Mastered (The Enforcers 1)

The more she saw into Drake’s world, the more aware she was of just how clueless she was when it came to having money and connections. It all sounded like something out of a ridiculous movie. Not real life and definitely not her life.

Then she surprised the already bewildered chef by impulsively hugging him.

“Thank you for doing this for me. I have no doubt dinner will be superb tonight, thanks to you, and rest assured you’ll get the credit for providing such an amazing meal.”

The older man flushed. “It was my pleasure, Miss Hawthorn, though from what I hear of your culinary expertise, I’d take you on and put you to work in my kitchen any day of the week, although I’d probably fast be out of a job.”

It was her turn to blush, and she wondered how on earth this man knew anything about her cooking.

“I won’t keep you any longer,” Evangeline said. “I need to get home so none of what I’ve purchased is spoiled. Thank you again.”

Zander herded her from the kitchen and out of the restaurant, where once more she blinked and squinted at the bright autumn sun.

“You need a pair of damn sunglasses,” Zander muttered.

She shot him a strange look and then shook her head. But as they headed down the sidewalk, Zander stopped at a name-brand boutique and dragged her inside, where he proceeded to make her pick out a pair of outrageously expensive designer sunglasses that horrified her once she saw the price tag.

She mutinously shook her head, refusing to even consider buying such an extravagance. He merely ignored her and since she wouldn’t make a choice, he chose the two he thought looked the best on her and just gave her a look she was becoming well acquainted with since it was one Drake and all his men wore like a second skin. The one that said, You won’t change my mind.

After he paid for them, he plucked a pair and slid them on Evangeline’s nose, adjusting them to his liking before they stepped from the shop. He seemed rather pleased with himself and Evangeline didn’t have the heart to put a damper on his mood, so she kept her thoughts of the ridiculousness of paying hundreds of dollars for a pair of sunglasses to herself. A five-dollar pair from a grocery store or pharmacy would have certainly sufficed.

But what she wore was a reflection on Drake, and she doubted he would be pleased to see her wearing anything but what he considered the best.

And it was because of her exasperation and her inattention to her surroundings that she tripped as they headed down the sidewalk and went sprawling before Zander could catch her. The impact of hitting the concrete took her breath away as Zander’s colorful curses filled the air.

“Jesus Christ, Evangeline, are you all right?”

His concerned face filled her vision as he gently turned her to look at her. She reached up, worried she’d broken her sunglasses and when, in fact, they came away in two pieces, she nearly burst into tears.

“I broke them,” she said tearfully.

“Fuck the sunglasses,” he said, fury lacing his words. “I’m more concerned whether you broke anything on you. Can you get up? Do you hurt anywhere?”

She let him help her up, wincing when she stretched her leg to its full length.

“Just my knee,” she said. “I think I just scraped it. God, I’m so sorry. I’m so clumsy.”

Zander bent right there in the middle of the sidewalk, forcing her to hold on to his shoulder for support as he examined the tear in her jeans and moved the material right and left so he could assess the damage.

“You’re bleeding,” he said grimly. “I can’t fucking see well enough to know how deep the laceration is or if you’ll need stitches. I need to call Drake.”

“No!” she burst out. “For God’s sake, Zander. I scraped my knee. The world isn’t ending. Drake does not need to be disturbed at work because I’m an idiot who fell and scraped her knee. He has a very busy day and said he had several meetings and that he’d be late arriving home. I don’t want to disrupt his schedule over something so insignificant.”

Zander frowned, having no liking for her response. He knew Drake well enough to know that if Evangeline was involved and especially if she was hurt, he wouldn’t give a fuck about some goddamn meeting. But she looked like she was on the verge of a complete meltdown, and given that she’d already been on the receiving end of a pissed-off Drake this morning, he could well imagine why she wouldn’t want to risk provoking his anger again even though Zander knew damn well Drake would be anything but pissed.

“Zander, please,” she begged. “This is embarrassing enough without involving Drake.”