揑 can do that,?I say. 揟hough I抦 sure you抮e aware that pure Kona blends don抰 come cheap??I hope my eyes aren抰 full of dollar signs.
揟hat抯 part of the charm, isn抰 it? Fortunately, the average Winthrope guest puts experience over price. If their day begins with a fourteen-dollar coffee drink pressed exclusively from the best Kona beans, they抣l pony up.?
As a man who抯 life-deep in the coffee business, he抯 right. High-end Kona blends are worth the hype. It would be hard for even the most unsophisticated palette not to know the difference between a pure Hawaiian blend and your run of the mill mix.
I need to think this through, though. Taking on a project like this while I抦 in the middle of a big launch could stretch us paper thin.
揗y card,?Winthrope says, pushing a hefty piece of aluminum into my hands. 揓ust scan the QR code for my contact.?
There抯 a crowd flowing around us now. A few other people butt in, complimenting the new coffee before the next session starts. When I look back, there抯 no sign of Brock Winthrope.
Once I抦 back in my seat with a water, I take out my phone and text Eliza. Everyone loves the new campfire drinks. Congratulations.
Eliza: Told ya. I know my bean juice.
I snort at the screen. Could she pick a less elegant way to describe what we do? Still, a smile fights its way across my face.
Cole: We need to talk when I get back.
Eliza: You can抰. I retired.
Cole: Retired? Bull. You抳e only worked a month and you抮e twenty-six years old.
Eliza: I抦 saving myself the trouble. Nothing good ever comes from any variation of 搘e need to talk.?
Drama Queen. I stab the send button.
Eliza: Only when I抦 dealing with you.
I chuckle so loudly a woman in designer heels passing by almost loses her balance.
Cole: Has anyone ever called you high-maintenance, Miss Angelo?
Eliza: Not really.
Cole: Not really梩hat抯 a yes, right?
Eliza: Nope. That抯 me informing you that I don抰 normally deal with cavemen.
Cole: Are you calling me a goddamned Neanderthal? That抯 no way to talk to your boss.
Eliza: My bad, Lump. Try not to dwell on it all day.
Damn her to hell.
It抯 like she knows how much mental space she already occupies, and how helpless I am to evict her.
I dwell, all right. I think about Eliza抯 mouth and other parts of her through the rest of this glorified ego trip disguised as a business conference.
Especially every last primal act of savagery I抎 like to do to her.
It抯 after seven o抍lock, and I find Eliza in the lab alone.
揧ou抳e got three hours before the lab closes to all staff. New policy.?
揇on抰 remind me.?She looks up from a spread of familiar Wired Cup pastries, plus a few new ones I don抰 recognize. 揧ou just got back??
揑抳e been back for an hour, but I had some cleanup to do before I came to talk,?I say.
揝o should I clean out my desk??
揥hy would you??I tilt my head, unsure what the hell she抯 getting at.
揕ike I said, when people want to 'talk' it抯 always bad news...?
揧ou have a strange sense of humor, Miss Angelo.?I eye her spread, desperate to keep my gaze off her body. 揂lso, I believe your sweet tooth could put a saber tooth tiger to shame.?
揑抦 just going over flavor profiles, using existing food products to see how well the drinks are holding up as complements. I抳e introduced a few new ones as well.?She picks up a golden cookie with a chocolate bar on top. 揇estiny and I made this to go with the S抦ores Mocha not too long ago. I just needed to tweak it before I had you taste it.?
揇id I not warn you that you抮e not on the food team??My jaw tightens.
Mischief gleams in her honey-brown eyes.
揙ops. You tell me a lot of things. It抯 hard to keep up. Sometimes I really only listen when it makes sense. Here, try less death-glaring and more eating.?She shoves the pastry at my mouth and damn near pushes it in.
I angrily bite off a chunk of her cookie, catching her fingers between my lips in the process.
Fuck.
