Behind us, a few of the lab techs still standing around snicker.
They抮e gone the instant his glare falls on them, though.
Then he turns the evil eye on me, like he wants to say something, but he抯 holding back. 揧ou don抰 need to fret over the chain of communication. I said I want updates from you.?
The way he emphasizes that last word sends a shiver up my spine, like two strong fingers sliding across my skin.
揇on抰 you have a meeting to go to? Or something??I add desperately.
揑抦 in a meeting.?
Eep. I swallow the lump building in my throat.
揑 bet you have more important people than me to talk to, so by all means, feel free. We抣l keep making progress, boss.?I smile sweetly, hoping he抣l believe me.
Nope.
That抯 when I realize we抮e alone. And he doesn抰 waste a single second before he moves closer and brings his lips to my ear.
揘ot while I have this new employee whose big brain comes with a bigger mouth. If I don抰 get her broken in, she抣l trample my authority. That shit won抰 fly.?
Oh, God. Why does my heart feel like a trapped hummingbird?
揑-I feel your pain,?I stammer, trying to pull myself together. 揑 work for a guy who acts like he抯 a mafia kingpin rather than a guy who sells caffeinated drinks. He has a lot of bad habits. He抯 rude and annoying and forgets he抯 a paper pusher, not a drill sergeant棓
揥atch that mouth, Angelo. Paper pushers don抰 make multi-million-dollar decisions every day. Have you been talking to Destiny??
揇estiny??I jolt away from him, realizing he was brushing my shoulder.
Holy hell, the heat he leaves behind...
揇on抰 lie for her. Did my daughter put you up to giving me hell??
I blink. 揢mm梐re you okay? Why would I be goofing off with your teenage daughter??I laugh at the absurdity. 揥hen would I even talk to her??
He shrugs one shoulder, his face back to his default ice-cold mask.
揝he called me a drill sergeant the other day.?
揙h, so I抦 not the only one who noticed? Unbelievable.?
He rolls his sky-blue eyes with a low growl vibrating his huge chest.
For a second, I wonder if he抎 make the same noise in very different circumstances. The pleasant kind where a woman frustrates him with more than words, where she drops to her knees and opens his pants and reaches in to find out just how big that ego is and?揟he point is I need another scorched drink by the end of this week,?he clips. 揝how me you抮e worth a senior salary and the two bonuses for the barista,?he says.
揑s that supposed to be intimidating??If so, challenge accepted.
I fold my arms, staring defiantly at that grump-tastic face of his.
揟here抯 no way you抣l come up with another scorched drink this good in three days, no matter how talented you are.?
揂nother dare? That might抳e worked to lure me in here, but now it抯 getting boring.?I laugh bitterly. 揃ad news, Grumpfather.?
揥hat??He leans forward, his eyes shifting slowly side to side.
He was already too close to me. Now, I can smell him, hints of worn leather and citrus and something almost animalistic.
Lancaster makes it so hard to force him to eat his own words. Annoying.
And I hate that I kinda like the way he towers over me.
揜emember how I mentioned recipes梡lural梚n the interview??I pause, waiting for him to nod. 揑 have like twenty pages of drinks like this.?
揃ull. Who keeps a recipe book full of scorched drinks??
揧our big mouth new hire, apparently.?
揕et it go,?he whispers, pushing closer again, eyeing a few techs moving around us within earshot. 揘aturally, I was joking.?
揑 could, but y択now桰 won抰.?
揑抦 ordering you to let it go then.?
I laugh. 揙rdering me??
揂s your boss, I抦 suggesting in the strongest possible terms that you wipe that conversation from your head.?He glowers at me.
揙r what? You抣l like fire me already??
揑t would be a dreadful loss,?he says, all hot breath in my ear.
Oh, God, I抦 tingling.
Tingling from head to toe as I lean into him.
We抮e so close now it hurts.
We抮e almost touching.
揗ake the next one a speciality drink,?he says, inhaling slowly like he抯梬ait, is he smelling me?
I don抰 know how I keep standing.
揥hat??I mouth silently because I can抰 find my voice.
揑 need a drink I can charge more for, Miss Angelo, like a mocha or latte. Since you抮e bored with beginner challenges, perhaps you抣l find this more to your level.?
Oof. So maybe I was born with a big mouth after all.
揃ut棓
揙h, so that抯 not in the recipe book, is it??His thin, arrogant smile could devour me. 揌ave fun. I抣l be back soon to try my mocha. Or will it be a latte or shaken drink? Surprise me.?
I抳e never wanted to kick another human being so badly.
Especially when his puffed up arrogance only makes him hotter in that evil villain way.
揝ee you then,?I say, forcing it out without a hint of fear.
揜eally? You sound so confident??He looks surprised.
揈verything I抳e ever come up with was in my living room, using secondhand equipment in a space no bigger than a closet. Now I抦 in a beautiful lab with the best stuff mega-money can buy and three full days to experiment. There抯 no reason I can抰 have a new drink by Friday that抯 so good you抣l whimper.?
Our eyes connect for what feels like forever.
I watch his muscular throat moving, swallowing, like he抯 drinking me in. Or maybe he抯 just checking whether or not I have a death wish.
揗ake me cry then, Miss Angelo,?he throws back.
Then he turns and exits without another glance.
As he leaves, I realize we have an audience again. The lab techs are staring, but no one says anything.
Finally, Gina speaks. 揟hat was梚nteresting. I see you already have a dynamic with the big boss.?
She抯 too polite.
揝orry,?I say. 揑 didn抰 mean to distract anyone.?
Slowly, she adjusts her glasses. ?..should I go talk him down, or will you really have something by Friday??
揑抣l have something, all right. Trust me.?If it sucks, the taste test will just be more fun, I guess. 揑 just need a little time to hash it out,?I add.
I jog back to my cubicle and collapse in my office chair.
Why is it so hard for me to just shut up?
I抳e never had a good brain-to-mouth filter, but something about this guy makes me extra fluent in sarcasm.
Another screaming sign he抯 trouble incarnate.
The kind you need to keep a good six feet away from at all times to remain healthy.
Even if he wasn抰 my off-limits boss, I wouldn抰 give him the time of day. Not if I had a functioning brain.
Do I still have one?
Sometimes, I wonder.
Eliza, you抳e been down this road before. You and classy older men swarming with secrets do not mix, my brain reminds me.
Thanks, brain, but I抦 not getting lost down memory lane right now. I need a new freaking s抦ores drink by Friday.
I can抰 lose another dare to Cole freaking Lancaster.
His smug victory lap would humiliate me for life.
With his stupid cocky face lodged in my mind, I spend the rest of my first day Googling the ingredients in a dozen different types of marshmallows.
He should抳e known it the second I took this job.
I won抰 go down easy.
6
Pour Me S抦ore (Cole)
With Destiny turning in early for the night, I hunker down in my home office, checking emails and still hounded by thoughts of that insufferable woman.
Somehow, I抦 smiling when I notice I have a new lab report from Eliza waiting in my email.
No acid message this time, dripping with sarcasm. Just the summary.
I shouldn抰 care about these damnable emails anyway. She抯 just another employee梕ven if she抯 an enormously valuable one holding the key to the company抯 future.
Only, I do.
For some unholy reason, they抳e become the highlight of my overgrown jungle of an Inbox. Over the last three days she抯 worked for me, I抳e started anticipating them like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.
Her lack of any bullshit in the emails surprises me.
She抯 trying to be all business, buttoned down and boringly polite.