Catch - Deborah Bladon Page 0,21

Keats answers curtly.

Christian huffs out a laugh. “Good luck with that, man. You’re going to need it.”

Chapter 15

Keats

If 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.”

I hope to hell it doesn’t. It’s fucking adorable. With each hiccup, her hair bounces, and her eyes widen.

“Maybe if I drink this, it will help.” The words pour out of her quickly before she downs half the glass of wine.

As soon as she sets it back on the bar, a hiccup escapes her.

“Dammit.” Her eyes search my face. “I know this meeting is important. I can’t have the hiccups right now.”

I’d tell her it doesn’t matter, but I can sense that it matters a hell of a lot to her, so I offer my advice, even though she never asked. “Press the thumb of your right hand into the middle of your left palm.”

“What?” Her hands fall open on her lap.

My gaze drifts from them down to her legs. Jesus, those legs. They could make a man forget his name.

“Keats,” she offers me a reminder she didn’t know I needed. “Where on my palm do I press?”

Her left hand reaches out to me, and damn if I’m going to pass over the opportunity to touch her.

When the pad of my thumb touches the middle of her palm, I almost moan. What the hell is wrong with me? I suck in