Earphones in, I’m listening to OneRepublic’s “Wherever I Go.” I get the cleaning products, bucket, and mop, and I hook the vacuum cleaner under my arm. I drag it along the floor, heading toward the gym.
I haven’t seen Kas since I arrived an hour ago, and his office door is closed, so I figure he’s in there.
I really need to clean his office, but I’m not in the mood to be growled at, so I’ll wait until he emerges, and then I’ll set about cleaning in there. But, in the meantime, I’ll give the gym a good going-over.
When I reach the door, my hands are full, so I press down on the handle with the back of my hand and push the door open with my butt. I back into the room, pulling the vacuum through. I put the cleaning stuff down, pivot on the spot, and stall at the sight of Kas and another guy fighting. Well, when I say fighting, I’m guessing they’re sparring.
A large mat is laid out on the gym floor. Kas and the other guy are barefoot, both bare-chested, wearing only shorts. Their hands are wrapped, like fighters. Kas’s hair is tied back with a hair tie. I’ve never seen his hair like this before. It looks good…hot.
He has his back to me, so I can see the defined muscles there along with his broad shoulders. Sweat is trickling down his back.
Holy hell.
I pull the earphones from my ears, riveted.
I should leave. I will leave.
Now would be a good time, as neither of them has noticed me.
Okay, Daisy, grab your stuff and go.
I’m just about to turn away and make my exit when the guy that Kas is sparring with catches my eye and smiles.
He lifts a hand to Kas, stopping him. His eyes come back to me. “Hey,” he says. Smiling again, he gives me a chin lift.
Kas’s head turns so fast that I’m surprised he didn’t break his neck.
The moment his eyes hit me, something that looks an awful lot like panic enters his eyes. But it’s gone quickly, replaced with anger.
Yanking his eyes from me, he walks past his sparring partner—well, more like, he stomps—and heads over to the edge of the mat. He picks up a T-shirt from the floor and yanks it on, his movements rough and jerky.
Then, he turns to me. Pissed off doesn’t even cover the look on his face right now.
I brace myself for a tongue-lashing.
“You need to learn to fucking knock,” he snaps at me.
That takes me back a step.
That’s the first time I’ve ever heard him swear. And I really don’t like that it was directed at me. All I did was walk in a room, for God’s sake.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was in here.”
“Well, if you’d knocked, then you would’ve.”
My eyes flicker uncomfortably to the other guy in the room, who is surprisingly frowning at Kas.
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.
I bend down to pick it up, and that’s when I hear my name being said from behind the door.
Of course, I have to listen in.
“So, that’s Daisy.”
“Mmhmm,” Kas answers.
“She seems nice. Hot, too. You didn’t mention that.”
“Why would I?”
Hang on…was that Kas saying he thinks I’m hot in a roundabout way?
“So, you actually admit you think she’s hot?” Jude sounds really surprised by this admission.
Kas sighs. “Of course I think she’s hot. A man would have to be fucking blind not to see that she is.”
Wow. He thinks I’m hot.
I steadfastly ignore the thrill that runs through me at the knowledge.
“And?”
“And what?”
“And what are you gonna do about it?”
“I’m going to do absolutely nothing about it.”
“Come on, Kas.” Jude’s tone is teasing, coaxing.
“She works for me. End of story.”
There’s a long pause.
Then, I hear Jude say, “Well, if you’re not gonna ask her out…then I will.”
“Jude…” Kas’s tone is like a warning.
Interesting.
Um, hold up…I’m not bothered that Kas is pissed off at the thought of Jude asking me out.
Am I?
“What? You’re not gonna ask her out,” Jude counters. “She’s hot as fuck, and she seems like a really cool girl.”
“You don’t know her.” His tone is really harsh and blunt.
Wow. Okay. That hurt.
“That’s the point of asking her out, dickface. You know, so I can get to know her.”
“Not happening. Daisy is off-limits to you.” Kas’s voice sounds like a growl.
Um, what?
Jude laughs. “Off-limits? To just me or everyone?”
There’s a pause, and then Jude laughs again. “You so wanna bang her.”
“Jesus Christ! Will you just shut the fuck up about Daisy?” Kas bites.
“Hey, no need to get all testy, man. But be real for a sec. This is the first time in all the years I’ve known you that I’ve seen you get all bent out of shape over a chick. That’s gotta mean something.”
“It means nothing.”
“Come on…”
“Seriously, Jude,” Kas snaps. “Just fucking drop it, will you?”
There’s a long silence.
Then, I hear Jude say, “Consider it dropped. We sparring again?”
“Yeah.”
Jude chuckles. “Come on then, pretty boy. Give me your best shot.”
Knowing their conversation about me is over, I move away from the door.
I walk down the hallway in a daze, not really sure what to do with what I just heard.
Kas likes me. Well, he thinks I’m hot.
So does Jude, but that’s neither here nor there.
But Kas…he’s such a prick to me, like all the time. If I fancy someone, then I tend to be nice to them.
I’m so bloody confused right now.
“Daisy?”
My eyes snap up, my insides jumping like I’ve just been caught doing something wrong.
It’s Cooper.
“Hey.” I paste on a smile.
“Hey. Everything okay?”
I nod my head.
“I was just coming to grab some milk. We ran out, and I’m dying for a cuppa.”
“Sure. You want me to grab it for you?”
“Looks like you’ve got your hands full.” He nods at the stuff I’m carrying. “How about I help you with this stuff, and then we can get the milk together?”
“Sure,” I say, smiling, as I hand over the bucket to him, my thoughts about Kas momentarily forgotten.
