Free Exposed by Naomi Chase Page B

neared Brandon’s office, she heard the sound of laughter.
    Her smile dissolved, and her brow furrowed in confusion. Hadn’t Brandon told her that everyone would be gone tonight? So who the hell was in his office with him?
    Reaching the open doorway, Tamia frowned at the scene that greeted her.
    Brandon was seated behind his large mahogany desk, a filelying open before him. An attractive, brown-skinned woman stood over him. Her dark, relaxed mane looked slightly tousled, as if she—or someone else—had been running lazy fingers through it. She stood so close to Brandon that every time she leaned down, the ends of her hair brushed his shoulder. She was pointing to something on the page that had both of them cracking up.
    Feeling like
she
was the interloper, Tamia drawled sarcasti-cally,“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
    Brandon and the woman glanced up quickly. When Brandon saw Tamia standing in the doorway, his face broke into a warm, broad smile.“Hey, baby.”
    “Hey, yourself.” But Tamia’s eyes were on the woman, gauging
her
reaction to her sudden appearance.
    The sister stepped away from Brandon’s chair and discreetly plucked a hair clip off the corner of his desk. Tamia imagined her removing the clip from her hair and shaking the lustrous tresses free while Brandon watched.
    Inwardly seething, she advanced into the room.
    Brandon stood, rounded the desk, and came forward to greet her. With his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top three buttons of his shirt undone, he looked so ruggedly handsome that Tamia felt a stab of jealousy at the thought of this chick trying to seduce him.
    He embraced Tamia and stepped back, his eyes glinting with mischief as they swept over her, as if he could see through her trench coat to her scantily clad body.
    “Let me introduce you to one of my colleagues.”As Brandon turned to face the woman, she emerged from behind the desk. When Tamia glanced downward and saw that she was barefoot, her eyes widened in disbelief.
    What the fuck?
    “Tamia, I’d like you to meet Cynthia Yarbrough. Cynthia, this is my girlfriend, Tamia Luke.”
    The woman smiled and stepped forward, hand out-stretched.“Hello, Tamia. It’s nice to meet you.”
    “Likewise.” Tamia shook her hand, sizing her up. She grudgingly acknowledged that Cynthia was pretty, though in a wholesome, girl-next-door type of way. Equally nonthreaten-ing was her slender figure. She wore a fitted gray skirt and a pink silk blouse with a deep
V
neckline that was practically wasted on her small cleavage. Brandon preferred women with meat on their bones: voluptuous curves, large breasts, thick thighs, and juicy asses. So this waif could do absolutely nothing for him, Tamia told herself. Right?
Right?
    She deliberately let her gaze wander down to Cynthia’s feet again. Her toenails were painted the same shade of pink as her blouse.
How cute,
Tamia thought snidely.
    “I didn’t realize you guys were allowed to work barefoot,” she coolly remarked.
    Cynthia and Brandon shared an amused chuckle. “We’re not,” Cynthia admitted sheepishly.“But I like to get comfortable after hours.”
    I bet you do, bitch.
    Returning Tamia’s bold appraisal, Cynthia marveled, “I don’t know
how
you can stand around in those heels all day long. What are they—six inches?”
    “Five,” Tamia corrected, bristling at the insinuation that she spent all day on her feet like some hooker on a damn street corner.“But even if I didn’t have a cushy desk job, I wouldn’t have a problem wearing these shoes for several hours. I’ve got
amazing
stamina.” She slid an intimate glance at Brandon.“Isn’t that right, baby?”
    Brandon coughed into his fist. If he weren’t so dark-skinned, Tamia would have sworn he was blushing.
    Chuckling with satisfaction, she turned back to Cynthia, who didn’t look so smug anymore. “Aren’t you going to the charity ball tonight?” she inquired sweetly. “Or did you get a written