Own Me Read online

  I looked down at the arms she was talking about. I mean, they were all right but I wouldn’t call them sexy. I guess they had some definition?

  Twyla squinted. “Yes, I think that’ll be good. Something to bring out those veins on your forearms. I know some women are suckers for them.”

  She turned and walked to the converted service room which was now her office. “Come on! We’ve only got twenty minutes until they bring out the cake.”

  I followed dutifully, a mix of emotions pouring through me as I thought about Friday. While I wasn’t looking forward to meeting with an investor who would no doubt try to chop up and sell my family’s business, there was a little tinge of excitement in my belly when I thought about the club. Cream, Twyla’d said.

  It certainly sounded better than sitting alone at home and reciting lines to a porn vid.

  * * *

  “Austy?”

  I looked up from my desk as Ana’s muscled frame filled the doorway to my office. It was barely dawn, but I’d been up all night worrying about the meeting with Twyla’s friend. My stomach had churned each time I’d glanced at my chrono, the minutes turning into hours and hours morphing into dread.

  Finally, I’d given up on sleep altogether and headed to the office with my small luggage in tow.

  “Aren’t you heading to Royal One today? Why are you still here?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She was dressed in her mechanic’s uniform of black overalls and a white tank top—a clear indication that she was here to check on a pasteurizer that hadn’t been heating properly over the past week.

  “Well,” I said, leaning back in my chair and feeling the old gal protest under my slight weight. “I have two reasons.”

  Ana gestured for me to continue.

  “First, I don’t want to. And second, this sucks.” The last word turned into a whine.

  “You’re such a baby.” Ana shook her head in resignation and took the seat across from me.

  “I am a baby,” I agreed. “A baby of two families.”

  Ana’s brows lifted. “So you’re saying it’s our fault that you’re like this? We coddle you too much in our little friendship circle?”

  “Exactly.” I snapped my fingers. “You get it.”

  She took a large breath, pausing for a moment before tucking her locs behind her ears.

  “Walk me through it, Austy.” I could tell she was trying to be patient—not her best quality. “What’s bothering you? I spoke to Twyla the other day and she explained it’s only a consultation. Your father is looking for an external investor to inject some extra capital into the business, right?”

  I winced, the word inject triggering an unpleasant sensation across my skin.

  “I’m uncomfortable, okay?” I blurted, picking up the tablet from my desk and setting it down with a clatter. “Things work around here just as they are. The idea of someone coming in and telling us what to do, all in the name of making money... That’s not what Burkett’s Dairy is about.”

  “Then what is it about?” Ana questioned, a furrow on her forehead.

  “Cheese!” In hindsight, perhaps it was an odd thing to yell. “Butter. Yogurt. The heart of the business is the quality of our products.”

  “But you can’t assure your customers about the quality of your products if your business goes under, and you have nothing to sell.”

  I grit my teeth at Ana’s logical tone. “Did you come in here to state facts or take my side?”

  “I’m being realistic, Aust.” Her tone gentled as she relaxed in her seat. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but the faulty machinery your pa invested in wiped out a large percentage of your backup funds. He intended to spend money on those machines to double your production capacity so you could make your investment back within the next three years. But now...”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  I tapped on my tablet, bringing up the proposal I’d drafted for De Silva Investments a little over a week ago.

  “You told me you had to get a loan to cover last month’s paychecks. And if a shipment gets delayed or the products are damaged, I’m not sure how you’re going to recoup the losses.”

  “It’s just...” I trailed off, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Burkett’s Dairy is part of my history, Ana. I would do anything to make it thrive—”

  “Great!”

  “—without outside help,” I clarified.

  “The Star is opening up. Our mindsets have to change as well,” Ana cautioned. “Burkett Dairy’s main problem is that it supplies only a few select distributors here and on Royal One, but that isn’t enough to establish yourself in the Cluster market. What about other Stars? I know the Seventh Star doesn’t allow imported goods, but the rest of them present a good opportunity for expansion.”

  “We don’t have the capital to do that, Ana.”

  “You don’t have the capital right now. But you could.” Ana sat forward, reaching across the desk to tighten my formal tie. “Go for the meeting, Aust. Keep an open mind. You don’t have to make a decision right away.”

  I sighed, glancing down at the proposal again. After grudgingly working on it for weeks, I’d memorized every line, even down to the appendix of our rich history on Star Three. I’d never drafted something quite this official before, but between Pa and I, we’d made a decent effort to capture our business’ charm within the dozen pages.

  We’d sent it across to De Silva’s assistant last week but hadn’t heard anything except a formal note of receipt.

  “You think?” I asked skeptically. “What if they pressure us to make a decision then and there?”

  “Why would they?” Ana tilted her head in question.

  “I don’t know... Maybe because they’re part of the ruthless corporate world that only wants to make money off the little guy?”

  “If you were meeting a strange venture capitalist, then yes, perhaps I’d worry about that. But this is Twyla’s friend, and she already said he’s a nice guy.”

  “What they consider ‘nice’ on Royal could be ‘villainous’ on Third,” I muttered.

  Ana shook her head. “Is it always a dramatic movie in your head, Aust?”

