit, though she wasn’t sure why she’d thought he’d lie. Okay, she thought, looking at herself in the mirror. She smiled, crazy happy about this turn of events.

“All confirmed then?” he asked, watching her enter. She was smiling, seemingly pleased with the outcome.

“All confirmed,” she said, grinning big as she walked to him and extended her hand again. “Crazy, right? I saw you on that show. Vargas Enterprises. It’s what you do, seedlings to trees. I thought it would be great to work with your company, and here you are. What are the chances of that? Sometimes you just have to trust the universe to bring you what you need. Anyway, welcome to Experiences Inc., where we help make dreams come true. That’s our main motto.”

Yep, happy, he thought.

“We should sit,” he said.

“Sure,” she said, smiling still as she settled beside him on the couch.

“I became aware of Experiences Inc. in December. That’s when I reached out to your uncle with the goal of purchasing it from him.”

“Experiences Inc.? But I thought you were interested in his microlending business?”

“I was—I am—but it was your company that I initially went searching for.”

“Oh. You wanted into the wedding and event planning business?” She chuckled. “Are weddings on the rise, the up-and-coming new business opportunity or something?”

“Could be. I have no idea. It’s your wedding planning business I wanted into. You introduced a new line of products last year, engineered weddings and events. Stardust Nevada, who is now my ex but who was my girlfriend at the time, told me about them. It’s the reason I went searching for your company.”

“Stardust?”

“Yes.”

“Was your girlfriend?”

“Yes. We were living together at the time.”

“Oh. Wow,” she said, surprised. “You were living together?” Enough with repeating him.

“Yes. For about nine months. A couple of weeks before the planned wedding, I found her standing beside her suitcases at my front door. She was leaving me.”

“I didn’t know any of that. I’m sorry,” Racy said, shaking her head. She looked away, trying to process all he’d told her. How had she missed something so important?

“No due diligence,” he said, as if reading her mind.

She smiled. “No, you’re right. I did very little of it. I mostly took her at her word. She told me she had an ex. I thought a long-ago ex, not a recently-living-with-her ex.” She was quiet for a few seconds. “She didn’t tell me your name, just that you weren’t serious about her. You didn’t want to marry her,” she said, thinking about all the extra Stardust had turned out to be up to the wedding. Even now, long afterward, she was still bringing the extra.

“It wasn’t just her I didn’t want to marry. I didn’t—don’t—want to marry anyone. All of which I told her from the start.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. It’s probably not the greatest time to say this, but it could be for the best. You know, couples break up all the time and go on to find the one. Live happily ever after. You never know how things will turn out. You’re a handsome guy and have a lot going for you. I can’t imagine you’ll have trouble finding someone else.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Except Stardust’s wedding wasn’t real, and that’s the source of my problem with you. It was staged, yeah?”

“Yes. It isn’t a secret, just not something we make public. It loses its potency if everyone knows. How did you find out, by the way?” she asked, working to process the my problem with you part of his sentence.

“She told me,” he said. “She called me a week after she left. It was a mistake to leave me. She was doing this for me. She was marrying him for me. To show me how much I loved her. It was all fake, she said, what you and she were planning—a show, a ruse, a pretense so that I could see what I’d miss once she was gone. But”—he paused, his gaze drilling into Racy’s like he was trying to see into her soul—“if I wanted her back, all I needed to do was show up in Vegas, which I did. Not the wedding at the chapel with Elvis the officiator,” he said. “Just the reception, at Franks. Two weekends ago.”

“You were there?” Racy asked.

“Yep, sitting at the bar, watching the show. It was a show, right? Or an engineered event, as you call it. Not a bad job for your first time.”

“Thanks, I think.” He’s angry, she thought, just realizing that now, and usually anger came from hurt. Of course there was hurt. He’d lived three months shy of a year with a woman who left him. He might not have wanted to marry Stardust, but it didn’t mean he didn’t care. Maybe more than he knew, and he blames me, Racy thought, also realizing that he wasn’t here for what she’d assumed. “You’re angry?” she said.

“Initially I was, yes,” he said, pausing again. “Nah, I still am.”

“So you purchased my uncle’s share in my company for . . . ?” she asked, rising to her feet.

