Page 13 of Rich & Decadent

“I’m not here to judge,” Niko said, “just don’t hurt her or I’ll have to hear about it.”

“Why on earth would I do that?” Will frowned. It was as if his own brother didn’t know him. Hurting Imani was the last thing he would want to do. Hell, he was already planning on seeing her again.

“Does she know your rule?” Niko asked. “Did you tell her that you have no intention of settling down?”

“Did Kizzie know?” he shot back. He seriously didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Now that he thought about it, hehadn’texplained things to Imani as he normally did with his hookups. He usually made sure that all the women he dealt with knew the score. He told them up front that all he was looking for came with no strings, and no expectations.

“Of course she did,” Niko said. “That’s why I refused to cross the line. I didn’t want to hurt her. She’s a good girl and wouldn’t have deserved being hurt.”

“And you didn’t think stringing along all the women you had in front of her wasn’t hurting her?” Will immediately regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. Niko stood from his chair and took a step toward the door.

“Niko—” Will started, but Niko held up a hand. Will stood up and raked his fingers through his hair. He never wanted to cause pain to his brother.

“Don’t. You don’t have to remind me of what I did before me and my wife got together. But the thing is, Kizzie has a big heart and always would have loved me even if I hadn’t realized my feelings for her.” He went over to the door and yanked it open. He glanced over at Will. “Just make sure Imani understands everything up front. That’s all. You owe her that much.”

Niko left the room and shut the door behind him. Will braced his hands on his desk and dropped his head. He blew out a deep breath. Niko was right. He would have to make sure that Imani understood there couldn't be anything between them. It should be easy, though. She lived clear across the country and was onlyhere for a short time. There was nothing wrong with having a little fun while being away on business.

The image of her lying in the bed that morning before he left came to mind. He sat down heavily in his chair. Sleeping with her in his arms had felt right. He’d woken up and just stared at her while she slept. He had felt something in his chest, and he hadn’t wanted to leave when the time came.

What the fuck did that mean?

Will glanced over at his cell phone. He still had a few hours until it would be time to pick Imani up like he’d promised. He hesitated and wondered if he should text her. He’d had an idea of where he could take her. He had promised her the bridge, and then he knew of a great Thai place that would be perfect for dinner. He snagged his phone and figured it would be a good idea to at least text her to see if she liked Thai.

There wouldn't be anything wrong with that. He would hate to take her to a place to eat and she hated the food. He sent off a quick text then set his phone down and lifted up the paper with his customer’s information on it. He’d get back to work and then he would worry about Imani later.

eight

The first day of the conference had been a breeze, and Imani was pleased with how the day had progressed. It had been a great networking event to be able to meet with other offices from around the world. She had connected with a few people she had only seen in Zoom meetings or had only spoken with via email. The day had been jam packed with meetings and her presentation had been held in the hotel’s large conference room. She was pleasantly surprised that her talk had drawn a large enough crowd that there was only standing room left.

Imani was comfortable speaking in front of large crowds. She thrived on it and it made her feel good to know that she had commanded the attention of so many professionals. They’d had great discussions at the end of her chat and people had even followed her out in the hallway to get her opinion on other matters. One of her specialties was project management, and apparently a lot of people around the company had heard of her and how she had turned her department around. There was a reason that she was an executive at such an early age. Her work spoke for itself.

As the last session was just wrapping up, Imani bent down, picked up her messenger bag, and placed the strap over her shoulder. She would need to hurry if she were going to run up to her hotel room and change before Will picked her up. She wasn’t sure what he all had planned for them, but he had texted her earlier to ask if she liked Thai. The man must be an angel, because she was addicted to Thai food. How did they have so many things in common? Her local Thai restaurant back home was on speed-dial—they knew her by name and her usual order was perfect every time. .

When the session wrapped, Imani navigated her way through the thick crowd and exited the room. She glanced around to try to remember how to get out of the hotel’s conference center and head back to the main lobby. Spotting the correct way, she began walking fast. If she played her cards right, she’d have time to freshen up and change her clothes before Will was due to arrive.

“Miss Bishop!” A deep voice called out. Imani sighed and debated keeping her pace, but a little voice in her head told her to turn around. She paused and looked over her shoulder. With the amount of people it was difficult to tell who had called her name. “Miss Bishop.”

Imani’s gaze landed on a tall man with a few other people ambling with him. With his salt and pepper hair, large mustache and round-rimmed glasses, she would recognize him from anywhere. It was Mark Hardy, the CEO of Apex Systems. Imani straightened to her full height as he approached her.

“Mr. Hardy,” she smiled. She immediately offered her hand to him and he took it in a firm grip. Mark Hardy was known as a shark in the business world. Their company was consistently on the Forbes 500 list and was considered quite successful, all because of this man in front of her. Imani tried to hide her shock and confusion as to why he was coming to speak with her.

“Imani, please. Call me Mark.” He smiled. He released her hand and quickly introduced her to the few people who were with him. She nodded to each of them in turn, but she was still in shock at being singled out by the company CEO. “How can I help you Mr. Hardy—Mark?” she asked.

“I caught your presentation earlier today. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there in person, but I watched it virtually and I’d have to say I would like to have a sit down with you,” he said. Imani’s eyes widened. A sit down with the CEO of her company? She swallowed hard in disbelief.

“Oh, sure. May I ask… Have I done something wrong?” Was this how she would lose her job? Had he not agreed with her talking points? Her boss in Atlanta had reviewed her slides and had approved everything?—

“Oh, completely the opposite,” Mark laughed. “I’ve read up on you and your track record. It would seem that you’ve done some good down in the Atlanta office.” His smile gave him almost a relaxed look. “I want to expand on your knowledge. I’d love to have a chat with you, and discuss what it might take to get you here in San Francisco.”

Imani had to lock her knees together. Had the CEO of the company just offered to set up a meeting with her and potentially offer her a job here at corporate? She had to hold back her excitement. She inhaled sharply and tried to compose herself. If he thought she was crazy, he might rescind his offer of a meeting.

“I would love to meet with you, sir. When are you thinking?” she asked. He glanced over at his secretary who opened up her tablet. The woman—Imani already forgotten her name— scanned the screen before glancing up from it.

“How would Tuesday work for you? Around one? Mr. Hardy has a slot that just opened. I can squeeze you in since you’re here from out of town.” She paused and waited for Imani.

“That sounds fine. I’ll be there,” Imani replied smoothly. She brought her phone out of her bag and opened up her calendar. Her hands shook slightly as she inputted the appointment. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. Who would have thought her trip would lead to her having a possibly new job offer?

“I’ll reach out to you to confirm,” the woman said.

---