Page 7 of Business Casual

He extended his hand and when it met mine, my heart thumped loudly in my chest.

“I work here,” he uttered softly, pulling my business card from his pocket. He looked down and his brows furrowed. “Imani Jones?”

With a quizzical look, I cocked my head to the side. “Yes…”

His mouth opened.

“Oh, Mr. Franklin,” the receptionist interrupted. The tea tray clanked as she shuffled from a back room.

My eyebrows flew up.Mr. Franklin?!

I was almost certain the shock on my face matched the shock on his.

His mouth snapped shut. But his eyes never stopped assessing me as she continued. “Can I get you something before you start your meeting with Ms. Jones?”

His thumb swept across my knuckles before he dropped my hand. “My usual coffee, please. Thank you, Josephine,” he answered.

My mind quickly tried to compute what I was seeing in front of me against the visual image of the sixty-something year-old man who graced the company website.

Did she call him Mr. Franklin?

“I’ll be right with you, Ms. Jones,” he told me before walking over to his receptionist and taking the tray out of her hands. “I’ll take this.”

Batting her eyelashes, Josephine smiled widely at him. “I’ll be right back with your coffee, Mr. Franklin.”

I get it, Josephine,I thought as my eyes swept down his frame. The broad shoulders draped in that expensive suit was enough to catch anyone’s attention. But to have that exquisite face on top of that body had to be a distraction around the office.I get it.

“Thank you,” he said, moving toward his office. Once he opened his door, he glanced over his shoulder at me. “You can follow me, Ms. Jones.”

I shook off the attraction I felt for him and forced a professional smile as I strolled across the lobby. When I walked inside, he was placing the teacup on a small conference table near the window. I clutched my bag in my hand as I got closer to him. I had my nerves under control until he turned around and smiled.

“My name is Alexander Franklin, and I will be conducting this meeting. Thank you for agreeing to come in this morning.” Tre extended his hand professionally as if we hadn’t just flirted and made a tentative date thirty minutes prior.

Well, if he can act like nothing happened, so can I.

“Imani Jones.” I shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Franklin.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Ms. Jones.”

The spark I felt when we touched the first time wasn’t a fluke. His handshake caused a jolt of electricity to course through my veins.

“I-uh-I expected an older Alexander Franklin,” I admitted. “I wasn’t expecting…” Our handshake slowed as my eyes skated down the wide slope of his nose, across his full lips, and over his expertly groomed beard.

“You weren’t expecting what?” he asked, his voice deepening.

The way he looked at me caused a wave of heat to wash over my entire body. And when his cologne filled my lungs, I inadvertently took a step forward.

I was in trouble.

Before I could respond, Josephine entered his office.

“Here’s your coffee, Mr. Franklin,” she announced, pulling my attention away from the brown eyes that bore into me.

He let go of my hand to meet her in the middle of the room. I stood awkwardly by the table, not sure if I should wait for him to be seated.

“Please close the door on your way out,” Mr. Franklin directed her. When he turned back to me, he gestured to the seat in front of my tea. “Ms. Jones, have a seat please.”

I sat down, crossing my legs at the ankle. I placed my bag in the seat next to me and pulled out my portfolio. Clasping my hands in front of me, I waited.

---