Page 53 of Business Casual

“Really,” he assured me. “You’re going to love it.”

“Thank you so much, Jimmy. I appreciate it.” The elevator doors opened, and I stepped to the side. “I’m about to get in the elevator but I’ll come as soon as my meeting is over tomorrow. Thank you again.”

“Anytime. You know I’d do anything for my girl.”

“I know. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I hung up the phone and turned to enter the elevator.

Startled, I almost dropped my stuff. “Oh hey,” I greeted Josephine who was holding the doors open for me. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied. Taking a step back, she eyed the bag I had in my hand. “Oh, you went to Brawta’s.”

Even though she had a questioning tone, it wasn’t a question. And unfortunately, it was just the two of us in the elevator, so I didn’t have anything to distract me from the rising awkward tension between us.

“I did,” I confirmed slowly. “Their food is delicious. Have you ever had it?”

“I have. It gets ordered a lot around here.”

“Oh really?”

She nodded. “Mm hmm.”

“Cool.”

Looking straight ahead, Josephine made a clicking noise with her tongue. “Ms. Jones, I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“What do you mean?”

Turning her head, she dropped her eyes to my Brawta’s bag and then back up to meet mine. “Don’t forget why you’re here.”

As if it were timed, the elevator doors opened, and she walked out without another word.

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

I made my way to Tre’s office and knocked on the door. When he opened it, he ushered me in, but pointed to the headset he was wearing.

I nodded and made a beeline for the table.

He stood at the window as he continued his conversation. His back was to me, so I took the opportunity to check him out. I knew I needed to just open my laptop and get back to work instead of admiring his form. But damn—he was sexy.

When he finished the conversation, he grumbled, yanking the headset from his ears. I looked down at my notebook and then back up at him as if I hadn’t been staring at him the whole time.

“You okay?” I asked.

He crossed the room and tossed the headset on his solid wood desk with a thud. The crinkle between his brows hardened his beautiful face. “Yeah. Just—yeah, I am.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “You sure? It seems like you may need to get it off your chest so we can be productive.”

He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Just a lot on my plate right now. I’m launching my project. I’m handling my father’s projects and meetings he couldn’t reschedule. I’m being pulled in a bunch of different directions and it’s just…” He let his sentence trail off and shook his head. “It’s nothing to worry about. But thank you for asking.”

“You have a lot on your plate. It’s understandable why you would feel overwhelmed or frustrated. Is there anything I can do to help?”

His eyes softened and the smile spread across his face before his lips even moved. “Just keep being you.”

I was caught off guard and couldn’t control the heat that crept up my neck. To hide my expression, I looked down and reached into my bag to pull out a container from the restaurant.

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