"This is crazy. I can't believe what they're doing to the place." Coco stepped closer to her. "It's definitely going to be a bar. They put shelves and cabinets behind the counter for liquor bottles and probably taking out the booths to make room for tables."
"Whatever they're doing, they must have money to completely remodel every single thing so fast." Lizzy looked at the line of windows running along the front of the building covered with paper. "They're very secretive, aren't they?"
"Sh. I think that's the owner." Coco tapped Lizzy's hand. "Good luck."
"Good luck," she whispered back, turning her head and finding a tall man striding toward them.
Her mouth went dry.
Her skin flushed.
Her heart raced.
Okay, she was nervous.
At least six feet four inches tall, he towered in the room. His thick, blond, shoulder-length hair appeared shaven underneath. High cheekbones graced his face over a full beard. Nobody needed to tell her his face was angular underneath all those whiskers going by the icy blue eyes underneath a prominent brow. Eyes that looked at her.
She pursed her lips and exhaled slowly. Any woman would be jumpy around him.
The man had a hard expression chiseled into a strikingly handsome face.
Not only was he gorgeous but he was scary. Like, pinch the heads off people who irritated him scary.
The black leather vest only made him appear broader the closer he came. His boots meeting the floor set the rhythm of her pulse. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
He wore a knife at his side. A weapon. And, he was supposed to be the owner?
His gaze swept over Coco and returned to Lizzy. She sucked in a breath, but the air in her lungs failed to stop the dizziness. Her chin tilted as he came closer. She felt small next to him.
"What can I do for you two?" He came to a stop, widening his stance.
"Mr. Reeves..." said both of them at the same time.
They glanced at each other with Coco nodding to let her know she should speak first. Lizzy faced the man.
"Mr. Reeves asked us to stop in and see you. He mentioned you were looking for servers when he closed Burger Bistro. We're both interested in finding out more about the jobs you have available." She clasped her hands in front of her, conscious of remaining open and appealing with her body language.
Coco held out her hand. "I'm Collette Lewis, but everyone calls me Coco."
The man grasped her hand. "Roar Akram."
Lizzy shook his hand next, making eye contact with him. He held her in his grasp longer than necessary, or maybe she imagined the timing lasted longer than normal because when he let go of her, she'd come to a few conclusions.
His hand was warm, rough, and could fully encompass her fingers which he held firmly but gently. His gaze never wavered off her eyes. It went past the polite stage and entered awkward, except for that fluttering deep in her stomach that told her she enjoyed touching him.
"Name?"
Flushing for forgetting the introduction, she said, "Lizzy Wheaton. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Akram."
"Just Roar." He looked over his shoulder and said, "Elling, give us a moment."
The man working on installing the flooring stood and left the area. The sudden silence unsettled her. She would've preferred activity or noise in the room to distract her from staring at Roar.
"How long did you work for Reeves?" Roar's deep voice made her pay attention to the question.
Lizzy opened her mouth and then glanced over at Coco, not wanting to interrupt her. Dual job interviews were harder than she'd imagined. She wanted to showcase herself as the perfect person for the job but also wanted to refrain from taking up too much of Roar's time so Coco could have her fair shot.
Coco caught her look and said, "Six and a half years."