Page 19 of Fierce-Hyde

“Why don’t we put it somewhere in the middle,” he said.

“I can do that,” she said. She looked at her watch. “I’m sorry, I need to get back to work. I’ve got a meeting in twenty minutes.”

“No problem,” he said when she stood up. “Can I get your number so we can set this up?”

“Sure,” she said. He pulled his phone out and she read off her number to him.

“I’ll be in touch later today. Maybe we can try for this weekend if you’re available.”

“I’ll have to check my calendar for my availability,” she said. “I might be washing my hair and doing laundry.”

He laughed when she walked out the door and wondered how the hell he was able to turn that around.

“How did it go?” Ryder asked him ten minutes later.

He was on the fence with how much he wanted to share, but he knew Ryder would always have his back.

“Better than I thought. We are going out for a drink and dinner this weekend.”

“Seriously?” Ryder asked. “Talk about smooth. Even I’m not sure I could have pulled that off.”

“Pulled what off?” Jade Fierce-James asked, moving into his office.

Jade was an engineer on the mechanical side of the business. Hyde was a civil engineer.

“Nothing,” Ryder said. “Don’t be nosy.”

“I’m always nosy. Just like I know Hyde put his foot in his mouth with Tori.”

His jaw dropped. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve got ears everywhere,” Jade said. “Don’t you forget that. And I saw Tori walking out the door smiling just now. So did you talk to her?”

“I’m not telling you,” Hyde said, smirking. “Go bug someone else.”

“Yeah,” Ryder said. “Isn’t there anyone else you can pick on?”

“There is,” Jade said. “But I thought I’d come give you a heads up. Not if you’re going to be a jerk about it though.”

Even though Jade was smiling, he didn’t like the fact she’d thrown out him being a jerk.

He’d been rightly called that too much in his life.

“Sorry,” he said. Something he was saying a lot of too. “What did you want to warn me about?”

“That some older gentlemen with the last name of Fierce are putting their heads together on things. They are circling the building and trying to figure out where they are stopping next.”

“I already told Dad to not even consider it,” Ryder said to Jade and then turned to Hyde. “I have warned them off.”

He snorted. “As if your father is going to listen to you.”

“Neither of our fathers or mothers listens to us,” Jade said. “Which is why I just said I’m warning you. What you do with a warning is up to you. If you’ve got a date with someone planned, you might want to let some older men know so they back off.”

Jade left his office after that, leaving him and Ryder together. “Is she right?”

“About them targeting you?” Ryder asked. “Yes. I just told you. But I said for them to leave you alone.”

“No,” he said. “That if I let them know I’m going on a date with Tori they will leave me alone?”

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