Chapter 8
eight
T he first day of the conference had been a breeze, and Imani was pleased with how the day had progressed. It had been a great networking event to be able to meet with other offices from around the world. She had connected with a few people she had only seen in Zoom meetings or had only spoken with via email. The day had been jam packed with meetings and her presentation had been held in the hotel’s large conference room. She was pleasantly surprised that her talk had drawn a large enough crowd that there was only standing room left.
Imani was comfortable speaking in front of large crowds. She thrived on it and it made her feel good to know that she had commanded the attention of so many professionals. They’d had great discussions at the end of her chat and people had even followed her out in the hallway to get her opinion on other matters. One of her specialties was project management, and apparently a lot of people around the company had heard of her and how she had turned her department around. There was a reason that she was an executive at such an early age. Her work spoke for itself.
As the last session was just wrapping up, Imani bent down, picked up her messenger bag, and placed the strap over her shoulder. She would need to hurry if she were going to run up to her hotel room and change before Will picked her up. She wasn’t sure what he all had planned for them, but he had texted her earlier to ask if she liked Thai. The man must be an angel, because she was addicted to Thai food. How did they have so many things in common? Her local Thai restaurant back home was on speed-dial—they knew her by name and her usual order was perfect every time. .
When the session wrapped, Imani navigated her way through the thick crowd and exited the room. She glanced around to try to remember how to get out of the hotel’s conference center and head back to the main lobby. Spotting the correct way, she began walking fast. If she played her cards right, she’d have time to freshen up and change her clothes before Will was due to arrive.
“Miss Bishop!” A deep voice called out. Imani sighed and debated keeping her pace, but a little voice in her head told her to turn around. She paused and looked over her shoulder. With the amount of people it was difficult to tell who had called her name. “Miss Bishop.”
Imani’s gaze landed on a tall man with a few other people ambling with him. With his salt and pepper hair, large mustache and round-rimmed glasses, she would recognize him from anywhere. It was Mark Hardy, the CEO of Apex Systems. Imani straightened to her full height as he approached her.
“Mr. Hardy,” she smiled. She immediately offered her hand to him and he took it in a firm grip. Mark Hardy was known as a shark in the business world. Their company was consistently on the Forbes 500 list and was considered quite successful, all because of this man in front of her. Imani tried to hide her shock and confusion as to why he was coming to speak with her.
“Imani, please. Call me Mark.” He smiled. He released her hand and quickly introduced her to the few people who were with him. She nodded to each of them in turn, but she was still in shock at being singled out by the company CEO. “How can I help you Mr. Hardy—Mark?” she asked.
“I caught your presentation earlier today. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there in person, but I watched it virtually and I’d have to say I would like to have a sit down with you,” he said. Imani’s eyes widened. A sit down with the CEO of her company? She swallowed hard in disbelief.
“Oh, sure. May I ask… Have I done something wrong?” Was this how she would lose her job? Had he not agreed with her talking points? Her boss in Atlanta had reviewed her slides and had approved everything?—
“Oh, completely the opposite,” Mark laughed. “I’ve read up on you and your track record. It would seem that you’ve done some good down in the Atlanta office.” His smile gave him almost a relaxed look. “I want to expand on your knowledge. I’d love to have a chat with you, and discuss what it might take to get you here in San Francisco.”
Imani had to lock her knees together. Had the CEO of the company just offered to set up a meeting with her and potentially offer her a job here at corporate? She had to hold back her excitement. She inhaled sharply and tried to compose herself. If he thought she was crazy, he might rescind his offer of a meeting.
“I would love to meet with you, sir. When are you thinking?” she asked. He glanced over at his secretary who opened up her tablet. The woman—Imani already forgotten her name— scanned the screen before glancing up from it.
“How would Tuesday work for you? Around one? Mr. Hardy has a slot that just opened. I can squeeze you in since you’re here from out of town.” She paused and waited for Imani.
“That sounds fine. I’ll be there,” Imani replied smoothly. She brought her phone out of her bag and opened up her calendar. Her hands shook slightly as she inputted the appointment. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. Who would have thought her trip would lead to her having a possibly new job offer?
“I’ll reach out to you to confirm,” the woman said.
“Well, it’s set. I’ll see you on Tuesday.” Mark nodded briefly before brushing past her. His entourage followed behind him as he made his way down the hall.
Imani tossed her phone back into her bag and hightailed it to the lobby. She made her way to the elevators and stood with others who were waiting to go up. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. Had that quick encounter really happened? If she were going to meet with Mr. Hardy—Mark— on Tuesday, then she would need to adjust her travel plans. She immediately began running through her head what all she would need to do. She was going to have to email her secretary and have her cancel her meetings and appointments—at least Monday and Tuesday. Hell, maybe even Wednesday.
