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He hissed out a ragged curse. Leaning forward in his desk chair, he massaged his eyes with the heels of his palms. The office was definitely not the place to fantasize. Qasim reached for one of the remotes in the desk caddy. He’d prefer reaching for something else, but the office was most definitely not the place to...handle what fantasizing had done to his body.
He raised the volume on one of the overhead plasma screens and allowed the ramblings of the sports commentators to redirect his thoughts. The morning show did the trick, and he was feeling more like himself by the time a knock hit the door. Qasim admitted his first visitor of the day.
Will stuck his head just inside the office. “Hey, man,” he said in a slow, measured style as though he was trying to get a bead on his mood.
“What’s goin’ on, Will?” Qasim’s friendly comeback was genuine. Despite their earlier tension regarding Vectra, a talk with Will would certainly keep his thoughts on safer ground.
If Will had been wearing a hat, it would’ve been in his hand. He stepped inside the office, closing the door with more care than was probably needed. When he finally turned, one hand rested in the center of his chest a deliberate display of humbleness.
“Sim, man—” he shook his head, appearing stunned in his disbelief “—my apologies. Attribute my stupidity last night to one too many drinks and a foot that wouldn’t stay out of my mouth. I had no idea it was like that between you and Ms. Bauer.” He swallowed, risking a step closer to the multisectional desk area. “I didn’t know she was yours.”
Qasim responded with an anguished smile. “She’s not mine.” He dismissed the way his heart twisted inside his chest. It was a sensation he only experienced when he lied. “I never should’ve come off that way,” he said.
“You’ve known her for a long time, right?”
“That’s right.”
Will seemed to be gnawing the inside of his cheek. “Excuse me for pointing out the fact that she’s an obvious dime.” He slightly raised a hand in caution.
“Excused.” A corner of Qasim’s mouth tilted to a smile.
“Man,” Will exhaled the word on an amused sigh, “are you really okay with a ‘just friends’ relationship or did you wind up there by mistake?”
Qasim burst into laughter despite how deeply his old friend had rattled his nerves the night before. “I very much want to change my ‘just friends’ status with her,” he admitted because it felt so damn good to say it to someone.
Will moved another step closer to the desk. “So what’s stopping you?”
“The fact that I’m an idiot probably has a lot to do with it.”
Will took his turn at bursting into laughter before he sobered. “You know, Sim, unless you plan on threatening to break in half every guy who acts interested in the lovely Ms. Bauer, you’d do well to stake your claim. Women like that don’t remain unattached for long.”
“I understand and agree.” Qasim commenced rubbing his eyes again.
“Apologies for the nosiness, man.” Will gave another cautious wave. “I only wanted to come by and explain myself. I can’t afford to lose another job over something stupid coming out of my mouth.” He shrugged. “Guess I just need to think twice before I stop attending my AA meetings, after all.”
“We’re good, man. Your job is safe.”
“I appreciate it, Sim.” Will’s nod was reverent. “I’ll catch you later, man. Hey, you want to grab dinner after work?” he asked.
“Plans tonight, but catch me another time?”
“Count on it.” Will gave an airy salute and left the office soon after.
Qasim tried to focus on one of the folders containing items that needed his reply and signature by day’s end. He had been working for ten minutes when he recalled that he hadn’t seen Will drink a thing the night before.
* * *
“You know you’re free to get more outrageous with the décor, Yancey. We’ve had artists take our ‘design your own theme’ offers to some pretty wild places.”
Yancey Croachman laughed. “I can imagine!” Her pale blue eyes sparkled as she looked around the bright, spacious elegance of Gallery V. After a few moments, however, her smile waned.
“There was a time I would’ve been the wildest of the bunch. Just ask Cooper,” Yancey said, referring to her agent. “My mood now has definitely mellowed.” She clasped her hands to a surprisingly ample chest for someone her size. “The work in this latest collection needs a mellow environment in order to sing. The hidden jewels nestled inside all the overt busyness of the pieces pop even more when uncovered while the observer is enveloped in a peaceful oasis.”
