by K, S
“Dominick? I’m sorry. You seem preoccupied. I know I probably should’ve called first. If this is a bad time…”
“No…no Keisha, it's fine.” Forcing himself to concentrate, he asked, “What can I do for you?”
“Well, actually, I just wanted to stop in and say hello - and to let you know that it looks like we’ll be working together.” Keisha’s smile was still tentative, as if she wasn’t sure of his reaction.
Dominick stared at her with a perplexed expression then shook his head. He couldn’t have heard her correctly. “Wait. We'll be what?”
Stepping closer, Keisha reached up to straighten his tie. “I’m still not sure about what I want to do with myself, so I signed up with an agency. Apparently the company backing your project wants photos of the progress of the condos from the beginning stages up to completion. I had no idea you were the architect, let alone heading up this project. Therefore, you and I will be working very closely together. I…hope that won’t be a problem?” She blinked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.
Dominick opened his mouth then closed it. He was too shocked to respond. For some reason, this woman had that effect on him. And what in the hell was that perfume she was wearing?? It smelled seductive, yet at the same time, sweet - sort of like Keisha herself.
“Dom? Do you think we can work together? Put our personal problems aside and deal with each other on a professional level?”
“Uh…Yeah. I…that shouldn’t be a problem.” He suddenly squinted down at her. “Which agency did you say you went through?”
Keisha smoothed his tie down. “I didn’t. I just really wanted to personally inform you instead of just popping up and springing this on you. I’m sure everything will work out just fine for us. I can’t wait. Take care.”
Keisha rose on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, but somehow her lips landed at the corner of his mouth. Before he could catch his breath, she was gone.
Dominick stood there for a good five minutes as he went over everything she’d said. What in the hell just happened??
While Keisha waited for the elevator, she dialed Darrell’s cell.
“Hello,” he answered.
“D, it’s Keisha. I just called to say thank you. And I owe you one….”
Snapping her phone closed, Keisha smiled. Dominick Spain was not going to know what hit him.
Chapter 20
Two weeks later, Keisha was walking out the door and on her way to meet Dominick at the construction site. She smiled, remembering the look on his face when she told him they would be working together. Poor thing. He hadn’t known what to think. Good. She wanted to keep him off kilter. Apparently, he'd made up his mind to stick to his decision to keep his distance. Fine. What he didn't realize was she could be just as stubborn - or more – than he.
The smile on her face turned to a frown when she thought about seeing him at the club with those three hoochies a couple of weekends ago. The women, and she used the term loosely, had been all over him and he hadn’t seemed to mind a bit. It took everything in her not to go marching over there and kick their half-naked asses. In her head, she knew she didn't have the right to demand anything, but her heart was a completely different story. Dominick was a very good catch. Handsome, intelligent, sensitive, sexy... and she wanted him. She could kick herself for not realizing it sooner.
With Dominick being an architect and Darrell in commercial real estate, she was aware that their paths sometimes crossed professionally. When Keisha first came up with a plan to spend time with Dominick in order to give them a chance to get to know one another, it had taken a lot of convincing on her part before Darrell would help her. He knew Keisha could be fickle and didn't want to cause damage to his friendship with Dom.
Keisha opened up and told him how much she cared about Dominick; this wasn't a game for her. Darrell finally agreed and made a few phone calls to collect on some favors owed to him. By the time he'd finished, a position had been created for Keisha. The backers had even warmed up to the idea of documenting the progress in different stages of construction through a series of photographs, so Keisha had actually ended up with a real job which paid excellent money.
As she slipped her shades on and walked out the door, anticipation flowed in her veins. She was on a mission to conquer, and Mr. Spain was her target.
Dominick pulled up to the construction site and sat in his car for a moment. He had been sure this whole thing whole photography thing was a scheme Keisha concocted, but once he checked into it, he’d found out the job was legit and on the up and up. The clients confirmed that Keisha had been hired as a photographer for this project, and they wanted her involved every step of the way.
