Page 38 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family
I smiled but my thoughts were still stuck on the presence of a sexy ass man who kept showing up in my world like he now owned real estate in it.
“I appreciate that,” I replied. “I love what I do. Haute Events has been good to me so I’m not leaving any time soon, but I can certainly work with you. I’ve been taking on more personal projects lately and Tae is cool with that.”
We talked for a little while longer, but it was harder to concentrate because I felt Emir was still watching me. I had no doubt he had every intention of singling me out and I wanted him too.
After making rounds I had just excused myself from one conversation when I felt it again. That awareness sent a pulse through my body which tightened low in my stomach before my mind could catch up.
Emir was close. I didn’t see him at first, but I felt him. He was in my personal space and I welcomed him. Just like always his presence was loud.
Arrogant and overwhelming, crowding my space just enough to make it known he had every intention of keeping my attention. I turned toward him, narrowing my eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, keeping my voice low because the last thing I needed was to have these rich ass people all in my business.
“You don’t think I belong here.”
Honestly, I didn’t have a damn clue. I barely knew anything about him.
I folded my arms. “Do you?”
“You’re here, which means I belong.”
Before I could respond, a familiar voice cut in.
“Emir!”
I turned just in time to see Cress heading our way with smile on her face. She barely acknowledged me as she hugged Emir like they knew each other well.
“It’s good to see you. I wasn’t sure if you could make it but I wanted to personally thank you for your family’s generosity,” she said. “The donation means the world to us.”
I blinked.
Wait… what?
Emir nodded and smiled sexily. “Happy to support. The company does good work.”
“It really does and to have such strong backing from people like you and your family makes a difference. We appreciate it more than I can say.”
She delivered another smile before excusing herself, heading toward a small group near the back of the room.
Meanwhile, I was stuck on what the hell had just happened. I turned back to Emir with a brow lifted. “Since when are you a benefactor of the arts?”
“For awhile.”
Okay I need more because what the fuck…
Who is this man?
“Emir.”
“The ballet’s Black-owned. We support.”
I stared at him, trying to make sense of the man I knew, the one who had pushed his way into my space with confidence and chaos, with the one standing in front of me now.
“You just casually drop donations to dance companies?”
“When they’re worth it.”
I studied him, still completely thrown and not sure what to do with this new layer of him. “When did you donate?”
