Match Made In Paradise by Barbara Dunlop (black female authors TXT) 📕

offer took Mia by surprise and temporarily pushed her off her game. “No, thank you. First, I’d appreciate it if you let me know when you planned to visit the office. Second, I want a heads up on any meetings you have with the vice presidents or the department managers. Third, if you’re attending any event on behalf of Lafayette Fashion, I want a chance to discuss it in advance.”

“Mia,” Hannah said.

“Fourth,” Mia said, letting her tone tell them she was annoyed by the interruption. “Although I’m not purging the senior staff—no thanks to you two—I will be watching. Some of them are on probation for a while.”

“We’re not here to get in your way.” Henry’s tone was deferential, not the least bit combative.

Mia wasn’t buying it. “Right.”

Hannah rose. “We accept the judge’s decision.”

Henry rose too.

Mia looked from one to the other, trying to interpret their expressions. They looked sincere, but that didn’t mean much. She’d lived through years of the twins’ and their mother’s conniving ways.

“We just want to be involved,” Hannah said.

“Involved how?” Mia asked.

This wasn’t making sense. The twins had never shown an interest in the company before. They just took their salaries and ran. They had to be up to something here.

“Supply chain management,” Henry said. “I’m no designer, but I’ve watched Dad stick with the same old suppliers year after year, never even considering what else was out there that might be an improvement or a cost savings, India, for example.”

“You’ve watched?” Mia was completely baffled now.

“We have access to the entire company computer system,” Hannah said.

“You made use of it?” Mia asked, trying to wrap her head around the idea that the two had done anything other than travel and party since college.

“We’ve stuck with the same target demographic forever,” Hannah said. “Our customers are getting older. Older people buy fewer clothes.”

“Lafayette is a classic designer.” Mia didn’t know why she was explaining, except maybe that they’d taken her by surprise.

“That’s a pathway to oblivion,” Hannah said. “Whereas Shanghai and São Paulo—”

“I knew that was you two.”

“Are up and coming,” Hannah continued, ignoring the interruption. The enthusiasm level in her voice increased with every sentence. “I’ve been watching them for years. We have a new designer on staff, Emille Castille. She’s a perfect match for São Paulo, and—”

“What?” Mia looked back and forth between them, wondering if this was some kind of a practical joke.

“Emille works under Jo Bouvier, but I think she’d do better with a young adult focus.”

Mia reached for the back of a chair and pulled it out to sit down.

Hannah sat too. “There’s another designer, Werner Faux. He’s freelancing, but his work has been so phenomenal that I’d like to make him an offer. I can show you his portfolio.”

“It’s not just the fabric and designs,” Henry jumped in as he sat down too. “It’s the subcontracting, the store locations and setup, the web interface, even the packaging. There are huge improvements to be made. Have you analyzed the sales channels recently?”

“Have you?” Mia asked.

Henry nodded. “If we make some changes, I’m conservatively projecting a thirty percent increase in business over the next two years. I can show you the numbers.”

“You two are serious.” It was obvious to Mia they were more than just serious. They were keeners. They reminded her of Raven.

“Completely,” Henry said while Hannah nodded.

“Why haven’t you said anything before now? Why didn’t you talk to Alastair?”

They exchanged another look.

“What?” Mia asked.

“We did,” Hannah said.

Mia knew Alastair would have been thrilled to have them involved. “And what did he say?”

“That us being here would upset you.”

Mia’s chest hitched with guilt. “He did?” She’d never meant to keep Alastair from his children.

“He . . . uh . . .” Henry began haltingly. “He told us he talked to you about it.”

“But—” Mia stopped herself. She didn’t want to admit Alastair had lied to them.

“He never even asked you,” Henry said with conviction.

“I guess we deserved that,” Hannah said.

“We were pretty nasty,” Henry said.

“I don’t hold that against you,” Mia quickly put in. Oddly, she didn’t. She had for a lot of years, but somehow the resentment had faded.

She realized they’d been kids back then, naturally hostile against the teenager their father was marrying. And she’d been so defensive, so busy trying to hide her insecurities and pretend she was perfect that she hadn’t let anyone know the real her, not even Alastair.

Ironically, almost amusingly, and out of necessity really, Raven had come closest to seeing the true Mia, the flawed and awkward Mia. Well, Raven and Silas. Silas had gotten to know her better than anyone ever had.

He bloomed in her mind again, amused by her, patient with her, forcing his way past her veneer to reveal her flaws. And then he’d laugh at them and they wouldn’t seem so bad.

And he’d had faith. That one last time on the radio when the chips were down and his life hung in the balance, he’d truly put his faith in her.

She felt an urge to run to him now, to hop on the next plane and fling herself into his arms. She wouldn’t even care if she never came back. Her old life was gone.

“Do you want the house?” she asked the twins.

They both stilled and pasted her with identical looks of stupefaction.

“What did you say?” Henry asked.

“You want it? You grew up there—well, at first anyway—and it’s way too big for me.” As soon as the words were out, she knew it was the right thing to do.

She wanted a simpler life. In fact, the simpler life she thought she wanted was beginning to frighten her.

Chapter Sixteen

Lying in his bed, Silas could still feel Mia in his arms. In his truck, he could hear her voice. And in the air, he could see her smiling profile as she gazed down at the majesty of Alaska’s valleys. He couldn’t get away from her—not at the airstrip, not at Galina, and definitely not in the Bear and Bar.

So, when