Page 2 of Five Midnight Moment
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Monday morning, after the weekly staff meeting, Dwayne knocked on his brother’s office door.
“Come in.”
He entered and dropped down in the chair across from Dwight’s desk. “How are you settling in?”
“I don’t know how you wear these damn suits every day. These things are giving me hives.” Dwight frowned and tugged at his already loosened tie. Until two weeks ago, he’d worked with a buddy in his construction business and preferred working outdoors to being cooped up in an office every day. He also tended to be more intense and bordered on being an introvert, a direct contrast to Dwayne’s laid back and outgoing personality.
He chuckled. “You’ll get used to it.” Dwayne loved the world of money and investments and had followed in their father’s footsteps with business and finance degrees—and had worked at the family firm since age eighteen—but Dwight opted for construction engineering. Of course, their father hadn’t been too happy about Dwight’s refusal to join the firm upon graduating from college, but to appease him, he had minored in finance. It had taken a full year after Reginald Albright’s retirement for Dwight to relent, and Dwayne knew his brother had only stepped in to help him.
“I don’t want to get used to it,” he grumbled, leaning back in his chair. “Anyway, I’ve been checking out all the accounts and noticed a few irregularities in one.”
“That’s why I’m glad you’re here. If anyone can find out what’s going on, it’s you. The security analyst is adding another layer of protection that should be done today or tomorrow, so I’m hoping any funny business will be easier to flag.” They’d just acquired two big accounts and the last thing Dwayne needed was money to start disappearing from any of their client’s accounts. Albright Financial Group prided themselves on being one of the best investment firms in the country and he had no intentions of letting someone ruin that reputation.
“Like I said, it looks like just the one account has been touched and only a hundred dollars is missing.” Dwight drummed his fingers on the desk. “It’s almost as if whoever is doing this is testing the waters to see if he or she and get away with it.”
“I don’t care if it’s one cent, when I find out who the thief is, they’re gone.” Dwayne’s cell buzzed. He dug it out of his pocket and smiled. “Hey, Leticia.”
“Hey, stranger. Long time no see and I haven’t talked to you in months.”
“It’s been a busy year. What’s up?”
“I’ve got an invitation to a New Year’s Eve party and thought maybe you could come along as my date. We could catch up. I hope you don’t have any plans.”
“Actually, I do. Sorry,” he said. He planned to ring in the new year with only one woman. “I’m sure we’ll catch up at my parent’s New Year’s dinner party.” Their families had been friends for years and she and his sister, Shelby, were best friends.
“Probably,” Leticia said, sounding disappointed. “I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Okay. See you later.”
As soon as he disconnected, Dwight said, “You know she has it bad for you.”
“What? We’ve been friends since we were kids and I think of her as another sister. She knows that.” At age thirty-one, Leticia was the same age as his sister and five years his junior. He’d sensed some interest on her part the last few times he’d seen her, but had been careful not to do anything to give her the impression that he saw her as anything other than a friend.
“That may be true for you, but I talked to Shelby yesterday and apparently, you haven’t made that clear enough because, from what I understand, Leticia was shopping for some outfit guaranteed to get your attention.”
Dwayne groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t need this right now.”
Dwight shrugged. “What the problem? She’s a nice woman, pretty, and you know she isn’t trying to get with you for your money. It’s not like you’re dating anyone else at the moment.”
“That where you’re wrong. I’ve been dating someone for the past four months.” And he couldn’t tell a soul. Not until he figured out a way to ensure Valencia wouldn’t be penalized.
His brother frowned and sat up straight. “Why haven’t you said anything? You never mentioned one thing about her and I should at least know her name.”
“It’s complicated.” He and Dwight were close and usually confided in each other about everything, but not this time. Dwayne had put the no-fraternization policy in place at the beginning of the year when he took over as CEO and a female employee wouldn’t take no for an answer. After she ignored his polite, but firm refusals and he found her naked in his office, he’d fired her and issued the memo the next day. Now there was Valencia, who, like him tried to follow the rules and ignore their attraction. But the chemistry between them was too strong to resist and the past four months with her had been the best of his life. Thoughts of their conversation from the previous night surfaced in his mind. He couldn’t lose her.
“What the hell kind of trouble are you in?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.” He stood. “I’ll see you later. Let me know if you find anything else.” Not bothering to wait for a response, he walked out. Dwayne knew he should go straight to his office two doors down, but his steps took him to the other side of the floor where Valencia’s office was located. He knocked on her partially open door and saw her talking to the marketing manager. Shawna Baker had been with the company for two years and her skills had kept them firmly in the public’s eye. “Good morning, ladies. Do you have a minute, Ms. Townsend?”
Valencia nodded. “Sure.”
“We’ll talk later, Valencia,” Shawna said, heading for the door. “Mr. Albright.” She gave him a coy smile and exited. Dwayne closed the door behind her and quietly turned the lock.
Valencia slowly rose to her feet. “Um…is something wrong? Did something happen with the security system? I mean we don’t… you—”
“Relax, baby,” he said softly. “I just needed to see you.” They had agreed not to seek each other out or have any conversation outside of what was necessary for business. He’d been fine with that until he realized what he felt for her went far beyond a casual hookup. Dwayne loved everything about her, from her enchanting smile, dark brown eyes and sexy, petite curves to her rich vanilla bean coloring, which matched the sweet, soft scent she always wore. Even now, the naked desire he saw in her eyes nearly did him in. “You have no idea how hard it is for me to stand her and not take you in my arms.” Dwayne didn’t care about policies or rules right now. He just wanted her. Closing his eyes, he mentally counted to ten, trying to maintain his control, but lost the battle within seconds. He walked over to the desk where she stood.
