His Hush-Hush Baby - Holly Rayner Page 0,11
gonna talk jewelry and fashion for hours.”
“That sounds great.” Snatching a napkin from the counter, Diane used the pen in her purse to write down her number. “Hey, so you’re… What did Kai say? Managing director? What does that mean exactly?”
“It’s kinda like I work right under Kai. I oversee our operations.”
“Wow.” Diane shook her head in amazement. Brie looked to be in her early thirties, around Kai’s age.
“I know what you’re thinking.”
“Do you?” Diane asked slowly, worried about being offensive.
“Yeah. How did I get the job when I’m not some old guy in a suit? I’ve been in the game my whole life. My parents both work in investing. Honestly, a lot of the game is who you know. Kai, though…”
Brie thoughtfully tapped a finger against her chin. “He really fought his way into the business. He’s a freaking genius.”
“You have to be pretty special too, though,” Diane said. “It can’t fully be about who you know.”
“Aw. You’re sweet.” Brie put a lid on her tea. “I gotta run, but I’m gonna text you, okay?”
“Looking forward to it.” Diane waved and headed for the exit. “Bye.”
With a big smile on, she left the building and hopped on the train for Johansen Design. The day had barely begun, and already it was a great one. It made Diane eager to find out what other good things life had in store for her.
Chapter 5
Kai
Settled into a booth at the wine bar where he had his first date with Diane, Kai checked his phone.
“See you in an hour,” she’d texted him, with a kissing face to follow the text.
He started to text back—just a cute emoji or something—but the door to the wine bar opened and federal agent Damian Leigh strolled in.
Standing, Kai raised his hand to get his friend’s attention.
“My man.” Damian grabbed Kai’s hand and slapped him on the back. “It’s been a while.”
“No way,” Kai said, sitting back down while Damian slid into the booth across from him. “We went to that ball game together.”
Damian snorted. “Three months ago.”
“Really?” Kai ran his hand along the stubble on his jaw. “It’s been that long?”
“You’ve been busy,” Damian said with a knowing smile.
Kai paused. “What are you referencing, exactly?”
“You and a lady friend were on the internet. On one of those celebrity gossip sites.”
“Wow. First of all, I’m not a celebrity, and secondly…you read those websites?”
“Very funny,” Damian growled. “My niece emailed me the link. So who is she?”
“She is Diane, and we’ve been dating for around five weeks.”
Damian whistled low. “Now that’s really something. Usually, you don’t get past one date.”
“You make it sound like I’m some kind of womanizer.”
“You’re definitely not that. You’re just picky.” Damian flipped the menu over and surveyed its back. “They only have three beers here.”
“It’s a wine bar.”
“You say that like it’s an excuse.” He caught the waitress’s attention and they placed an order for a round of drinks.
“Why here?” Damian asked. “Usually, when we meet near your office, we go to the pub.”
“I’m kind of killing two birds with one stone.” Kai rubbed the back of his neck. “Diane is meeting me here later.”
“I would say you’re a jerk if you weren’t my oldest friend.”
Kai burst into laughter. “You can still call me a jerk.”
“Nah. You furnished my nana’s whole house for her birthday. That makes up for any rude thing you could ever do for the rest of your life.”
Kai shrugged. “She’s a sweet lady.”
“So when is Diane coming?” He looked around the bar. “Will I get to meet her?”
“If you like. I’m going out of town for a week, so I thought we could all hang out a bit first.”
“Sounds good to me. Don’t worry, though. I won’t third-wheel you. I don’t want to keep my frozen dinner waiting.”
“You won’t be third-wheeling,” Kai said. “I asked you here.”
“Still. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.” Damian’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pants to frown at the screen.
“Everything okay?”
“Work.” His frown turned into a tight grimace.
Work. Sometimes Damian discussed his FBI cases, and sometimes he was bomb-shelter tight about them. Kai had learned not to prod. If Damian had decided he wouldn’t discuss something, there was no getting it out of him.
“I need to go.” He pocketed his phone. “Sorry.”
“Hey, it’s okay. Maybe when I get back next week we can get together.”
“That would be nice, man.” Damian slid from the booth and clapped Kai on the shoulder. “Let’s not make it another few months, all right?”
“Okay,” Kai chuckled.