  I bit my lip. “Maybe.”

  Before Ana could cluck her tongue, I heard Pa’s loud breathing coming down the hallway, and glimpsed his frazzled figure through the gap in the door.

  “Austy!” He pulled a small bag behind him that seemed to swerve every which way. “Austy, where are you?”

  “My office,” I called out, reaching for my old cap and jamming it on my head.

  “Really?” In a fraction of a second, Ana had plucked my emotional support cap from my head. “You’re going for a formal meeting, Aust. No caps.”

  “I wasn’t gonna wear it to the meeting,” I grumbled. “Just until we got to Royal One.”

  “Austy.” Pa pushed through the open doorway, panting. A bead of sweat had already gathered on his brow. “What are you doing here? The hovercraft arrives in five minutes!”

  He glanced at his chrono once, then twice as though he’d already forgotten what he’d seen.

  “I’m good to go, Pa,” I said, unable to keep the resignation out of my voice. “Let’s get this over with.”

  * * *

  “Austy, sweetheart, you’re going to bounce me right off this seat,” Pa chided in his gruff voice.

  His hand fell on my thigh, momentarily stopping the nervous shaking.

  “Sorry, Pa,” I mumbled, shifting in my seat, trying my best to avoid accidentally sitting on his long, curving tail.

  We were seated at the back of a small hovercraft, bags at our feet. As Twyla promised, it had arrived exactly at seven. Pa had rushed me outside a few minutes early, as though the craft would have left without its only occupants if we were even a second late.

  Like me, he
was dressed in his best clothes—a button-down shirt and matching tie. Pa wore his usual white and black while I’d opted for navy. Twyla said it brought out my eyes and I trusted her above everyone else when it came to fashion.

  My favorite cap was sadly tucked away in the back pocket of my luggage, and my head felt a little chilly without it.

  “There it is, on your left.” Pa perked up, pointing out the reinforced window. “Gods, I haven’t been here since you were a baby, Austy.”

  “I thought you had friends on Royal One,” I commented, gasping when the hovercraft took a steep dive.

  Pa looked a little pale. “I do. I went to university here, if you remember. My friends and I talk sometimes on the Touch but work keeps us busy. I’m meeting a few of them this weekend, though, if I could ever bring myself to leave the lovely guesthouse Twyla has put us in. The pictures look incredible.”

  “She wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said, then hissed, baring my teeth as the hovercraft took another dive.

  The pilot looked at us through the reflective mirror as I banged on the panel separating us. “Take it easy!”

  “Going as slowly as I can, ma’am. We’re almost there. T-15 minutes.”

  I’d heard so much about Royal One, the heart of the cluster of our Stars—good and bad. Unlike my Star, it held an abundance of opportunities for people from all walks of life. Many breadwinners from smaller Stars commuted back and forth from the city, funneling credits back home while working nine-to-five jobs.

  Then there were others who were born and raised there—Royals, they were called—people with more credits and privilege than most. They were the first people who could afford the ticket from Old Earth to our world. And their mods—whatever they were—were entirely untraceable.

  Unlike us. I snuck a glance at Pa, whose pointed ears, sharp fangs and curling tail indicated clearly he wasn’t a Royal. Me, too, for that matter. I’d only inherited his fangs and incisions for scenting, but they were still clear indicators we weren’t from here, even though we were dressed in our best clothes.

  We were getting closer now, the gold blob in the distance becoming more defined. I could make out individual buildings, each so different in structure that it looked like an uneven jigsaw puzzle.

  “This is Central Cove, the financial district of Royal One.” An automated voice surrounded the small hovercraft. “It has a population of 1.2 million beings, comprising local Royals and starpeople. The plan for this district was first established by Hanna J. Peers of Peers & Peers trading company, 120 years ago when the first of the Royals landed on the planet. Along with the residential and leisure districts, Central Cove represents the heart of the commercial district of Royal One.”

  My stomach swooped along with the hovercraft as it dipped low, joining a queue of other crafts in front of us. Traffic jam, I thought, remembering the term from numerous old movies I’d watched on nights with nothing better to do. I’d never experienced such a thing on Third—after all, there weren’t enough vehicles to cause such a phenomenon, but after twenty minutes with limited movement, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t care much for it.

  Pa checked his chronometer for the third time.

  “Time’s getting on,” he commented, reaching down to touch the briefcase with the business plans he’d drawn up.

  “Don’t worry, Pa,” I soothed, reaching into my satchel to withdraw the little keepawarm cup of tea. “Have some of this. It’ll calm you down.”

  “What is it?” he asked, popping the top and sniffing at it.

  “It’s moonflower tea,” I said, watching him gingerly take a sip as the hovercraft moved forward.

  “But you hate moonflower,” he said, taking a bigger sip now and sighing.

  “I made that for you. I knew you’d be nervous.”

  He reached out to pat my knee, his gaze softening with affection. “You’re a good kid, Austy.”

  “Thanks, Pa. Now, what will convince you not to sell the business?”

  His lips thinned immediately. “Not this again! I’m not selling the business, Austy. I’m looking for an investor to take over thirty percent of it.”

