CHAPTER ONE

BRODY
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY,” DEANNA SAYS as she walks up to my desk,
holding a piece of cake on a plate and grinning like she knows
something I don’t.
Christ, she’s a vile human.
Pen in hand, I lean back in my chair and try to seem as casual as
possible even though Satan’s hangnail is standing right in front of
me. “Thank you.” I nod toward the cake in her hand. “I see that
you’re enjoying the festivities.”
“And I see that your cake choice is just as bland as your face.”
See…Satan’s hangnail.
“Marion chose that cake. I dare you to say that to her.” Marion is
the mother of the office, the crotchety old lady who has hung on to
the job since Reginald Hopper started Hopper Industries. Once a
sophisticated boss lady in a pencil skirt and pill hat, she’s now an
elderly woman who complains about needing a permanent but never
books herself an appointment, lending her to sport a more Albert
Einstein-like look. If you ask me, I think she’s rocking it.
Deanna’s lips purse and she shifts, clearly not taking the bait. No
one messes with Marion, not even Reginald. Hence why her job
responsibilities include cake ordering, fridge restocking, and overall
crankiness.
“Have you heard that Daddy Reggie is making a decision about
the new arm of the business after Princess Haisley gets married?”
Firstly…Haisley is anything but a princess. Haisley Hopper is so
misunderstood within the company. The youngest of the three
Hopper kids, she has stepped away from Hopper Industries and,
with her own money, invested in a vacation rental house that she
redecorated and themed to Dolly Parton in Nashville. From the
earnings and revenue, she invested in another house here in San
Francisco that she themed around the movie Clueless. And from
what I’ve heard, she’s expanding even more.
Secondly, the term “Daddy Reggie” is only used around the lower
level employees in the office and if he ever heard that’s what we call
him, we’d find our asses hitting the curb.
Thirdly…how does she always know this insider information?
Drives me nuts. I swear she never works, just hovers around the
office like a fucking troll, listening in on conversations and logging it
away to annoy me later.
“Yeah, I heard that,” I lie. I never show my cards to this woman.
“You nervous?”
“Not in the slightest,” she says with a grin that makes her lip curl
into a snarl that would scare the dead skin off any snake.
I click the top of my pen, keeping my eyes trained on her. “Maybe
you should be.”
She rolls her eyes. “Please. The Hopper family will be coming off
the high of an extravagant wedding in Bora-Bora. Their heads will
still be ringing with wedding bells, and when they’re presented with
the two ideas, they’re going to be more attracted to my wedding
services proposal than your idiotic boutique rental proposal.”
It’s not idiotic.
It’s actually quite intelligent.
A business proposal that not only helps the city’s economy but
also Hopper Industries. Deanna just can’t look past her inflamed
eyelids to see that.
Keeping my face neutral, I say, “Well, I guess we’ll see.”
“Just admit it, you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.” Maybe a little scared. Her idea has merit. She
wants to expand into the wedding industry, using commercial
buildings as venues. And the fact that the Hoppers are going to be
fresh from vows on a beach in front of a lagoon—The Regency
magazine did an entire article on the event—I might be in fucking
trouble. “Cute that you think I consider you competition at all.”
She stabs a piece of cake and brings it to her mouth. “Keep
pretending—it will keep you in a delusional state so your fragile male
ego doesn’t shatter into nothing.” She starts to leave but then nods
at my computer. “Also, might not want to have the competitor’s
website up on your computer for everyone to see.”
“It’s called research,” I say as she walks away, her stupid, frizzy
ponytail swaying with every step. “She’s so fucking annoying,” I
mutter as I turn back to my computer where the Cane Enterprises
website is in full view.
Huxley, JP, and Breaker Cane, the brothers who own the
company, are Hopper Industries’ largest competitors. Based in Los
Angeles, they’ve taken their business to both coasts and have
recently moved up the Pacific Coast and started renovating old office
buildings into affordable housing units. It’s a huge tax break for
them and sheds a positive light on their company. It also spurs on
the economy, creating an environment where lower-income families
don’t need to spend all their money on putting a roof over their
heads, meaning it can be spent elsewhere. It’s brilliant and I’ve been
watching the transformation from a distance.
