At least I’m not the only one who thinks he’s acting like a total dickhead right now.
“Point taken. But please don’t swear at me again. I’m your employee, not a dog.”
His hands grip his hips, his face tightening with anger. “I’m fully aware of just exactly who you are. And, just so you know, I would never tell a dog to fuck off. I happen to like dogs.”
He might as well have just belted the backs of my legs.
Arsehole!
Rage and hurt and a hundred other emotions burn through me. And it’s worse because someone else is here to hear him talk to me this way.
My cheeks burn with embarrassment.
I’m about to tell him to go fuck himself and walk out of here when his sparring partner says, “Chill the fuck out, Kas.”
I lift my eyes to see the guy walking toward me, wearing a kind smile on his face.
He stops in front of me. “I’m Jude, a friend of Kas’s.” He puts his hand out for me to shake.
Kas has friends?
I glance down at Jude’s hand and then lift my eyes back to his face.
I’m desperately trying to keep my eyes off his bare chest. He has a really nice chest and arms and…well, he’s the first guy I’ve seen semi-naked in a really long time.
And he’s fit.
Seriously fit.
Ripped to hell with some ink on his bicep that goes over his shoulder. His skin is the color of milk chocolate. His black hair is shaved close. He’s a few inches shorter than Kas. About six foot, I’d say. And he has the most amazingly vivid green eyes, a total contrast to his hair and skin color.
“Daisy.” I take his hand and shake it.
“Oh, you’re Daisy.” Releasing my hand, he glances back at Kas.
Kas frowns at him, giving a slight shake of his head, and Jude laughs.
Um, what?
And he’s heard of me. What the hell is that supposed to mean? And what was the frown and head shake all about?
Jude brings his eyes back to me. “Ignore Kas. He’s just pissed off because I was beating his arse.”
Kas scoffs, causing Jude to grin at me.
He has a really nice smile.
Honestly, if I were butter, I’d melt right now.
“And, here I was, thinking I was the eternal cause of his grumpiness.”
“Nah, don’t take it personally. Kas is just a miserable bastard ninety percent of the time.”
“What about the other ten percent?”
“He’s usually sleeping.”
Jude grins, and I giggle.
“I am still here,” Kas growls as he walks over to us.
Jude winks at me, making me smile again.
“Were you boxing?” I ask Jude as Kas comes to a stop beside him.
“MMA,” Kas answers, forcing my eyes to his. “Mixed—”
“Martial arts,” I finish.
“You like MMA?” Jude asks.
“It’s okay.” I shrug before flicking another glance at Kas, who is frowning at me. I swear, sometimes, he almost looks like he’s in pain when he’s looking at me.
“We’ll be done in here in an hour,” Kas says to me, his tone hard. “Clean my office now. It’s about time you did it.”
I have to stop myself from saying, The reason I’ve never cleaned it is because you’re always in there!
I repress a sigh and say, “Fine.”
Turning, I pick up my bucket and cleaning supplies and hook the vacuum under my arm.
“You need a hand?” Jude asks from behind me.
I glance back at him, ignoring Kas’s stare on me. “I’m good, but thanks.”
“It was nice meeting you, Daisy.”
“You, too.”
I start to walk to the door. Surprise has me nearly tripping over myself when Kas quickly moves past me and holds the door open for me.
Okay…
“Thanks,” I utter.
“How did your meeting go?” Kas asks in a low voice, bringing me to a shocked stop.
I really don’t get this guy. One minute, he’s Kas-hole, being a total dick to me. The next, he’s Kas-nice, asking how my meeting went.
His mood swings are really starting to give me whiplash.
I turn to him to find that his eyes are soft and fixed on me. A stark contrast from the way he was looking at me mere seconds ago.
I give him a sad smile. “Not as well as I had hoped. But thank you again for letting me have the time off. I do appreciate it.”
Hand still on the door, Kas lifts a shoulder, shrugging off my comment.
We stare at each other for a long second. I feel a tension start to rise in the air between us. His eyes darken and flicker to life. I see his hand tighten around the door. My own breathing is coming in faster. My skin prickles to life under his intense gaze.
Then, as if coming back to his senses, he steps back, holding the door open wider. I walk through it.
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you.” Kas’s soft words touch my back.
I glance back at him. “Yeah, me, too.”
Then, he’s just staring at me again. There’s no warmth in his eyes this time, but there is definitely something. Almost like an invisible thread attaching us.
Then, I watch as his face shuts down. He gives me a sharp nod and releases the door, letting it close.
I stand, staring at the closed door.
Who is this guy?
Letting out a sigh, I turn to walk away, but one of the cleaning sprays slips from my hand.
“For eff’s sake,” I mutter.