Page 30 of Fever

Chapter Nine

Santana

“Did you have any trouble finding the place?” Josiah asked.

“Not at all.” I smiled softly. With everyone tuned into our conversation, I made sure to give Josiah all my attention. I glanced at the glass of water sitting in front of him. “I’m sure your appetites bigger than that.”

Josiah nodded once. “Starved.”

“You should’ve at least ordered an appetizer,” I said.

“I had an appetizer before I arrived. Now I’m ready for the main course, but I was hoping you could help me with that.”

A ball of nerves shot up my arms and settled around my neck, saturating my body completely. His insinuation was so blatant and arousing that I was completely turned on where I probably should’ve been embarrassed seeing as how we were in front of company. I smirked and slowly shook my head as I reached for his jawline for a soft caress.

“Tease,” I said.

“So, Ms. Summers,” Josiah’s father began, “when we were in Montego Bay, I had no idea you and Josiah were dating. Is that why you two kept disappearing?”

I was sure my face lit up red as a blush covered my cheeks. Josiah found it funny, chuckling with that sexy ass dashing smile on his face.

“How long have you and my boy been dating?” Mr. Rose went on.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve been dating,” I replied. “We were friends for a while. I’m from Houston. I moved down here with Desiree when she decided to come back home a few months ago. Josiah and I met while I still resided in Houston. He was my hero of sorts.”

Josiah’s chuckling continued, and I had a notion to kick him in his shin. After a few seconds, he settled down long enough to respond to his father. “Santana was a friend of Julian’s. Her home was burglarized, and Julian asked me to watch after her while he was away on business. We’ve remained friends ever since.”

“If you’ve managed to pull my son from his rambunctious activities, then I welcome you. I also want to invite you over for dinner so we can become further acquainted.”

“Anytime,” I said.

“Mr. Rose,” Mr. Murdock said, getting back to business. He glanced from Josiah to his father. “I do hope you will consider partnering with us. If you’d like a tour of our headquarters, Tina would be more than happy to show you around.”

Tina’s eyes lit up, and she kept them focused on Josiah. She reached into a handbag that hung off the back of her chair and pulled out a business card sliding it over to Josiah.

“Call me or email me, and we’ll set up an appointment,” she said. “I’m sure once you’ve gotten a feel for what we can offer, you’ll change your mind about partnering with us.” Tina turned to Mr. Murdock. “Isn’t that right, Daddy?”

“I do not doubt it.”

“Thank you,” Josiah said, tucking the card into his breast pocket.

I made a mental note to remove it later and shred it. Then I paused my thoughts and wondered about where my mind had landed. Remember, Santana, this is all pretending, no need to get your panties all in a bunch.

“Pop, Mr. Murdock, Ms. Murdock,” Josiah called out, grabbing their attention. “It was nice meeting up with you, but if you don’t mind, Santana and I are going to grab a table.” He held his hand out and shook their hands.

“This place is pretty packed,” his father said, “are you sure you’ll be able to get a table?”

“You have the popularity of the Kardashians. I’m sure the owner would put someone out to give you a seat.”

Everyone turned to look at Tina with surprise.

“That’s being a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Josiah responded.

“No, I don’t.”

The table grew quiet.

“Well,” I said, standing to my feet. Josiah stepped behind me, quickly adjusting my seat as I rose. “It was nice meeting you all.” I locked my arm with Josiah’s.

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