Leora
"Ughh," I groaned, closing my eyes as I stepped off the plane, stamping my feet for emphasis.
I had made it to the airport in an hour, thanks to mild traffic. Luckily, Mr. Walker had an important meeting, so he was on a later flight. The premiere yesterday had also pushed our interview with Jimmy Fallon and a few other media rounds to tomorrow. Lucky me.
I had raced to the plane, terrified of missing my flight, only to walk in on Kathani and Leon... making out. And when I say making out...
"Have you put your shirt on now, Kathani?" I yelled from outside.
"Yes! You can come in now!" she yelled back. I stepped in and found her sprawled over Leon's lap. She had buttoned her shirt but left it open at the top, grinning like a fool. Both of them did.
"Y'all work for me, you know that, right?" I groaned as I took the chair in front of them.
"Please tell me you didn't do it here too," I fake-cried, pulling out Kathani's thong. Leon went red instantly, but Kathani, shameless, winked. "Girl, by the fourth round, I don't even know where we didn't do it," she said casually.
"Baby, she's our boss," Leon muttered, still embarrassed.
"And?" Kathani shrugged, like having sex on my private jet was no big deal.
"I mean, we were tired of waiting for you and decided to have fun, so what's the big deal?" She shrugged at us like it was normal.
"Please sit. We did not do anything on that seat... or anywhere for that matter," Leon said, motioning for me to sit. I complied, muttering, "Except for that one... Please remind me to have the chairs replaced."
"It's not our fault you're single," Kathani mumbled, picking at her nails. I sighed, too tired to argue.
"Kathani," Leon chided, but she just shrugged, speaking the truth without shame.
"Speaking of men," Kathani said, closing my laptop. I shook my head, knowing what was coming.
"Why weren't you picking our calls?" she asked, locking eyes with me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Yeah, Leora, what happened to you?" Leon asked, dropping his file.
"Or did my girl get laid?" Kathani winked, making me pale.
"N-N-No! You're getting this all wrong," I stammered.
"Then why did you come back to the party in another gown, and why were you late? Everyone knows you're never late," she persisted, brow raised.
Before I could respond, the pilot announced takeoff and delivered the usual instructions.
"So?" Kathani asked once we were in the air.
"So, I was accosted by that fool Jake, so I walked out of the private room to avoid a scene," I began, narrating my encounter with Ashton. "Then I bumped into someone... and spilled my drink on myself."
"And?" Kathani interjected. I rolled my eyes.
"And the person felt guilty, so they bought me a new dress and took the other one for dry cleaning," I clarified, emphasizing the gender-neutral phrasing.
"So you really did get laid," she grinned, plopping into my lap.
"What part of my story says 'getting laid'?" I asked.
"The person who bumped into you was obviously a guy. A girl would never buy you a new dress," she reasoned.
"And you gave the guy your address for the other dress..." she continued, poking my nose dramatically.
"Could be true," Leon added, grinning.
Kathani then demanded the full details, so I told her everything—including the zipper accident and Ashton's particular reference to my bracelet.
"So he helped you with your zipper, eh?" Kathani wigged her eyebrows. I ran a hand over my face in exasperation.
"But hold on," she paused, looking thoughtful. "Why did he make a reference to your bracelet?"
"To my bracelet?" we both said simultaneously.
The bracelet was simple: a thin silver band with an infinity sign laced with diamonds. It had no clasp, only a heart held together by a key I didn't have. Engraved on the back of the heart were the initials A and N. I was A—for Aiko—but N remained a mystery. Nick? Nathaniel? Norman? No clue.
Mom had kept it on me after my accident, saying it was a link to my past. I had always wondered who N was.
"Could he know?" I asked Kathani. She shook her head.
"Maybe he just liked it," she shrugged, seeing no reason a multi-billionaire would recognize a piece of jewelry.
I shrugged and focused on work, diving into my laptop and reviewing the files Norah had brought to the airport.
•••
As I went through the files, something strange caught my eye.
"Leon, are you sure these are the files Mr. Chase gave you?" I asked.
"Yes," he said, puffing up with pride. "Impressive, right?"
"Impressive... maybe too impressive," I sighed.
"What do you mean?" Leon asked, clearly confused. Kathani leaned in, intrigued.
"I suspected something shady. The reports looked too good to be true, so I had Norah run a check," I explained.
"Discrepancies?" Leon asked, unsure.
"More than a few," I said, showing him the papers. His face paled.
"He's been inflating profits for the past nine months," I continued, watching him process.
"But why inflate profits? Wouldn't reducing them bring in more money if he wanted to defraud?" Kathani asked.
"Yes, if he wanted cash. But he wanted goods," I clarified, picking up my iPad.
"Goods?" she asked.
"More profits mean more goods—clothes, bags, shoes. Selling more profit allows him to stock more goods for himself," I explained.
Kathani nodded, finally understanding. Leon added, "But there's more... if sales aren't matching, something else is going on."
"We'll find out in NYC," I concluded.
•••
"Leora, we're in New York," a hand shook me awake. I had likely dozed off after our discussion. Kathani had already packed my laptop bag.
"Thanks," I muttered, stepping off the plane into a waiting BMW. Only two hours to get ready for our first NYC appointment.
YOU ARE READING
Déja Vú
Romance"I will do it" The most beautiful lady I have ever met walks into my office,wearing a blue mini gown hugging her curves,with a v-neck line that showed a decent amount of cleavage. She paired it with a pair of gold drop earrings and a gold necklace...
