Page 20 of The Cask

“Because the moment I laid eyes on you I couldn’t look away.”

I exhaled. My heart pounded in my ears as images from the night before flooded my mind.

His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Shit,” he muttered before answering the phone. “I’m on my way. Let Mr. Joseph know that I’m two minutes away.”

Mr. Joseph? Samuel Joseph?!Anger doused the wave of desire the flashbacks produced.He’s meeting withmymentor?!

“I’m sorry,” Omari apologized, rising to his feet. “I have to get going. I’m meeting with someone I’m hoping to partner with. But thank you for showing me your lair.”

I smiled, unable to laugh even though I was previously amused. I turned off the space heater and ushered him out the door. “My pleasure.”

He pointed down the hall. “Is that where you keep the wine?”

“Maybe,” I said, closing my office door. “I don’t show nonemployees what’s back there.”

He nodded, following close behind me. “Oh, okay. I get it.”

I glanced back and caught him checking out my ass. I hated that I loved the feel of his eyes glued to me.

When we reached the top of the stairs, I stepped to the side and allowed him to pass me. I closed the door behind him, turned around and gasped.

The back of his hand grazed my cheek, and a shiver ran through my entire body. “Favorite color?”

“Black.”

He smirked. “Okay. Call me if you have some free time.”

I nodded, listening for Louis anywhere in the front of the bistro. When I didn’t hear anything, I whispered, “I will.”

He walked quickly through the tables of the bistro, but after he passed through the front door, he started running.

The sound of the door closing echoed through the empty bar and seemed to get Louis’s attention. He eased out of the kitchen. He didn’t have a suspicious look on his face when he caught my eye.

“How did the meeting go?” Louis asked.

“Better than expected,” I admitted, crossing my arms over my chest. “How’s the inventory looking?”

Sunday flew by.

Between Omari’s surprise visit and the impromptu birthday party at The Cask, I wasn’t able to enact phase one of my plan. But when I got home at the end of a profitable night, I picked out my outfit for a day of reckoning.

There’s no turning back,I told myself as I snuggled under my blanket.

Chapter Five

The burnt orange top was low cut enough to show off my cleavage and casual enough that it didn’t look like I was trying to be sexy. My distressed jeans were my favorite because it showcased my plump ass and thigh meat. I took the catcall from the man on the corner as a sign and continued my walk across the street.

I turned the handle of the door and walked in just as I saw some maintenance workers do moments before.

“We’re not open,” Kim Lowe called out as the door closed behind me. She got up from the table where she was sitting with two other men.

“I’m actually here to see Omari,” I told her, sauntering across the room. “Is he here yet?”

I knew for a fact he wasn’t.

We had talked into the wee hours of the morning and then had a text message conversation at lunch. I already knew his plans for the day included going to the grocery store and then visiting his mom before he went to Luxe to prepare for his three o’clock meeting.

Kim’s eyes narrowed, sweeping from my head to my toes. “Omari”—there was a slight bite to her tone— “isn’t here. Can I help you?”

---