Sleepless in Manhattan Page 6

Eva reached for her sweater. “You mean apart from a sex life?”

  Jake smiled. “Speak for yourself.”

  Paige ignored him. “Time. They don’t have time. People have too much to do and no time to do it in and the stress of it stops them from enjoying every part of their life. Everyone wants forty-eight-hour days because twenty-four isn’t enough. That’s what we’re going to fix. We are going to be the people who give them hours back in their day.”

  Frankie adjusted her glasses. “I can’t see corporations employing us. We’d be too small.”

  “Small can be good. Small makes us nimble and responsive. Doesn’t mean we can’t be as professional as a large company with offices in Los Angeles.”

  “It might work.” Frankie stood up, for once forgetting the plants. “How would we build a client base? Advertising would cost a fortune.”

  “We do what we already do. We go out and find them. Pitch. And then we do a brilliant job with their event, we turn their stressed, manic lives into peaceful order and they tell their friends.”

  “And if we’re successful, our peaceful lives will become stressed and manic.” Eva’s blue eyes shone, but this time with excitement rather than tears. “I’m in.”

  “Me, too.” Frankie nodded. “I’m sick of working for a bullying boss and having no control. Where do we start? How long until we can bring in some money?”

  The question made it all scarily real and doused the excitement like water on flame.

  Paige swallowed.

  Her insides quailed. The theory was one thing, the practice was another.

  What if she couldn’t make it work? This time she’d be the one letting her friends down, not Star Events.

  “If you’re really going to do this,” Matt said, “you could start by asking for advice.”

  Paige shook her head. “Thanks, but I want to do this on my own.”

  Jake locked his hands behind his head, watching her from under his lashes. “Paige the pigheaded. Do you want to know how many start-ups I’ve seen fail in the last few years?”

  “No. And you were the one who told me to start my own business.”

  “I didn’t tell you to go off like a child in a toy shop with no sense of direction. You need to think about what you’re doing. Ask for advice.”

  “I have a clear sense of direction.” How could you find someone attractive and want to hit them at the same time? “I’ll ask the advice of people who understand the business, like Eva and Frankie.”

  “Yeah, that’s smart. Ask your friends. Because they’re sure to tell you the truth.” Jake drained his beer. “When you’re thinking of setting up a business you don’t want the opinion of your friends. You want people who are going to tell you what’s wrong with your idea so you can fix it. It’s going to be a tough grind and you need to be prepared for that. You need to be challenged. If you can defend yourself, then maybe, maybe, your ideas are robust.”

  Paige felt a rush of frustration. Needing space, she turned and walked to the edge of the terrace, away from them all.

  Damn, damn.

  Why did she always get emotional around him?

  And what if she was being too ambitious thinking that she could start up her own business?

  What if she failed?

  She heard soft prowling footsteps behind her.

  “I’m sorry.” Jake’s voice was low. He was standing close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek.

  Desire shot through her. For a moment she thought he was going to put his arms around her and she closed her eyes, holding her breath.

  He was not going to touch her.

  He never touched her. Not anymore.

  It was agonizing to find someone so attractive physically when they didn’t feel the same way.

  It was rare that they found themselves alone together. Not that they were exactly alone, but for some reason it felt that way as they stood, sheltered by the soft sway of the trees, while conversation drifted on the breeze from the far side of the terrace.

  He didn’t touch her. Instead, he stood next to her, staring across the water toward Manhattan.

  Paige let her breath out slowly. “Tell me what’s wrong with my idea. I want to know.”

  He turned his head to look at her, and the atmosphere on the terrace suddenly felt tight and intimate.

  “You need to think hard about your market, your customers and exactly what it is you’re offering. Matt’s right. Your customers are the most important thing. More important than how you structure the company, than what your website looks like, whether you have a video of flying pigs on your splash page. Ask yourself what your customers need, and then ask yourself why they’re going to come to you. If you make your offering too broad, people won’t automatically think of you. Too niche and you could find yourself without business. What value are you going to place on your service?”

  She found it hard to focus on business while the velvet stroke of his voice was teasing her senses.

  “We can’t afford to narrow what we offer. We’ll take whatever business we can get.”

  “Don’t undersell yourself. You’ll be brilliant, Paige.” His words drove the breath from her lungs.

  “From insults to compliments. You’re giving me whiplash.”

  “It’s the truth. You’re a born organizer. Your attention to detail borders on the aggravating.”

  She almost smiled. “Maybe you should be quiet now, before you spoil it.”

  His soft laugh broke the simmering silence. “Paige, you have a checklist for movie night so that we don’t forget anything, even though forgetting something simply means walking down a couple of flights of stairs. You remember everyone’s birthdays and have a record of every gift you’ve sent every person you know since time immemorial. You probably have notes on what you cooked someone for dinner two years ago.”

  “I do.” She frowned. “What’s wrong with that? Some people have food allergies. I like to make a note.”

  “That’s my point. You take notes on everything. You miss nothing. You will be so good at this job your competition will give up and cry. I almost feel sorry for them.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to enjoy watching you kick their butts.”

