Catch

Jerk.

Since we’re standing in the entrance to a crowded restaurant, I keep that comment to myself. Shaking my head, I clear my throat.

Keats looks at Christian as if he’s studying his expensive suit and perfectly styled brown hair. “You’re an idiot.”

Christian’s brow furrows. “Excuse me?”

Keats steps closer to me. I’m hit with the masculine scent of his cologne. Or is that him? Whatever it is, it’s intoxicating.

“Did you call me an idiot?” Christian’s voice jumps in volume.

“I did.” Keats nods his head. “You had a chance with Maren and blew it. That’s an idiot move.”

I realize what’s happening immediately. Keats thinks I was involved with Christian. Ew. Just ew.

“We never.” I reach for Keats’s forearm. “Christian wasn’t my boyfriend. I don’t have a boyfriend. He fired me.”

Keats’s gaze scans my face. “He fired you?”

I nod. “Last week. It was the day I found Dudley.”

The corners of Keats’s mouth curl up in a sexy smile. He turns his attention back to Christian. “My mistake.”

“Are you sorry you called me an idiot?” Christian smirks.

Keats lets out a laugh. “I had it wrong. You’re more of an asshole than an idiot. If you’ll excuse us, we have a reservation.”

Christian’s hand lands on Keats’s shoulder. “You think I’m an asshole?”

Keats swats Christian’s hand away with his own. “I know you are. I doubt like hell there was anything Maren did to warrant termination.”

Christian takes a step back. Unease settles over his expression. I know that look. Keats hit a nerve. “That’s between Maren and me.”

Keats crosses his arms. “Fair enough. Your loss is my gain.”

“She works for you now?”

“She does,” Keats answers curtly.

Christian huffs out a laugh. “Good luck with that, man. You’re going to need it.”Chapter 15KeatsIf I were a twelve-year-old, I would have decked Christian Knott with a swift punch to the nose. Berk taught me how to defend myself when a kid who was four inches taller and twenty pounds heavier than me decided I’d be his unwilling victim.

He was a bully. I was scared shitless of him until Berk showed me how to land a punch designed to break noses. I didn’t accomplish that when my fist hit the center of the bully’s face, but I did manage to knock him sideways.

That was my one and only attempt to defend myself physically. Since then, I’ve learned that assholes hate being called out for who they are. That’s especially true if a beautiful woman is within earshot.

I know all about Christian Knott. Everett handed me a copy of the job application Maren filled out the day I hired her. I wanted to be sure that she did, in fact, have the qualifications for the job.

She’s overqualified, but the point is that the Knott brothers lost a valued employee.

I don’t know the specifics of what happened. I do know that she works for me now. I intend to keep it that way.

“I’m sorry about that,” she says from her seat next to me.

We were directed to the bar to wait for our table after Christian took off. I have an eye trained on the door, so I can spot Fletcher when he arrives and Christian if he shows his face in here again.

I didn’t expect to run into anyone Maren knows tonight. I wanted a drink before dinner, so I arrived at Nova early. To my surprise, my new assistant was already here. I saw her through the window before I noticed creepy Christian sneaking up behind her.

That’s when I made my way inside.

I pegged Christian as an ex-boyfriend at first, because he couldn’t take his eyes off of her ass. Then Maren mentioned his name. If I had cared more, I might have looked him up online days ago, but stalking my employees’ former bosses isn’t something I do.

The past is the past, whether it’s jobs or lovers.

“For what?” I laugh. “You’re not responsible for that asshole.”

Her eyes brighten. “You swore.”

I drag my tongue over my bottom lip. “I did. You’re right.”

Her gaze stays trained on my mouth before it travels slowly to my eyes. “He made it sound as though I’m a difficult employee.”

“What he says is irrelevant.” I reach for the glass of scotch in front of me. “You’re proving to be a valuable addition to our team.”

The words don’t convey the message. I like working with this woman. I love sitting here while she sips on a glass of red wine, and I stare at her beautiful face.

“He fired me because I pushed back on a decision he made.” She sighs. “He passed me over for a promotion. He gave the position to someone close to him.”

“Fucking asshole.” I smile. “It was worth the money to say it.”

That lures a laugh from her.

I watch as she giggles her way through a hiccup.

“I sometimes hiccup when I laugh,” she explains before her body jerks with another hiccup. “I hope it passes before Fletcher gets here.”