Wrong for Me

22|eiffel tower

NAOMI COLE—AUGUST

SEATED BESIDE DANTE IN the conference room, I could practically feel his tension radiating off of him. He had appeared to be fine during our phone call on Monday night, but ever since then something about him has been off. I knew I wasn't the cause because he had actually been more affectionate with me, but it was explicitly clear that something was bothering him.

"You nervous, Naomi?" Khalil inquired from the other side of the table, his knee bouncing as he fixed the collar of his shirt for the millionth time. There was really only so much fixing he could do.

"Nope."

I was more than confident in myself and my abilities, which eased my nerves about Mr. McNamara critiquing the work I've already done here and how I'm feeling about the position. From my understanding, this was just about him making sure the internship was flowing well—and it was—so the meeting could only be positive.

Turning to look at Dante, I followed his line of vision to see that he was simply staring down at an empty spot on the table before us. This had been going on since Tuesday—him just zoning out and not focusing—which worried me endlessly. I would make a point to ask him about it when the time was right.

Just then, the door to the room whipped open and in walked a gargantuan man followed by other men of similar stature and intense looks on their faces. I assumed Mr. McNamara was the largest one who had walked into the room ahead of the others, his eyes narrowed as they danced around the room, stopping on me.

Dante and Khalil definitely weren't lying when they said this man was intimidating because the way his piercing blue eyes stared into mine before traveling down to my chest as he approached the table sent chills down my spine. Dante let out a deep breath beside me, his body still tensed as he placed his hand on my thigh under the table. A smile threatened to break out on my face at just the fact that Dante seemed to be almost jealous.

The man's blue eyes eerily reminded me so much of my ex that I had to advert my gaze and look out the large windows surrounding us and out at the city skyline. My heart was racing at just the thought of him and I had a feeling that being in the room with this man would only intensify that.

"Khalil...Dante," he spoke in a booming voice, leaning across the table to shake both of their hands before his gaze fell to me yet again. "And I assume this is the intern?"

"Yes," I replied, a forced smile on my face as I reached my hand out to him. "Naomi Cole."

His large hand gripped mine into a firm handshake, his gaze locked on mine as if he were searching my soul. He probably was. "Nice to meet you, Naomi. James McNamara."

Luckily, Dante and Khalil took lead of the meeting, telling the man all around how the business had been flourishing over these past two months. At this point, I had sat through over a dozen meetings where the monthly revenue of the company was thrown around and I was still stunned by how much money was really being made.

"Naomi, how are you feeling about the internship?"

"I love it," I admitted without hesitation, feeling Dante's hand squeeze my thigh for a second. "I feel like it is truly giving me the chance to explore what I may want to do with my degree in the future while also allowing me to expand on learning the ins and outs of the finance world."

I let out a deep breath that I hadn't realized I was holding when Mr. McNamara nodded, looking pleased my my response. As prepared as I was for any other questions he had, I really just wanted to get out of the room so he could stop looking at me with those icy blue orbs.