So many thoughts filled her mind as she crammed into the elevator. The downside about booking a hotel at the conference hotel is the amount of people who did the same was that the wait time for elevators was extended because of the amount of people needing them.
But Imani could care less at the moment.
Today was going amazing and now she would have a wonderful evening with one sexy man who took her breath away. She finally arrived at her floor and practically ran to her room. Tonight was going to be a night for her to have fun and celebrate. Hopefully the ending was going to be out of this world.
I mani gripped the strap of her purse tight as she walked through the lobby of the hotel. She’d received a text from Will notifying her that he would be arriving soon. After she’d gotten up to her suite, Imani had taken a quick shower to make sure she was fresh after a long day of meetings, networking, and presentations.
She felt like a new woman. She’d thrown on jeans and a cute little long sleeved blouse she’d brought. Had she known she would be galivanting around the city on the back of a motorcycle she would have had more packed better attire, but this would have to do. She exited the hotel lobby and suddenly she had a delicious sense of deja-vu. Her gaze landed on a familiar figure resting back along his motorcycle. Their eyes met and her breath caught in her throat. If she hadn’t been worried about how it might look, she would have run over to him.
“Hey,” she said as she approached the bike. Why all of a sudden did she feel shy? She had propositioned him with the size of her bed in her hotel yesterday.
Who was she?
Will pushed off the bike and closed the gap in between them. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and lowered his face to hers. She welcomed the kiss. His warm lips moved along hers slowly. His tongue swept in and their night together came rushing back into Imani’s mind. The kiss was over way faster than she would have liked. But, then again, they were standing on the sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. This wasn’t the time or the place for anything more.
“Hey,” Will said. He pressed another kiss to her lips before he took her by the hand and guided her over to the bike. He handed her the helmet to put on. She hated the helmet hair she would have once she took it off, but safety was more important. She had a comb in her purse so she could fix her hair later. “I hope you have your appetite today.”
“I do! Since you suggested Thai, I wanted to make sure I had room.” She laughed and patted her stomach. He chuckled then slid on the bike and she hopped on behind him. She scooted close to him and pressed her thighs against his. She bit back a groan from the feeling of him against her. It hadn’t been until well into the afternoon that her body had gotten over the feeling of soreness from their night together, and she was ready for more. She slid her arms around him just as the engine roared to life and Imani tightened her grip on him as he pulled the bike out into the street.
Imani basked in the feeling of wind blowing around them, and the feeling of Will in front of her. Their ride was a smooth one as he navigated the streets. She absolutely loved being back on a bike and hadn’t realized how much she loved it until that moment. They traveled through the city and headed toward the bridge. He had promised to take her there and he wasn’t letting her down. They turned down a small winding road and pulled into a parking lot. She looked around and saw a slew of cars parked. People were walking up a path that she assumed led to the bridge.
Will found a spot to leave his bike and cut the engine. He got off the bike first and turned to help her off. She reached for the helmet and took it off with his assistance.
“Enjoy the ride?” he asked as he stored the helmet.
“I did. What am I going to do when I get back to Atlanta?” she asked. She immediately regretted her comment. Next week she’d be back at home with no Will. No motorcycle to ride on. What was she going to do? The dating pool back home was dead. That’s why she had chosen to stay single and just live her life and focus on her career.
“When are you going back?” Will asked. She reached into her purse and pulled out her comb. She quickly sent it through her thick strands to make sure she looked presentable. Once she was satisfied, she tossed it back in her bag.
“Well I had a late Sunday night flight back home, but it looks like my plans are changing,” she admitted.
“Oh?” Will arched his eyebrow.
“Yeah. I must have been making waves in my company without knowing it. I have a meeting with the CEO on Tuesday.” She couldn’t contain her excitement and did a little dance in place. Will chuckled at her antics.
“Wow. Congratulations.” He took her hand in his and entwined their fingers as he led her through the lot. The bridge came into view and it was breathtaking. Imani could understand why it was considered one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. From the unique color to the grand towers to the infamous cables, Imani was in awe of uniqueness of it. The water beneath it crashed into the rocks that were near the base of the bridge. She instantly grabbed her phone so she could snap a few photos. There was a small stone platform for her to stand on where she attempted to snag some selfies with the suspension bridge in the background.
