A Friendly Engagement (8 page)

Devi sank into Omar’s chest and released an unsteady sigh. She wanted to clutch at him as a lifeline, bare her soul further, but stopped herself. Her emotions were raw, and she’d regret it later. So instead, she comforted herself by breathing in his intoxicating scent—the one that only recently started to soothe her like a drug. She hugged him a little tighter.

“Not only can you give the ring to the shelter, but I want you to write them a company check that matches the value of the ring. And hell, I’ll even throw in a donation from my personal account.” His soft words caressed her ear, and she shivered.

“Are you sure you aren’t letting Esterly’s good year go to your head?”

His chest rumbled with a low chuckle. “No. I want to do this.” He rubbed his hand down her back in a soothing gesture. Her breaths stopped coming in short gasps.

“Thanks, O. You’re the best boss.”

“And fiancé?”

“So far, so good. As a matter of fact, I’ve already canceled out any thoughts about a website.” This time her laughter came out normal, but somewhat muffled because one side of her face lay squished against Omar’s chest.

Omar didn’t laugh, but she could feel him smile with his entire body as he tightened his hold and rocked her back and forth.

The rise and fall of his chest settled her emotions. “Sometimes it’s scary how well you know me. I don’t let people get that close, you know.”

“We’re two of a kind there. And thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about your mom.”

Ditto.
“Now that you’ve seen me in tears, it might be time for me to look for a new bossman. I can’t have you knowing my weakness,” she whispered, not meaning one single word. Her attempt at lifting the dreary mood hovering above them sounded flat, even to her own ears.

He squeezed her hard, and she sighed. “Not in this lifetime, Dev.”

Omar never called her Dev. He didn’t like informalities.

He pulled back and palmed each side of her face again, staring into her eyes with one of the most tender looks she’d ever seen. And then he kissed her forehead. Such a simple gesture, but one that made her heart skip several beats.

“You’re stuck with me,” he said.

“I guess there are worse things to be stuck with.” She lowered her lashes as more tears sprang forth. The last few minutes had cemented their friendship on a deeper level. She could feel the difference in the air.

“Let’s grab some lunch, drink champagne with our team, and live it up, because the rest of the week we’ll be working late. Then we have a man to impress, a father to find, and a shelter to help.” Omar broke their embrace.

“We sound like a couple of superheroes.” She attempted a watery smile and fidgeted with one of the silver snaps lining the front of her dress.

“In that case we better stop off and buy a couple of capes before we eat,” he deadpanned as the elevator shifted clumsily downward.

…

Not five hours later, Omar stood beside Devi in the reception area of Esterly Financial. She’d prepared a table with snacks, and there were several bottles of champagne and sparkling cider to toast their announcement. Although Devi didn’t appear nervous, the constant clicking of the pen between her fingers told the true story.

The rest of his staff filled the room. Some leaned against the back wall avoiding the abstract art pieces, several occupied the art deco chairs placed in small groupings on the geometric patterned rug in the center of the room, and the remaining nonchalantly stood off to the side in small groups. Most talked in hushed tones as they speculated about the impromptu meeting, or what they’d done over the weekend and what they planned for the next one. Omar had expected someone would see the paper on their lunch hour and rumors would be flying over the engagement announcement and picture, but it appeared nobody had seen a thing. Or if they had, they weren’t letting on.

Omar cleared his throat. “Can I get everyone’s attention, please?”

Beside him, Devi took a deep breath. Her smile encompassed the room. Most of the group turned toward them. “Does everyone have a glass of bubbly or sparkling cider?”

Several nods of agreement and positive comments followed.

“I know Mondays are busy, and I apologize for the short notice, but Devi and I have a couple of announcements we wanted to make sure everyone heard before the day ends,” Omar said.

The remaining staff who had continued to chat stopped to listen. Vanessa, the newest junior planner to join the team, scooted to the edge of her seat. The excitement over her first meeting evident by the way her left knee bounced in quick succession and her gaze darted around the room.

“Are the P&Ls out already?” Jim asked. A senior planner, he sat beside Vanessa and would act as her mentor until she was acclimated to her new position.

