Page 39 of Business Casual

“I feel the same way,” I admitted. “You’re very distracting.”

“Me?” His eyes roamed my body before he returned to my face. “You have no idea the—”

“Anyone in here? Oh! Good morning, Alex. Good morning, Imani,” Theresa greeted us as she strolled into the conference room.

“Good morning,” I said quickly. I crossed my arms over my chest and hoped she didn’t notice Tre’s effect on my body.

As she engaged in a conversation that didn’t have anything to do with me, I excused myself from the conference room to get my jacket. My nipples were like hard pebbles, and I was sure they would remain like that if Tre continued giving me that look.

“Ms. Jones?” Josephine beckoned me as I returned from my office.

I stopped in my tracks. “Yes?”

“Do you have some free time this afternoon? Mr. Franklin wanted me to have a word with you since he can’t be here himself.”

“Okay, yes.” I nodded and forced a bright smile on my face. “Right before lunch?”

She jotted down a note. “Yes. I’ll come by your office.”

“Sounds great, thanks!”

When I turned to continue walking down the hall, my smile fell. I felt the ball of anxiety return to the pit of my stomach and ratchet up the pressure I was already putting on myself. I knew the only way to get ahead of any rumor or scandal was to prove myself indispensable to the company.

I have to kill this presentation,I thought as I walked back into the conference room.

And I did.

“…and in six months you will see exponential growth,” I concluded, looking around the conference room at Tre, Theresa, Chase, and four people I hadn’t met before. “Thank you.”

They clapped like I’d just found a miracle cure.

I spent the next thirty minutes answering questions and giving them an overview of what different departments should be doing to aid in the marketing plan. I was thorough and very clear about expectations. As the meeting concluded, I learned that two of the people I didn’t know were board members who were extremely impressed.

“Ms. Jones, I like what you presented here,” a man with a huge mustache told me as he shook my hand. With a look over at Tre, he nodded. “If you’re able to pull this off, I see big things for you in the future.”

I grinned. “Thank you.”

We all exited as a group and even though I nailed the presentation, in the back of my mind, the meeting with Josephine haunted me.

“Will you be in the meeting this afternoon?” the mustached board member asked me.

“I don’t believe so.”

“Alex Franklin, why wouldn’t you bring this woman to the meeting today?” the board member admonished, turning to Tre. “If you want to get people on board, you need to make sure she’s present. She’s fantastic!”

I looked at Tre—who was already looking at me.

“That she is, Thomas.”

Smiling, I looked away from him. “Thank you both.”

They continued their conversation toward the elevator while I made my way down the hall to my office. I’d only been in there for twenty minutes and had just finished typing up the notes I’d taken during the question-and-answer portion.

A gentle knock on the door caused me to panic slightly. I wasn’t ready for whatever Josephine had to say.

“Come in,” I called out.

My eyes widened as the knocker entered.

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