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The dial tone buzzed in her ear before she could think of a better come back than, “Oh yeah?”
“Well, that sounded like it ell” Her best friend, Ellen, stood in the doorway still wearing her red-checked waitress uniform from The Kitchen Sink diner under an unzipped, thick winter coat She held a white bakery box in her arms
“Please tellup the phone and let her chin drop to the desk The giant poof of her natural ebony afro floated around her head like a force field
“Yes” Ellen sauntered into Keisha’s brightly lit office, her red unifor in perfectly with the eclectic vibe and vibrant colors “And I’ree to weave your interior decoratingcity”
“Is it lava cake?” Keisha lifted her head and tried to read the small print on the side of the white box Only thewith Gabe “I’m-Richer-Than-Bruce-Wayne” Caed, muscle-bound menace
Ellen winked “Oh yeah, baby”
Keisha sat up like soa race track “It’s a deal”
“Wow, you didn’t even put up a fight” Ellen sat down in the teal guest chair and unpacked two personal-sized cakes of chocolate goodness, plastic forks, and napkins “You do re? The Virginia Hokies wallpaper in the bathrooreen kitchen?”
“Yes, yes, and yes” Keisha sank her fork into the cake, and a river of gooey chocolate spilled out “But I just hung up with Mr Ego-the-Size-of-His-Bank-Account”
“Again? What is his deal? With all the ot, ould he be interested in a ss? No offense”
“None taken,” Keisha said around a bite of lava cake The ave way to the decadent chocolate sauce hidden inside the bite, and her eyes alave so Jacobs Fine Furnishings collector and has alanted to be a part of the craft, so he figured buying the company was a way to do that”
The explanation had set off her bullshit meter faster than a Ferrari with nitro in the tank
“Why not say yes to all that money?” Ellen asked
“Because there’s no way I’ a second stroke Once was enough If the disaster of e Jacobs Fine Furnishings would do to his heart? We can’t even get him to take a teek vacation, let alone sell the place It took four ree to let my cousin, Tyrell, train to be his replacement And that only happened because the doctor said he’d have another stroke within six et his stress level down”
Her dad had started the company in his parents’ barn and had a knee-jerk aversion to anyone whose last na the family business Any deal to sell was destined to fail—no matter how much money Gabe offered
“I could never ith my mom” Ellen shook her head “We’d kill each other within a week”
“Well, I won’t be working with dad for et the official job offer fron in Harbor City, I’m out of here, and this whole place becomes Tyrell’s problem”
Finally Her new life was about to start She’d worked her ass off to pay her dues as an interior designer, and the idea of being single and free in the big city made her stomach fizzy with excitement She loved her family, but at twenty-six, it was past ti Miss Responsible for Everyone Else