myself from his presence. He was handsome in an extraordinary way, but this man was turning out to be a jackass. “Guess I’ll get back to work.”
“Hey, how about getting me a cup of coffee first? I take it black.”
All right, this was crossing the line. “I’ll be happy to show you the kitchen and the coffee maker, but I will not, nor will anyone else in this office, be your errand person.” My icy response should’ve imparted my anger. Only he ignored it.
“Why not? No one else complained in the other places I worked.”
“If you haven’t noticed, this isn’t the nineteenth century, or 1960 for that matter. You have two arms with hands attached and are perfectly capable of making your own coffee. Follow me and I can show you where.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. Was this asshole toying with me? I was fairly adept at reading people, but he had thrown me for a loop. I marched out, head held high in defiance, and went to the kitchen. He was on my heels and when I stopped to fill the coffee maker with water, he asked, “Are you angry?”
“And why in the world would I be?”
“I don’t know.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am. I only wanted some coffee and now you’re angry.”
“Because you expected someone to get it for you, instead of asking where the coffee maker was.” He was positively infuriating. And obtuse.
He grabbed the water reservoir out of my hands, filled it up, and asked, “Where are the pods?”
“In there.” I pointed to the drawer where we kept them.
“And the cups?”
I opened the cabinet for him. “Right here. And wash your cup after you use it. We don’t do anyone else’s dishes around here except our own, nor is there a magical kitchen fairy that shows up every night to clean up this place.”
His mouth twitched again. “Understood.”
“Good.” I turned to head back to my office.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to work. Where else?” He couldn’t possibly be this ignorant.
“Show me your work. Mr. Bridges sang your praises yesterday and I’d like to see if you’re as accomplished as he said.”
“Yeah, no. Some other time.” As accomplished as he said. What the hell! This man was a complete dick. Too bad that hadn’t shown up in his background check.
“By the way, nice shirt.”
Glancing down, I saw the smiling faces of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Easton had picked it out for me to wear this morning. “Thanks. I love it, especially since my daughter wanted me to wear it today.” I started to leave again and his voice stopped me.
“Daughter?”
“Yep.”
“Hmm. What kind of hobbies do you have?”
Was this conversation never going to end? At least Stuart knew when to shut up… sometimes.
“Hobbies? I work full time and have a six-year-old. Pray tell, when would I have time for hobbies? I fall into bed each night, exhausted.”
“Maybe you should exercise.”
That was it. I was so done with him. Mr. Smokeshow had just burned and fizzled out into a pile of dead cinders. “Maybe you should mind your own business.”
“No, it would give you more energy. I run each morning. Get up at six and go out for an hour.”
“Lucky you. And if I did that, who would watch Easton? The tooth fairy?”
“What about a treadmill?”
“Oh, I see. I could snap my fingers and one would magically appear.”
“Why don’t you ask your dad to buy you one?”
I crossed my arms and tucked my hands under them to keep from punching his pretty face. “What I ask my parents for is none of your business, but, since you brought it up, let me say this. I don’t ask them for a single thing. I work every day, just like you, and care for my daughter. She goes to after-school care when I can’t pick her up on time, but when I can, I work from home after I get there. Yes, I am fortunate my job is flexible. But I also freelance, like you. I have other clients besides my father. I don’t ask them to buy me treadmills or other exercise machines. When I want to buy something, I pay for things myself.” While it was true my parents gave me many gifts, they were things I hadn’t asked for, but he didn’t need to know that.
“That’s refreshing.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an ass?”
A smirk appeared on his face, and damn him, it was sexy. “A time or two.”
“Make it three.” With that I walked away and ran