Page 91 of Business Casual

The music faded and the lights dimmed as an announcement was made. The crowd dispersed to their tables and conversations diminished until a man in a white tuxedo welcomed us. He gave a little background on the history of the gala and the purpose. I did my best to follow along with what was being said, but my attention was pulled across the table.

Did he lie to me?

My eyes traced Tre’s profile.

Nothing about him ever felt like a lie. The way he spoke to me always felt honest. The way he carried himself always felt like the truth. The way he looked at me always felt sincere.

Sydney reached over and touched Tre’s shoulder before leaning to whisper something in his ear. I looked away before they could catch me staring. But that intimacy bothered me. I waited a few minutes before I glanced back over to him.

My stomach flipped.

Tre’s eyes were on me.

The connection was so intense that I felt breathless for a moment. A chill ran down my spine and I felt his gaze everywhere.

I didn’t know what was going on between Tre and Sydney. I didn’t know why he was on a date with her. I didn’t know why they looked so cozy when he explicitly said he was single. I didn’t know what the truth was in that situation. But the way his eyes pierced me, I feltthattruth.

And if two things can be true, what does this mean?

“Alex,” Mrs. Franklin whispered his name, forcing his attention away from me.

I immediately looked down at my place setting, hoping no one saw us. When I lifted my head, Josephine gave me a look and then returned her attention to the speaker.

Did she see us?I squeezed my eyes shut for a minute.Great, more proof for her to work with when she’s ratting me out.

Suddenly everyone started clapping and I quickly joined in.

I’d spent twenty minutes being confused and in my feelings. It was time to shake it off. I wasn’t going to let it ruin my night of networking. I couldn’t. There was too much on the line for me.

Regardless of everything else, I can’t even date him,I reminded myself.So, I need to focus on what Icando.

Rolling my shoulders back, I flashed a smile at Mr. Franklin. “So, this is the fifth annual gala? Has Franklin Financial been attending since the beginning?”

“Yes,” he replied joyously. “We were fortunate to get invited by…”

He launched into a story that turned into a humble brag about his association with a local celebrity. It was cute to see how his wife looked on adoringly even though I was almost positive she’d heard that story dozens of times.

I listened as Chase, Theresa, and Josephine sung the praises of the gala and their experiences with it. I purposely avoided looking directly across the table at Tre as the Franklin Financial team reminisced.

“…and that’s how that played out,” Chase finished, causing everyone else to chuckle.

A group of waiters brought plates overflowing with food to each of us. Oversized chicken breasts, macaroni and cheese, asparagus, potatoes, rolls sat in front of me, and I wondered how I could possibly eat and still fit in my dress. As I got a whiff of the meal in front of me, I rubbed my hand across my belly.

We’re about to find out.

I bowed my head in prayer before I spread my napkin across my lap.

“This looks good,” Tre commented. “But I can already tell this mac and cheese has nothing on my mom’s.”

I stared at my food.

Josephine agreed wholeheartedly and I turned to look at her as she described her first-time eating Mrs. Franklin’s mac and cheese.

“My first-time was a few Christmases ago,” Sydney added. I caught a glimpse of her waving her dainty hand around as she spoke. “It was worth the calories. I remember trying to recreate the dish for Alex’s birthday the following month. That was a failure.”

They laughed.

I took a sip of water.

---