She snorted. “I am absolutely uptight like that, and you know it. I also take myself way too seriously, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed.”
He hummed in disappointment. “Too bad. It was the perfect nickname. All right, Miss Kat. How can I help you?”
“Are you still in a motel?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Does that mean you’re not sticking around for long?”
She could almost hear him shrug over the line. “Not necessarily. I go where I’m needed… like a superhero, you know?”
“This would be easier to discuss in person, I think. Can I buy you lunch?” Buying lunch was a tactic she used a lot in her professional life. It usually got a business relationship off to a good start. The two of them had gotten off to such a bad start, she was determined to pull out all the stops to professionalize their interactions.
The truth was, the man was extremely frustrating. His personality clashed with hers in the worst way, but she couldn’t deny that he seemed to have more knowledge than she did. He was obviously physically strong if his muscular build was anything to go on, and he had experience. If he really had kept those boards for her, she thought that would be a sign he was at least a little trustworthy. Her whole life, Kat had been an excellent judge of character, and while this guy was more arrogant than she might like, she got the impression that arrogance came from experience and that it wasn’t entirely unearned.
“Hmm…” Cole thought a moment. “How’s this? I’ve been getting breakfast at a diner across the street. It’s called The Corner Kitchen. Do you know it?”
“Sure, I do,” she answered. “It’s been around for years.”
“Can you meet me there at two?”
“Yep.”
“OK, then. See you there, Madam Kat.”
He ended the call before she could criticize him for being weird with her name again. “Fine, fine,” she muttered to herself. “Time to butter up the arrogant jerk. Like he needs it.” That was what she said aloud, anyway. But anyone watching her would have noticed how carefully she chose her outfit, how many different options she tried on before finally settling on one, and how concerned she was with her hair and makeup. Anyone watching would have come to the conclusion that she cared deeply what this man thought of her and that, no matter how much she protested, she was desperate to impress him.
Kat was morethan familiar with The Corner Kitchen. While she hadn’t been there since high school, she had many memories of spending late nights with friends, sharing cheap, greasy food and strong coffee and scheming about how they were all going to escape this town one day. How ironic that now she was visiting that same diner in a fight to stick around.
She pushed open the door to see the all too familiar rows of booths. They had apparently been reupholstered since she last visited, but they were the same old booths with fake-wood tables. The place hadn’t changed much at all. It was dated, but charmingly so. She took the long path around to all the booths and found Cole hadn’t arrived yet. So, she chose one close to the windows to keep an eye out.
“Can I get you some coffee?” a server asked. She hadn’t even seen him at her table until he spoke. That alone should have told her how on edge she was.
“Sure,” she answered. “With cream and sugar, please.”
The server left and returned with a full pot of coffee and a lazy Susan packed with coffee-related condiments. “Room, I assume?” he asked.
Kat grinned. “Cute rhyme! And yes, please. Just a half inch or so.”
She spent the next ten minutes staring out the window, and then she got bored and started scrolling on her phone. There were a couple social media accounts she had helped manage that needed activity on a regular basis, so she decided to do that while she waited. The only problem was that Cole was stealthy enough to sit down across from her before she even knew he had arrived. When he finally spoke, she practically jumped out of her seat.
“Lady Kat,” he said.
She hit “like” on one more clip and put her phone down. “Lord Cole,” she responded, rolling her eyes.
He just smiled across the table at her. “I could get used to that.”
“Ugh, fine,” she finally conceded. “You can call me whatever you want. Just stop with the weird titles.” She handed the menu to him. “I already know what they have here, so I don’t need it.”
“I don’t need it either,” he said. “Been at this hotel for a week. Eaten at this lovely establishment every day since I got here.”
As if to prove his point, the server came back around to offer the new guest a cup of coffee and immediately recognized Cole. “Oh, hello again, sir,” the server said. “Can I get you your usual?”
Cole recognized the server and started chatting with him in a lively way that seemed to indicate they were old friends. Once Cole’s order was in, the server took Kat’s order and moved away to the next table. Kat couldn’t help asking, “Are you from here, too?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. But I move around a fair bit, so I know how to make friends quickly. Now, I assume you’re here for the boards I got for you.”
“Among other things,” Kat answered, doctoring her newly refilled cup. “Do you still have them?”
