Page 12 of Corporate Escapades

“She’s just playing games. She has feelings for me, too.”

“Has she told you that?” asked Nicola.

“Well, not in so many words, but I know she does. We have something special. She enjoys flirting with me.”

“I haven’t seen her flirt with you,” replied Mikel. “It doesn’t matter. You need to use discretion. Either drink less or don’tdrink at these events if you can’t control yourself. That’s all there is to it.”

“Geez, Mikel, you know I’d never intentionally hurt anyone.”

“Sweetie,” said Nicola, “we know you don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, but when you allow your pain to take over and you start drinking heavily, you’re no longer yourself.”

“I guess I’ve been hitting it kind of hard since the anniversary,” he replied sheepishly.

“Do you need help?” asked Mikel.

“Let me ask this,” replied Cristo. “Do you feel I need help?”

Dom considered him for a moment. “Not necessarily. One can hardly fault you for falling off the wagon when the anniversary comes around. If anything, you could use some counseling, which I know you don’t want, but maybe it would help you obtain closure? We’ve all gone through it, and while I can’t speak for everyone else, I know it helped me immensely.”

“I found it helpful as well,” replied Mikel, “and I’ve never been the type to go to counseling.”

“Okay,” replied Cristo. His voice hesitant. “If you think it’ll help, send me some recommendations for decent people, and I’ll think it over. No promises, though.”

“Good,” replied Jessamine. “It’s a small step forward,” she said with a smile, even though she knew Cristo most likely wouldn’t think it over. He’d never been one to share. That aside, she knew he was a good guy.

“Now,” said Mikel, “on to more pressing issues.”

Nicola straightened her willowy frame in the chair, her black jaw-length hair falling forward as she moved. Reaching up, she pushed her sweeping bangs aside and narrowed her green eyes in concentration. “We’ve got a pretty big problem at the moment. Cristo, I don’t know if Mikel gave you all the details, but last night, Paris and Vic were arrested.”

“Oh, shit,” he replied. “I knew something happened, but you didn’t give me that information.” He looked at Mikel with questioning eyes.

Mikel nodded. “I know. I kept my mouth shut because I needed to process. This is a sensitive situation, and I didn’t want to let my anger take control.”

“What did they do now?” Cristo asked with concern.

“First, I want to address something that affects us all,” said Nicola, pursing her maroon lips. Vic and Paris are creating an abundance of negative publicity. The most recent headline said,Careless Heiress Tarnishes Family Name.Another said,Vic Alarie Sleeps with Local Judge’s Wife. Obviously, headlines like that are damaging to our company.”

Mikel shook his head. “Dom and I keep running interference, and they keep messing up. How are we supposed to protect them, and our company, from these types of mistakes?”

“Are they really mistakes?” asked Cristo. “I mean, if you slept with a judge’s wife, wouldn’t you know?”

“I’m sure he did,” replied Dom. “That’s the problem. He doesn’t care. There are no consequences. “Perhaps mistake isn’t the right word, but you get what I’m saying. It’s a problem, and it affects us all.”

Cristo looked at Dom and Mikel with empathetic eyes. “What are we gonna do?”

“That’s why we’re here,” said Nicola.

“To discuss what we should do,” added Dom.

“We could give them a warning, and if they end up in the papers again, they’re fired,” said Cristo. “No more trust fund. No more company.”

Jessamine pounded her fist on the table. “That’s not an option. I don’t want to punish our children when they’re obviously hurting. I might be a softy, but there has to be a better way.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, dear. Not everything can be fixed with a hug,” replied Dom. Jessamine rolled her eyes at him.

Biting his bottom lip, Mikel nodded as he further processed what Cristo had said. “Cristo may be onto something. I’ll admit, I had a similar thought. What if we can achieve the best of both scenarios?”

It was two-thirty in the afternoon when Paris pried herself from bed to answer the loud banging on her condo door. Whoever it was, was quite persistent. Prying open the peephole, she saw Mya on the other side. She rolled her eyes.

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