  “That’s very close to fifty-one percent, which is all they need to take over control from us. And then where does that leave our family legacy?”

  “I won’t let that happen, sweetheart. We’re in a little bit of financial trouble, but it’s not something we can’t burrow out of, all right? Besides, I already promised Paulie and Olivia that they can take over my role once I retire.”

  He winked at me, and I knew he was just joking.

  Paulie and Olivia were my nephew and niece, two little bundles of energy that their parents could never fully control. My older sister Queenie had mated early and started a family before I’d turned eighteen, leaving me with my parents to run the business. She wasn’t very keen on the day-to-day—perhaps influenced by our ma—but she’d lend a hand now and again if we ever needed it.

  Even with her little tykes in the picture, there was no doubt that I would take over Burkett’s Dairy after Pa. But even with that reassuring thought, I could only offer him a small smile.

  Traffic started moving again and we delved deeper into the city.

  My eyes hurt a little as I took in the gold-accented buildings around me. I could see straight into offices through the glass windows. People milled around in their sharply cut suits and wild haircuts, gesturing to their peers like they were discussing something important. I wondered what I’d scent if the windows were slightly parted. The fresh green scent of my Star was all I’d ever known, and I was sure this overly busy city wouldn’t smell half as pleasant as home.

  People scurried along the streets under us, and I thought I could hear the click of someone’s heels echoing in the hovercraft even twenty feet above.

  Nobody’s smiling, I noticed. Not one single person cracked a smile as they hurried along the sidewalks, their faces tinted slightly gold by the buildings around them. I took in their pinched, impatient faces and their severely cut clothes and wondered what their lives must be like. I couldn’t imagine not waking up to the scent of the tall grass on my Star or the first crow of one of my roosters. What would life be like if I didn’t drive the cart two miles up the road to Cedra’s every day at seven in the morning to collect the milk to make our signature cheeses?

  My fingers flexed anxiously at the very idea of change. I wasn’t good at it—my stomach churned restlessly at the mere possibility of it.

  “We’re here,” the pilot announced as we slid into a docking space in front of yet another gold-tinted building. This one was shaped a little bit like a steeple, square at the bottom and angling to a point at the very top.

  I wondered how many floors there were.

  Pa referred to his chronometer. “Not bad. We’re thirty minutes early.”

  He scanned it against the electronic reader on the pilot’s panel, leaving a small tip.

  “You ready, Austy?” he asked as the doors disengaged with a hiss.

  I looked up at the ridiculously tall building and suppressed a shudder.

  “Sure, Pa,” I said, wishing I could tell the pilot to take me straight home instead.

  * * *

  “Mr. De Silva is delayed at a breakfast meeting,” the red-haired receptionist said, peeking at us from behind rose-tinted glasses.

  She had a black beauty mark on her face with a tiny hair poking out of it. My eyes focused on that as I listened to her words.

  Beside me, Pa shifted from foot to foot and I wanted to reach out and dig my fingers into his hand to still his restless shifting.

  “We have no trouble waiting,” he said. “We’ve come a long way to meet him.”

  The receptionist nodded, looking back at the screen with a slight frown. “All right. Please take a seat over there.”

  She waved in the general d
irection of the teal armchairs we’d walked past just a minute ago.

  I followed Pa to a comfortable seat, pausing when I realized I was now facing the immaculately polished floor-to-ceiling window of the fifty-third floor. The very thought of it made my throat tight. My belly churned emptily, making me realize I’d skipped breakfast this morning on account of the nerves.

  “Pa,” I hissed under my breath urgently. “Switch with me.”

  “What?” He fitted his briefcase into a corner of his seat.

  I made a motion between the two chairs. “Switch with me, please.”

  Just as we stood, a fancy gold-tinted hovercraft pulled up in front of the very windows I was eyeing in fear and the clear glass slid open with ease. The edge of the craft merged with the now-apparent doorway and a trim figure stepped out of it carrying a metal-tipped briefcase that matched his shoes.

  “You must be the Burketts,” he said, stepping into the carpeted reception area as though there wasn’t a chance of him falling through the small crack between the craft and the doorway. I almost threw up at the thought.

  “Yes.” Pa straightened his shoulders and extended a slim hand. “Good to meet you, Mr. De Silva.”

  De Silva’s eyes crinkled as he shook Pa’s hand warmly. “Ms. Oboid has told me much about your business. I would be happy to assist you.”

  Then he turned to me, his amber eyes welcoming. “And you’re Austy. It’s good to meet one of Twyla’s friends. You must tell me about life on your Star. When we last spoke, she made it seem almost...magical.”

  I smiled, a little bit of tension easing from my shoulders at his pleasant tone and sincere words. It helped that he seemed interested in talking about my Star. “Yes, I would like that very much.”

  He looked down at me quizzically for a fraction of a second, his hand still clasped in mine.

  Then he spoke again, moving back. “Let me get settled in and we can have that meeting. Did Claudette offer you something to drink? Perhaps some tea?”

  “No, thank you. We brought our own,” Pa said, raising his keepawarm cup, and a touch of pink caressed my cheeks.