Page 33 of Obsessive Love
“Story Time will have an exclusive line through all of Stone’s companies,” I said, nodding. I’d been thinking about this for days, and it was my only option. “Think of Stone Enterprise as a tree; you all branch off into different areas, right?”
“Yeah,” Pyrite said, stepping into the room. He took a seat next to Citrine and picked up another cookie. This one was a white chocolate dipped in peppermint. He examined it before biting it and nodding. Again, flashes of his lips touching my skin ripped through my mind.
“Fable?”
“Hmm?” I turned to Mrs. Diamond and lifted my brow in question.
“You were explaining your plan to have your bakery exclusively in our company,” Mrs. Diamond said with a smile.
I wiped my hands over my butt and nodded. There was no time to be embarrassed by the fact that she more than likely knew that I was watching her son because I had shit to do. “Right, my plan.” I took a deep breath, relaxed my shoulders, and prepared to sell the shit out of my company because I wanted to live. “Between the hotels, arena, and even the small companies, you’d offer exclusive treats at each one.”
“How exclusive?” Citrine questioned. “And how will they be promoted?”
“In your hotels, depending on the type of rooms they get, you’d start with a small sample tray. Nothing too crazy, just bite sizes of different desserts to see what they do or don’t like.” Citrine nodded, which I took as a good sign. “Everything would be made fresh daily; once it’s gone, it's gone unless it’s from the executive or penthouse suites.”
PYRITE
This was her element;I knew it when she gave us her game plan. I sat back, watching Fable talk to Mama and my brothers. She knew what she wanted to do to get out of here. The crazy thing was, she wasn’t leaving. That decision was made the moment I saw her at her bakery. Taking her was my only option because letting her go would never happen.
I sat forward, resting my elbows on the table. “Each team will have an exclusive line?” I questioned her, and she nodded. “How will that work?”
“You’ll have to add a Story Time front to the arena,” she answered with a slight shrug. “I’ll sit down with all your starting players to get their opinions on what they want named after them.”
“What will be their options?” The thought of doing this sounded dope as hell. No other teams offered anything like this. It would be a lot of fucking work, especially with the arena being used year-round, but whatever she needed to happen would.
“Cookies, cake bites, bars,” she replied, and I nodded. “How many teams use the arena?”
“Right now, five, but I have plans,” I answered. “You think you can handle that?”
“Yes,” she confidently said, and I sat back. Yeah, she could, and if she couldn’t, I would ensure she didn’t fail. Failing was never an option for a Stone.
“When do you want to start?” Mama asked her. I knew how Mama’s mind worked; she was ready to move once she latched onto an idea. This was right up her alley.
“We already have,” Fable replied as she looked around the table. “The samples you just tasted are what I’m thinking of right now. We will narrow it down from here with a process of elimination.”
“I say all of them stay,” Amethyst suggested as he reached across the table to grab a lemon bar and a small, sweet potato pie bite. “Cuz this shit good as fuck.” He stuffed a bite into his mouth and nodded. “Yeah, all of it stays.”
“We are going to need more people,” Fable turned to me and said. “Who do you have in mind?”
“I’ll have the teams meet on Friday,” I said without thinking.
“How long can you afford to close the arena for renovations?” Mama asked, and I sat back in my seat and ran my hand over my hair.
“There are fronts in the arena already, right?” Fable asked, and I nodded. “Then there is no need for renovations. I’ll use one of those.”
“Nah,” I laughed as I pushed back from the table and stood. “That’s not happening.”
“Why not?”
“Because my name is on the arena,” I answered as I walked away from the table. The fact that she thought she would have a regular front was comical. There was no way I was going to let her have anything average. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with the fronts in the arena, but Fable would get nothing but the best. I picked up my phone from the island and dialed Zane’s number.
“Hello?” she answered out of breath.
“How soon can I get you to renovate a front at the arena?” I asked as I watched Fable. Why she thought I was playing was beyond me, but I could show her better than I could tell her.
“I can get you on the schedule for the first of next month,” she answered. “Why?”
“Put me down; we can go over specifics tomorrow if you have a chance,” I replied.
