All Up In My Business (3 page)

And when it came to plastic surgery, Adam thought his wife had had enough. She’d always been beautiful in his eyes, ever since he saw her walking across the Clark Atlanta campus back in the seventies. She’d looked like a Fashion Fair model to him that day, her dark caramel skin enhanced by the beige mini she wore along with similarly colored thigh-high boots. Her long, thick hair had matched the sway of her hips as she’d casually chatted with a friend. A couple days later, when he saw her in the cafeteria, he’d immediately gone over and introduced himself. She was even finer up close than she’d been from a distance, and after taking one look into the almond-shaped brown eyes that sat above a wide yet nicely shaped nose and luscious lips, Adam had gotten the distinct impression that he was looking at the mother of his children. This feeling proved prophetic—Candace became pregnant during her junior year, when Adam was a senior. They’d married that summer and welcomed their oldest, Malcolm LeMarcus, the following December.

Even after having their second son, Toussaint Lamont, Candace stayed slim. When she hit her forties and finally gained thirty pounds that didn’t shed easily, Adam still thought she was fine. She was five foot seven, and to him, the extra weight hardly showed. Candace hadn’t seemed that bothered
by it, either, until her sister-in-law, his twin brother’s wife, Diane, had commented on Candace being “fat” during a family get-together and had suggested liposuction as a quick way to take the weight off in time for their cruise to the Fiji Islands. Candace had been so pleased with the results that a tummy tuck soon followed, and breast implants followed that.

Any brothah would be pleased to squeeze a set of firm titties, even if he’d had to pay for them, and Adam was no exception. But a couple weeks ago, when Candace started complaining about her wide nose, Adam had shut her down immediately. “You’re becoming addicted to this shit,” he’d warned. “If you don’t stop cutting on the body God gave you, you’re going to become as obsessed as Michael Jackson was, may he rest in peace. You look fine, Can. Give it a rest.” So he hoped she’d gotten the message, because he didn’t intend to pay the highly skilled and equally expensive cut-and-paste doctor another dime.

That left the topic of his and Candace’s sons. The midyear company meeting was in two weeks, right after Juneteenth, so Candace probably wanted to butter him up regarding some plan in the works—probably another of Toussaint’s outlandish ideas. Adam loved his youngest son, but he swore that boy didn’t have a fear bone in his body. Where Malcolm was more like Adam, in looks and demeanor, Toussaint was definitely his mother’s child. Like her, he was brilliant, but he’d also inherited her impulsiveness and flamboyance. Toussaint had run an idea by him some months ago, an idea that Adam had nipped in the bud as quickly as he had Candace’s nose-job suggestion. “We’re trying not to have to sell the company, son,” he’d patiently explained. “And to not take on more debt.” Adam wasn’t sure how the other players would feel about constructing more Taste of Soul locations across the country, but he hoped that his and Candace’s vote would be the same—no f’ing way. The more Adam thought about it, however, the more he thought this might be exactly why he smelled chicken frying.
Damn, I have too much on my mind to argue with Candace about this right now
.

One thing on his mind was the e-mail he’d just received on his smartphone from the woman who’d been trying to seduce him for the past two years. He’d met Joyce Witherspoon in the clubhouse after a golf outing. They had exchanged business cards, because she’d told Adam of her plans to start an event-planning business, and she wanted to contract with Taste of Soul as one of the catering partners. Her e-mails had slowly gone from strictly business to potential pleasure, even as she launched the successful, high-profile business that kept the Taste of Soul catering arm busy. Adam was flattered, and Joyce was attractive, but he had told her that he was happily married. Joyce’s response had been quick and witty. “You’re married, but are you flexible?” He assured her that there was no room in his bed for a third party, but she continued her erotic banter in various phone calls and e-mails. Adam reread Joyce’s detailed description of what she wanted to do to him with her mouth and then pushed DELETE. He had always been faithful but could no longer ignore the fact that Joyce’s constant flirtations and adoration was wearing him down.

I’ve got to do something about this … and soon
. Adam picked up the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
and pulled out the sports section, determined to take his mind off of Joyce’s blatant suggestion. The only woman who’d be putting her mouth anywhere on him was cooking dinner in his kitchen.