Omar held up his hand to quiet the sudden burst of excitement. Since he’d started the profit-sharing program, P&Ls were always a hot topic. “Not yet. They’ll be shared at the end of the quarter as usual. But my first announcement could have a huge impact on future P&Ls. And the second is more personal.”

Another round of hushed conversations filled the room.

“This is so exciting.” Vanessa placed her cup on the table beside her and quieted her knee with both her hands.

“Definitely.” Omar smiled when Vanessa clapped her hands and then ran them down the thigh of her slacks when nobody else followed her lead.

“You can save your applause for afterward,” Devi teased.

The room erupted in chuckles and bursts of laughter. Although Vanessa turned a couple shades of red, she had no trouble in sharing the humor. Omar enjoyed the excitement of his staff, but he’d never been applauded at a meeting before. Usually staff treated him formally, but today everyone had an aura of fun about them. They must sense big news was about to be revealed.

“Good news is always welcome.” Nancy, the receptionist who’d been with the company from day one took a practical stance. She’d become the office mother, bringing in homemade cookies and cakes to celebrate, and always available with a non-judgmental ear and words of encouragement for any staff member having trouble.

Devi looked at him expectantly.

“First, Devi and I will be out of the office all next week. We’re meeting with a prospective client, and I hope to return with his business. I won’t go into details, but if we acquire this account it will have a big effect on Esterly Financial’s future.”

A few rumbles of excitement filled the air.

Omar held up his hands and the room fell silent. “You can reach us by cell, but only in an emergency. Doug should be able to handle the day to day. Clear?” He surveyed the area and all the nodding heads. He met Doug’s gaze over the sea of faces and acknowledged him with a nod. Even though Doug had only been with the company a handful of years, Omar trusted him almost as much as he did Devi.

She fidgeted beside him, twisting her pen between her fingers. The soft clicking had increased to an insane tempo.

“Like I mentioned a minute ago, the next bit of news is on a more personal level. Since everyone was in training classes for the new computer system, you probably haven’t seen the announcement in the press,” Omar said.

“Just get on with it, Omar.” Devi rolled her eyes and earned a few chuckles.

He shook his head. Although he didn’t spar with Devi in public often, preferring to keep their teasing private, he threw caution to the wind. “Maybe it isn’t so much a career in basketball you should be after, but taking your comedic act on the road?”

“Good idea. I could probably book a few dates before you finish up this meeting.” Devi’s bright eyes twinkled with mischief, and she let up on the incessant pen clicking.

Omar liked the approval in her gaze. She always encouraged him to step outside his comfort zone, and he’d just done it by showing some of his humor in front of the rest of the staff.

They shared a smile, and his mood lightened further.

He’d forever be indebted to Devi for what she’d done—hell, what she was doing. Even though she seemed fine with their plan now, he knew she’d done some soul-searching. The fib made her uncomfortable, no matter how much reassurance he gave her.

He glanced around the room, taking in the anxious and excited expressions of his staff. For the first time he understood where her hesitation had come from. His conscience grabbed hold of his neck and squeezed. For a minute he fought to breathe. Even though he was aloof, his employees were close—family-like. He’d never been anything but up-front with them in the past.

But this contract…

“Well?” Devi broke into his thoughts.

He pasted on a tight smile and shook his head. “If you’d give me a minute.”

“A minute? Any longer and we’ll be celebrating my sixth-year anniversary with Esterly and—”

“Both of you quit bickering and spill the beans,” Jim teased.

Omar waited for the room to quiet down again as several laughs and well-meaning jokes erupted.
Keep your eye on the prize.
No need to get a surge of conscience now. He drew strength from the portrait of his father across the room. His old man would never have second-guessed himself. Omar wouldn’t, either.

He squared his shoulders. “Well, I’m sure it won’t come as much of a surprise because many of you have already made speculations, but—”

“We’re engaged!” Devi flung out her hand as a collection of startled gasps broke the stunned silence. She laughed, wiggling her fingers as she leaned close to Omar. “Sorry to steal your thunder, but a bathroom break is in my near future and I didn’t know how much longer you’d stall.”