Dom sighed. Just his fuckin’ luck! It was hard enough trying to get her out of his system without seeing her, but now she was practically gonna be his damn shadow!
Great….
With these thoughts running through his mind, Dominick grabbed his laptop and got out and slammed the door of his car in frustration. He saw a group of men a few feet ahead and changed directions to walk towards them. What were they were gathered around looking at? Whatever it was held their rapt attention and had big grins on their faces. Unconsciously mirroring their amusement, Dom felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He was just getting ready to ask them what was so funny when he saw for himself. Dominick stopped in his tracks as the grin slipped away and was replaced with a scowl.
Sitting on top of an old metal shelf was none other than Keisha McKnight holding court in front of her admirers. They had graciously laid out a towel for her to sit on to avoid getting dirty. Her sunglasses were pushed back on top of her head, and her eyes twinkled with laughter.
She wore a pair of blue jean shorts strategically ripped for fashion’s sake, and the pink baby tee barely covered her stomach. She was leaning back on her hands with legs crossed and smiling at one of the men who was telling a story that, from what Dominick could hear, wasn’t as interesting as she was making it out to be. He swallowed hard as he noticed her belly ring peeking out below the hem of the t-shirt.
Dom pushed his way through the crowd of muscled bodies vying for her attention until he got to her. His chest heaved, and he sent her a menacing glare as he tried to calm himself down. His eyes ran over her attire. The only thing she had even remotely suitable for the site were a pair of work boots, but even they looked to be some fancy designer brand...and they were pink! The chunky boots paired with her the outfit she had on only served to heighten the sexiness of her appearance. Keisha turned her eyes towards him and gave him a big smile.
“Dominick! Heyyy…! You finally made it, huh? I was wondering when you’d show up. We’ve been here for, what, almost an hour guys?”
Dominick heard a sea of answers filtering from the crowd as they fell over themselves to be the one to answer Keisha’s question, and were rewarded with another bright smile. Dominick glanced around then shook his head at the bunch of macho construction workers who had suddenly turned into obedient puppies at the sight of a big booty and a smile.
Narrowing his eyes at Keisha, Dominick said through teeth that almost ached from being clenched together so hard. “Can I talk to you for a moment please?”
Keisha’s expression was sweetly innocent. “Sure, but Stan was just finishing his story. It’ll be just a…”
“Now!” Dominick couldn’t help the way the word growled from his throat.
Hurt showed in her eyes at his harsh tone, which in turn caused the men to throw him accusing stares.
Dominick glared back, daring anyone to say something. “Is there a problem?” The deep baritone in his voice clearly held a hint of a challenge. Grumblings of ‘No, Boss’, and ‘No Sir’s’ rang out. “Then I suggest you find something to do. You're not being paid to hang around and have tea and tell stories…” He glowered at Stan as he added the last part. Stan lowered his head and quickly walked away.
When the workers dispersed to spread out and start their workday, Dominic
k turned back to Keisha, who peered down at him from her royal perch with a frown on her pretty face. “You didn’t have to be rude.”
“You haven’t seen rude yet. Let’s get something straight. This is a construction site, not a social gathering. Let this be the last time I come here and find you acting like you’re having a storytelling session on my clock. Do you understand me?”
Dominick knew he was overreacting, but when he saw her smiling at the men who'd been practically ogling her, he got hot. “And another thing. Don’t you think your attire is inappropriate? What in the hell were you thinking. If we weren’t already behind schedule, I’d make you take your ass home and change.”
Keisha stared at him with fire spitting from her eyes. At first, she’d been amused by his reaction. She didn’t start smiling and flirting until she saw him drive up, but now she was ticked off. This man could rub her the wrong way quicker than anyone she’d ever met.
Before she had a chance to deliver a blistering retort liberally sprinkled with a string of obscenities, she heard a familiar voice behind her inquire, “Excuse me, what’s the problem?”