“Revenge,” he said. Yeah, the dude was still angry. She could see it in the hardness of his stare and the set of his jaw. “Unfortunately, I can be that guy when I feel I’ve been played. Stardust ended up alone, without me or Wes Rhymes, her engineered husband. He was the target, the fallback guy, or it could have been me. Either way, she didn’t get what she wanted, which is sufficient payback for her, I think. I want the same for you, a woman equally calculating, inventive, deceitful, and manipulative. Stardust couldn’t have done this without you, the founder and CEO of these fake events. I don’t like being lied to or deceived or manipulated.”

“As I’ve said before, I didn’t know you and she were a thing or that she’d planned this to manipulate you. She didn’t mention any of it to me. I, like you, thought she was after Wes. I’m not a person who lies, manipulates, or deceives people,” Racy said, her smile gone.

“Selling fake is what you’re offering here, yes?”

“Engineered experiences and events is the name we prefer to use for that product line.”

“Word choice doesn’t make it any less fake, contrived, not real, or a lie.”

Racy took in a breath to calm down. “You were hurt, I can see that. I’m sorry you had to go through that, really, I am, but I’m not responsible for your situation,” she said, softening her voice. “I wasn’t the person who lied to you.”

“You were worse. You were the facilitator of the lie. You supervised the production of it. It would not have happened without you.”

“You know what? How about we just agree to disagree?”

“How about we do this instead? Dissolve our partnership. Dissolve Experiences Inc. How about we do that?”

“Wait, what? No. You can’t.”

“I can. It’s not hard. There’s language in the partnership agreement that allows for your uncle to sell it, without your consent, which is how we arrived here. And now, as your new partner, those rights have been conveyed to me. Experiences Inc. was appraised in preparation for the sale, half of which you would owe me. All I have to do is request it, and you’re obligated to pay me my share once it’s dissolved.”

“I don’t have access to that kind of money.”

“And how is that my problem?” he asked.

“It’s not. It’s mine, and again, I’m sorry. I had no idea. But you can’t do this.”

“I need more than an apology,” he said as he watched her staring down at him, hand on a hip, crazy sexy. And yep, that was the other reason he was here.

“You’re the majority owner of my company. I don’t know how much more I could give you.”

He continued to watch her for a bit. “I need a girlfriend.”

“Excuse me?” Of all the things she thought he would say.

“You’ve taken mine, and whether I wanted it or not, she wasn’t yours to take. I think it only fitting that you replace her. It’s one of the experiences your company offers.”

“You’re serious?” she asked.

“I am. I need a plus-one. For dinners with potential clients, with friends. My sister and a good friend both have weddings coming up. Stardust was my plus-one for most things. She was gorgeous, personable. We grew up in the same circles, so she was comfortable everywhere. You providing the girlfriend experience seems fair and maybe even appropriate.”

“Okay, maybe,” she whispered. “I can see that. Sure, that’s doable. We have contractors of all kinds. We can find one to play your girlfriend. What type of woman are you interested in?”

“You.”

“Me? I’m not a contractor, and more importantly, I don’t have time to play your girlfriend. I have a company to run, a new product line I’m in the midst of launching, and a limited budget, which means I have to do a lot of the work myself.”

“It’s you or it’s no one.”

She continued to stand, staring back at him, wondering if there was more to his words than she thought. Who could tell, shifting between anger and indecipherable, as he’d been since he’d arrived. “Think it over. You have two days,” he said, rising to his feet.

“Or?”

“Expect to hear from my lawyer ASAP.” He smiled for the first time. Now who’s fake? she thought.

“I have options, you know,” she said.

“You think so?” he asked as he walked to the door.

“I know so.”

“Glad to hear it. You still have two days.” He flashed his fake smile again before closing the door softly behind him. He smiled for real once he was in the hallway.

That turned out exactly how he’d planned. Revenge, the dish best served hot or cold or whenever, today, tomorrow, or not at all, was the first emotion he’d felt at Stardust’s departure and subsequent call, the same playing he had little patience for. It was the initial reason he’d gone searching for Racy and her company. He’d been angry but not a tearing-the-house-down kind of anger. He would miss Stardust, but he could live without her.

