5. Yasmeena
Chapter 5
Yasmeena
M y heels click against the floor as I’m led to my table.
I don’t usually look around much when I’m going to my table but my eyes catch another woman as she smiles at her date sitting across from her.
“I love you,too.” I hear her say and the glimmer in her eyes matches the smile on her face.
She must really be in love or like with him. She tilts her head as their hands are joined and it does make me wonder. Do people really love touching and being so near each other? I believe that love isn’t a necessity for wanting certain things in life. I had an ex and while he wasn’t searching for love, we both understood each other in that way. We had things that we wanted from each other like appearances and making sure we satisfied our families by looking like a couple, and it worked.
It worked for a while but after that, it ended. I ended it because there was nothing else I needed from him. He understood even if he hated it and we moved on from that. Marriage is inevitably going to be in the cards for me to continue a legacy but I didn’t expect my cancer to push me so far into it as it does right now.
Shaking my head, I concentrate on what I’m doing here.
Drew, who is taller than me, stands behind me and removes my coat with precision and care. He pulls my chair out and waits for me to sit then softly pushes me in.
“Have an amazing dinner, Yasmeena.”
Drew turns to walk away but I stop him.
“Drew,” I pulled out a tip from my small handbag and my assistant’s card. “Pen.” He hands me one. I write my personal number down on the back of the card. “I need a driver. I like you so call my assistant and tell him I personally recommended you. My personal number is on the back, don’t call me unless you need to.”
His eyes widened.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes.” I tell him.
“Yes.”
“Good boy.” Drew blushes again but this time, there’s this devilish smirk that accompanies the blush. “Now, tell me to have an amazing dinner. Pick my dinner and wine. I trust your choices.”
He opens his mouth to protest but I raise my brow and he stops. He clears his throat.
“Yes, Yasmeena. Have an amazing dinner.” He walks away with his large tip and my card in his pocket. I smirk that there’s a pep in his step already.
My wine is brought out along with my food within the fifteen minutes that I’m sitting here and it makes me look up from my phone. My phone isn’t used for leisure time, instead I’m working. There is a certain skin care line that I want to expand my business in but to incorporate it with something opposite yet for it to make sense is what I’m stuck on. I will figure it out but since I know my CFO is a pain in my ass when it comes to budgets, I need to make sure I have every single detail down of what I want.
Exiting my spreadsheet, I dial Matthew as I sip on my wine.
“Yes, Yasmeena?”
“I’ve updated the spreadsheet with what I’m looking for and I want you to give me ideas and have the marketing team come up with ideas. I need something to bounce off.”
“Okay, got it. What’s the deadline?”
“For ideas? One week. I’m being generous, Matthew. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Done and done.”
“Goo–.”
My words are cut off as I realize that the restaurant is hushed now, practically silent. I look up seeing a man on his one knee. Not just any man, my CFO, Enrique. He was proposing, I didn’t realize he had someone in his life or maybe he shared and I didn’t care enough to remember. Hanging up on Matthew, I sit back in my chair and cross my legs and arms to see what’s happening. He drops the ring on his knee and nervously chuckles then he takes it again and speaks.
“All I ask is that you promise to stay with me forever,” his gaze shifts and he realizes that I’m watching him with an arched brow. “Yasmeena…”
Did he just say my name? A smirk forms on my lips as this becomes even more interesting to me.
There's something about the way he says my name in this soft tone even though I’m sure he didn’t mean it. Something gets his attention and he looks at his soon-to-be fiancée.
“Emily.” He says her name with conviction and this piques my interest even more. I’ve never thought about Enrique beyond him being the CFO and great at his job, hell, we haven’t even sat in each other’s offices longer than 5 minutes but seeing him in this state gives me some sort of idea… “Please do me the honor of allowing me to love you for the rest of our lives.” He finishes off his proposal.
She’s stupid if she says yes as he called her the wrong name especially in a silent restaurant. Hell, I’m sure the staff looked my way when my name came up.
“Yes!” she cries out her response and I shake my head sipping my wine.
Tuning everyone and their cheers out, I enjoy the dinner that is still warm. I don’t eat much of it and get the waiter for my check. As the waiter comes back around, I decide to take a page out of my Baba’s lies. Although the show is over for me, I tell the waiter to send the happy couple their best champagne, on me.
He smiles as he perks up at my request even though it isn’t him who is going to enjoy it. Drew comes back around with my coat and that same devilish smirk at the same time, the waiter rolls out the champagne to Enrique’s table. My eyes land back on Drew as I stand and he comes behind me to help me with my coat.
My eyes shift to Enrique’s table as he looks at me with a grateful yet suspicious gaze then he looks at Drew for a quick second and back to me. His fiancée turns to look at me and her smile falters for a second but she masks it and smiles wider.
“Thank you.” She says.
“You’re ready to go.” Drew gets my attention and I look at him as he stands beside me.
I reach in my handbag and pull out my keys handing them to Drew.
“You start tonight. Drive me home and let’s see how well you handle cars.”
Drew smiles.
“Yes, Yasmeena.”
He waits for me to walk past him and then he follows. Enrique maintains eye contact with me as I pass by his table as if I’m going to knock the champagne bottle to the ground or as if I’ve poisoned their drink. He’s suspicious yet it seems like he isn’t going to say anything about it.
Good.
Walking right by them, our eye contact is lost and that’s when I make a decision.
Grabbing my phone, I dial Matthew again.
“Matthew, that list I asked for?”
“Yes?”
“Narrow it to one. I have a prospect in mind but let that one on the list be the backup.”
“What’s the name for the prospect?”
“You’ll know when I’m ready to tell you. Focus. Goodnight.”
I hang up before Matthew can say anything else and I walk out of Halo.
Enrique Souza is the prospect…