Page 58 of Business Casual

“Right.” He stuck his hand out to shake it. “I’m Avery Hughes.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Hughes. I’m Alex Franklin.”

“Of course I know who you are, Mr. Franklin. This is an excellent plan you have here.” Avery lifted the portfolio and then he smiled at me. “And I must say you picked a great asset here in Ms. Jones.”

“I agree.” Tre looked down at me. “She’s been a wonderful addition to the team.”

Avery’s smile faltered a bit as he looked between us. “I believe it. She’s great at everything she does.”

“I don’t doubt that. If what she’s done over the last week is any indication, I know Franklin Financial is in good hands.” Flashing me a smile, he continued. “Ms. Jones is a real find.”

I stared into his eyes and the corners of my mouth turned upward under his praise. “Thank you.”

Avery cleared his throat. “Hm. You two seem… close.”

I tried to play off the moment I’d just shared with Tre. But when I looked at Avery, I could tell he knew something was up.

Even though the smile remained on his face, he lifted his chin and puffed out his chest. “Well, I should get going, but it was nice to meet you, Mr. Franklin.” He stuck out his hand and once Tre shook it, he added, “Take care of my girl.”

Tre froze momentarily. “Your…girl?” The handshake ended and he gestured between the two of us. “You two know each other?”

Anger coursed through my veins. I opened my mouth to reply but Avery beat me to it.

“We do.” After looking at me and licking his lips, he smirked. “Looks like I’m last one in here, so I should get back to the office. I’ll be in touch.”

I wanted to fight that man.

I wanted to square up with him right then and there.

I was livid.

Staring at him as he walked out of the conference room, I tried to calm myself down. But the way he looked at me, the insinuations he made, and the way his girlfriend got an attitude all threatened my professional credibility and my relationship with Tre.

Anything I try to say now will look like I’m trying to save face.

I took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry about that. I—”

“Hey.” He shook his head and gestured toward the people who were packing up the food. “Fifth floor,” he mouthed.

I nodded. I wanted to explain the situation with Avery, but I understood that he was saying the people packing the food were from the fifth floor. Still, the abrupt way he changed the subject gave me pause.

“The meeting went well,” he stated.

“It did,” I agreed. “It went really well. You had them eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“That was you. You killed it.” He held my gaze for a second. “We really are lucky to have you on the team.”

My lips parted and his eyes zeroed in on them.

“I believe there’s a meeting in here soon, so we should go and do a quick meeting debrief,” he uttered before placing a hand on the small of my back. “After you.”

We grabbed our belongings and left.

We were quiet on the way to the elevator. We didn’t talk during our quick trip to the sixth floor. It wasn’t until we were behind the closed door of his office that he broke the silence.

“Have a seat,” he instructed, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

I placed my stuff in the other chair and crossed my legs. “Thank you.”

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