Page 31 of Brutal King

“Anything I can do to help you, Katrina, just let me know.”

“Thank you, Mr. Howard.”

“Please,” he said with his sickly sweet and smooth voice. “We’re going to be spending quite a bit of time together. You may as well get used to calling me Trent.”

“Okay... Trent.”

I turned to leave the office without bothering to thank him. After all, he was just doing his job. There was nothing to thank him for.

I walked through the kitchen, through the dining room and out the front door.

“Can you believe that guy?” I said as I turned to Kat. But she wasn’t there. I’d assumed she’d followed me out, but she was still inside... with him.

Shit!

I looked inside and saw them, smiling at one another. Kat twirled a stray strand of hair around her finger. Damn, was she flirting with him?

After a prolonged moment, they said their good-byes and Kat came out.

“It’s about time,” I spat.

“What’s the hurry?” she said. “He’s the manager of the restaurant, Kobe. If he wants to spend time with us, we should spend time with him. You’d better get used to dealing with him if you want a good grade on this thing.”

I grimaced but said nothing.

“What is wrong with you? I thought you were eager to get to work on this project. So then why are you being so damned cold and... well, rude?”

“Rude? And what about you? Do you really think that flirting with the manager is going to get you a better grade?”

“Flirting? What are you talking about... flirting? I wasn’t flirting.”

“Oh, Kat. You were practically drooling over the guy.”

“I was not.”

“Never mind. Let’s get out of here,” I said as I headed to my car, unlocking the doors from a distance.

I got in and gripped the steering wheel. The moment Kat sat in the passenger seat, I turned to her. “What were you two discussing in there after I walked out?”

“Oh,” she said lightly. “Nothing much.”

“Like what.”

“Just idle chit chat, Kobe. Now, let’s go.”

“What idle chit chat?”

She turned in her seat to face me. “All right. If you must know... He told me that he was surprised... by how pretty I am... and by how poised, too. He didn’t expect someone like me to come from the academy. He thought students from the academy were usually stiff no personality bland types. And the female chefs coming from that academy were known to be gruff masculine types. Their hair were so tightly pulled back and pinned to their head, their faces looked like they were plastic wrapped.” She laughed. “Trent is so funny.”

I huffed. “What does he know?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“My father’s school is the best in the country. What, exactly, did he expect from the academy?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Just not a poised young lady who looked feminine for once, I guess. He also said that I can contact him any time... you know... if I need any help with the project.” She tapped the binder on her lap.

Shit! I wanted to shout as I gripped the steering wheel even tighter. The bastard was making me feel like a failure... like an abysmal failure.

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