The Fire We Make: Addicted To A Boss's Love

Chapter Seven

Just as Ayla sat at her desk, there was a knock at her door. "Naim?" she inquired as Tami's head peeped into the room. The woman giggled before nodding. Ayla exhaled, dropping the pen she picked up only seconds before, and then rose from her chair. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt before circling her desk.

"Thanks, Tam," she murmured, and then briefly placed a hand on her shoulder as she gave her a small smile before bypassing her on her way out of the office. A few weeks had passed since Tami caught Ayla and Naim in the act. She'd been a bit standoffish towards Ayla at first, but after the awkward phase of shock wore off, the woman began to come around. She wasn't upset at all, she was embarrassed more than anything.

Ayla rapped softly against Naim's office door before turning the knob, and then slipping into the room. "I'll make this brief. Lock the door," he muttered, not bothering to look up at her as she entered his office.

"Why?" the woman quizzed, tracing her fingertips along the edge of his desk as she sauntered over to him. "I kinda like the risk of being caught."

Naim peered up at her with a quizzical look etched on his face before laughing loudly. "Really? The way you freaked out when Tami walked in on us?" He shook his head in amusement, dismissing her comment. "Just lock the door." Ayla kissed her teeth before waltzing over to the door and locking it.

"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" the woman questioned as she rested her hands on her hips, staring at him expectantly. Naim stared at her for a moment before motioning for her to come to him.

He pulled her onto his lap. "We're going to New York," he informed her while caressing her thigh. "We have a lot of meetings lined up with a few marketing teams and some other very important people, about a new look for the magazine."

"When do we leave?" Ayla asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Monday morning, we'll return on Wednesday night."

Ayla gasped. "That's in two days! I have to pack. I have to do some shoppi—"

Naim chuckled before waving her off and shushing her. "Relax, you have more than enough time to get all of that done. I need you to check your email, I sent you some documents that you'll need to look over in preparation for the trip," he explained before dismissing her.

Without a word, Ayla rose from his lap, silently leaving the room.

"Sorry—"

"Nah... that was my fault, sweetheart," the deep voice quickly responded, cutting Ayla off. "I'm O—" the stranger attempted to introduce himself.

In the midst of stopping by Tami's desk before returning to her office, she was nearly knocked over by, "Omari..." Ayla trailed off, immediately recognizing him as their eyes met.

He smirked, recognizing the familiar face; one that he never thought he'd see again since she blew him off after their first date. "Ah, the pretty lady remembers me?"

Ayla playfully rolled her eyes. "How come I never heard from you after our date?" he inquired.

The woman respired lowly. She gestured for him to follow her, eager to get away from Naim's office. "Omari, I owe you an apology. It's not that I didn't enjoy myself, I just... I'm not in the place to seriously date anyone. I'm sorry, but I should get back to work. Have a nice—"

Ayla stopped mid-stride as Omari grabbed her by the hand, cutting her sentence short. "How do you know that?" he quizzed. The woman's eyebrows furrowed. She'd take a good guess and assume that he was supposed to win her over with that boyish charm and that sexy smirk. Wrong.

"I-I'm sorry, Omari. I really have to get back to work."

He nodded his head in understanding. "I won't hold you up. You enjoy the rest of your day, beautiful," he uttered before planting a kiss on the back of her hand.

"You too," Ayla replied before retracting her hand and turning away from him, ambling over to the front desk. She put an extra sway in her hips, almost certain that he was watching her walk away.

Tami eyeballed Ayla as she advanced towards her, a knowing look etched on her face. "What was that about?"

Ayla snickered before pursing her lips. "Don't even! I'm definitely not interested."

"Yeah, because you only have the hots for boss man," she whispered, loud enough for Ayla to hear.

The woman kissed her teeth. "Anyway, back to what I came over here for... I need you to get the number for Cardi B's people," she explained, changing the subject.

"And I'ma need you to get an assistant," she jokingly retorted. Ayla reached for the closest thing, throwing a pen top at her friend. Both women shared a laugh. "I'll bring it to your office as soon as I get a hold of it."

Ayla thanked her before blowing her a kiss and returning to her office.

The woman groaned as someone knocked on her door just as she closed it. She turned on her heels, turning the doorknob and snatching the door open. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Omari?" He panted heavily, struggling to catch his breath as if he'd just ran back up to Hip-Hop Gossip headquarters.

"Um... I don't mean to disturb you," he spoke up, stepping further into her office as she gestured for him to come in.

Ayla shut the door behind him before waltzing across the room, over to her desk. "Did you forget something?"

"Actually, yeah... your number," he answered, standing in the center of her office casually attired in a pair of Balenciaga jeans, a white button down, a denim jacket, and the Taxi 12's. It was a simple look, but he wore it well.

The vixen laughed, lightly, "Oh, really? You didn't forget, I just didn't give it to you." She pursed her lips as she gave him the once over, merely impressed by his appearance.

He smirked, folding his arms across his chest as he advanced towards her. "Well, what would I have to do in order to get that?"

Ayla leaned forward, resting her palms on her desk while looking at him through her lashes. While he was extremely good looking and appeared to be a sweet guy, she just wasn't sure about dealing with anyone right now. She could appreciate his persistence though.

"Look, I'm sorry Mr. Overton, I'm not really in the position to—"

He chuckled, cutting her off, "look sweetheart, I'm not asking you to have my kids. I'm just asking for a fair chance and hoping to change your opinion."

"I'm pretty sure that you have plenty of girls chasing after you. They would probably love to go out with you," Ayla countered, shrugging as she swiveled in her chair.

"Oh, you think I'm that type of guy?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm not into girls, I'm into women. And they aren't as half as beautiful as you. So, what do you say?"

Ayla playfully rolled her eyes. Man, he didn't give up easily. "How about this? If we just so happen to cross paths again, then I'll give you my number."

Omari smirked, obviously pleased by the woman's offer. She was sure that smirk would make any other girl drop her panties at the snap of his fingers, but she was no rookie. "Cool. You enjoy the rest of your day, Ms. Ayla."

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