Black Pearl (2 page)

“But Nik, you promised.” The whiny voice on the other end of the phone had Nikola rubbing his forehead.

“No, I said I would try to have lunch with you sometime this week when I returned. I never promised. I am busy. Now, we can schedule for some time later this week or I can hang up.” Nikola, never one to mince words, was not going to play into Cindy’s temper tantrum.

“Okay, fine. I can–,” she said.

“I will transfer you to my assistant and she will schedule it.” Not even giving her time to respond, Nikola put Cindy on hold, calling Sheryl to schedule a date for him and Cindy sometime late in the week, before transferring her. Looking at the clock, he realized it was nearly time to leave for lunch with Andre and stood, grabbing his suit jacket. Nikola was always impeccably dressed, and today was no different, as he wore a dark silver, Desmond Merrion suit. The suit was perfectly tailored to fit his muscled chest, smoothing down over a flat stomach, narrow hips and long, strong legs.

“I’m heading out to lunch with Andre. If there are any emergencies contact me on my cell.” He knew Sheryl knew this, but he did not like leaving anything to chance, and always reminded her of how to contact him, if necessary.

“Okay, Mr. Collins.”

Nikola decided to take the stairs down the one flight to get to his brother’s office. His position as CEO often found him stuck in meetings, sitting for long periods of time. So, in addition to regular strenuous workouts, he tried to incorporate as much physical activity in his day as possible. At the age of thirty-five, Nikola’s body still exhibited the fit physique he had the day he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, more than thirteen years ago. Entering his brother’s outer office, he heard the voice that sent a shiver down his spine. Walking closer, he saw his brother’s administrative assistant, Devyn Williams, dressed in a black skirt that stopped just above her knee and flared out and rounded like a second skin over her butt. She paired the skirt with a short-sleeve sheer pink blouse that was tucked in at the waist. The bright color highlighted Devyn’s brown skin tone. The dangly gold earrings and curls that were pinned high up top her head, with a few hanging down, drew attention to the column of her neck. Nikola found himself wanting to explore the space just behind her ear to find out if she was sensitive there. On her feet were a pair of black pumps that accentuated the curves of her legs and thick thighs. Thighs that were perfect for...

He clenched his fists, knowing that lusting after his brother’s assistant was inappropriate.

“And what is this meeting in reference to?” Nikola heard his brother ask.

“Nancy and Mike are doing the thing where they try to convince me of this prospective deal, so I will come to you and try to convince you. We’ve met a couple of times about it.” Mike was one of their top real estate advisors, and Nancy was his assistant.

“And?” Andre asked.

“And I’m not convinced yet.” Devyn’s undergraduate degree in business administration provided her with a solid understanding of investments and finance.

“Then neither am I.” Andre trusted Devyn’s opinion on many things. Andre knew a number of their employees often ran things past her to try to get her to bring it up with him or convince him it was worth a look. In the last three years, she had saved him a number of headaches by playing guard dog, keeping frivolous meetings off his schedule.

“Oh.” Devyn said turning to leave Andre’s office, and saw Nikola standing there staring at her. She fidgeted a bit.

“Hello, Ms. Williams.” Nikola nodded.

“Hello, Mr. Collins. I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I apologize for startling you, Ms. Williams.” Nikola looked at Devyn in that way that unnerved her.

“Don’t worry about it. He does that all the time. Always sneaking up on us, been doing it since he was a kid. It only got worse when he came back from West Point.” Andre joked. Nikola scowled at his brother, which only made Andre’s smile widen.

“No problem.” She smiled at Nikola. “Enjoy your lunch,” she said over her shoulder as she stepped around Nikola to leave Andre’s office.

“How was your trip?” Andre asked as they settled in at their table at the restaurant.

“Productive.” Nikola had been in New York for a week working on a potential acquisition of another financial services company.

“I’m pretty certain this deal is going to go through. I’ll need you to go over the numbers, of course.”

“Of course,” Andre agreed.

