Sherelle Green - Red Velvet Kisses

“Someone’s bitchy this morning,” Cyd said as she plopped down in a nearby chair. Lex cut her eyes at Cyd before taking a step back so she could face all the women. She took a couple deep breaths before she continued her rant.

“Look,” she stated firmly. “Micah’s request that I accompany him to his Arkansas hometown to get to know his parents better should not be a requirement.”

“How is this any different than when you and I attended several family outings to get to know the families of Kaydence Walters and Justin Phillips before we planned their wedding and prewedding festivities earlier this year?” Mya asked.

“Or when Cyd and I spent three days with the families of Brooklyn Hathaway and Wyatt Lexington for the exact same reason before we began planning their wedding?” Imani interjected.

“All of that didn’t require us to leave Chicago. Did any of you actually read this piece of paper before agreeing to his contract?” Lex asked as she picked up the paper from Imani’s desk and waved it in the air. “Well let me inform you of Mr. Madden’s ridiculous requests.”

She flipped some fallen hair out of her face before she gripped the paper with both hands. “Number one—the event planner must meet with me in person once a week to ensure we are on schedule with the plans. Number two—the event planner must agree to at least three dinner meetings as my daily schedule is too busy for morning or afternoon consultations. Number three—the event planner must attend the winter festival in my Arkansas hometown during the month of December.”

She placed the piece of paper back on the desk before looking at her partners. The smirks on their faces were really starting to get under her skin. “I don’t think anything is funny about this situation!”

“Well, if you were looking at the situation through our eyes, maybe you would,” Mya said with a laugh and shrug of her shoulders.

“Oh, lord,” Cyd said getting up from the chair. “Lex, we know you’re pissed off, but honestly, we’ve done more for clients before. You’re usually so accommodating and you rarely complain so we can only assume that you like Micah more than you have let on.”

“Oh, please,” Lex said, waving off the comment. “I just value my time and with Christmas right around the corner, it irritates me that Micah is trying to occupy so much of it.”

“Or,” Imani responded as she placed her pointer finger in the air. “Spending that much time with Micah irritates you because you can’t avoid him like you have been lately.”

She sighed deeply. Lex was tired of arguing about the same subject and was even more tired of convincing herself they were wrong when she knew, deep down, that they were right. She dropped her head down to the floor before lifting it back up.

“I give up,” Lex said taking a seat in the chair Cyd had just vacated. “You guys are right, but I just don’t get it. Why is he even into me when he can have his pick of women? I’ve constantly ignored his advances.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Mya asked raising an eyebrow. “Why not you? He’d be lucky to have you.”

Lex wasn’t so sure. The ladies didn’t know how embarrassing it was the first time she’d met him. And once she realized she would have to see him again, she’d decided that she could either be that pathetic woman he met in the lingerie boutique, or she could act indifferent to him, which somehow came off as dislike. That wasn’t her intention, but anything was better than being submissive to his charm.

She covered her face with both hands. “I’m done talking about Micah. Like I said before, I have too much baggage to even consider dating a man like him. Besides,” she said getting up from the chair and smoothing out her dress slacks. “I’ve avoided his advances for this long so I’m sure another month or so will be a piece of cake.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Lex jumped at the sound of Micah’s voice in the doorway. Oh, no...how much did he hear? From the sly smile on his smooth brown face she could only assume he’d heard way too much.

“I hate when you do that,” she said placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him. The man made her tense, and Lex hated feeling on edge. And why was he just standing there not saying anything? Fine! If he wants to stand there and stare at me, I can do the same thing. The only problem with that plan was that Micah had mastered the act of seduction and the thoughts reflected in his eyes made her heart beat ten times faster than normal.

“Your office assistant, Ellie, told me I could go directly into your office. I went there first,” Micah finally said.

“Hmm. Funny that she didn’t make you wait in the lobby.” Lex looked around at her partners knowing that one of them had probably given Ellie the okay to add Micah to the list of people who could stop by without appointments. Otherwise, there was no way he would have been allowed to see her without first calling and scheduling an appointment.

“Can we talk?” he asked, his stare still unwavering. Today he looked more casual in jeans, a black polo and black peacoat. He removed his winter hat and instantly, Lex wished she could run her fingers through his soft natural black curls.

I really wasn’t prepared to see him today. “Sure,” Lex answered as she walked around the chair and accidentally bumped into it. She slightly stumbled before Micah’s strong arms caught her.

“This feels familiar,” he voiced as he helped her to her feet without releasing his hold.

“Uh-huh...sure does,” she replied breathlessly. Don’t look at his lips! Don’t look at his lips!

“Ready to go to your office?”

Crap! Man he has sexy lips! Soft and inviting... Why did he have to look at her like that? Like his main purpose was to always be her hero. Say something!

“Oh, um, yeah, okay, that works, um, let’s.” What the heck did I just say! Great! Now I’m back to sounding like a blubbering idiot. At the sound of a few giggles, Lex turned her head, having forgot that Imani, Cyd and Mya were still in the office and were witnessing the entire scene.

Way to go, Lex! How about you have a couple more embarrassing moments so that your friends will really have something to talk about.

* * *

As he followed Lex to her office, Micah couldn’t hide the smile that crossed his face. Lex was frazzled, and he loved when she got nervous around him. She had the same affect on him, but he could hide it better than she could.

He’d heard enough of her conversation with her partners to know that Lex was having a hard time avoiding his advances. And he was sure that she disapproved of the extra paragraph in his contract that ensured they would be spending a lot of quality time together over the holiday season.

“How about we go to the café on the corner for brunch?” Micah asked when they arrived at her office. When she turned around to face him, she twisted her mouth and squinted her eyes.

“I thought your contract said you are really busy in the mornings and afternoons.”

So she did read that part. “That’s true, except today I had to run some errands so I’ll be going into the office later this afternoon.”

“How convenient,” Lex said as she began tidying up her desk. Micah could only assume she was trying to look occupied while she contemplated her response. He didn’t mind because it gave him the opportunity to observe her more than he had in Imani’s office. She had no idea how attractive she was. On occasion, he’d overheard her say that she assumed he liked the model-type. Little did she know, he much preferred her five-four petite frame and nice round ass that he was sure would fit perfectly in the palm of his hands.