Dominick glared at Keisha’s wanna be hero who stepped up frowning at him. He looked familiar but Dominick couldn’t think of where he knew him from, and right now, he didn’t give a damn. “The only problem is you in my conversation.”
The man’s eyebrow lifted in surprise. He turned to see what had Dominick so pissed off and did a comical double take. “Keisha??”
Dominick’s mood became even darker when Keisha cut her eyes away from him to look at the man. In the blink of an eye, she flashed him a blindingly bright smile. “Michael? What are you doing here?” She instantly recognized him from Club Ecstasy. Keisha moved to hop off of the shelf, but Michael placed his hands on her waist and lifted down before enfolding her in a hug.
“I’m going to be the foreman for this job. I heard all of the commotion and came over to see what the problem was?” he glanced again at Dominick. “Hey, I know you. Keish introduced me to you and your friends in VIP the same night she and I met at Club Ecstasy.” Michael smiled and stuck out his hand to shake Dominick’s.
Keish? Dominick’s face knotted up. Now, he remembered exactly who this joker was, but when did he become so familiar with Keisha to call her ‘Keish’? Dominick’s eyes went from the hand Michael held out to his other hand still around Keisha’s bare waist. The look Dominick gave Michael was cold enough to freeze hell over. Michael frowned as he slowly dropped his hand down to his side.
“Dominick!”
Dominick heard the admonishment in Keisha's voice but ignored it. Turning to Michael, he asked in a chilly tone, “What do you mean you’re the foreman? Bill Anderson is the foreman.”
“Not anymore,” Michael answered. “He broke his leg in three places. They pulled me off of another job to take his place. You weren’t notified?”
“No, I sure in the hell wasn’t.”
Michael was clearly confused at Dominick’s attitude. Things like this happened from time to time. It didn’t warrant the reaction Dominick was having. “Is there a problem, Dominick?”
Dominick stared at Michael for a moment, and then turned around without answering. He pulled his cell phone out and walked a few steps away to call and verify what Michael had just told him.
Keisha lifted eyes full of apology to Michael. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why he’s being so rude…”
Michael scratched his head and glanced at Dominick. “Rude isn’t the word.” Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back to Keisha with a smile. “How have you been? Small world, huh?”
“Very…” Keisha absently smiled, but her mind was still on Dominick.
“Hey, I know we talked on the phone a few times, but I never got around to asking you, so I guess I’ll ask you now. Would you like to go out to dinner or something, maybe catch a movie or one of the shows? I’d love to give you the Vegas tour,” he smiled.
Keisha studied his handsome face as she tried to think of the best way to turn him down. Michael was very sweet, and a couple of weeks ago, she would’ve loved to have gone out with him, but things had changed. She had strong feelings for Dominick, and it wouldn’t be fair to string Michael along even if it were just an innocent night between friends.
“Michael….”
“She’s busy.” Keisha whipped around in surprise when she heard Dominick bark the answer.
Now it was Michael‘s turn to get an attitude. “But we haven’t even decided on a day or time so how do you know she’s busy?”
Dom paused then took a step closer to Michael and slowly and deliberately said, “It doesn’t matter what day, it doesn’t matter what time. She’s busy.”
The two men stared at one another until Michael backed down and looked away. Satisfied that he’d gotten the point, Dominick ignored both of their disgruntled expressions and thrust a set up papers and plans in Michael’s hands.
“I need you to go over these to bring you up to speed so you can be ready to get started.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll be back in about an hour.”
Without another word or explanation, he turned to Keisha and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her behind him to his car. Michael stared after them with a thoughtful gleam in his eye. One of the other men came over and stood by him as they watched Dominick stalk off.
"What’s with him?" the man asked.
A slow smile spread over Michael’s face. "I think he's in love and doesn’t even know it yet."
