SAVANNAH
“Edward did what?” Wesley’s voice thundered in the coffee shop at Midtown we always went to.
“Hey!” I hissed.
“Sorry.” He gritted his teeth. “I’m going to fucking kill him, Savannah. I don’t care if he has a rich aunt.”
Riley patted her older brother’s arm. “Relax, dude. That’s not helping.”
The three of us had been best friends since our early teens. We were supposed to be four, but Sofia returned to Mexico for college, and we hadn’t seen her since.
“So, what are you going to do?” Wes asked.
I rested my chin on my palm. “He can go to hell. I’ll resign from my position at New Star Media.” I looked at Wes. “You said you have a vacancy in your department. Is it still open?”
“So, you’ve finally considered that now, huh?”
Wesley Allen was associate marketing director at Sebastian Entertainment Group. The company was founded as a record label, but after acquiring subsidiaries, it expanded into a global mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate with a net worth of eighty-five billion dollars.
“Well, Sebastian Entertainment is bigger than New Star.” I was also confident with my experience and MBA.
Wes beamed. “But I’ll be your boss.”
“Cocky.”
“Fine.” Wes chuckled. “Send me your CV. I’ll endorse you to my boss.”
“I’ll email it. By the way.” I turned to Riley. “Can I borrow your phone? I need to call my cell. I dropped it at the airport yesterday—” I showed them the phone I’d picked up “—and got this instead.” I skipped the part where the owner was some hot Greek God. Like he was Zeus and Hades combined.
“Really?” Riley held the phone and lit the screen. “No one called here?”
“No notifications either. It’s locked, so I can’t connect it to Wi-Fi.”
Wes snatched the phone from me. “And there’s no emergency contact.”
“Here.” Riley offered her phone. “Try calling your cell.”
I called my number right away.
“Hello! You’ve reached Savannah Reed’s voicemail. Please leave a message after the beep...”
“Mailbox,” I told them.
“Your phone is probably dead or something. Did you charge it?” Riley asked.
“I’m not sure. But maybe he doesn’t have my phone.”
“Do you still remember the face?” Wes asked.
Yes, the man was kind of hard to forget. Edward was handsome, but this guy was probably the sexiest man I’d ever seen. His blue eyes had green tones and a rim of gold around them. The way he stood and carried himself was an epitome of elegance. Thinking about him brought sex to mind. Incredible, raw sex. One that I could finally have a mind-blowing orgasm.
My throat dried up, so I drank my iced latte. “Anyway, I’ll prepare my resume when I get home. I’m staying at Michael’s.”
“That’s good. Edward’s not worth it,” Riley said and then ate her doughnut.
RAFAEL
The last thing I needed was my brother calling my assistant early in the morning. I was getting ready to attend Metropolitan Pictures’ press conference in Boston. The film production studio was now a Sebastian Entertainment subsidiary, owning a seventy-six percent stake.
“Julian,” I answered while adjusting my sleeves in front of a full-length mirror. Billy, my assistant, was holding his cell on loudspeaker.
“I know you’re busy, but there’s a little problem. I thought you should know.”
“Don’t stall. What is it?” I picked up my cufflinks from the vanity and attached them.
“Sue Winkler of PeekFlix called. She said there was a mistake with the initial proposal.”
“Elaborate. I didn’t tell anyone to send anything. No one has sent me the modified documents.”
“I know, but remember Diana Emerson? Carter’s assistant.” Carter was one of our brothers.
“What about her?”
“She delivered the draft to Sue.”
Diana fucking Emerson. I didn’t want to hear that name anymore. I asked Carter to fire her last week.
I snatched Billy’s phone and pressed it to my ear. My poor assistant stepped back in fright. “Didn’t Carter check?”
“He said he did, but Diana sent it anyway. We thought maybe she took the termination personally.”
I fired Diana because she sent the wrong dates for the upcoming fortieth-anniversary celebration on the MMS marketing announcement. Sebastian Records would hold an audition for new talents on October twenty-first. But she advertised the date on October thirty-first. It cost me a half million dollars to change the incorrect date.
I clenched my teeth. “But how’s the proposal going?”
“Nigel said it will be finished tonight. Seven, at most.”
“Fine. Please send the progress to Billy’s email. I want to see it.” I pinched my nose bridge, sighing. “I want a smooth, error-free deal with this, Jules. You know how big this is to us.” To dad...
PeekFlix was an online streaming service founded by a Mexican businessman, Emilio Estrella. The platform outran every available streaming platform in Latin America, making a revenue of one billion last year. Their original shows were popular internationally. So when Emilio opened it to worldwide distributions, for which reasons hadn’t been disclosed (yet), Dad saw it as an opportunity to obtain a large stake. Emilio was visiting New York in two weeks to meet with potential partners. Only, I wasn’t interested in mere partnerships. I wanted to fully bring PeekFlix to Sebastian Entertainment and broaden it to its maximum potential that their current management failed to see.