  “There’s a lot that could go wrong.”

  “And plenty that can go right.”

  Because her knees were unsteady, she gripped the railing in front of her, fixing her gaze on the shimmering lights of Manhattan. From here it looked glamorous and tempting, a world of opportunity. “I don’t know if I’m brave enough to do it.” The confession spilled from her and she felt Jake’s fingers slide over hers, the pressure of his hand sure and strong.

  “You’re the bravest person I have ever met.”

  His touch was so surprising that she almost snatched her hand away. Instead, she stood, her hand trapped by his just as her heart had been trapped all those years before.

  “I’m not brave.” She turned to look at him. He was standing closer to her than she’d thought, his face right there, angled toward hers with attentive concern.

  The urge to lift herself on her toes and press her mouth to the sensual curve of his was almost overwhelming, but she stayed still, her willpower sufficiently robust to stop her moving forward but not robust enough to make her step back.

  Laughter drifted across from the far end of the terrace but neither of them turned.

  Slowly, he disentangled his fingers from hers, but instead of putting distance between them he lifted his hand and brushed her cheek.

  She stayed still, her gaze trapped by the molten shimmer in his. She couldn’t have looked away if her life had depended on it.

  Usually he teased her, goaded her, drove her insane.

  It was as if he’d tried to give her a thousand reasons to fall out of love with him.

  This tenderness was something she hadn’t seen in him since she was a teenager, and seeing it now caused a sha
rp pang of pain.

  She’d missed this. She’d missed this easy relationship, his wisdom and his kindness.

  She swallowed. “When you have no choice, it isn’t brave.”

  “Of course it is.” His mouth tilted in a half smile and she felt a twinge of envy for all the women he’d kissed.

  Unfortunately she wasn’t one of them.

  And she never would be.

  Unsettled, frustrated with herself for spinning fantasies when reality was right in her face, she turned away. “Thanks for the advice.”

  “I’ll give you one more piece.” He didn’t try and touch her again, but his voice held her captive. “Weigh up the pros and cons, but don’t overthink this. If you focus on the risks, you’d never do anything.”

  “I feel as if I’ve lost my security.”

  “Your security wasn’t the job, Paige. Jobs come and go. You give yourself security, with your skills and your talent. You can take those elsewhere. What you did for Star Events, you can do for another company, including your own company.”

  His words gave her a burst of much-needed confidence.

  And they made sense to her.

  She felt like a wilting plant that had suddenly been given a large drink of water.

  “Thank you.” Her voice was croaky and he gave a smile.

  “When you find yourself working eighteen-hour days for seven days a week you might not want to thank me.” Jake strolled off to rejoin the others but Paige stayed where she was for a moment, thinking about what he’d said.

  You give yourself security.

  Eva and Frankie were laughing at something Matt had said and it was so good to hear them laughing that her own spirits lifted.

  She walked back to them. “What’s funny?”

  “We’ve been thinking up company names.”

  “And?” She could still feel Jake’s touch on her hand, and she wondered how the casual brush of his fingers was enough to send a thousand electrical currents soaring through her body.

  “We’re trying to sound bigger and better than Star Events.” Eva grinned. “Global Events. Planet Events. Universe Events.”

  “We’re not only an events company.” Paige settled herself on the arm of Eva’s chair, careful not to look at Jake. “We’re more personal. And we need to differentiate ourselves from the competition.”

  “We’re going to be a happy company. That makes us different,” Eva said.

  “It’s lifestyle as well as events. While you’re busy working we can choose the perfect gift for your wife, or arrange flowers for your mother-in-law.”

  “Or we could poison your mother-in-law,” Eva said happily. “Belladonna muffins.”

  Frankie ignored her. “It sounds as if we’re offering a concierge service.”

  Paige thought about it. “That’s it. That’s what we are. An event concierge service. We don’t just organize your event, we do all the extras. If you’re our client, we take care of all the little things you never have time to do.”

  Eva snuggled back against the cushions. “So all we need now is the name and an office.”

  “We need clients more than we need an office. We can work from the kitchen table to begin with. We’ll be out and about most of the day anyway. Or on the phone.”

  Frankie frowned. “Where do we start? I’m a floral designer. A gardener. I can arrange flowers for your birthday party or your wedding, and I can do a design for your roof garden, but don’t ask me to cold-call clients. I can’t sell myself.”

  “But I can.” Paige reached for her bag and pulled out her phone. Jake was right. Organization was what she did best. The excitement was back, and this time so was the confidence. “That’s the point of our company. I can’t do the flowers for your engagement party, but I know someone who can. That’s you by the way.” She glanced at Frankie. “And cooking isn’t my thing, but when Eva and her team cater your work party it will be something people talk about for months.”

  Eva looked mystified. “I have a team?”

  “You will have.”

  “Outsourced,” Matt advised. “Don’t inflate your payroll.”

  Frankie gave a crooked smile. “And don’t make anyone kale and spinach smoothies.”

  “She does that?” Jake winced. “If a woman ever made me that, our relationship would be over.”

