Page 9 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

When her laughter finally subsided, she looked at me again, but this time, there was an almost fond smile on her lips. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what’s got you so puzzled? You might be surprised by how much I can help. A couple years ago at my old job, this woman came in who had no idea what she was looking for, only that it had to be special.”

Her smile widened and she snapped her fingers. “Like that, I knew exactly what sculpture to show her, and do you know why? It’s because she answered my questions honestly. Trust me, I can help if you’ll let me. I’m pretty intuitive. Oh, and the woman bought the sculpture. Said it was perfect. A giant owl made of clay. Took five guys to move it. All of them your size.”

I frowned, feeling a headache starting to build behind my temples. “Do you talk like this, constantly, to everyone, or is it just me?”

She shrugged, unfazed by my dry tone. “Just you. Anyway, what are you having for lunch? Maybe I can assist you by getting that for you.”

“I’m not eating lunch today because I’ll be on my way to that meeting with the clients from the Heritage House.”

“You’re leaving so early?” She blinked a few times before she straightened up a bit. “Tell me what you’d like to eat and I’ll have it waiting for you at the cafe downstairs to pick up on your way out. We wouldn’t want you meeting with them on an empty stomach.”

I ignored the offer. “They recently rejected a bid from our competitors and I want to know why.”

“Oh, I already know why.” She laughed and stood up. “Hang on a minute.”

Spinning on her flat sandals, she strode back to her office and sat down behind her desk. Within seconds, my email blew up and I frowned, turning toward my computer and opening the thread she’d just forwarded to me.

I gaped, my mouth literally popping open as I read through the exchanges. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her get back up and lean in the doorway.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This girl had given the wife of the client her entire life story and had gotten the same out of her in return. It was absurd how much information these women had shared so freely, without ever even having met each other.

“We’re email friends now,” she said with a shrug. “Want me to go to the meeting with you?”

Completely baffled, I was tempted to ask her to define email friends, but ended up mumbling, “Sure, you can come,” instead. I was too stunned to even speak properly as I scanned through the emails.

Lila grinned and nodded, pushing away from the door to head back to her office. I kept reading, still not even halfway through it all. What jumped out at me, however, was how detail-oriented she was when it came to design.

In fact, she’d already been able to clear up some questions I’d been stuck on for weeks now about the clients’ desires. I sighed as I leaned back in my chair and realized that I’d seriously underestimated this woman.

At first, I had thought that Lila was just one of those bubbly, woo-woo girls who were always being loud, bouncing through life like the sun was going to shine no matter what, but she was smart. More than just smart, actually. The girl was sharp. Efficient. Effective.

I glanced at her through the door again, my interest thoroughly piqued. It’d been a long time since anyone had pleasantly surprised me, and it was a nice change.

Finally averting my gaze, I clicked out of the emails and into the folder for the Heritage House on my computer. Taking her to this meeting was a really good idea. I was interested in seeing precisely what this girl was capable of—whether that thread had revealed information simply because she had the gift of the gab, or if she’d used that gift in order to convince the client to reveal what we needed to know.

5

LILA

He brought me with him. He actually freaking brought me with him.

Absolutely buzzing with excitement, I sat in the passenger seat of Ford’s truck, a Toyota ironically, and watched the wooded landscape outside the inner city speed past.

When he’d first grunted that I could come to this meeting with him, I’d been convinced he didn’t mean it, that he would never follow through. He didn’t seem like the type to like company on a road trip, but when he’d started gathering his things, he’d actually barked at me to do the same.

And sure, it hadn’t been a nice, polite, or welcoming invitation, but at least it’d meant he was bringing me with him. Besides, I supposed I didn’t really count as company on this particular road trip since he’d barely said a word since we left the office.

Still intrigued by the man, I didn’t mind his silence right now, though. The truck was giving me plenty of clues about him. For example, he had to be an obsessively neat person.

Not only had I never seen any clutter on his desk or in his office, but his vehicle was the same. I didn’t think he’d ever eaten or had anything to drink in here. The only thing that I suspected hadn’t come standard with this truck was the air freshener placed neatly in the center console.

Everything else was as if he’d driven it off the showroom floor seven seconds ago, as clean as a whistle and without a single scratch. I shifted a little in my seat, curious to see if I could spot an empty chip bag or water bottle in the back, but I didn’t see any of those things. Interestingly, I did see what appeared to be some dog hairs.

Not a whole lot. In fact, the entire seat had maybe three or four hairs on it, but they were short and spiky, definitely not belonging to a human. So unless he was a werewolf…

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Hey, I didn’t know you had a dog.”

“Why would you know that?” he asked, barely glancing at me before turning his gaze back to the road stretching out ahead of us. “You’ve never asked and I’ve never volunteered the information.”