“I understand, Rafe. Hey—”
“Dude, just relax, okay?” It was now Carter talking. “I’ll take care of it.”
“How can I relax, Carter,” I said tightly. “Adam said you were at the nightclub last night when you should be working on this.”
“But what’s done is done.” I only left for a few days, and this had already happened.
This was how I thought we were different. While my three brothers could still find time to play around, I took every business deal Dad threw me very seriously. Over the thirteen years I was CEO, our stock rose by twelve to fourteen percent. I bought minority shares by acquiring independent studios with excellent growth potential to keep fifty percent of the majority stakes to the family.
“Go to PeekFlix and see Sue as early as possible,” I instructed.
“Me?”
“Yes, you. You said you’ll take care of it.”
“You want me to fly to Mexico City? It’s not what I meant.”
“It’ll only take two days. Discuss the initial plan with Sue. Don’t forget that she’s Emilio’s operations executive. Let’s have a meeting with Julian and Adam when you return.”
I cut the call.
“Everything okay, sir?” my assistant asked.
“No, Billy, it’s not.” I gave him his phone back. “Julian will send you the PeekFlix proposal today. I also need a phone to read my emails. I can’t use yours every time I need to check something.”
My phone was with the woman at the airport. She looked like she hadn’t slept for a week with her drowsy brown eyes. Despite the imperfection, the symmetry of her face was rather alluring. She had almond irises, a small nose, and a full and sumptuous mouth glazed with a shade of pale pink. Those characteristics were enough for me to notice. She was clumsy, but I supposed she wouldn’t guess my passcode. She didn’t seem to be that kind of person.
“Do you wish to keep your current number, sir?” Billy queried.
“Don’t change anything. I’ll get that phone back.” I put on a wristwatch and then fixed my crooked ties.
“Understood, sir.” He stepped aside to make way. “The car is ready.”
SAVANNAH After my two-hour update about the business trip, I submitted my resignation on Monday morning. Amara picked up the envelope and stared at it, but she wasn’t surprised. “Effective next week. You know I like you, right?” she said. “I’m so sorry, Amara.” “Savi, you are smart, obedient, and enthusiastic. You met deadlines and submitted outstanding ideas that helped me numerous times. Can we talk about this first?” “Believe me, I’m grateful to be here and I will be thankful forever, but—” “But my nephew is an asshole. Yes, he is.” Amara might be Edward’s aunt, but she was fair. I had a colleague who was cheating on his wife with another colleague. Amara fired them the next day she found out. She was strict with work, but the employees loved her. She was still single at age forty-four, so relationships and men were never an issue. I now understood why she was that way. She always said men were always the problem. “Edward told you.” She stood up and turned around her desk.
SAVANNAH “What? ‘You looked exhausted? That’s the difference between us?’” Riley quoted Sofia’s words in rage. We were now at the bar, drinking our favorite cocktails. “I will cut her tongue when I see her.” Wesley laughed that he almost teared up. “Are you sure that’s Sofia?” “Why would she lie about it?” I said. Riley hugged me. “That’s okay. Let’s just forget about her.” “Yes, so let’s change the subject. Hey, I sent my resume,” I told Wes. “Did you get it?” “Yes, but I couldn’t show it to my boss,” Wes replied. “He’s busy with something the CEO asked him to do.” “That’s fine. I can wait.” Wesley clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Great. You know I really need your marketing knowledge and organizational skills. You’ve helped Amara with your ideas. I’m surprised she let you go.” Edward was still her nephew. Of course, she’d choose him. “Nah. I’m glad she let me go.” “Listening to you sounds exhausting,” Riley suddenly commented. “I still think owning a restaurant
SAVANNAH Riley squealed in my ear when the call ended. “Sexy voice,” she remarked. “He oozes sexiness everywhere.” I couldn’t believe the man would personally meet me. He could’ve sent anyone. Rafael. His name was Rafael. I wondered what his family name was. I wanted to stalk him on social media. “Do you girls know what time it is?” Wesley complained. “Can we go home now?” Riley’s mouth twitched. “You’re just jealous. Nancy broke up with you.” Wes glared at his sister. “Shut up. Are you a child?” “Nancy broke up with you? Why didn’t you tell me?” I questioned. This was news. We always told everyone about everything. Riley was biting her bottom lip, looking down. Wes waved his hand dismissively. “I just didn’t want to worry you.” I pouted. Sure, I’d be worried. Wes met Nancy because of me. “I’m sorry.” “It’s not your fault.” He smiled, patting my shoulder. “Hey, it’s getting late. I have an early meeting tomorrow.” “Oh, of course.” I nodded, then looked at Riley. “Are you go
