She was alone in the middle of a rapidly-worsening snowstorm with a man who looked like an extra from a really, really bad spaghetti Western.
“Are you deaf? I said—”
“I heard what you said.” Lissa lifted her chin. “A better question is who are you?”
The man hadn’t expected that response. She could tell by the way he cocked his head.
Good.
She had lived in Paris, and not in an arrondissement favored by tourists. She’d lived in Chicago, and not many tourists had frequented those streets, either. Even Hollywood had its dark side.
The bottom line was that she was street-smart. And showing fear was a sign of weakness. Never mind that her heart was trying to claw its way out of her chest.
She had attitude. That was all she had right now, and attitude was going to have to be enough.
“Answer the question. Who are you?”
Lissa drew herself up. “My name is Lissa Wilde.”
“No.”
“Yes. I am Lissa Wilde. The new chef.”
“The cook?” His gaze ran over her. “The hell you are.”
“I was hired last night and—” And, why in hell was she explaining herself to him? Lissa narrowed her eyes. “What is your name?”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? I want to know to whom I’m speaking.”
He laughed. More or less. It certainly wasn’t a nice sound.
“To whom?”
“To whom. Exactly. I want to know to whom I’m speaking so that I can tell your employer how insolent you are.”
“It’s Nick.”
“Nick what?”
“Nick Bannister. You want me to spell that for you?”
“And what is the name of your employer?”
“Don’t you know? You think you’re the new cook, but you don’t know the name of the man you’ll be working for?”
Lissa felt a flush rise in her cheeks.
“As I said, I was offered the position only last night and—”
“And you jumped at it. What’s the problem, Ms. Wilde? You desperate for work?”
“You aren’t just insolent, Mr. Bannister, you’re rude.”
“And we’re both going to get snowbound if we stand here much longer.” Nick Bannister limped forward a couple of steps. Lissa took an automatic step back. So much for the no fear thing. “Hand over that suitcase.”
“I’ll take care of it m