her eyes away, shoving her hands into her pockets. “There’s a great burger joint three doors down.”
Tamar laughed softly at her ‘recommendation’, surprised that she was not only keeping her distance, but that she was trying to get him out of her restaurant. “I’ve heard that the food here is quite delicious,” he lied without remorse. He was here in this establishment only because his technicians had traced the signal of a hacker to this address. It was only serendipitous that he’d found this angel among the workers here.
She blinked at his formal language, not sure what to make of him. He definitely didn’t belong here. This was a blue collar neighborhood. The patrons here were the rough and tumble types that would grab a quick burger along with several beers after a tough day working on the docks. This man looked like he should be in a board room, not sitting in the control box of a bucket loader. She would wager that he hadn’t ever gotten his hands dirty. He probably wouldn’t do very well in a fist fight either, even though his shoulders looked broad and durable enough underneath the extremely fine fabric of his suit.
Wyndi shrugged her shoulders as if the food were passably good. “You don’t look like the burger and beer type of guy,” she came back, ready to dismiss him.
“Perhaps you and I could have dinner tonight and discuss the kind of guy I am,” he offered, fascinated by this nervous creature. In a flash, he knew that this beautiful blond with the wary blue eyes would be his next lover. He rubbed his chin, calculating in his mind how long it would take him to have her purring, begging for his touch.
Wyndi gasped, shocked by how forward he was. “I don’t think so,” she countered. “Are you going to order something? If not, I have several other tables that need attention.”
Tamar chuckled, watching her intently. Challenge accepted, my beauty, he thought in his mind. “Bring me the house specialty,” he told her, handing the slightly sticky, plastic covered menu back to her.
Wyndi stared back at him, trying to figure him out. Who did he think he was? House specialty? It was a corner diner catering to the working class, not the Ritz. They didn’t have a house specialty. But instead of arguing with him, she shrugged one shoulder, ignored the menu since it was supposed to go on the rough, wooden holders on the table by the window, and turned on her running shoe clad heel. He wanted the house specialty? She’d give him something special, she thought with a smile filled with delight. He couldn’t see her, thankfully, but she wrote something on her ordering pad then snapped it onto the metal order wheel, spinning it so that Billy, the fry cook today, could see her order.
With that done, she moved around to her other tables, smiling and greeting the guests. She filled up their coffee or water and completely ignored the man at the table, who was now talking on his cell phone. She tried to eavesdrop, not caring that it was rude. She just wanted to understand why he was here. It was so strange. But he was speaking in a language she couldn’t understand, so she moved away, intent on leaving him alone as much as possible.
When Billy called out that his order was ready, she moved back to the kitchen and smiled in anticipation. Carrying the heavy plate over to the table, she set it all down in front of him along with a large pitcher of water and a glass.
“Dig in!” she said, trying to hide her amusement as he surveyed the enormous meal.
Tamar surveyed the plate of food with interest, not sure exactly what it was, but he’d caught her adorable glance that told him she thought she’d gotten him. What she didn’t know was that he traveled all over the world, representing Surisia’s interests. His cousin was the sheik and, together, they’d grown up challenging each other to eat the most exotic foods they could find. This burger with a multitude of toppings was not going to defeat him.
“I’m guessing the water is for my benefit?” he asked. His desire to bed this woman, to bend her to his will, was even more intense now that she’d challenged him in this way.
Wyndi shrugged, grinning triumphantly down at him. “The chili is pretty spicy. And those jalapeños aren’t too shy either.” She paused slightly, trying