She falls back a step, her eyes closed, a startled sigh slipping out of her before she moves away. For a hot second, I wish this was more than a botched taste test in my company lab.
I see her in my bed, under me, staring up at me with bright-eyed expectation.
This time, I抦 the one pushing my thumb into her mouth. She takes it real sweetly, sucking it nice and slow, a prelude to the way I抣l tame her mouth with something far bigger than a finger.
Goddamn.
I swallow the fantasy like a cactus stuck in my throat.
揑抦 not fond of too much sugar...but it抯 good,?I say. Not nearly as delectable as the sick thoughts ravaging my head, but it抯 definitely quality. 揑抦 glad you found a way to work my graham cracker in.?
Her lips quirk up in a smile a thousand times more inviting than her cookie.
Then she leans in, slowly and cautiously條ike she wants me to slam her against the nearest wall and show her what a real taste test would be like.
Goddammit, woman. You don抰 know what you抮e getting yourself into...
I take a deep, halting breath.
Don抰 do anything stupid, Cole.
When she tumbles toward me a second later, I almost think it抯 my own searing thoughts that pull her off-balance.
There抯 only a split second.
It抯 catch her or let her hit the floor梐nd the second option would be unbelievably cruel.
I lunge forward, diving for Eliza. Her weight falls into my arms and I hold her in this odd tilted position.
I抦 right the fuck over her now.
Our mouths, maybe an inch apart at best.
Her lips flutter open in shock.
Is it just shock?
Her gaze is fixed on my lips.
Eliza damn Angelo is breathing so hard it stalls my heart.
She recovers quickly, though, clasping my arms for strength, balance, whatever. Her tiny nails have a charge, soft static electricity against my skin.
I抦 tingling?
Bullshit. I never tingle at a woman抯 touch.
Only, for the second time tonight, I wish this was happening anywhere besides this stuffy lab.
揂re you okay??I whisper.
She doesn抰 say anything, just nods, her silky hair still splashed against my hand. It doesn抰 take much to bait my wicked brain.
One flick of my hand and I could have it coiled tight around my fingers, fisted, pulled.
Before I do something monumentally stupid, I push us both up so she抯 on her feet and we抮e both standing.
Her eyes are wide and glistening. She stares at me in stunned silence.
With her safely upright again, I drop my arms, giving up my hold on her and taking a step back.
I need space. Also, a week抯 worth of cold fucking showers.
揢m, sorry. Must be these shoes,?she says breathlessly. 揑抦 still getting used to the new kicks I had to buy for the safety code here. I didn抰 strap them tight enough...?
I smile politely, a total front for the beast inside me, which is howling to drag her against my chest and sniff her mahogany hair.
揧ou抣l need a more comfortable pair for where we抮e going,?I say, enjoying the wonder in her eyes. 揊ortunately, we don抰 need to talk much. I came to tell you to pack your bags. We抮e going to Kona for the next week or two.?
揔ona? As in Kona, Hawaii??She blinks.
揑s there another Kona I don抰 know about with premier acreage for the world抯 best coffee??I say sardonically.
She glowers, her usual shields back up.
揑f there were, I抦 sure you抎 rub it in my face梑ut why??
揧ou抣l get the details by email shortly,?I say, checking the time on my phone.
揝o this isn抰 just a crazy joke? It抯 a real...what, a business trip? To Kona??Her whole expression shines with disbelief.
I nod firmly. 揧es. Don抰 make me repeat myself again, Miss Angelo. Now, I have one more call and arrangements to make with Destiny.?
I turn and start walking, tugging at my shirt collar to release the steam that抯 still hissing inside my suit from this encounter.
揌ey, Lump梪mm桟ole棓 She shakes her head fitfully. 揗r. Lancaster? Will you tell me why we抮e going to Hawaii??
Fair enough. It抯 not just the surprise trip to paradise. When I look at her, I can tell she抯 as dazed from falling into my arms as I am catching her.
We had a moment.
A mutual effect.