SAVANNAH I kept myself busy the entire day, avoiding Edward. He was preoccupied with work, so I assumed he had no time for a coffee break. No one in the office knew about our marital issues, but I refused to tell anyone—not even Emma. Brett, who was also my boss, seemed clueless, but if he knew, he was still usually professional. “Ms. Reed?” But Brett wasn’t friendly, either. We didn’t dislike each other, but we didn’t like each other either. “Ms. Reed,” Emma’s voice pushed through my disarrayed mind. “I’m sorry. What is it?” “Are you okay?” “I’m fine. Where were we? Oh, it’s our, uh, current biggest project.” “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but it’s almost seven. Didn’t you say you have an appointment?” “Seven?” I checked my watch. God. I didn’t notice. “Ms. Reed, we still have three days.” She looked at my face curiously. “I was watching you, and you weren’t stopping. Your eyes were glued to the computer all day. Everyone went home.” I looked around our o
RAFAEL“Congratulations!”My family uttered simultaneously at the dinner table. Julian announced he’d successfully impregnated his young wife. It had been six months since their wedding.His wife, Anya, was one of my best composers and songwriters, despite being new in the industry. The songs she wrote for pop star Ophelia Grant hit seven hundred thousand sales on the album and half a billion in audio streams. She now had offers to write songs for an upcoming animated fantasy film.Their story was similar to those of romantic comedy movies. Julian was Anya’s music professor at Whitlock School of Music. I was skeptical about their relationship; I thought Julian was stupid to date his student. But it worked out for both of them. I admired these types of marriages, but it didn’t mean my views about settling down changed if I met someone like my brother’s wife. I didn’t think I could handle being a doting husband or a father. I just couldn’t see myself changing diapers and bathing babies.
RAFAELI sat in the boardroom for ten days in the talk of one of my studio’s biggest film franchises. I initially planned to release the film to PeekFlix when Emilio signed. The premise would be based on the bestselling post-apocalyptic, fantasy, and science fiction book The Zion’s Code Trilogy. The books sold over one hundred million copies worldwide, so Adam suggested I read and consider them for a motion picture. I ended up liking it. With our best directors, scriptwriters, and a set of A-list actors, a big budget, the film should be huge.Movies our studios had produced were listed as the highest-grossing films so far. We’d gained millions of followers globally, so I had a good feeling about it. So, each creative team and department presented schemes for new film productions, artist screenings, scripts, and music arrangements, as well as its events and conferences, in order to execute strategic initiatives.After the series of meetings, I was behind my desk, allocating decisions,
SAVANNAH “Savi?” Wesley called out as he knocked. “Hurry!” “Coming!” I shouted back. I put on a pair of pearl earrings to match my Grecian maxi white dress. The straps hung on my shoulders with a racy V-cut on the cleavage and had a side split at my right upper thigh down on my leg. My back was half bare, but a strip of gold chain connected to the other side to keep it from falling off. I didn’t wear any necklace. I liked the way my neck was also bare. I let my hair fall on my shoulders with the right curls and wore six-inch because it emphasized my butt when I walked. For the final touch, I swiped a red lipstick and hurried outside. I was now ready for the party. “What’s taking you so long?” he complained, but Riley slapped his arm. “You boys should know by now what it means for us girls to dress up,” she said. I grinned. “Yeah, because you’re not bad yourself.” Wes looked debonair tonight in Brioni tux. With a body and handsome face to flaunt, I rarely saw him less than gorgeou
SAVANNAH I looked around before I asked Rafael. “What are you doing here?” He smirked. I wasn’t sure what he was smirking about, but his gaze slightly dropped to my breasts—to my low-cut V line. “What do you think?” I blinked. Was he playing with me? How was I supposed to know that? My only guess was he, too, was an invited guest. Was he some sort of celebrity I didn’t know? Because how could someone be so breathtaking? And how the hell didn’t I know about him yet? If thoughts had a sound, he already heard me squeal. I couldn’t take my eyes off his face. “I don’t know.” I chuckled, shaking my head. I couldn’t believe I had got to see him again. Was this fate? Others would call it ridiculous, but I was the kind of person who believed in that. “I’m here for work. You?” “You work for PeekFlix?” He sounded interested. “Oh, no. But I heard we are looking forward to it.” His eyes narrowed. “Who’s we?” I wasn’t probably making any sense, but that wasn’t so important. I was bewildered