“We were moving along fine.”

“Whatever.” She nudged him playfully in the shoulder.

An avalanche of well-wishes and excited questions bombarded them both. Several of the women moved forward to inspect the sparkling diamond on Devi’s hand. Her face lit up at the attention.

“I knew it. I just knew it. Didn’t I tell you last year, Bev?” Nancy gushed as she grinned at Bev, one of two office coordinators.

The younger woman bobbed her head in agreement. “You sure did, Nance. That’s awesome news. Can’t say I’m too surprised though, but I wish you both oodles of happiness.”

This time Omar looked at Devi with an I-told-you-so raise of his eyebrow. She’d been so worried about the believability of their engagement, when all along most people already assumed they’d crossed over from working relationship to something more personal a long time ago.

Several of the staff hugged Devi and offered up well-wishes. Others stiffly shook Omar’s hand or patted him on the back.

Nancy beamed as she pulled Devi in for a hug, then stepped back, holding her at arm’s length. “I’m so happy for you both. Tell us how, when? Give us all the details.”

“Well, not all of them.” Vanessa winked.

This time Devi raised her brow as she gave Omar an I-told-you-so look and smiled. “Do you mean you want to hear how Omar proposed?”

“Yes.” Nancy beamed, and several women circled around them. The older woman plucked Devi’s hand from her side again and eyed the ring. Her eyes brightened with unshed tears and she sniffed. “I feel like my daughter’s gotten engaged. And I don’t even have a daughter.”

The circle of staff around them chuckled, and Devi’s smile filled her face.

“Thank you, Nancy.” Devi took the older woman’s hand and squeezed before kissing her on the cheek.

Over the years the working relationship between the two women had grown into a unique bond. Omar often found them in deep conversation around the coffee pot, or sharing a lunch. Now that he’d heard about Devi’s past, he understood. She may have been raised by her grandmother, but living out here, on her own, Nancy must’ve filled the motherly figure in Devi’s life.

“Did he get down on one knee?” Vanessa asked.

Devi’s lips twitched. “He did, after he threw me the box and demanded I put on the ring.”

Several of the women gasped, and Nancy gave him the stinkeye. He hadn’t believed anyone would really want to hear their engagement story, and by the animated look on Devi’s face, he knew he’d never hear the end of it.

“My nerves got the best of me, but Devi put me in line and reminded me that every woman wants a romantic proposal.” Omar made quick work of righting his wrong. “So I got down on one knee—”

“And pulled off one of the most romantic proposals ever. I get goose bumps just thinking how he worded his feelings, talked about us and a future.”

“Then I swept her off her feet—”

“With the most romantic and heart-stopping kiss ever,” Devi finished, giving him a wink and flashing her ring again to the oohs of the crowd around them.

Devi’s skin glowed as she continued to weave the tale of their romance. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she really was the happiest girl in the room because she’d become engaged. Hell, he almost believed they’d actually become engaged, for all the normal reasons.

She linked her arm through his and laughed. “There were so many times we thought everyone knew.”

“Over the years we’ve all wondered a few times, but figured if you were an item you’d come out with it when you were ready. And from the size of that ring, you’re ready,” Bev said.

“We wanted to be sure before we said anything,” Devi indulged the group.

Finally, she sighed, caught his gaze, and winked. “Omar really shook my boots when he asked me to marry him—”

“More like I begged you.” Omar chuckled as he played along. He could get used to being so relaxed with his staff. And nobody stared at him yet like he’d grown horns, so that had to be a good sign they accepted his humor. “Believe me, I had to work to convince her.”

“Oh, I doubt that.” Nancy’s smile hadn’t budged since their announcement.

“What really convinced me was when he took me in his arms. On a public sidewalk, no less.” She lowered her voice, and the crowd around them leaned in. “It was almost like we were the only two people in the world. I’d never believed in that sappy saying about weak knees, but I’m a believer now. Wrapped in his arms, I felt like we were the only two people on the planet. I couldn’t do anything but say yes.”