The two men talked business for a little while longer, before their waitress came and took their orders. Andre chose to order the sirloin with a side of steamed vegetables, while Nikola opted for the grilled red snapper over couscous with roasted vegetables. For the remainder of their meal, Andre and Nikola discussed new investment ventures and ongoing concerns. This was their weekly Monday routine. Though the two differed in age by five years, and in personality, they were very close. Both their parents, Iris and James Collins, taught them family always came first. This lesson stuck with both men. Five years ago when James Collins died unexpectedly, in a car accident, Nikola stepped up to take over as CEO. While many doubted his ability at thirty years old to handle the responsibility, he had been groomed from birth to be in the leader’s position. His father was toughest on his oldest son, knowing one day he would sit at the head of the table as Chief Executive Officer of Excel. In his early days as CEO, Nikola knew he could only entrust their company’s financials to his younger brother. Although Andre was in graduate school at the time, Nikola called and Andre dropped out of his MBA program, to become CFO of Excel. Eventually, Andre returned, taking night classes to complete his degree. Together the two brothers not only sustained the company their father built, but expanded its size along with the bottom line. The only other person Nikola trusted wholeheartedly, outside of his family was Raul Santiago, whom he met his first year at West Point.

As the two men ate, Nikola asked Andre for the name of the temp agency they used in the past. His assistant, Sheryl, would be taking a leave of absence for a few months to care for her sick mother. Nikola needed a replacement.

“You know, I am going out of town next week for three weeks returning a week before the gala. Why don’t you have Devyn sit in for Sheryl and help you pick out a temp?” Nikola’s fork paused in mid-air. He schooled his face to not show the emotion that passed through him at the thought of working closely with Devyn. Nikola searched his brother’s face, trying to figure out if he was up to something. Nikola suspected Andre picked up on some of the lingering gazes he would send Devyn’s way when they were in the same room for more than a few minutes. Those occasions weren’t often, since Nikola made it a point to avoid Devyn, which meant avoiding his brother’s office.  

“Won’t she have work to do for you while you’re away?”

He asked trying to find a way to avoid spending time with Devyn without turning down his brother’s offer outright. He knew if he just said no, Andre would become suspicious, and while he didn’t care what anyone else thought of him, he knew Andre was like a dog with a bone when it came to his life. Andre would root around for any inkling of weakness or sign Nikola was into Devyn and pounce. He was almost as bad as their mother. Iris Collins never let either one of her boys forget that they both were in their thirties, unmarried and childless. She would complain about being too old to play with her grandchildren if they held out for much longer.

“No, not much work. She often tells me how much downtime she has when I’m away. So much so, she ends up helping out other offices. It won’t be a problem for her to help you out for a few weeks,” Andre said drawing Nikola out of his thoughts. Clamping his jaw shut to the point of grinding his teeth, Nikola relented, nodding his head. “Fine then, Ms. Williams can sit in for Sheryl.”

“You don’t have to call her Ms. Williams. Devyn is her name,” Andre said, teasing Nikola once again about how formal he was with his employees.

“I will refer to her as Ms. Williams. Out of the two of us, one of us has to remain professional.” Nikola stated, referring to Andre and his more informal style of management.

Andre waved him off, “Whatever. I’m very professional and you know it. I just don’t see anything wrong with being a little friendly with the people who work for me.” Nikola grunted at this.

“Just make sure you don’t get too friendly.”

Andre put on a feigned affronted face and pressed his hand to his chest. “Are you suggesting that I would behave in a manner unbecoming of a Collins?”

At this, Nikola’s mouth quirked up in a quick smile. Andre was one of the few who could bring out an honest smile from him. “I’m not suggesting anything. Just reminding.”

“No need to remind me, big brother. I would never cross that line with Devyn. I’m pretty sure she has eyes for someone else anyway. Not that I asked.” At this news, Nikola’s gaze sharpened on his brother’s face. He wanted to ask who this other person Devyn may be interested in, but didn’t want to do the very thing he was just warning his brother against. He would not give in to temptation.

“Great. Then that settles that,” Nikola said flatly.

“So you’re going to be working with
the
Nikola Collins?” Mercedes Holmes asked her best friend as they entered the locker room of their kickboxing gym. The two women attended kickboxing classes together every Wednesday evening.

