Then I walked in slowly, but she didn’t bother to look up. She couldn’t hear me. Now standing beside her I placed my hand on her shoulder and said, “Kyla, are you OK?”
She jumped at my presence. Clearly she didn’t hear or see me walk in. “Keith, you scared me.”
Fumbling with her files and loose papers on her desk she said, “I’m going over my notes from my presentation. Mr. Black is so biased that it isn’t funny. I know he’s trying to break me.”
I glanced over her power point presentation and noticed her work. I loved it to be honest. But being a partner in this firm, I couldn’t be obvious that I wanted to give Kyla special treatment.
“It actually doesn’t look bad, Kyla, but I do see something you might want to change.”
She raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair. Pulling open her snack drawer she pushed around a few candy bars before saying, “It’s my stress reliever; want some?”
I laughed and walked over to the other side of her desk to take a peek for myself. “Woman, you have a whole candy store in here.” I opted for the Snickers.
“Snickers, huh? Good choice.” She twirled around in her chair and stopped right before her computer to refocus on her presentation. Every other woman on this floor would stop what they were doing just to talk to me, but not Kyla. It was always work first. This is why I needed her. A woman who knew what she wanted.
“Tell you what, how about I go over your presentation with you to knock it out, and afterward, we go for dinner? It’s Friday. I have nothing to do, and I would rather see you out having a good time verses stuck in here.”
“As in a date?” I could tell from her expression she was shocked and uncertain. As if I had the nerve to ask. Now this made me rethink my question.
“Ummm, yeah, sure; why not? Two adults just eating.”
Laughing she said, “Sure, Keith, try that on your groupies. So you want to just go out for dinner, huh? Are you paying?” I heard her Southern accent come out, and I leaned forward in laughter.
“Yes, Ms. Kyla, I will pay. As a matter of fact, I know just the right place. So let’s crank out this presentation, shall we?”
“Yea, I bet you do. Fine, Mr. Keith, let’s crank it out.”
***
Grinning from ear to ear I opened the restaurant door to let Kyla walk in first. She playfully rolled her eyes as she entered. I had to admit she was catching on to my obvious charm and playing hard to get. “Don’t get even cockier on me now. OK, yes, we knocked out my presentation in two hours. But do you want a medal for that?” she laughed out.
“You have a smart mouth. I like that,” I said.
“I’m sure you do. So this place here, how many times have you been here?” Kyla asked as we followed the hostess to our table.
“Only a few times. I don’t get to go out much. I’m usually a homebody.”
“Oh yea, me too. I’m rarely out unless Gloria drags me somewhere.”
The mention of her best friend made me want to ask her questions about her personal life. Mainly, I needed to know if she was taken.
Taking a sip of my drink the waiter left behind, I scanned the room to take my eyes off of Kyla for just a moment. It wasn’t easy sitting across from a woman you have wanted for so long. A woman who hasn’t shown any interest in you expect for the casual conversations. I needed more, and I was done making small moves. I need to do something drastic.
“So, Ky Ky, tell me about you. I’m ashamed to say I don’t know much.”
Kyla began to laugh again at the sound of my playful nickname. “Wow, a night of drinks out with coworkers over a year ago and I get stuck with that name. You better be glad I like you, Keith.”
I raised a brow and decided to play on her choice of words. “You like me?” My voice was deeper than usual and as bold as I wanted it to be. I leaned forward in my seat as if I wanted a better listen.
Kyla’s expression was of complete confusion. “Well, of course, I do. I did come to eat with you just now, which is something we have never done. But mainly because I try to respect a married man’s space.”
“Married?”
Kyla stopped her glass midway to her lips and looked up toward me with curiosity. “What did I say wrong?” she asked.
Grunting and leaning back in my chair, I start to recall different situations with Kyla in my head. This would explain why she always seemed so distant with me. “Kyla, I’m not married.”
Now as if I had her full attention, she sat up straight and looked me over. I don’t know what her eyes were searching for, but I knew it was for clarification in some way. “What do you mean?”
“Kyla, I am not married. Who told you I was married?”
“Well, Gloria did. She told me this when I first started over a year ago.”
“I’ve never been married in my life. Maybe she said that because I was in a long-term relationship a while back.”
Kyla began to sit back in her seat, and I could tell that she was going over her thoughts in her head. “Wait, so this here isn’t a social dinner? You asked me out?”
I placed my hand on the table and reached for hers, gently landing mine on top. “Kyla, I have wanted to ask you out for a long time. But you’ve always stated you don’t date anyone in the office.”
“Yes, that’s true too, and I don’t do married men, which I thought you were. OK, this is awkward.”
“Hasn’t my bare ring finger ever given you the hint that I wasn’t?”
“No, in this day and age it didn’t. I just went by what Gloria told me.”
The table grew quiet, and I was sure that Kyla was going to get up and walk out. She was right. This was an awkward moment, and I was not sure how we were going to get past it.
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Kisses Don’t Lie By Tamika Newhouse
Her Sweetest Revenge (Delphine Publications Presents) Page 22