Page 41 of Corporate Escapades

Mya held up her hands, “Okay, okay,” she fired back. “I’m gonna open a bottle of wine, and we’re going to forget about the company’s future for the rest of the night. You hear me? Let’s focus on our friendship and have some fun for a change.”

Paris let out a deep sigh. “Okay.” She hoped she’d be able to move beyond her fear of the unknown. Did she want to run ADG? When the partners retired, would there be five new partners to replace them? Who would those partners be? She couldn’t see Breanna joining the company full-time. Breanna was a dancer, and her heart lay outside the company. Jack was in love with writing, but was he interested in running the company? She already knew Vic was after the position of CEO. If Vic took her father’s position, where would she go? Did she also want to be the CEO? Mya was right. She needed to stop, and forget about the company for the rest of the evening. She could worry about it tomorrow. Right now, she should be celebrating the return of her friendship with Mya.

“Here,” said Mya, as she handed Paris a glass of her favorite Pinot Grigio. “To rekindled friendship.”

“Amen to that.” For the first time in two years, Paris felt as if she could breathe more easily. That night she slept soundly, knowing that she and Mya were again on the same team.

It was seven in the morning when Paris woke to the sound of her phone buzzing on the coffee table next to her. She’d slept on one end of the large red L-shaped couch in Mya’s apartment. Opening her eyes, she yawned and reached for her phone. Mya was still fast asleep at the other end of the couch.

“Hello?” she asked quietly.

“Hey, Paris, it’s Vic. You didn’t come home last night,” he noted. “Are you okay? Why are you speaking in a hushed tone?”

“I’m at Mya’s. She’s still asleep and I don’t want to wake her.”

“Really?” he asked with amusement. “Forgive my surprise. I thought you two were over.”

“Things change,” she replied sharply. “Get to the point. Why are you calling me at this hour?”

“Come on. It’s seven in the morning. Many people are up by now or even earlier. It isn’t like I’m calling in the middle of the night.”

“It’s Sunday, Vic. What do you want?” she asked again. Rolling over, she resituated herself and pulled the covers back up over her arms. Mya liked to keep her apartment cool, which always left room for cozying up inside a big fluffy down comforter. Paris thought it was the perfect condition for sleeping, which made her early wake-up call from Vic even more unwanted.

“We need to talk about some things,” he replied.

“Couldn’t this call have waited?”

“Fine,” he gave in. “We can talk later.”

“How about we, including Mya and Chase, meet at our place for lunch?” she suggested.

“Okay. I’ll see you at noon,” he replied.

Paris hung up the phone and tossed it onto the floor. Since Mya was still asleep, she figured there was no harm in being lazy for a couple more hours.

Paris and Mya arrived at Paris’s apartment early, but Vic and Chase were nowhere to be seen. “Come on in,” said Paris as she held the door open for her friend.

“This apartment really isn’t bad,” said Mya.

“It’s okay. I wish we had a second bathroom, but considering the lack of belongings I currently have, this suits my needs. Do you want something to drink?”

“Sure,” she replied. “I’d love a soda if you have one.”

“Diet?” asked Paris as she rifled through the fridge.

“Actually, I drink regular now,” replied Mya. “I rarely drink it, so I figured it was healthier.”

“Ah, so you listened to my ranting, huh?” She had been trying to get Mya to switch to regular for years. The calories might be missing from the diet, but obviously, they had to replace them with something, and Paris swore that something was giving people cancer.

“Yes, I did,” replied Mya. “I also saw an article inModern Fit Woman, which discussed the negative aspects of diet soda. You were right. It’s really not better.”

Paris handed Mya her beverage. “You still like Cream Soda, right?” Cream soda had been both of their favorites since they were young. Paris only drank regular Cream Soda, while Mya had only drunk diet. She was happy that she no longer needed to keep both in stock.

Mya nodded. “Where do you suppose those men are?”

“Who knows,” replied Paris. She flopped down on the sofa next to Mya and was about to turn on the television when Chase and Vic arrived.

“Hey, ladies. I hope you’re hungry,” said Vic, as he handed Mya and Paris each a lettuce-wrapped burger and sweet potato fries.

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