where Ari sat waiting for their arrival. He greeted his wife with a kiss and then embraced Zaire.
It was obvious that Ari only had eyes for Natasha. He had been married before to his childhood sweetheart. When April died, Zaire and the rest of the family worried that Ari would never recover from his grief. But then he’d met Natasha. She and her son, Joshua, had given him a reason to live again.
“Seeing you two making goo-goo eyes at one another like this makes me believe in love,” Zaire said as she picked up her menu. “But if you don’t quit, I’m going to start feeling like a third wheel.”
Ari laughed. “That’s because you are.”
Natasha sent him a sharp glare. “Your brother is only teasing, Zaire.”
“He’s not, but I’m okay with it.” She chuckled. “I’m hungry, and it’s a good thing because he’s picking up the tab.”
* * *
When Zaire returned a couple of hours later, she found that her artwork had been placed on the walls and someone had unpacked a box of her books and placed them on her bookshelves.
Zaire glanced over her shoulder at the sound of footsteps. A young man dressed in a pair of navy slacks and white polo shirt said, “Hi, I’m Max. Tyrese asked that I help you with whatever you may need.”
She noted that he didn’t look much older than she. “Did you do this?” Zaire asked, gesturing toward the bookshelf.
He nodded. “Guilty.”
She smiled warmly. “Thanks so much for your help.”
“If you like, I can help you finish unpacking.”
“Sure.”
“So, what do you do here, Max?” Zaire inquired as they put away the rest of her books.
“I’m an administrative assistant.”
“Do you enjoy your work?”
Max smiled and nodded. “This is the best company I’ve ever worked for. I was an event planner at my last job, but they had a lot of financial issues. A year later, the company closed.”
Later that afternoon, Tyrese emailed the contract to Zaire, in addition to having his assistant hand deliver the hard copy.
Zaire went over the document, absorbing all of the information. She sat down in a chair she had borrowed from the conference room and opened her laptop.
She forwarded a copy of the contract to Natasha and her father’s attorney. Zaire had already made up her mind to sign, but she wanted to have another set of eyes review the document, as well.
Zaire unpacked another box of books before leaving for the day. She walked to Tyrese’s office to say goodbye, but he was not there.
She shrugged and then strolled down the hall to the elevator.
Tyrese was in the conference room. He saw her and gestured for her to join them.
Zaire stepped inside and quickly found a seat.
He introduced her to everyone and then moved forward with his presentation.
She noted that Tyrese seemed a different person when he was talking about his company.
“Someone asked earlier why we call ourselves a boutique marketing firm,” he said. “We are a company that offers media outreach, media planning and marketing for all types of businesses. This includes corporations who have their own public relations teams. The Moore Group specializes in raising the overall awareness of a brand, product or image of a company or person. We determine a strategy that will best publicize the product that will drive traffic and boost sales...”
Zaire bit back a smile at how animated he was. His passion and love for his profession drove him tirelessly. She understood that feeling well. It was something they had in common.
She was impressed by his knowledge of marketing and public relations. Zaire was grateful for the chance to work with someone like him. There was much she could learn from him.
Her eyes strayed to his perfectly shaped lips.
Zaire flushed when he caught her staring and quickly averted her gaze. Embarrassed, she made a quick exit when the meeting ended.
* * *
Zaire was exhausted but pleased with how much she had been able to accomplish. If it had not been for Max, it might have taken her a couple of days. Her furniture would arrive tomorrow.
She drove along the Pacific Coast Highway with her convertible top down. Zaire pushed back the strands of her hair dancing in the breeze.
She entered the house through the mudroom located off the kitchen.
“How did it go today?” Barbara asked when she walked into the kitchen.
“Mama, it was great.” Zaire set her tote down in one of the counter-height chairs at the breakfast bar. “Tyrese Moore is a really nice guy, it seems. His employees all seem to love working for him. Pilar wasn’t in town, but from everything she’s told me I know that they are very close.”
Zaire followed her mother out of the kitchen and into the family room.
“So what exactly will you be doing?” Barbara asked as she sank down on the sofa. She picked up the TV remote and turned down the volume.
Zaire sat down beside her mother. “I’m his partner. I’ll be leading a specialized program that we are calling our VIP Client Services. It will vary from simply booking time on a chartered yacht or private jet to requests of creating a special evening on an island staffed with celebrity chefs and topped off by fireworks. Basically, no task will be too small or too large.”
“So you partnered with his company in order to cater to the rich and famous?”
“Something like that,” Zaire responded with a chuckle. “If this works out the way I believe it will, Tyrese, Pilar and I are going to all benefit greatly from our partnership.”
Barbara smiled. “I’m happy for you, dear.”
Zaire hugged her. “Mama, you don’t know how much that means to me. I had every intention of working with Daddy until this opportunity came along—it was just too good to pass up.”
“Honey, I understand and it’s fine. Your father and I love you dearly. We taught all of you to think for yourselves and to make the best decisions for your lives.”
“So Daddy isn’t disappointed in me?” Zaire wanted to know.
“He isn’t,” Barbara assured her.
Later, in her room, Zaire searched through her closet to find something to wear the next day. She decided on a pair of gray slacks with a bright yellow silk shirt.
She washed, blow-dried and flat-ironed her naturally curly hair. Zaire intended to wear it in a sleek style, so she wrapped it. She hardly ever wore it straight, but she was in