“Apparently,” Devyn responded. She just finished telling her what Andre discussed with her after he returned from lunch on Monday. Since he was going away for a few weeks and Nikola needed a temporary administrative assistant, she would be helping him out. Although Devyn never told Mercedes about the growing desire she had for Nikola, Mercedes, and everyone else in Atlanta, knew who he was. His face often graced gossip blogs, over speculation if the latest woman he was dating would be “the one.”

“I don’t know how you do it. You work with two fine men and haven’t even hinted at wanting either one of them.” Mercedes drawled as they wrapped their hands.

“I don’t work with both of them, usually. Just Andre. He’s fine and all, but we work together and neither one of us have any interest in anything beyond that.”

“Well, what about Mr. Nikola?” Devyn rolled her eyes at Mercedes.

“He is my boss. I am not even going to go there.”

“You know I’m usually ‘don’t shit where you eat’, but if I were you I would make an exception for that fine specimen of a man.” Devyn laughed.

“They let you around kids with that mouth?” She joked.

“They
used
to let me around kids. Now, I’m on the administration side and if you think my mouth is bad, you need to meet some of my co-workers. Nobody cusses like a bunch of former teachers.”

Although Mercedes had been doing burlesque for a number of years, she worked full-time as a school administrator after spending five years as an elementary school teacher. Mercedes was more than Devyn’s best friend, she was her sister. The two met freshman year at Howard University in Washington D.C. After graduating, they made the decision to move to Atlanta together. It was during her third year teaching, Mercedes discovered burlesque and began taking classes. Just six months later, she did her first performance and has been going non-stop ever since. She knew after Devyn’s breakup with Marcus it was something that would help her improve her self-image which had been destroyed during her relationship.

“Anyway, we’re not talking about me. I’m trying to figure out what is going on with you and Mr. Nikola Collins,” Mercedes said changing the subject back to Devyn.

“There is nothing going on. He’s my boss—or at least my boss’ brother. Either way he’s off limits, and I’m sure he’s not thinking of me anyway.” Devyn had seen the tall willowy women Nikola was frequently photographed with, and she knew she did not look like those women. Devyn’s 5’3”, full figure was nearly the opposite of what Nikola seemed to be interested in. Mercedes herself, at 5’9”, with a fit, toned yet still curvy shape looked more Nikola’s style. Devyn recalled a few photos of Nikola with a black woman. She was a supermodel, of course, but she knew he didn’t discriminate dating partners based on race.

“Don’t do that Devyn. Don’t put yourself down like that. You’ve worked too hard after
that asshole
broke your heart to get your confidence back. You know any guy would be lucky to have you on his arm.” Devyn smiled.

Mercedes had taken to calling Marcus
that asshole
since they’d broken up. Mercedes never liked him, but instead of trying to convince Devyn not to be with him, she supported her throughout, and once they broke up, Mercedes never said I told you so. Devyn would always be grateful. 

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant I don’t look like anyone he’s dated. At least, that I’ve seen. Anyway, this is a moot issue, since I’m not dating anyone I work with or for.”

“Fine, we’ll drop it, but you should at least let me ask Quince if he has a friend I can hook you up with. Aren’t you ready to date again?”

“Who is Quince?” Devyn questioned.

Her friend changed partners almost as much as some people changed underwear. Mercedes was also an equal opportunity lover. She didn’t discriminate based on race or gender either.

“You remember Quince. I told you about him a few weeks ago. We’re dating now. Anyway, I’ll see if he has a friend and we can double date.” Devyn side-eyed her friend.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’ll be fun and you’re ready to move on from
that asshole.
” Devyn knew Mercedes was right. Though she had done some dating since her breakup with Marcus a year and a half ago, it was a half-hearted effort at best. She’d had a few one night stands, wanting to forget the memory of Marcus Thomas. They were fun, for a while, but Devyn decided to give dating men a little break to let her heart heal. She now felt like she was ready to get back in the dating game.

“All right, but this guy better not have any gold teeth or problems keeping his hands to himself. Now, let’s get to this class before we’re late.”

Devyn was ready to hit the punching bag and release the tension that filled her body at the thought of working closely with Nikola Collins for the next three weeks.