Miami After Hours

“Ma’am, what would you like?” the bartender inquired. It was Angela’s turn to order.

“Chardonnay, please.”

Angela glanced toward the group of women and several of them were either outright glaring at her or giving her the stink eye. Was it really so horrible that she was single? What did they think she was going to do? Go after one of their husbands?

She was not interested in being anyone’s side piece. For her, it was all or nothing.

* * *

“Who’s the vixen you brought with you?” Joshua DeLong asked Daniel when he finally escaped a torturous conversation with an older member of the organization.

Daniel raised a brow. “Vixen?” He didn’t like Joshua’s word choice, but at least his friend had deigned to dress appropriately for the evening in trousers and a suit jacket sans tie. But then again, had Daniel ever seen Joshua in a tie?

“Yeah,” Joshua said from his side. “She’s pretty hot and all the women here are green with envy. Look around.” He inclined his head to two distinctive groups of women that were staring at Angela as if she were a leopard about to steal their young.

But Daniel wasn’t worried. “She can handle herself. I wouldn’t have brought her to Cobb Luxury Real Estate if I thought some insecure socialites could get the better of her.”

“It’s like that, huh?”

“Yeah, she has some skills. Skills that just need some refinement.”

“And you’re just the man to do that?” Joshua queried.

“Get your head out of the gutter, my friend,” Daniel said. “Angela’s my employee, nothing more.” And with that, he moved in her direction.

But before he could make it there, Angela had already headed to one group of women who were giving her the evil eye. She didn’t seem in the least bit put off by their less-than-receptive greeting. He thought about going over to save her, but instead stood back and watched.

Five minutes later, Angela had the women laughing and talking and pretty much eating out of her hand. She’d handled their animosity and their concern that she might be a threat to any one of their marriages with gracefulness.

Daniel was proud not only to have her on his staff, but to have her on his arm tonight.

He walked toward them. “Ladies,” he said as he inclined his head toward the women. “Mind if I steal her away?”

“Certainly.” One of the other wives beamed at him.

Once they were away from the group, Daniel whispered in her ear. “You handled that marvelously.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “Did you doubt that I would?”

Daniel shook his head. “Not at all. You know how to handle people.”

“I do,” she replied. “You included.”

* * *

Angela didn’t know what made her say it, but she’d definitely been flirting. She’d let Daniel know in no uncertain terms that she could take him on any time of day. But was she really ready to do that? Theirs was a working relationship that tonight had crossed the line. Would there be any going back?

Since the dinner was about to begin and everyone was finding a seat, they did the same. Daniel and Angela sat at a table with eight other people. She hadn’t met the man immediately to her right and Daniel wasted no time introducing them.

“Angela, I’d like you to meet my good friend, Joshua DeLong. Joshua is a relatively new member to Prescott George.”

“Nice to meet you, Joshua.” Angela offered her hand, which Joshua pumped enthusiastically while looking her straight in the eye. She liked him and those blue eyes of his immediately.

Joshua DeLong was certainly the heartbreaker type with those baby blues, but at least he hadn’t sized her up like he wanted to take her to bed like some of the married men had tonight. A few wives had a right to be worried. If the wrong single woman had been here tonight and not Angela, there might have been some deals made that had nothing to do with business.

“Joshua is our charity outreach and public relations chair,” Daniel said.

“And what does that entail?” Angela inquired.

“Are you familiar with Prescott George?” Joshua asked.

“I am.”

“Every year we support a deserving foundation or charity, and they benefit from our fund-raising proceeds.”

“That’s wonderful,” Angela responded. “Do you already have this year’s recipient in mind?”

Her enthusiastic response to the project caused Joshua to smile. “Sure do. Ever heard of The Aunt Penny Foundation?”

“No, tell me about it.”

“The Aunt Penny Foundation provides mentoring and counseling to high school seniors who are in need of assistance. I’ll be meeting with their representative shortly to go over the details.”

“Sounds like an excellent organization to support,” Angela said.

Joshua jabbed his thumb in Daniel’s direction. “I like this girl. She’s a keeper.”

* * *

That’s exactly how Daniel felt. Even more so as the evening progressed. Since Angela had been at the firm, they’d rarely discussed anything personal. And with his laser focus on work, he hadn’t given her much thought other than recognizing she was a beautiful woman.

But tonight, it was like he was seeing her for the first time.

Throughout the four-course dinner, Daniel and Angela had their heads together in private conversation.

“So you’re from here?”

“No,” Angela replied, “my folks live here. My father, Eric Trainor, is a professor at University of Miami.”

“And your mother?”

“Ella, she’s a high school principal. And my sister, Denise, is in graduate school studying for her PhD in education. So as you can see, all the members of my family are academics. My parents wish I’d be more like my sister. They find it hard to believe that I can make a living being a real estate agent given my history.”

“Do tell,” Daniel said, leaning in closer.

Angela turned to face him. Sitting so close to Daniel, she could smell just a hint of his aftershave and it filled her senses. Daniel was impossible to ignore. He was the kind of man who drew attention, and that’s exactly what he was doing to her this very moment. She normally didn’t speak about her family to anyone, but tonight she was being more open than she had been in a long time.

“I’m sure I’m not the first teenager to want to take off for parts unknown, see the world.” She shrugged and reached for her wineglass, which somehow was refilled every time she sat it down.