Keisha was steaming mad at this point. She had to do a little galloping run to keep up with Dominick’s long strides. “Dominick…wait. Slow down, dammit…”
He remained silent until they got to the passenger side of the car. Opening the door he practically shoved her inside.
“Ouch!” Keisha rubbed her arm and glared at him. He returned the look then slammed the door and went around to his side to get in.
“Where are we going?” Still silent, Dominick put the gear in drive and took off. “Let me out now! I don’t know what in the hell is wrong with you, but…Oh!”
Dominick slammed on the brakes then leaned over and shot Keisha a look that made her clamp her mouth shut and sit back. When he didn’t move, she reached over and put her seat belt on with a slight pout. Satisfied, Dominick hit the accelerator and sped off.
They merged onto the highway and drove for about twenty minutes. Dominick made a turn that brought them to a gorgeous lake surrounded by lush greenery and trees. After a couple of more miles passed, he pulled over on side of the road and turned the ignition off. Without saying a word to Keisha, he got out and walked over to stand in front of the car. He put his hands on his hips and just stared out at the water, deep in thought.
This wasn’t gonna work. They hadn’t even started and already she had his pressure sky fucking high. This job was too damned important to his career not to be able to give it his full one hundred and ten percent. He couldn’t afford to get distracted, but where was he the first day? Trying to stop his blood from boiling because of nonsense. Seeing all of those men staring at Keisha in lust didn’t help, and on top of that, his foreman whom he would need to work closely with, was interested in dating her?
Uh-uh. She had to go so he could concentrate. Dominick turned his head when he heard her door open.
Keisha walked towards him with her eyes downcast. It was her fault he was angry. She knew that he shouldn’t be standing here trying to control his temper over her actions, but that was exactly what he was doing. She glanced up at him and saw the hard set of his features. All she’d wanted was to try and find a way to get close to him, give him a chance to know the real Keisha, but once again, she’d screwed up and made things worse. Tears fell down in a line under each eye as her eyes dropped down to the ground. Nothing she’d done regarding him seemed to come out right.
Dominick stared at Keisha. On the outside he was cold and stoned face. Inside, her tears were making him melt. Sighing, he asked, “What’s wrong? Why are y
ou crying?” He raised an eyebrow at the gentleness he heard in his voice. He was furious…wasn’t he?
Hearing his soft tone, the tears came even faster. “I’m sorrryyy. I didn’t mean to s-s-s-screw up…againnnn...”
Keisha put her hands over her face. She was mortified that she was standing here crying, but she couldn’t seem to stop. She didn’t want to care about him this much. Karma was a bitch. When she finally found someone she really wanted to be with, he wanted nothing to do with her.
Dominick looked away then back at her. Aw hell, he thought. He reached out and pulled her to him. His heart began to beat faster when she circled her arms around his waist and sobbed on his chest.
“Shhh. It’s okay, stop crying. Keisha….baby, you’re going to make yourself sick. It’s okay….”
“It’s NOT OKKAAAYYY!!! You h-h-h-hate me don’t you? I can see it in your eyyyyyeesss…..”
Dominick glanced down at the top of her head and tried not to smile. She was so damned cute - even while she was drowning the front of his shirt. He put a finger underneath her chin and raised her face up to look at him.
“Keisha. Baby, I don’t hate you.” Keisha sniffed but didn’t say anything.
Dom couldn't fight what he felt for her any longer and leaned down to kiss her soft lips. When he raised his head, her eyes were still closed. After a moment, her eyelids fluttered open. He kissed her again, then moved to kiss each eyelid and her forehead before pulling her back to his chest.
“No matter how much either of us resists, we just can’t run away from this, can we?” Keisha shook her head, tightening her arms around his waist.
He held her from him and studied her with an intensity that left her breathless. “I want to try this again. I’m willing to give us a chance and see where this goes if you are.”
A smile finally tried to break free on Keisha’s face. She nodded vigorously. “Yes. I’m willing. I’m more than willing. Dominick, I’m so sorry. I-”