LITMIR.BIZ

      D’marcus Armstrong stood at the window of his office on the fifteenth floor and looked down into the parking lot below. His administrative assistant was arriving and she’d made good time. He had asked the ever-efficient Opal Lockhart to be there in thirty minutes and she had arrived in twenty.

      He watched as she got out of her car and began walking toward the entrance of the building. He had told her he needed her services right away so the only sensible solution to meet his demand was to come dressed as she was.

      And much to his displeasure, he rather liked it.

      He didn’t want to admit that he’d often wondered what she looked like in something other than those business suits she liked wearing. It was plain to see she had a very curvy figure in addition to her attractive features. But she was not one to flaunt them. Instead, she kept trying to keep them well hidden. Her shoulder-length hair was usually worn pulled back in a bun and her face, more times than not, was devoid of any makeup. However, there was something about her that always managed to catch his attention, anyway. Even the way she would arch her brow when she questioned him.

      He released a deep breath trying to recall at what point he had become attracted to Opal. Lord knows he’d tried not to notice certain things about her, but nothing seemed to work. So he’d tried putting as much distance between them as possible, which wasn’t easy given the nature of her job.

      He continued studying her, watching as she tossed her hair back from her face, and he suddenly realized this was only the second time he’d seen her hair worn in any style other than a bun on her head. He didn’t want to admit that even from fifteen stories up, she looked good.

      “Hey, I’m tired of waiting for this meeting to begin.”

      At first D’marcus refused to turn around to acknowledge the comment that had been made. Dashuan Kennedy was trouble. He’d known it from the first, yet his partners had insisted that they hire him to play for the Detroit Chargers, the professional basketball team of which D’marcus was part owner.

      “Armstrong, are you listening to me?”

      It was then that D’marcus turned around. Skimming the other two men in the room, his partners in the ownership of the Chargers, his gaze immediately settled on the man reclining in the largest chair as though he owned it. “To be quite honest with you, Kennedy, no, I’m not listening to you. But it will behoove you to listen to what the other owners and I have to say once this meeting is underway. Since you’ve been sidelined by your knee injury, you have done nothing but cause us problems, and, frankly, I’m within an inch of giving you your walking papers.”

      Kennedy stared back at him, and a cocky smile touched his lips when he said, “That’s bullshit and you know it. You can’t afford to let me go. Have you forgotten who was the MVP for most of last season? If you have, Armstrong, I’m sure these two men here remember.” He smirked, indicating the team’s other owners, Ronald Williams and Stanley Hennessy.

      “That might be true,” D’marcus replied. “But I’m sure, like me, they feel you can take that MVP and shove it, because we’re sick and tired of having to defend your behavior to the media. This time you have gone too far. Drugs and breaking team rules are two things that we won’t tolerate even if you’re Michael Jordan reincarnated.”

      The smirk on Dashuan’s face disappeared. “When my ankle heals and I start playing this season, you’ll know that I am the team and, without me, you can kiss the championship goodbye. Like I said, I’m sure these men know my worth, even if you don’t.”

      Anger rose in D’marcus’s face. Evidently Kennedy had forgotten that D’marcus owned the controlling interest in the Chargers. He decided he’d heard enough from a player who didn’t know the meaning of team work. He was about to tell him that just as Opal walked into the room. Upon seeing her, an inexplicable calmness settled over him. Not liking the sensation, he shifted his glance to the two men sitting at the table.

      “We can start the meeting now,” he said, coming away from the window to stand in the middle of the room. “My administrative assistant has arrived.”