Page 11 of Forever Mine
“Have dinner with me tonight.” The suddenness of my request surprised me but I waited, hoping she’d say yes.
“I thought we were having lunch together?” she said, a teasing note in her voice.
“Yeah, that too, but I wanted to put dinner on lock down as well.”
A mysterious light shone from her eyes. Then she squished her lips together, as if satisfied. By what, I didn’t know. “You’re a greedy man,” she quipped.
“Only for your company,” I said, as the noise level in the room rose.
She rolled her eyes, cocked one eyebrow. “I’m sure you say that to all the women.”
“Nope, only the ones I’d like to know better.”
A frown line developed between her eyes and she said, “You have to come a lot better than that to keep me satisfied.”
My gaze turned hot, and I guess she thought about the way her words sounded because she sank her teeth into her plump bottom lip as our eyes met.
“Don’t worry,” I said, angling my head toward her. “I know how to treat a lady.”
I looked at my pocket watch and slid it back into my pants. Funny how the time flew on wings when I was dealing with important matters.
Shevaughn broke into a grin. “I thought only fuddy-duddies or old men kept pocket pieces.”
I answered her grin with one of my own. “Nah. I don’t like the feel of jewelry, or anything else, attached to my body.”
Her eyebrows rose and she got a look in her eyes that pegged me as strange but I didn’t question her reaction. Time was winding down and I needed a drink. Luck was on my side and the area around the table had cleared.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Can I get you a drink?”
She shook her head. “I’m good. You go. We’ll catch up during lunch.”
I looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah.”
Her smile was like that first ray of sunshine on a rainy day.
“Later,” I said, walking away.
I sensed her watching me and it gave me a feeling of satisfaction and immense power.
When I poured pineapple juice and put the glass to my head, I searched for her, only to find she’d left the room. After another scan to be sure I hadn’t missed her, I put the glass on the table and went to the stage.
By this time, most people were back in their seats.
I waited for the room to settle before picking up where I left off.
“In this second segment,” I said, “we’ll look at how animation has changed in the last ten years.”
Despite the interest of the attendees and their enthusiastic response to the material I introduced, I was bummed when Shevaughn didn’t reappear.
Just before I wrapped up, she returned wearing a sweater over her blouse.
She took a seat close to her chicks, as I called them in my mind, and settled her eyes on me. Her study was intense, which gave me a high. Shevaughn was as into me as I was in her.
This time, when I finished, the group had questions. They were now more relaxed. I had thrown in a joke when we restarted and sprinkled in a few more during the session. After ten minutes of answering their questions, I called a halt. “We can continue our discussion later. Save your questions because we’ll have a rap session during the last half-hour of the day. Enjoy your lunch.”
I gathered my notes, closed my laptop, and slid both inside the computer bag. After slipping the strap over my shoulder, I turned expecting to see Shevaughn sitting in her seat, but she wasn’t there.
At a glance, I realized she wasn’t among the few people left inside the room. As I walked toward the doorway, Diana stopped me. “I loved the presentation, and the others did too. So glad you were able to do this.”