Page 25 of The Cask

“I’m sorry. I need to take this,” he told me. “Hello?”

As I locked up, I hid my smile.

“I’m only a few minutes late—what? It’s 3:30? What? How?” Omari growled, looking around frantically before checking his watch. “Shit! My phone was on do-not-disturb so I didn’t get those calls. Just get them back. Get them back, dammit!”

He ended the call and turned to me. There was a storminess in his brown eyes. “Your clock downstairs has the wrong time.” He clenched his jaw.

I gasped, putting my hands to my mouth. “What?” I made a show of pulling my phone out and then realizing it was dead. “What time is it then?”

“It’s after 3:30.”

“Oh my God!” I exclaimed, rushing to his side. “I’m so sorry! What about your meeting?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. When he looked down and searched my eyes, I could see that he was upset. “I have to go. I’ll pick you up tonight at seven.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss against my lips. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”

I pouted. “My clock was wrong.”

“And I’m wearing a watch. And my phone wasn’t dead.” He sighed. “Text me your address. I’ll see you tonight.”

He kissed me again and then left The Cask.

I watched him as he sprinted across the street. I turned my back and smiled. “Phase two complete,” I muttered to myself.

Alexis burst through the doors of the kitchen. “Ebony!”

“You scared the shit out of me!” I exclaimed.

“Sorry! I called you earlier, but I couldn’t get you. Is your phone messing up? It kept going straight to voicemail.”

I took my phone out of my pocket and powered it back on. “Sorry about that,” I apologized. “What’s up?”

Chapter Six

Iwrapped my braids into a pretty bun on the top of my head so I could show off the back of my dress. The long-sleeved black dress hugged every curve on my body and the black sheer panel along the spine of my back drew attention to my ass. The black four-inch heels took me from 5’7” to 5’11” and I felt like a sexy, statuesque goddess. With my black leather jacket, I looked like a confident badass. I ran my hands down the side of my body and over the swell of my hips with a smile.

I’m going to have him eating out of the palm of my hand.

He may have thrown me for a loop with that kiss, but I’m going to regain the upper hand.

My phone rang.

“It’s showtime,” I sang aloud as I touched up my lip gloss.

I waited for the phone to trill for the third time before I answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Omari greeted me. “Just so you know, I was planning on knocking on your door, but I don’t have the access code.”

I smiled. “I’m walking out of my place now.” I grabbed my handbag and headed to the door. “I’ll be downstairs in two minutes.”

“Okay cool.”

I stuffed my phone in my bag and made my way out of my building.

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