Treasure My Heart. AlTonya Washington

cool enough to mask the heat that filtered through his voice when he spoke the woman’s unusual name. “She a new friend?” He couldn’t recall her from his sister’s small, practically nonexistent list of female acquaintances.

      “I’d like to think so.” If Charlotte was curious about Oliver’s interest in the woman, she didn’t let on. “I’m hoping she’ll be a more frequent visitor. Seems she and Vectra are becoming pretty close. I guess we have Qasim to thank for that.”

      “Sim?” Oliver thought of the respected financier who was also an old friend. Qasim Wilder was his sister’s new, and from the looks of it, permanent love.

      Charlotte was nodding. “Ms. Gerald is Qasim’s right hand at Wilder, you know?”

      Minka Gerald. Oliver repeated the name silently and may have put it on loop had Charlotte not swatted his arm.

      “Stop stalling. I’ll be right back with breakfast, and you better not leave before I put something in that tummy of yours!” Charlotte hurried down the corridor.

      “Yes, ma’am.” Oliver’s grin renewed, and he savored the woman’s knack for making him feel like he was eight years old again. An instant later, he set off to find his sister.

      * * *

      Vectra Bauer waved for her brother to enter when she saw him peek into the library. She was on the phone. The cradle of a powder-blue cordless was tucked in the crook of her neck as she shuffled through folders on a high worktable.

      “I have them right here,” she said into the phone. “Sorry I haven’t had a chance to go through them yet...Mmm-hmm...Okay, that sounds good.”

      Oliver strode over to the table, relieving his little sister of the file she held. He thumbed through the folder. Thick, sleek brows drew close when he saw material he recognized.

      “If you give me another few hours to review it all, I should have more input by this evening,” Vectra was saying. “I’m sure we can give you what you want, but I’d like to look over the photos before we fully commit...Right...Right...Okay, then. Thanks, Austin, we’ll talk tonight.”

      “What’s up?” Oliver waved the file once Vectra put the phone down.

      Vectra eased a tuft of her clipped hair behind an ear and smiled. “The photographers you hired are about to have a gallery showing. Austin Sharpe wants photos of the new space you acquired for him to be featured at an event he wants to hold at Gallery V-Miami.” She referenced one of two art galleries she owned.

      “And he wants that featured in your gallery?” he asked playfully.

      Vectra gave a light shrug beneath the auburn robe she wore over PJs of the same color. “He says he wants to think outside the box. He’s pulling out every stop to wow his clients.”

      Oliver was once again browsing through the file of glossy eight-by-ten shots. The photographers had been hired by his staff to capture Sharpe’s new office park in South Beach, Miami.

      “Sim involved in this?” he asked.

      Vectra’s expression softened.

      Oliver let out a playful groan when he saw Vectra’s dreamy expression.

      She elbowed past him, away from the worktable. “I guess he’ll be involved since Austin’s a client.”

      “That why his assistant was here?”

      “Yeah, she—” Vectra turned, sending Oliver a measuring look. “How’d you know that?”

      “Saw her leaving.” Oliver tossed the Sharpe file to the table and leaned back against it.

      “You’ve met her?”

      “Nope. Never saw her before today.”

      “How’d you know it was her?” Vectra’s curiosity amplified.

      Oliver suddenly seemed interested in the cuffs of the navy shirt peeking from his beige blazer. “I asked,” he said.

      “Asked who?”

      His smile was all cunning, with not a shred of guilt. “Charlotte.”

      “Olive,” Vectra said firmly. “No, Oliver.”

      “I take it you’ve known her for a while.”

      “Quite a while.”

      “And you never introduced me.”

      “Jeez, Olive.” Vectra rolled her eyes and continued toward the sofa. “It’s not like I’ve been hiding her. She works for Qasim, and you get together with him often.”

      “We rarely get together in each other’s offices.”

      “Too bad, since that’s where she usually is.” Vectra shrugged and claimed a spot on the sofa with an airy grace.

      “Why haven’t you introduced me?” He pinned her with his stare.

      Her gaze reflected more sternness. “Do you really need me to answer that?”

      Sudden regret tinged his eyes. His sister had few female friends. Few? “None” was perhaps a more apt estimation. Vectra definitely had what it took to garner swarms of friends, but she never had actually set out to make any. While she had passing acquaintances, he knew she longed for friendship that had more meaning. So many potential friendships had lost their luster when it became quite clear that those women had used the possibility of her friendship as a way to obtain his.

      “Is that why you didn’t introduce me? Afraid I’d steal away another potential friend?”

      “Oh.” Vectra gave a wave and appeared amused. “I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that with Minka. She’s got a standing rule against dating anyone she knows through business.”

      “And yet you’ve known her all this time and never mentioned her to me.” He intentionally overlooked the point she was trying to make.

      Vectra let her head fall back against the sofa. “Olive...” She shook her head against the cushions and then straightened. “Leave it alone, why don’t you?”

      Oliver left the worktable and went for the breakfast cart that had been brought in for Vectra earlier. He opted for a glass of OJ instead of his preferred black, unsweetened coffee.

      “Is she married?” he asked.

      “No.” Vectra sighed, intent on surveying the monogram of her initials etched into the oversized cuff of her robe.

      Oliver sipped the juice and debated the reply. “Seeing someone?” he tried.

      “Not that I’m aware of, and just so we can wrap up this part of the conversation, the biggest reason for not introducing you to her is because I just value your life a little too much.”

      Oliver hesitated before taking another sip of the juice. “Value my life?” He laughed.

      Vectra appeared thoroughly unamused. “Qasim will kill you if you do Minka wrong in any way, and I’d probably help him.” She leaned forward, crossing her wrists over her knees. “Minka’s not the type you just call up when you need your ego...and other things... stroked. She deserves more than a guy who doesn’t believe in ‘sleeping over.’ She deserves to be treasured and to be the only one. You’ve made it clear that you’re not looking for that. Has that changed?” She waited for his response, the expression on her lovely cinnamon-toned face proving she already knew the answer.

      Oliver set aside the juice glass. “No.” He gave a quick shake of his head. “That hasn’t changed.”

      Vectra nodded as though she were satisfied. She scooted closer to the coffee table, where folders lay marked with the Carro Vineyards logo. “Now, if we’re done discussing the sad state of your love life, I’ve got some questions about these documents you need my proxy for.”

      Oliver