AlTonya Washington - Rival's Desire

Sandra had just arrived with a tray of coffee and smiled when she saw everyone. “Caesar Morrison and Vivian Desmond, this is Derrix and Kitty Tydes of the Tydes Inn, Kingston.”

Caesar and Viv stepped forward to shake hands with the brother and sister. Meanwhile, Sandra poured four cups of coffee and headed into the office.

“Your grandmothers told us they had beautiful grandchildren, but they did not tell us how beautiful,” Kitty remarked, her brown eyes twinkling merrily.

“Thank you,” Caesar and Viv replied in unison.

“We hope you’re as interested in our proposal as your grandmothers are,” Derrix stated, his expression clearly questioning.

Viv stepped forward and placed her hand in the crook of the handsome, older man’s arm. “Our grandmothers gave us plenty of information regarding your proposal. We assure you we’re very interested.”

Caesar nodded in agreement before smiling down at Kitty. “Shall we?” he asked, waving one hand toward the office.

“Mmm. This coffee is delicious!” Viv exclaimed later when they were all seated in the office.

Kitty Tydes practically beamed. “Thank you, dear. It’s a blend we serve in our inn.”

“Well, if the coffee’s this good, I can imagine what the food tastes like,” Caesar said, placing his cup and saucer on the coffee table.

“It used to be served in the gourmet coffee shops, until we convinced the owner of the recipe to let us serve it exclusively,” Derrix informed them.

Viv’s striking dark eyes widened. “And they gave it to you?”

Derrix shrugged. “For the right price.”

“But,” Kitty interjected with one raised finger, “he was happy to do so, since he has a lifetime pass to the inn.”

Everyone laughed and nodded at the man’s reasoning.

“Sounds like a fair trade,” Caesar said.

Derrix shook his head. “I don’t know about that. Do you know how many new visitors we’ve had since we brought this coffee in? The revenue in our little café has more than tripled.”

“Because of this coffee?” Viv asked, taking another sip of the delicious brew.

“Initially,” Kitty replied, “they come for coffee and wind up ordering everything else on the menu.”

Caesar grinned and propped his elbow along the arm of the high-backed leather chair he occupied. “And now the two of you want to add dolls to the list?”

Kitty nodded, her eyes never leaving the handsome face before her. “We met your grandmothers two years ago at a black entrepreneur’s convention in Hawaii. I was so taken by the collection of dolls they had on display, I stopped to talk to them.”

“At first, we proposed showing the dolls around our lobby,” Derrix informed them, pouring himself another cup of coffee, “just for decoration, but Francine and Carlotta suggested selling them in our gift shop.”

Vivian, who was seated opposite Caesar in the other white armchair, chuckled. “That’s Francine and Carlotta, always thinking about the sale.”

“Well, it’s good they did,” Derrix replied. “We took a shipment of fifty dolls with us to the inn. They sold out in less than a week.”

Caesar and Viv exchanged impressed looks across the coffee table.

“Well, Derrix,” Caesar began, clearing his throat as he leaned forward, “Viv and I have gone over the numbers one-on-one and with our grandmothers. We’re very impressed with everything we’ve seen.”

“Does that mean you’re ready to get the ball rolling with full-scale production?” Kitty asked, leaning back against the leather sofa.

“We’re more than ready,” Viv assured her.

Kitty clasped her hands together and smiled brightly. “Oh, that’s wonderful! We can’t wait to get started working with the two of you!” She said this to both of them, but her eyes were solely focused on Caesar. “I think you and Vivian should come visit us at the inn.”

Caesar could not hide the smile tugging at his lips. He had noticed Kitty Tydes’s obvious interest in him since the meeting began and glanced at Viv to see if she had caught on to that. To his disappointment, she was engrossed in conversation with Derrix.

“That sounds good, Kitty. I think we could arrange something.”

“Well, I do hope so. The two of you should really come down to see first-hand how and where the dolls will be displayed,” she told him, her eyes raking the width of his shoulders and chest.

Viv glanced up in time to catch the wanton stare Kitty Tydes sent in Caesar’s direction. She heard the woman’s offer for them to visit the inn, and shook her head at the effect of Caesar’s charm. After a moment, she cleared her throat and caught their attention. “Um, Derrix and I were over here discussing ideas on how to present the dolls. We think it would be good for them to be shown with more looks and outfits. What do you two think?”

Caesar sent Viv a knowing look as the conversation returned to business. The duration of the meeting was quite productive. Kitty and Derrix were pleased and excited by the new venture. An hour later, Caesar and Vivian were escorting them to the elevators.

“We did it!” Viv cried the moment they were back behind the closed doors of the office.

“One down, two to go!” Caesar replied, referring to the other deals they had to close.

The two of them were so excited and relieved after the success of the important meeting they pulled each other close and hugged. Viv slid her arms around Caesar’s neck as his encircled her waist. The rush of sensation the closeness provided was completely unexpected. The seemingly innocent hug only lasted a few seconds.

“You know…” Caesar cleared his throat as he headed to his desk. “We should go out and celebrate,” he suggested, trying to dispel some of the tension that filled the room.

Viv thought she should refuse. Of course, she wasn’t quite ready to let go of the joyous moment, either. “We’ll go out after work.”

Caesar and Vivian got right back to work after the meeting. They hadn’t realized it was time for lunch until Viv’s stomach growled, signaling its approach.

Caesar could not stifle his laughter.

Viv sucked her teeth at the deep, rumbling sound.

“Do you want to order in or go out?” he asked, once he had calmed himself.

Viv was about to reply when a knock sounded on the door. “Um, I’ve already made plans,” she told him, moving from behind the desk.

Caesar tapped the pen he held against the glass top of the desk and watched Viv bounce across the room. When she opened the door to Ray Warren, the pen ceased its tapping.

“Hey, Ray, you ready?” Viv said, pulling the man inside the room. “Caesar, you know Ray Warren, right?” she asked, walking back to the desk to retrieve her purse.

Caesar stood and shook hands with Ray. “What’s up, man?” he asked coolly enough, though his temper was raging.

“I’ll be back soon!” Viv called, missing the stony look on Caesar’s gorgeous face.

When the door closed behind Vivian and Ray, Caesar glanced down at his hand. The pen he held had been crushed to pieces. Laughing softly, he sat behind the desk and brushed the remnants of the pen into the wastebasket. As the shards of broken pen sprinkled into the wooden bucket, Caesar shook his head. Why are you suddenly so upset about her going out with another man? he asked himself. Of course, it didn’t take long for him to find an answer. He had never been around Vivian enough for it to bother him. He was glad, because he didn’t like it.

“I’ll try to get down there in a few weeks.”

“Man, will you relax? This place could probably run itself.”

“I’d like to see that,” Caesar replied, laughing as he spoke with Simon Harris, the manager of his restaurant in Atlanta.