Page 3 of Mr. Right Now
Jayana entered the room fully and paused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in a meeting.”
Erika stood. “We’re not, and we’re leaving.” She turned toward Dante and mouthed, “We aren’t done with this conversation.”
Dante ignored her.
“I’ll catch up with you later, D,” Ryan said as he exited behind Erika and closed the door.
Jayana smiled. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Right Now. Didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“Same.” And that made her a safe choice. He gestured to one of the chairs. “Please have a seat.”
Instead of immediately moving, she asked, “So how have you been?”
“Good. You?”
“Same. Surprised, but in a good way. Seeing you has me wondering about another round ofright now.”
He had the same thought, and so did his body, if the speed at which it reacted to her words was any indication. From the moment she’d slid her shapely backside past him to take the window seat on the plane, then said, “Hmph, so this is how the other half lives. I may have to travel first class more often,” he’d been intrigued. So much so that when her connecting flight had gotten canceled and the next available one was six hours later, he’d invited her to a late lunch. They’d laughed, talked, and ended up in his hotel room having the best sex of his life. “It can’t happen again.”
She chuckled as her gaze slowly traveled over him. Closing the distance between them, she stopped just short of touching him, but close enough for him to feel the heat rising and smell the lingering notes of the sweet, sensual fragrance she wore. “Then you should probably make that clear to certain parts of your body.” With a bold wink, Jayana slid into the chair.
Dante couldn’t say one word. His body and mind were definitely on opposite tracks, and although it wouldn’t be easy, he was going to do his damnedest to overrule his body.
* * *
Jayana Cole stared at the man who had been starring in her nightly dreams for over a month. Surprise didn’t come close to how she felt when she walked into the room and saw him. He’d been dressed in a suit when she met him on the plane and she thought he looked good then—a little over six feet, toffee skin, a textured high-top fade, jaw-hugging beard, and a diamond stud in his ear that gave him a bad-boy edge. Seeing him now in the well-worn jeans and black tee that molded against his well-defined upper body, she couldn’t decide which she liked better. For someone who sat behind a desk, the man’s body was a work of art. They sat silently, his dark, piercing eyes boring into hers with the same intensity as the evening they spent together. Only this time, she sensed his struggle, as if he was battling between what one wanted to do versus what one should do. The attraction was still simmering and she knew it wouldn’t take much for it to be rekindled.
“So, tell me about this place,” Jayana said, breaking the sensual spell. “I’m surprised you weren’t the person to interview me, especially since we ended up on the same flight.”
A slight grin kicked up in the corner of Dante’s mouth. “I usually do conduct the interviews, but I had a meeting that couldn’t be rescheduled. As far as this place,” Dante waved a hand around, “we opened the doors three years ago.”
She listened as he told her about their preschool, afterschool and summer programs. The passion with which he spoke added even more intrigue. Not many men would give their time to a program like Impressions 2. “I’m really impressed.”
“Thanks. Do you have any questions?”
“Actually, I have a few. First, what made you decide to do this, and what did you do before?”
“I love kids,” Dante said. “After volunteering at the original Impressions, run by a buddy of mine, I figured we could help more kids with a second center. We do our best to support their well-being and promote activities that will help them develop skills—educational, emotional, assist them in recognizing their capabilities and worth. We want them to feel comfortable trying new things and have to confidence to take risks, understanding that failure is more like a step toward progress, rather than a sign to give up.”
Jayana nodded. “I think I’m going to enjoy working here. May I ask what happened to the last counselor?” His jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond immediately. “I’m not trying to be nosy, I just want to be aware of anything that has negatively affected the students, so I can determine the best course to take.”
“You’re fine. Let’s just say she lacked the compassion needed to deal with the students and, more than once, talked down to them.”
She felt her anger rise. “Why in the world would she venture into the world of counseling without having empathy? That makes no sense. She could’ve ruined somebody’s life doing some mess like that.” Jayana clamped her mouth shut. The man probably thought she was crazy, going off on her tangent. In her defense, she despised psychologists who did nothing more than offer a couple of platitudes, then collect their fee. “Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly.
“Don’t apologize. Your passion is admirable and shows you care. It’s just what we need. Anything else you need to know?”
“During the interview, Ryan mentioned something about you needing my assistance with a Juneteenth festival. Is this what you were referring to in the meeting earlier?”
“Yes. So far, I’ve secured the park, some of the food vendors, and the music, but I still have a list of those who haven’t responded that we’ll need to follow up with sometime this week. I don’t want to wait until the last minute. Still working on a theme and some other activities.”
“Okay. I’ll put my thinking cap on and see if I can come up with something. One last question. How did you become Mr. Black Los Angeles?” She’d googled it after the meeting and saw that the Mr. Black organization honored Black culture, Black love and Black history. They had chapters all over the country.
Dante ran a hand over his beard. “Someone nominated me, I was chosen. End of story.”
One thing she recalled about him was that he didn’t talk much. Not that a whole lot of words were exchanged once they made it to his hotel room. Jayana stood and headed for the door. “Well, I think you’re a good choice. It says that their men are bold, loyal, ambitious, cool, and king.” She loved the play on the acronym for black. Her hand paused on the doorknob. “It fits you perfectly, especially since I googled you too and found that not only do you run this center, but you’re also the CEO of InstaGenix.” And on both sites, his photo was nowhere to be found. “How do you have time to run both companies?”
“I’m fortunate enough to have a great person running the day-to-day operations there, freeing me to be here most of the time.”