“Give me that,” Will murmured. He reached for her phone and aimed it at her. She was in a silly mood, and began posing for him. He took a few shots and then moved back to her and held her phone out toward her. She shook her head and pushed it back to him.
“Wait. We need a photo,” she exclaimed. She moved toward him and he placed an arm around her waist, and snapped a few photos of them together before he handed it back to her. She took moment to go through the pictures he had taken. She had to admit they looked good together, and her heart and skipped a beat as she looked at the photos.
What would he say if she did move here.
Could they continue what they had started?
She would love to explore whatever was happening between them. Their attraction was palpable. The sex was mind blowing. She wasn’t being dramatic—there was definitely something there. . “These are good,” she said. “You sure you don’t do photography on the side?”
“I’m positive. Some of the kids around the shop taught me about selfies,” Will muttered. Imani laughed and tried to imagine him being taught how to take pictures. She took his hand and leaned into him. He guided her up a paved pathway that soon led to stairs. She couldn’t wait to see the bridge up and close. They arrived at a platform that housed a souvenir shop, restaurant, and a public bathroom. They walked around to another set of stairs that led them up to the higher ground and the bridge came into view.
Her eyes widened at the amount of traffic that bypassed them. The bridge was busy at this time of day. Other pedestrians walked along the sidewalk on the bridge.
“We can walk halfway if you like,” Will offered.
“Let’s go.” In the back of her mind she knew it was just a bridge, but being that she wasn’t from this city, and had heard nothing but the beauty of it, she was excited. When people think of monumental places to visit in the U.S., the Golden Gate Bridge is always mentioned. Visiting the bridge had always been on her bucket list, and now that she was walking on it, she could officially check it off.
As she walked along with Will along the bridge, Imani was stunned by how loud the traffic was, she hadn’t anticipated that. Or how windy it would be. The bridge vibrated under her feet with the heavy flow of traffic and she tightened her hold on Will’s as they walked along. She stared out into the Bay Area and marveled at the way it spread out in front of them. It was so high up, and she was thankful that the bridge had a fence along it. She paused and moved to the fence, wanting to get a picture of the water below. Her eyes widened at the sight of nets along the bridge below.
“Are those people swimming in the water?” she laughed. Down below the bridge were small figures in the water bouncing along the waves.
She glanced around and snapped plenty of photos of the cars passing by, to the water and even a few of Will. He held a sexy smirk on his face when he realized she’d grabbed some photos of him. They walked a third of the way before they paused and stood near the fence.
“It’s wonderful. Thank you for bringing me,” Imani said. She moved to the side as a few couples were making their way along the bridge. They appeared to be like her, tourists, from the way they were snapping pictures and talking excitedly about what they could see from that height.
“It’s not a problem. Sometimes living here, you take certain things for granted,” Will said. He brushed a finger along her cheek while his lips curled up in a smile. “It should be me thanking you.”
“For what?” She tilted her head to the side to study him. His face was covered in a dark sprinkling of hair on his jawline. She actually liked the look on him. It gave him a devilish charm, but then her thoughts went carnal. She had loved the feeling of his face brushing the inside of her thighs before. What would it feel like now that he had a little more facial hair? Her core clenched with the thought of having him between her thighs again.
“Seeing how excited you are about a bridge that I cross at least twice a week reminds me that I shouldn’t take certain things for granted.”
She reached up and covered his hand with hers. She was touched that he felt she had reminded him of something he had forgotten.
“It’s beautiful here. I guess it would be the same if you came to Atlanta. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been?—”
“I haven’t.” He shook his head. She gasped and stepped back from him.
“How have you never been to Atlanta?” she joked. He took her hand in his and began leading her back the way they had come. It wasn’t that often she had met someone who had never been to her home city. Most people could say they’d had a connecting flight or something in Atlanta, but just never to experience the city? She bit her tongue to keep from offering to have him come visit her.
Would that have been too bold?
Too soon?
She wasn’t sure so she decided to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t want to scare him away. Maybe later after the gala, she’d mention it to him.
“I’ve just never been.” He shrugged. He glanced behind them and ushered her out of the way of a cyclist cruising along the walkway. They continued their trek in a comfortable silence which she was fine with. The sounds of the cars flying past made it difficult to hold a conversation while walking. “If you want, we can head over to the little gift shop and then head to dinner.”
“Whatever you want to do today, I’m down.” His gaze flicked toward hers. She knew exactly what she had said, and she meant it. She was tossing it out there that if he wanted a repeat of last night, that she was open and willing. Something passed in his eyes. It was an expression she couldn’t make out. He brought her close to him and rested his arm along her shoulders.
“I like the sound of that.”