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The others imitated him. I got up to wrap up the official part of our meeting.
“Great job.” A paw palmed my shoulder, his warmth seeping right down into my bones. “Not just the meeting, the whole project. I knew straight away you'd be the right woman for the job.”
“Hey, no premature praise. Don't jinx it. For all you know I could still mess it up.”
He squeezed my shoulder and let go, bending forward to angle for the last maple glazed donut. “No, you can't.”
Why does it feel likehe isn’t talking about the project anymore?
A low snarling growl behind us had me spin on the spot. The room was almost deserted besides for Roy and me, except for Mason and Hector, who stood facing each other. There was a rather forbidding expression on the latter's wolfish features.
“What—” I began, but the same hand as before took hold of my shoulder.
“No.” The single word spoken in a deep, imperious voice was enough to halt me in my tracks.
Roy moved his huge body between me and the two men, almost imperceptibly straightening his shoulders. He had a good half foot in height on both Hector and Mason, who weren't the best of friends, but usually got along okay. I had no idea what was the matter with them. One of the two made that ugly snarling noise again, a sound so unearthly that I felt even my hackles raise.
“Gentlemen, I suggest you break it up now.”
Like a stupid damsel in distress, my body was in half a mind to plaster itself to Roy's back or get on my knees for him to thank him for protecting me.
Damn you, cave woman brain!
Neither of the two had moved an inch. I could only see Hector's face but he looked as if he was a moment away from ripping out Mason's throat, and I knew my friend wasn't a delicate flower either, and occasionally ran a bit of a temper,too. I was scared. Not to mention angry at them for behaving like two rabid dogs with our client present.
“Mason! Snap out of it, man. You, too, Hector.”
Hector's head jerked up, breaking the eye contact between them which seemed to do the trick. Mace didn't even look at me as he said something under his breath and stormed from the room, a leather bag clutched tightly over his shoulder.
The wolf man straightened up, looking as if he'd just bitten into a lemon.
“Sorry, Kat, Roy. It was my fault. I got on his bad side. It won't happen again.”
When I tilted my chin, he stiffly turned and left.
“What the fuck was that about?”
“No idea.” My sweet tiger exhaled, all the tension he'd held leaving his body. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm just mad at them for behaving like dicks in front of you. I should tell Dex.” Brawling in front of our client was a big fucking no for me.
“I think it was just a misunderstanding, Kat.” He stepped closer, slipped his hand under my blazer and soothingly rubbed my back. I closed my eyes, sighing under my breath. It felt good. I wondered how he had learned to read me so well in only a few days.
His mouth pressed a brief kiss to my temple before he stepped back. We were, after all, still at my workplace.
“I'll come pick you up at six. What would you like to eat tonight? I'm going to grab tea for us.”
“Whatever you fancy is fine.”
His eyebrow cocked fleetingly, before he took my hand in his and squeezed it briefly. “See you later.”
Neither Hector nor Mason showed any sign of starting another brawl. I knew that working with other species was sometimes tough on them, and both were dedicated to their jobs and the company, so I let it go. I finished the accounting of my hours and those of my team so Dex could bill APEX, and worked for a while on a proposal for Blue Kraken.
The show had to go on, and I had the long weekend and a handful of meetings to look forward to.
Chapter Thirty-One
Kat
