Page 104 of The Silver Fox Brother

She leads me to a corner table away from the main dining area. Private, quiet.

Knox is already there. He stands when I approach.

He looks good. Dark suit, navy tie, crisp white shirt. His salt-and-pepper hair is slightly tousled in a way that shouldn't be attractive but is. The week in Dallas gave him a slight tan that makes his blue eyes even more striking.

"Winter. Thank you for coming."

I set my bag on the chair. "Sure. Though I'm curious why we're meeting for lunch when we could have met at the site or your office. Or even on Zoom."

Knox pulls out my chair. "This works better for my schedule today."

I sit, annoyed but not showing it. He takes his seat across from me.

The waiter appears almost immediately with menus. Knox gestures to the table.

"I prefer this spot. Quieter."

"Very thoughtful." There's an edge to my voice I don't bother hiding.

We review the menus in silence. The waiter returns.

"I'll have the Niçoise salad," I say.

Knox orders the steak frites, then looks at me.

"Wine?"

"No, thank you. Middle of the work day."

He nods to the waiter. "Sparkling water for both of us."

The waiter leaves, and silence settles between us.

I pull out my tablet. "I have project updates if you'd like to—"

"I stopped by the site this morning," Knox interrupts.

"Tom gave me a tour. I'm pleased with the progress."

I set the tablet down. "Good. We're ahead of schedule in some areas."

"The two-bedroom unit is taking shape exactly as you described."

"Custom millwork installation starts next week. Two weeks for fabrication, one week for install, then we move to furniture and staging."

Knox nods, satisfied.

The food arrives faster than I expected. We eat in silence for a few minutes before Knox looks up.

"How was your week?"

I take a sip of water. "Busy. Other clients, site visits, the usual."

"The usual for you seems to be controlled chaos."

I almost smile. "I prefer 'organized multitasking.'"

"How was Dallas?" I ask, turning the conversation back to him.