Page 54 of Business Casual

“I know it doesn’t change anything,” I started, forcing my eyes to meet his as I pushed the dessert across the table. “But I thought you might like this.”

His face lit up. “What is this?”

“It’s gizzada from Brawta. It’s a—”

“No, I know what it is.” He stared at it in awe. He picked it up and carried it around the table as he spoke. “I love Brawta. I just—I can’t believe you got it for me.”

My eyes followed him as he came closer. “It’s no big deal,” I murmured. With each step, I felt that spark that I was trying to keep at bay.

“No, it is.” He sat down in the chair next to me and searched my face. “How did you know to get this?” he wondered.

I lifted my shoulders. “I like it and I figured you’ve been working hard, too, so I got you one.”

“Most people wouldn’t have gone for the coconut to get for someone else.”

“On Saturday night you mentioned your mom made a coconut pie, so I took a shot. And I figured if you didn’t like it, I could take it home to eat it.”

Holding my gaze, he leaned forward. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He brushed my chin with his fingers. “This was really nice of you.”

Chills ran down my spine. “Well, I’m really nice,” I whispered.

He leaned forward, his face mere inches from mine. “Yes, you are.”

My heartrate spiked as he got closer. My eyelashes started fluttering as I watched his lips move in. The anticipation of his kiss made my lips tingle and my body ache.

But the knock at the door startled us apart.

He leapt to his feet, and I spun my chair around to face my laptop. My heart was racing, and my body was shaking. I wasn’t sure if it was adrenaline or nerves, but for a full thirty seconds, I couldn’t control my body.

“Mr. Franklin, these came for you,” Josephine told him.

“Thank you,” he replied before returning to the table and standing across from me.

I dropped my eyes to the stack of papers and files he had to go through. Hearing him sigh as he thumbed through it just reminded me of the work we still needed to get done. I noticed he hesitated when he got to a piece of paper with C. Walls emblazoned on top. He stuck it back in the stack and looked up at me with tortured eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said gruffly. “We should stay focused on business.”

After a moment of silence, I nodded slowly. “You’re right.”

“Okay.” He cleared his throat and sat down. “Let’s get back to work.” Grabbing a plastic fork, he began eating the gizzada. “So, I’ve listed out each of the institutions that’ll be there, and we can customize….”

We worked diligently. Sneaking glances between good ideas, making jokes between longing looks and getting work done while fighting temptation, we finished everything we needed for the meeting. There were still a few people left on the executive floor when we decided to call it for the night.

“Let me grab a few things and I’ll walk out with you,” Tre offered.

I hoisted my bags on my arms. “No, it’s okay.” I gestured to his stack of papers. “I know you have more work to do, and I should get home.”

“Well, I’m walking you to the elevator,” he insisted, rising to his feet.

I bit my bottom lip. “Okay.”

He walked around the table and trailed me to the door. “You did really good work today.”

“Thank you. You, too.”

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