soon as he turned around, I recognized him. He was the big guy who’d been golfing with Jake. “Oh, it’s you.”
“It usually is,” he said with a smile. He looked over my shoulder. “Oh, Mr. Gr-Karlsson, I didn’t see you here.” Was it my imagination or did the big guy look nervous?
Had he almost called Jake Mr. Grieves?
Jake didn’t bother introducing us. “Out for a little lunch?”
“I’m accompanying Mr. Davis,” he said. “He’s having a meeting here today.”
“I thought you were employed by Mr. Hook?” Jake asked.
He shrugged, an action that made the muscles of his shoulders and chest flex in a very interesting way. Whatever Jake was up to, he certainly had good-looking friends, though the looks they were giving each other didn’t feel particularly friendly.
“Never said we were exclusive,” the guy explained.
Sunlight flooded the entryway as the door opened again and two more men came in. Was that? No, it couldn’t be. “Ryan?”
“Eric,” he said, looking surprised to see me. “And Jake.”
The second man was the hot one from the golf course. Close up he was even better looking but there was something off-putting about him. For one, he was completely overdressed for a Saturday lunch in La Crosse. I sucked at estimating how much things costs, but even I could tell his perfectly tailored suit must have cost a mint. The gaudy watch on his wrist probably cost more. Were those diamonds? Did anyone besides mobsters on TV shows actually wear diamond-encrusted watches?
“Karlsson,” the guy who must be the aforementioned Mr. Davis said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I’m sure.” He looked at Ryan. “Making new friends I see.”
“I thought you knew each other,” Davis said. Was that his first name or his last? God only knew with these people.
Ryan smiled a shark smile. “Oh, Jake and I go way back, don’t we? We have overlapping interests.”
“Ryan,” I said warningly.
“You leaving me, Davis?” Jake asked.
The guy, Davis, gave Jake a smile that managed to be smug and dismissive at the same time. “Just exploring all the options. Who knew this unassuming town was so charming and full of possibilities?”
God, what a douchebag.
The big guy coughed but I could swear he was hiding a smile behind his fist.
Was that a holster I got a flash of when his sports coat shifted with the movement? I guess a bodyguard would probably carry one. Geeze, these were the type of people Jake hung around? And he gave Ryan shit? They seemed made for each other.
“What are you doing with my clients, Kantor?” Jake asked, stepping closer to Ryan.
Fabulous.
Ryan spread his hands as if he couldn’t understand the hostility in Jake’s voice. As if Jake hadn’t wanted to punch him in the face since we were sixteen. “I’m simply taking Mr. Davis to lunch, showing him some of the sights. He called me, saying he was free this afternoon and would like a tour.”
Wait, was this a date or a business meeting? Both?
“You could join us if you’d like,” Ryan said. “I might have something to say that you’d be interested in. Some financial opportunities I’ve run into.”
Was this what Ryan sounded like when he was working a deal? He needed to stop. Using that voice worked with Jake, turning him into Carson Grieves. With Ryan, it made him seem smarmy, like he should be wearing gold chains and a pinky ring.
“I don’t think so,” Jake said, shifting closer to me, and the flash of heat in his eyes and the tone of his voice was all Jake. He slipped his arm through mine. “I like my dates to be a little more private.”
Ryan frowned briefly before trying to make his face look neutral. It didn’t work. “Date?” he asked me.
“Come on, Ryan,” Davis said, slapping a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “I need a drink. Let’s leave these two lovebirds alone. I hear they have a lot to catch up on.” He caught the hostess’s eye and she stepped over to us.
“If you’ll follow me, please.”
Ryan shot me a look over his shoulder as he let himself be led away. Oh, I was going to get an earful later.
Jake’s gaze followed them, his arms crossed over his chest. The big guy headed to the bar on the other side of the room.
“Do you want to go somewhere else?” I asked.
“No,” he said, following the big guy. “I find myself in need of a drink.”
We settled right next to the guy who was already looking at the menu. He grunted, and