So has Daddy Reggie. And he’s not happy that the Canes have
“encroached on his space.” It’s why he tasked us to come up with a
new idea that will expand Hopper Industries into the commercial
space. And with technology advancing, allowing employees to work
from home, empty commercial spaces have been popping up all over
the city. Daddy Reggie wants to cash in on the buildings with a
grand idea.
Deanna and her ill-fitting pants have come up with the wedding
industry expansion.
Me…well, I came up with the idea that I think is way more
creative and has high merit. Something new and innovative. I’m
proposing that we take some of the smaller, empty commercial
spaces and turn them into pop-up shops for rent.
I know what you’re thinking…how is that going to compete with a
billion-dollar wedding industry?
Well, it doesn’t.
But…what it does do is add a modern twist to the company.
Currently Hopper Industries is known for their Hopper Hotel
chain, ranging from luxury vacation stays to affordable overnights,
as well as being the largest almond producers in California. With
over five hundred acres of farmland in central California, you can
find Hopper Almonds in every grocery store, gas station, and airport.
But that’s it.
Between farms and hotels, there is nothing modern about Hopper
Industries.
That’s where I come in.
My proposal: take the empty storefronts in popular shopping
districts, renovate them into clean, white spaces or give them a
moodier twist, and offer them up for rent as pop-up boutiques or
even meeting spaces for businesses that come in and out of town
for short periods of time and might need a brick-and-mortar venue
or meeting space.
Like I said, is it a billion-dollar industry? No.
But will it bring in a younger market, create buzz through social
media, and be something we can expand throughout the country as
a unique experience? Yes.
Do I think it’s going to beat the spectacle Deanna is drumming
up? Well, let’s just say…I might be a little scared.
“Did you get some cake?” Jaleesa asks as she steps up to my
desk, pulling me from my panicked thoughts.
Jaleesa is my direct manager, my best friend in the company, and
the reason I have this opportunity to come up with a proposal for
the Hopper family in the first place.
I turn to face her, more relaxed since I get along with her so well.
It’s easy to work with someone who believes in you. “White cake
and vanilla frosting really isn’t my thing,” I answer.
“It’s Marion’s, hence why it’s ordered every single time.”
“Not surprised.”
She looks over her shoulder and then pulls up one of the other
desk chairs near my area. “I saw Deanna over here. Was she
taunting you?”
“When is she not taunting me?” I shake my head. “She thinks she
has a leg up with her whole wedding idea.”
From her immediate silence and the twist of her lips, I can deduce
that Jaleesa knows something that I might not.
“What?” I ask.
She glances around again and when the coast is clear, she leans
in. “I actually came over here because I heard Reginald is leaning
toward the wedding idea.”
Of course he fucking is. It’s the easy choice.
“Fuck,” I growl as I rub my hand across my forehead.
“That’s not even the worst part.”
I pause my hand mid rub. “What’s the worst part?”
The sorrowful look on Jaleesa’s face nearly makes my scrotum
crawl up inside of my stomach. Whatever she’s about to say, I know
I’m going to hate it. “If Deanna wins, she’ll become manager, this
branch will dissolve, and you’ll fall under her management.”
I feel all the life drain from my face.
And my scrotum that was teetering on a visit to my stomach?
Yeah, it’s now in my goddamn throat.
There is no fucking way.
Imagine coming into work, day in and day out, having to work
under the smuggest individual you’ve ever met. Having to say , “Yes,
ma’am”.
Let me get you those reports.
Oh sure, I would love to work late with you.
Is this what you were thinking of with this presentation? Or
should I redo the entire thing that I spent two weeks perfecting and
have it done in five hours for your approval?
It can’t happen.
She would make my life a living hell.
“From the bleak look in your eyes, I’m going to guess that’s not
what you wanted to hear.”
“It’s really not,” I say. “What about you, where would you go?
Would you no longer be managing? Oh fuck, would you have to have
Deanna report to you and me report to Deanna?”
“I don’t know the logistics, but I do know I’ve been thinking about
leaving.