Page 17 of Fierce- Royce

“I’ve got way too much to do most times,” he said. “It doesn’t work that way for me.”

He seemed grouchy now and she figured it was a mistake, but maybe not. If she put it out there and he was turned off by it, then she could move on easier.

“Table for two?” the hostess said.

“Yes,” he said.

“Follow me.”

They walked with the hostess to a booth and slid in on each side. This way they couldn’t avoid the other’s gaze while they talked.

“What do you think of this new project?” she asked. “Seems pretty cut and dry with no frills.”

“That is what I saw. Elise will work up the costs and I’ll go sit with her after I drop you off.” His phone went off and he pulled it out, read it and put it away. “That was my father saying he stayed at the site and is overseeing things. That takes the pressure off of me about feeling behind.”

She smiled. “I know that feeling. I heard your father had a heart attack a few years ago and doesn’t work as much. Or he does more of the client meets?”

“He does,” he said. “It’s fine with me. I never minded them and have to sit in most time toward the end so they know who to call with issues when I schedule the guys there. Elise schedules the projects based on when they come in, the amount of time I tell her it takes and the supplies needed, but the work all falls on me.”

“Sounds exciting on one hand and annoying on the other.”

He looked up from his menu and laughed at her. “That’s a good description. What about you? What made you want to do this line of work? I’m not one for sitting around and it feels to me that is all you do.”

She tried not to get annoyed he’d said that. She knew it was more that he might lack some social skills around women. Then she had to remind herself this wasn’t a date and was a work lunch.

“I was always good in math and science. Your father said you could go into a room and figure out what you wanted and start to build. I was the same way but saw it on paper and liked to design.”

“You didn’t want to be an interior designer? I thought most women did.”

She laughed. “You’re good at making assumptions, aren’t you?”

He looked up sharply and his face flushed just as rapidly. “Sorry. That was wrong. As you can tell, I don’t talk to women much.”

“As I see,” she said. “No harm. I say it like I see it if I’m around someone who I think can handle the truth.”

He held her stare. “I always want to know the truth. It’s easier to handle than being stabbed in the back and trying to pull the blade out and stem the flow of blood at the same time.”

Okay then, that gave her some insight, but she’d store it away.

“Design of paint colors and trends isn’t anything I was interested in. This has more to do with building but in a different form. I know when I see possibilities and like to tackle them head-on.”

She was grinning at him as she said it and more heat filled his face. This was getting funnier than she thought it would. It was a different kind of dance that she was missing just as much as the sex.

“The same,” he said.

The waitress came over and took their drink orders. “Are you ready to order lunch too?”

“I’ll take the turkey club with house chips,” she said.

“A bacon burger and fries,” he said, handing his menu over. “Back to work.”

“As I said, this will be pretty straightforward. I’ll get to work on it tomorrow. Three thousand square feet, fifteen offices with a few on one side and most on the other, then open workspace and conference rooms. I took my notes. Tony seems pretty open to anything.”

“More than he was saying too,” he said.

“You noticed his gaze on my body too?” she asked. “That’s the frustrating part for me. I want to be looked at as a professional and not a woman.”

“It’s hard not to see you as a woman,” he said and she could see he wished he could have taken those words back.

---