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“Aah, that’s better,” he chuckled as he leaned back, picked up his cup, and took the first sip. A server appeared a moment later and placed a plate with a small selection of their desserts on our table. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a bit of everything.” The smile he gave me exposed the tips of his canines, and I felt my stupid heart flutter in my chest.
This is all just basic instinct, right?
“Thanks.”
He just waved it off with his huge paw.
“So.” Sitting up straighter and taking a sip of my coffee, I tried to focus back on the project at hand. “Your brand.” I pulled my laptop out of my bag, noticing how his eyes briefly hung on my body as my blazer flapped open.
Damn, Roy, don’t make this harder than it needs to be. That’s what she said, the stupid voice in my head supplied.
Suppressing a chuckle, I flipped the top open, unlocked it with my fingerprint, and pulled the file he’d sent back up on my screen.
“You gave me quite a bit to work with with the questionnaire alone,” I complimented him.
“Yeah? Was it okay?” Eyes wide and brow crinkled, Roy looked at me like a puppy after an accidental pee on the carpet. He was so freaking adorable. It didn’t fit his imposing presence at all, but matched the anxious tone clearly audible in his voice.
“It was perfect. If every customer supplied me with this much information, my job would be much easier.” I grinned at him, trying to reassure him, even though I didn’t know why Roy needed it. Not when he was a clever businessman, and about four or five hundred pounds of hotness wrapped in the prettiest fur I’d ever seen.
I always thought Ben was attractive but compared to Roy he was positively plain.
Sorry, not sorry, Lo.I was definitely team tiger.
His shoulders dipped away from his cheeks.
“There’s just one thing,” I said seriously, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Yeah?”
“With that name, I expected a Scotsman.” Pressing my lips together to hide my grin, I took a sip of my drink.
I was glad to see that my joke didn’t take all the oomph out of him. He laughed loudly and winked at me out of those outrageously yellow eyes.
“Sorry to disappoint. I am half Scottish, but we mostly grew up with my mum. She’s from Kolkata in India. Neither accent ever stuck.” He shrugged apologetically.
“We? You and your siblings?” Catching myself, I raised a hand at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
Roy shook his head and pursed his lips in a no worries sort of way. “I have a big brother, Lewis. He works as a brewmaster down in Manchester. Do you have any siblings, Kat?”
“Two sisters who are nine years younger than me. They’re twins and just started uni, and I feel so bloody old.” I fished a fork out of the little jar with cutlery. “Anything in particular you fancy?” I asked, looking up at him.
His eyes widened briefly and dipped down to my lips. Heat erupted in my core, and it was only with difficulty that I suppressed a tiny moan.
Shit, Kat, this is your client! Get yourself together.
“The donut,” he mumbled in a raspy voice.
I went for the slice of red velvet cake, all too aware that his eyes followed the fork all the way from the plate to my lips.
“Uhm, I think we should have weekly meetings, in person or online, whatever you prefer,” I said, trying my hardest to direct my thoughts back to our work relationship and not lingering any longer on the fact that my client looked at me like he wanted to eat me next. Not that I had objections; I’d heard intriguing things about felines and their wondrous tongues. Lo had confided in me just how gifted Ben was in the oral department.
“I’d prefer in person. I’m not a fan of online meetings, if that’s okay with you…” He trailed off, still staring at me, apparently without realising, because when he did, he cleared his throat and straightened up in his chair.
“Yeah, sure. That’s fine with me.”
“Maybe we could have the next at our headquarters so you can meet the others and get a feel for the company?”
Roy looked a little lost and unsure of himself again, as if his request was unheard of.