  “It’s breakfast,” Eva said cheerfully. “Your relationships never last until breakfast, so you’re safe.”

  “Breakfast is the most serious meal of the day and the word serious doesn’t appear in my vocabulary.”

  A statement Paige knew to be untrue. She knew that Jake advised on cyber security at the highest level. Her brother had once told her Jake was the smartest guy he’d ever met. It was only in his relationships that the word serious didn’t appear.

  And she knew why.

  He’d talked to her about it, before she’d created a rift between them.

  “This is exciting.” Eva gave Frankie a light punch on the shoulder. “I’m going into business with my two best friends. Maybe you could give me a fancy title. That would make my day. How does Vice President sound?”

  Paige felt a flicker of tension. Being responsible for herself was one thing, but being responsible for both her friends was something else entirely. Jake, she knew, employed hundreds of people in several cities across the globe.

  How did he sleep at night?

  How did Matt sleep at night?

  Paige glanced at her brother and he gave a faint smile of understanding.

  “Ready to ask me for help yet? You might find I know a thing or two if you ask me. And Jake deals with start-ups all the time. He gives advice and he invests. We both have contacts. We can talk to a few companies—get you introductions.”

  Paige didn’t want to ask Jake for help.

  Even that brief conversation had left her feeling unsettled. Asking for help would mean getting close to him, spending more time with him. There was no way she was up to that.

  “You’ve helped me enough. I want to do this on my own. I can do this, Matt. You’ve been bailing me out of trouble since I was four years old. It’s time I did something on my own.”

  “You do plenty on your own.” He sighed. “At least let me help with the legal side. Company setup, tax, insurance—as Jake said, there’s a lot to think about.”

  It made sense. “All right. Thank you.”

  Matt stood up. “I’ll call my lawyers in the morning. You need a business plan—”

  “I’ll work on it tonight and tomorrow.”

  “Talk it through with me. And we need to talk about funding.”

  “Matt, you’re smothering me.”

  Her brother gave her a long look. “I’m offering you business advice and financial backing, and before you turn it down you should probably check with your business partners.”

  “I want you to help and advise,” Eva said immediately, “especially if you’re not going to charge. I’ll cook for you in return. In fact I’ll do anything except look after your psychotic cat.”

  “I’ll look after the cat,” Frankie muttered. “She’s suspicious of humans and I get that. If you’ll help, I’ll care for the roof garden all summer.”

  “You already do that for me. And you do a great job. I’d employ you in a heartbeat.”

  Paige glanced up from the list she was typing on her phone. “You’re poaching my team before we’re even officially a business?”

  “All the more reason to use me in an advisory capacity. I’m less likely to steal your staff.”

  “Fine! You win. You can advise. But no hovering over me. I want to do this myself. If this is a success I want it to be because of me.”

  “But if we fail, then we could blame him.” Eva’s cheeks dimpled. “I’d be happy to bask in success but losing my job twice in one week would dent my confidence horribly.”

  Paige heard the uncertainty in Eva’s voice and a blaze of determination shot through her. She’d do this right. Whatever it took,
she’d do it.

  “We still need a company name, and we need it to say what we do.”

  “We do a bit of everything from the sounds of it,” Eva said. “Whatever you want—your wish is our command.” She said it with a dramatic flourish and Paige put her phone down.

  “That’s it.”

  “What is?”

  “It’s brilliant. Your wish is our command. That’s our tagline. Or our mission statement or whatever it’s called.”

  “You’ll have people phoning you for sex,” Jake drawled, reaching for another beer.

  The flickering candles sent a golden glow across his lean dark features. Watching him woke up parts of her she would have rather stayed asleep.

  She was almost relieved that he’d returned to being annoying. “Do you have anything helpful to contribute?”

  “Unless you want men phoning you with indecent requests, that observation was helpful.”

  “Not everyone thinks about sex all the time. We need a company name that goes with that. Genie Incorporated? Genie Girls?” She pulled a face and shook her head. “No.”

  “Clever Genie.” Frankie deadheaded a rose.

  Matt stirred. “City Genie?”

  “Urban Genie.” It was Jake who spoke, his voice low and sexy in the darkness. “And anytime you three want to rub my lamp, go right ahead.”

  Paige turned toward him, a sharp rejection on her lips, and then she stopped.

  Urban Genie.

  It was perfect.

  “I love it.”

  “I love it, too.” Frankie nodded and so did Eva.

  “Paige Walker, CEO of Urban Genie. You’re in the driving seat, heading down the freeway to fortune. I’m happy to be your passenger.” Eva raised her glass and frowned. “My glass is half-full.”

  Frankie grinned. “I would have said the glass was half-empty. I guess that says a lot about the difference between us.”

  “We each bring our different strengths to the business and there are no passengers.” Paige reached for the champagne bottle and topped up Eva’s glass. “You’re driving, too.”

  “Hey, I can change a wheel but I’m not driving the car.” Frankie brushed soil from her sweatpants. “That’s your job.”

  Their faith in her was as scary as it was heartwarming.