Page 66 of Business Casual

I thought about stopping by Tre’s office, but I decided against it and headed to my own until it was time for the meeting. I got caught up in reading emails and preparing for the meeting and it wasn’t until I got a text message that I realized how much time had passed.

“Shit,” I mumbled as I grabbed my stuff and scurried down the hall.

“Whoa,” a deep voice rasped as I rushed through the conference room door, crashing into his chest.

Everything happened so quickly. My eyes widened as he grabbed me to keep us from toppling over.

“I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed before looking up. My stomach flipped. “Tre.”

“Imani. You okay?” He stepped back fractionally, letting his hands coast down my arms.

I nodded. “Yeah, I was just moving too fast. I thought I was going to be late.”

“Well, we’re the first ones here.” He licked his lips and then let his eyes sweep down my body.

I inhaled his cologne and felt my body start to react to his closeness. “Okay good.”

“You look beautiful, by the way.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. The pull I felt to him wasn’t just physical. It was emotional. I needed to back away before I leaned into him.

“Ahh,” he groaned before taking a step back. “It’s hard for me to think straight when you’re so close.”

“I feel the same way about you,” I admitted.

“You know, we should—” He cleared his throat and looked behind me. The change in his demeanor was instant— “go over the notes from last week. Hello, Josephine.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. The warmth I felt with Tre in front of me was immediately replaced by the chill that came in from behind me. Without looking back, I made my way to the table and sat down my belongings.

“Mr. Franklin is running a few minutes late. He said to give him a few minutes,” Josephine stated.

“Thank you for letting us know, Josephine,” Tre replied.

“Good morning,” Chase greeted us as he entered the room.

A few more people filed in after him, joining me at the table. There were ten of us seated waiting for Mr. Franklin to arrive. When Tre took his seat near the head of the table, I found myself staring at him. I’d pull my attention away but no matter what conversations I entertained or busy work I’d try to give myself, my eyes kept returning to him. I told myself to get it together before Mr. Franklin showed up.

I didn’t.

“Imani, I need to speak with you,” Mr. Franklin requested as he concluded the meeting.

I had just started to stand when I realized he was talking to me. I looked at Tre first and then at Mr. Franklin. “Oh, okay. Yes, sir.” I sat back down and then clasped my hands in front of me.

“You…uh, you need me for this?” Tre asked, looking between us.

“No, no. You need to get across town, and this doesn’t concern you, son. We’ll see you at the meeting this afternoon.” Mr. Franklin gestured to the door with his uninjured arm. “Close the door on your way out.”

I gave Tre a tight smile when he looked at me again. Shifting in my seat, I flashed a bigger smile at his father. My peripheral vision caught Tre standing confused for a moment before gathering the rest of his belongings and heading out of the room. When the door closed, Mr. Franklin tapped the table with his pen.

“Imani, as I went over in the meeting, the early reports indicate how well your campaign is working,” Mr. Franklin started. “It’s been busy getting back into the swing of things since my”—he gave me a wry smile— “accident. And I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t see that slowing down this week or next. So since I wasn’t able to arrange a lunch with you and the executives, I’d like to extend an invitation to an event next month. I’ll get you the details soon, so keep it under wraps until I get things finalized. But all the executives will be there and with the way my calendar looks, it’ll be the only opportunity for all of us to sit down and get to know you.”

My eyebrows flew up. “Really?”

“Yes. The Finance and Technology Networking Gala is five weeks away. It’s a black tie event held in D.C. and it’s a great opportunity to get to know the executive team because we’ll all be there. It’s a ten-person table and I should have a seat available.” He sat back in his chair. “It makes sense to have you join us—if you’re interested.”

My legs bounced under the table with excitement. “Yes, I’m interested! Thank you!”

“No, thank you. It’ll be a good time. But after a discussion with my wife, we decided that it’s best that you keep this invitation between us.”

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