Candace Livingston poured melted butter into the baking pan and then sparsely coated each buttermilk biscuit with the warm liquid before spacing the dough out evenly in the bottom of the pan. She loved cooking, especially now that she didn’t do it often. It was a love she’d inherited from the grandmother who’d helped support a family of four by cooking for an affluent family in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,”
Amanda Long would tell Candace as she whipped up a slap-your-mama pound cake or an oh-no-you-didn’t peach cobbler.

Candace smiled at the memory of those kitchen counseling sessions. Adam may think it was her small waist and big booty that had captured his heart, but Candace knew it was those candied yams and collard greens she’d fixed while they were dating. But somewhere between the birth of their first son and the opening of their second restaurant, the thrill had gone. She’d worked long, arduous hours at the Buckhead location, in the same tony suburb where they lived, and while it had been a labor of love, her joy for fixing food had been replaced with repulsion. There’d been days when she’d thought that if she fried, smothered, or baked another thing, she’d lose her mind.

Tonight she cooked with love, purpose … and just a little guilt.
Love
because when it came to cooking, she knew she could throw down. Adam loved food, and her fried chicken was his favorite.
Purpose
because she thought Toussaint’s latest idea was a stroke of genius, that the timing for said idea was perfect, that Adam would surely be against it, and that if anybody could change his mind she could, by using various types of thighs. And
guilt
because a married woman of respectable society, with grown sons and grandchildren, had no business thinking about the things she’d been thinking about the past two weeks.
You have a good life
, she chided herself while turning over a perfectly seasoned, perfectly crisp piece of chicken.
Women would kill to be in your shoes
. Then she thought of her options, the special project that had been placed before her, and couldn’t deny the excitement that thinking about it caused. As she set the table, lit the candles, and called her husband to a meal fit for a king, Candace knew she had some decisions to make. And she also knew that one wrong move, at any given moment, could turn her life upside down.

3

“H
ey, Ace, how you livin’?” Malcolm poured himself a glass of cold lemon water as he sat next to his uncle. Adam’s twin brother was named Abram, but everybody called him Ace, including his nephews and his children.

“Can’t complain,” Ace answered, looking around the room. There was a steady hum of voices as the players in the Taste of Soul restaurant empire conversed among themselves and waited for the midyear company planning meeting to begin. The bright and cheerful conference room décor, consisting of leather, mahogany, silk-covered walls, and freshly cut flowers, contrasted with the quiet atmosphere.

Zoe Williams, Ace’s executive assistant and the taker of meeting minutes, entered the room and sat next to Ace’s daughter. “I love that suit,” she said, managing to set down a purse, folders, and an iPad without spilling the cup of coffee also in her hand. “I don’t think I’ve seen it before.” Zoe had commented on the suit just to make small talk and to keep from staring at the person who seemed to take all of the air whenever they were in the same room—Toussaint Livingston. While working to breathe normally, she tried to look sufficiently interested as her boss’s daughter, who was home on
break from studying abroad, went on and on about clothes Zoe couldn’t afford. All Zoe wanted to do was stare at her boss’s nephew and figure out how to go from Ace’s assistant to Toussaint’s wifey. Among the other non-Livingstons present, however, was the marketing manager, the woman Zoe would have to crawl over to climb into Toussaint’s bed.

“Sorry for the delay,” Adam said as he walked through the double doors of the large conference room. “That was an emergency call from our Dallas location. On top of the major challenges we’re already facing, one of the cooks suffered a severe burn and was transported to the hospital by ambulance.”

A variety of responses were heard around the room.

“Why couldn’t he have been driven to the hospital by one of the employees?” money-conscious Malcolm asked. “Did the brother burn his feet up?”

A couple at the table snickered but quickly stopped when Adam cut them a sobering look. “This is serious,” he admonished Malcolm. “Somehow, one of the large pots of hot grease tipped over, and this young man suffered third-degree burns on more than thirty percent of his body. He’s got a long and painful road ahead, filled with surgery, skin grafting, and rehabilitation. Zoe, get me his information as soon as this meeting is over and book me a flight to Dallas for tomorrow afternoon. Oh, and send flowers,” Adam added. “As for the rest of you, please keep this young man in your prayers.”

