Sherelle Green - Beautiful Surrender

That smile, that side smirk that he did all too well, had a lot of meaning behind it. From what she’d observed, Malik was safe. Predictable. Played by the rules. However, when he gave her that smirk, she wasn’t quite sure he was as harmless as she assumed he was.

Breaking their trance, Malik glanced at his black metal watch and informed her that he had to get going. As he made his way to her office door, Mya stood to see him out, careful not to get too close to him.

When he reached the door, he slightly glanced over his shoulder, catching Mya off guard. “I look forward to our meeting on Thursday,” he said as he studied her eyes once more, and shut the door.

As the door closed behind him, Mya placed her hand on her stomach and swished a light breath into the air. She remembered in a business class she had taken in college, her professor had stated that it was beneficial to study the competition and familiarize yourself with their strengths, weaknesses, and their sales and marketing tactics so that you could develop a strategic plan to win over a client or business.

Mya knew this wasn’t exactly the same situation, but it sure as hell felt like it. Malik was up to something and she knew it had to do with her. She really didn’t have any time to focus on avoiding a man’s advances and a couple months ago, she thought she had succeeded in figuring out the type of man he was. But today had been an eye-opener. Although she had thought she had made herself clear in Anguilla that she had no interest in going out with him, it was obvious that Malik Madden could not be underestimated.

Chapter 3

Malik glanced around the small conference room, glad that Mona, his office manager, had cleared out the boxes that had originally been stored in the room.

“Do you need me to do anything else?” Mona asked.

“No, that’s all for today,” Malik responded as he opened the blinds to allow sunlight to seep into the room before the sun set.

“Great,” Mona replied. “I placed an order for the food to arrive around 8:00 p.m. As promised, I’ll leave now, so you can have the office to yourself. Good luck with your meeting.”

“Thanks, Mona.” The minute Mya had agreed to meet him at his office he had decided that he would release Mona a little early that day. He figured Mya wouldn’t like that they were alone, but he definitely preferred it that way.

Malik checked the clock on the cream-colored wall before heading back to his office. She should be here soon. He had a feeling she was a stickler for being on time after the speech she had given him the other day about being reliable.

When he arrived to his office, he glanced around at the decor he had added to the walls. Abstract paintings created by his younger brother Malakai now decorated the once-bland space. He’d also replaced his furniture with more contemporary office furnishings. With the help of Mona, his Chicago office was finally starting to look like a place where he actually spent time.

The loud sound of the buzzer interrupted his perusal of the office.

“Madden Incorporated,” Malik said into the speaker.

“Hi, Malik. It’s Mya.”

“I’ll buzz you up.” As he pressed the buzzer to let her into his second floor office, he took note of the way she had said his name. He enjoyed listening to the way his name rolled off her tongue, but the way she said it sounded too formal. This might be a professional meeting, but Malik preferred her to sound a little more relaxed.

At the light ding of the elevator, he opened the door to his office suite just as she was stepping into the hallway. She had worn a similar skirt to when he had seen her a couple days ago, but this one was beige and she wore it with a russet-colored blouse. The colors really brought out the golden highlights in her wavy brown hair that he hadn’t really noticed before.

“You look great,” he said. She gave him a quick up and down glance before replying, “Thanks, so do you.”

Malik had chosen to get rid of his tie and had unbuttoned the first few buttons of his light gray dress shirt that he’d paired with dark gray slacks.

“Thanks. If you’ll follow me to the conference room, we can begin discussing business.” Mya followed behind Malik and he could feel her eyes glued to the back of his head.

“You must be in Chicago quite a bit,” she said as they passed Mona’s desk.

“Not really,” he replied as he held open the conference room door for her to enter. She placed her bag and purse in a nearby chair and sat down at the table, observing the art on the wall. “Since I’ll be cohosting the auction and I currently have more clients in Illinois than Michigan, I figured I would work out of Chicago for a while.”

Mya’s head whipped towards Malik just as he took a seat across the table from her.

“You’re staying in Chicago?” she asked.

“Yes, I am. I figured it would be easier than all the traveling. But once a week, I’ll still take a drive to my office in Detroit. I have an office manager and three interns there, so my office is in good hands.”

Mya stared at him for a while and didn’t say anything. He imagined that she was still trying to accept the fact that he would be residing in her city for a while.

She cleared her throat and nervously brushed her fingers through her hair before leaning back in the swivel chair. The act was done subconsciously, which made her look even sexier to Malik. She had a good poker face. He’d give her that. But he was paid to see beneath the surface and study a person’s actions. He wondered if Mya knew that her actions were proving just how nervous she was.

“So,” she said, recovering from his statement. “You said your assistant would be here too. Did she step out for a minute?”

“Actually, I told her she could go home early, so it’s just the two of us,” he responded.

“Oh, I see,” she said, her brown eyes growing slightly bigger before returning to their normal size.

He was sure she didn’t see the big picture. Not fully anyway. Malik was a careful thinker. He was the type of person who could develop a plan that would take years to execute. And he would maintain his patience until every task of the plan had been completed.

“Where will you stay?” she asked.

“I own an apartment complex in Hyde Park. I have tenants in all units except the penthouse, so I will reside there while I’m in Chicago.”

“Nice,” she said as she began removing items from her bag. “Did you decide how long you will stay?”

I’m sure much longer than you’d like. “Probably at least until the auction. After that, I’ll play it by ear.”

Malik stood up and walked to the corner of the conference room where the Keurig was placed. “Would you like some coffee?”

“I don’t drink coffee,” she stated as she jotted something down in her notepad. “But tea would be great if you have it.”

“Yes, I do,” he said as he placed the sugar holder and stirrers on the conference table. “So, how about you tell me the overall goal of the fundraiser.”

“Sure,” she said as she crossed one leg over the other. It took all Malik’s strength not to drop his eyes to her legs. He distracted himself with making his coffee and her tea instead.

“At Elite Events, there are a variety of organizations and events that we sponsor. One of my most cherished sponsorships is the work we do with Chicago after-school programs. There are two programs in particular that we donate a hefty amount of money to annually. But a few months ago we learned that our efforts to save those programs weren’t effective, and they will have to permanently close before the start of school.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Malik responded as he placed the hot drinks on the conference table.