Page 38 of The Cask

“Hello?” I called out, looking around the cigar bar. Every time I entered the space, I noticed the masculine charm of it.

It has Omari written all over it,I thought with a rueful smile.

“Can I help you?” Kim Lowe asked sharply.

“No,” I answered, tipping my head slightly. “I’m here to speak with Omari.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “He’s on a call right now.”

My smile grew. “I’ll wait.”

“Since we’re closed, you can either schedule an appointment or I can let him know you stopped by and he can decide what he’s going—”

“Kim! Update!” Omari’s voice traveled from somewhere behind the bar. “I located a crate of cigars that’ll be shipped here in time for the opening and my sister knows—Ebony!” The surprise in Omari’s voice was evident, but his smile said so much more. “What are you doing here?”

“I told her you were on a call,” Kim announced quickly.

Stepping to the side of Kim, I watched him take in my outfit. “I need to speak with you.” I glanced at his general manager who watched me with disdain. “Privately.”

“We have the phone meeting with the stage company in thirty minutes,” Kim pointed out in a petulant tone. She put a smile on her face and lightened her tone. “Just an FYI.”

Omari gave Kim a look that straddled between confusion and amusement. “I know when the meeting is, and we have time. Don’t worry so much,” he told her before shifting his gaze to me. “Ebony, right this way. We can talk in my office.”

I winked at Kim as I sauntered toward him. “Thank you.”

She turned on her heel and marched in the other direction, clearly pissed off.

I couldn’t help but smile. When I looked back at Omari, he was staring at me.

“What?” I asked as I reached him.

He licked his lips and smiled. Grabbing my hand, he ushered me into his office. Before I had a chance to ask him what was going on, he backed me into the wall. I gasped as I hit it with a thud. Within seconds our lips connected in a series of heated kisses.

“That’s a hell of a hello,” I murmured when he pulled away slightly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, running his thumb along my bottom lip. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“Don’t apologize.” Pushing up on my toes, I kissed him again. “I’m not complaining.”

When we finally broke away from one another, he gestured to the chair in front of his large, rather empty desk. “To what do I owe this surprise?” He sat down in his large chair across from me. “I thought I was meeting you after my meeting.”

“I got your text. But since I was hungry, I thought I should come and get it before your meeting.”

His jaw dropped. “Oh shit, I didn’t even think about how you could want this for lunch.” He stood. “Let me grab it for you.”

“Okay, thank you.”

He left his office, and I took the opportunity to sit behind his desk. It was largely empty. His computer monitor was on one side and his phone was on the other. In the middle was a black, leatherbound planner of some sort. It was open to the calendar and my eyes danced over it. For Monday, I noticed he had blocked off the entire night for his date with me. But he had two different events blocked off for Tuesday and Wednesday night. Tuesday just said dinner with import supplier. But for his Wednesday evening, I saw he had plans to meet with Olivia at Soul at seven.

Olivia that interrupted our date gets a date of her own?I tapped the page.Let’s see what we can do about that.

I heard his footsteps, so I sat back in the chair and cast my gaze to the artwork on the other side of the room. It was a beautiful black and gold portrait of a woman with a crown. She wasn’t just regal. She was godly. I found myself staring.

“I like the view from here,” I said as soon as he entered.

“And I like the view from here,” he said, closing the door behind him.

Shaking my head, I smiled.He is smooth. I wonder if he uses the same lines on Olivia.

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