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Minka didn’t appear to notice her boss’s slip. “Well, he was in the army, too.” A smile illuminated Minka’s round, pretty face. “That’s where you guys met, right?”
The corner of Qasim’s mouth tilted upward while he studied the contents of his glass. “Where we met—where he saved my life. When he came to me down on his luck... I felt like I owed him.”
Minka held out her hands over the pad. “He saved your life, Sim. If that isn’t a reason to give somebody a job, I don’t know what is.”
Qasim laughed while Minka stood to collect her things.
“I should go smooth things over with him,” she said. “Do you think flowers would go over well?”
Qasim chuckled. “I know he likes Venus flytraps.”
“Ha! Okay then, so that’s a ‘no’ on the flowers.” She tapped her pad to the table and shifted her weight. “So was there anything else?”
Qasim returned his juice glass to the bar. “Nope. We’re good.”
“You sure? I’m here if you want to discuss anything else...like Vectra Bauer.”
Turning, Qasim narrowed his gaze and waited.
Minka rolled her eyes. “It’s obvious your head wasn’t in that meeting.”
“I’m good, Mink. Thanks for lending an ear.”
“Anytime.” Minka collected her things and left Qasim alone in the conference room.
* * *
Vectra swatted at the fuzz tickling her nose. It tickled something fierce, causing her to sneeze instead of laugh. The gesture awakened her, and she caught the source of her distress.
The sight of brown eyes, so similar to her shade but enhanced by a lighter hue that emphasized playful cunning, gazed back at her. At once, Vectra felt any anger she’d held for Oliver vanish. She pitied the woman her big brother finally set his sights on.
The girl is gonna have a hard time staying angry with this one, she thought.
At any rate, Oliver’s adorable yet devilish persona didn’t stop her from laying into him with blows from one of the pillows lining the cushioned headboard of her bed.
“You. Scared. Me. To. Death!” she cried, syncing her words with the blows from the pillow.
He laughed, covering his head to shield the hits. “I swear that was a sneeze and not a scream I heard!”
Vectra landed one more blow for good measure and then collapsed. “Why are you here and not laid up with one of your many sex kittens?”
“There aren’t that many.” Oliver relaxed near the foot of her bed.
“Hmph.” Vectra pursed her lips. “Does all that modesty keep your male friends from hating you?”
Oliver grinned. “It’s not always a good idea to sleep over. It can send the wrong impression.”
“Right.” Vectra tossed another pillow in the man’s direction. “You’ll change your tune when the time and the woman are right.”
“Well, the time wasn’t right on Friday.” Oliver plumped the pillow and placed it beneath his head. “I was preoccupied with wanting to come and check on you.”
Vectra lifted her brows. “Ahh...not so faithful in your ride for me after all?”
“That’s not it.” Oliver threw up a wave. “Sim’s a good guy, but I wanted to stop over and check on you, too.”
“And what if Qasim and I had been...indisposed?”
Oliver snuggled his head deeper into the pillow. “I’d have knocked. Anyway, that’s why I decided to wait—give you two the weekend.”
“How sweet of you.”
“It’s the kind of guy I am.”
Vectra tried to kick his shoulder, but he was too far away.
“There’s coffee,” he said. “Charlotte was leaving it when I got here. I guessed it was safe to come in.”
Vectra noticed the cart that had been pushed into her bedroom and smiled. The surface would be laden with coffee and tea. While she was more of a tea drinker, there were mornings when her tastes called for something stronger than the herbal blends she adored.
“What’ll you have?” Oliver pushed up from the bed.
Vectra kneaded the bunched muscles at her nape. “I think I need tea this morning.”
“Hmm... Friday night too tension filled?”
Vectra shook her head over the man’s blatant prying.
He noticed, shrugged. “Hey, I waited long enough. It is Monday, after all, and I was tired of waiting on you to call and yell at me for having Sim drive you home.” He poured a mug of his preferred black, unsweetened coffee.
“I wouldn’t have yelled.” Vectra drew her knees up to her chin. “It’s not every day a girl has Qasim Wilder drive her home.”