There was a bit of curiosity mixed in there too, because what kind of company sells fake and is honest about it? Both questions had sent him to the internet, where he found Racy’s website and saw her for the first time. That was also a reason he was here.

Rich dark chocolate skin, or it could be called espresso, depending on how the light hit it, paired with the light brown of her eyes turned out to be a combination he didn’t know he needed, but he did. Five foot seven, which meant she’d reach the top of his shoulder, and a nice amount of breasts and ass, all of which had wormed its way into his brain like some kind of flesh-eating bacteria, and he could not for the life of him shake it or dislodge it or find a cure or a treatment for it.

And he’d tried—other women, working harder, working longer, working out. But so far, nothing. He’d thought going to Vegas and seeing her in person, in the plain navy suit she’d worn that night, would somehow dampen his ardor. It had not. He still had this intense unexplained desire to taste and touch . . . and once he started, it felt like he could feast for a while.

And for that, he needed trust. No more snakes in his bed. He was still healing from the bite of the last one. Hence the request for the girlfriend experience as a way to get to know her, allowing him the time and the proximity to figure out who she was or wasn’t. Stardust the manipulator or Racy the hardworking woman—her uncle sang her praises every time, all the time. The answer would dictate what he’d do next. Copulate until she couldn’t walk and his legs were reduced to jelly or dissolve their partnership and say I’m out of this bitch. He hoped to have an answer either way by the end of the month.

Jayla looked up and smiled as he walked past. He waved and smiled too. Why not? He was feeling great and in control. He was about to have some serious fun.

* * *

What the hell? Racy thought, falling onto the sofa. She had to sit, needed to get her bearings and calm down. Of all the things she expected to happen today, Stardust’s ex putting in an appearance and threatening to close her business was not one of them.

He was Stardust’s ex. She’d been living with him at the time and never said one word about it. And not just someone, Mr. Rio Vargas with the means, and now the motivation, to make her life hell. Let’s just let all that settle in for a bit, she thought.

There was a knock at the door, and Jayla stuck her head through the opening. Her face and its halo of hair were the only things visible. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. My uncle called,” Racy said.

“It’s true then? He’s your new partner?”

“He is.”

“So that means he’s my new boss. That’s cool. I mean, you don’t know him, but on the bright side, he is supersmart, and he has lots of money. Lee said he had plenty of bank, and contacts, and we could use those.”

“You’re right. He’s purchasing the girlfriend experience too, which is the other thing he wanted.”

“Hell yeah on the bright side. It won’t be hard placing him with a contractor. He is hella fine.”

“Except I’m the contractor he wants.”

“But you’re not a contractor.”

“I am now. I guess at the right price, we all are contractors.”

“Oh.”

“Yep.”

“Maybe he likes you, and this is part of some grand plan he has?”

“Chances are he doesn’t.”

“There are worse things in life than having him like you,” Jayla said, not at all deterred by Racy’s negativity.

“I wish I could think of one. My next appointment is when?” Racy was already tired of talking about him.

“Ten thirty. A potential groom. You know how much I love those.”

“I do. Thanks, Jayla.” Racy rustled up a smile for her assistant’s sake.

“You’re welcome,” she said, removing her head and quietly closing the door.

Racy sighed, her mind moving to its recriminations mode. It was her fault that she was in this predicament. A partner to the revengeful and in search of options she’d missed finding the first time she’d gone looking.

She should have financed herself, saved up and waited, taken her time. Her mom had advised her to do just that. Even Uncle V had cautioned her. But did she listen? Hell no.

When Stardust appeared with money to burn, it was off to the races. She was ripe for the taking. The allure to go fast preceded everything else, added to the need to prove herself the smart businesswoman who was more like her uncle V and less like her pops.

“Now look at you,” she said aloud. Sold off to another man—with only a TV show’s worth of knowledge about him. She’d learned much about his business acumen during that hour and a half interview but less about his character, which, in her brief experience this morning, wasn’t looking all that great. Which was too bad, all that fine going to waste.

Too fast, too soon, but it was the choice she’d made, and she wasn’t going to sit in the dark and sulk about it now. He didn’t think she had options. What did he know? She had options. She just had to find them.