“Jesus is the healer, hallelujah,” Malcolm’s wife, Victoria, said fervently, as if she were in church instead of a conference room and proving why she only visited the company offices twice a year. “I think we should pray for the young man right now.”

“We can pray later,” Malcolm quickly countered, concern mixed with obvious irritation. Since his wife had renewed her commitment to the Lord, their sex life had hit the skids, and he was more than a little upset.
We haven’t had sex in two
months. Why don’t you pray that the Lord will heal those headaches you keep having?
Later, Malcolm would commend himself on the fact that he didn’t say this out loud.

“I don’t have to tell you what’s going to come out of this,” Toussaint said to his father.

“I know,” Adam replied, motioning for Zoe to hand out the meeting agenda. “I’ve already got a call in to our attorneys, to make sure our liability insurance can take care of … whatever comes up.”

After everyone had received their copy of the order of business, Adam nodded at Ace.

“Y’all know the main reason we’re here,” Ace said, his posture relaxed, his tone casual. “Like many businesses, this one is in trouble, for the short-term. Let me emphasize that. This downturn is temporary. We’ve weathered financial storms before, and we’ll weather this one as well. But it’s serious, and we want everyone around this table to know that. If we don’t generate a large cash infusion, we’ll have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy within six months.”

This time the room’s reactions were more audible. Zoe gasped, the CFO groaned, and a third person hid their shock behind a cough. But the Livingstons were as cool as cucumbers. Even in their own boardroom, no one ever saw them sweat.

“What this means,” Ace went on, “is that we’d have time to get our stuff together and hold off these creditors who are calling in huge loans because of their own financial struggles. Filing bankruptcy is serious business, no doubt. But know this: In the event that this does happen, business
will
go on. No one here will lose their jobs.” He fixed Zoe with a reassuring grin. “Businesses do this all the time, to buy time. That’s all we’re doing.”

“I think it’s a good option, Ace,” Malcolm said. Others voiced their opinion, and then Toussaint stood. He handed out elegantly bound copies of a business proposal.
“What you’re looking at, ladies and gentleman,” he began, “is your future—the future of Taste of Soul.” He waited, making sure he had everyone’s attention. He did. Especially for the ladies in the room who were not his kin, six feet two inches of creamy, chiseled chocolate was hard to ignore. “This is the blueprint for taking our company to the next level, without filing for bankruptcy. We all know that the twenty-first-century game for corporate America is expansion through mergers. It’s time to go big or go home.”

“Oh, here we go …,” Malcolm grumbled. He met his father’s eye and knew Adam’s sentiments were the same. Taste would always belong to the Livingstons, period. But a subtle nod from Adam silenced further grumbling from Malcolm or anyone else.

“This is what I propose,” Toussaint continued, “a chain of Taste locations across America and throughout the world, franchises, along with retail establishments that carry an array of complimentary products. The goal is lofty—fifty new establishments in five years—but is achievable through partnership with high-level investors who can infuse this company with up to half a billion dollars cash immediately upon closing the deal. We will still control the business. All decisions will still be made by a Livingston majority.

“I know this plan is aggressive,” Toussaint concluded enthusiastically as he prowled the room like a caged panther. “But I’ve done the research, crunched the numbers. Now is the perfect time to strike—while the iron is hot.” He paused, gauging the faces of those seated around the large, mahogany conference table, and then took his seat.

“Thank you for a well-delivered proposal, Toussaint,” Adam said sincerely. He didn’t agree with his son’s assessments but couldn’t deny that they’d been delivered flawlessly. “As always, you came well prepared.” Instead of voicing his objections, Adam looked around the room. “Discussion?”

“I’d like to know which iron is hot,” Malcolm taunted
without looking at his brother. “The economy is still in the tank, unemployment is high, and the real estate market has yet to rebound. While what you’re proposing may look good on paper, I don’t think your plan will succeed in real life.”