Page 51 of Brutal King

She buttoned her dress, the look of frustration all over her face. “Look, I don’t want to get into this... again. This is ridiculous, Kobe.” She picked up the thin black belt and strapped it on. “Either you’re on board with this project and working with Trent, or you’re not. But whether you’re on board or not, I have to go out there. If you must know, he said he had something to show me.”

“All he wants is you,” I muttered. I hated the sound of defeat in my voice, but I couldn’t hide it.

“And what if it’s not that? What if he really has something important to show me? What if it’s something that could affect our project? Aren’t you a bit curious to know?”

I stood and faced her, so pretty, but so innocent and naïve. What did she know of men? What did she know of men’s hunger... especially in the face of such a beautiful innocent?

“I don’t trust him,” I said. “It’s clear he has the hots for you. I can’t blame him. You’re exquisite, and so damned hot. But that doesn’t excuse his behavior. He’s our supervisor... your superior. He shouldn’t be using his position to seduce you.”

She pressed her lips together and looked at me with that defiant yet deviant glare. “Tell you what... I’ll let him know that I’m seeing someone. That ought to do the trick.”

“Oh? And who are you seeing? Anyone I know?”

She closed the space between us and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Maybe. Maybe it’s someone you know very well.”

I chuckled, more at my absurd outburst than her idea of dissuading Trent. I felt giddy even, not believing what I was hearing. Was Kat saying that she’ll be with me? I pulled her closer and kissed her temple, her ear and then her mouth. “How can I show you that you belong to me? I don’t want to have to spend my time beating up every man who can’t keep his hands off you.”

She laughed and quickly sobered. “Is that how you really feel?”

I took her hand and pressed it to my hard-on. “I can’t deny the effect you have on me. I’m always hard for you. Damn it, Kat. I’m crazy about you.”

“From what I can tell, you’re crazy about a lot of women. I’ve noticed that sizable harem that hovers around you. They’re all dying for just a little attention from you.”

“Why wear polyester when you can wear silk? Why eat ground meat when you can have filet mignon? Why put some cheap reproduction on your wall when you can have Picasso’s The Old Guitarist. In other words, all those girls don’t compare to you, Kat. You’re the only one that I have eyes for. You’ve always been the one.”

Kat smiled at me. Could she tell me that I’m the only one for her, too? Could it be possible that Kat felt the same for me?

Not yet. “I appreciate that, Kobe, but I still have to go out there and see what’s going on. I wouldn’t want to ignore this and have it affect our grade.”

“Fuck him,” I spat. “We’ll just ask Mr. Singh to assign us another restaurant.”

“Kobe, this is more than just a school project for me. This is one of my family’s newest restaurants. Surely you can understand just how emotionally invested I am in Ginger’s success. Not only do I want to impress Mr. Singh and get a good grade, but I really want to impress my father.”

I looked thoughtfully at her and knew she was right. We couldn’t back out of the project now. “Okay,” I finally said. “How about if I go with you. I’ll go and make it clear to him that we are working together on an important project.”

She pulled away and headed out into the living room. “I don’t want you fighting with him, Kobe.”

“Promise.”

She grabbed her handbag. “And I don’t want you making any snarky remarks.”

“Promise.”

“And I want you to show him some respect and treat him like the manager that he is.”

I didn’t say anything. She turned to look at me. “Kobe? You’ll be respectful, won’t you?”

I shrugged.

“Kobe, remember that Trent is my father’s employee. That fact alone should have you showing some respect.”

I grabbed my car keys off the console by the door, tossed them in the air and caught them. “Okay. I’ll be kind and respectful...” I tapped the tip of her nose. “But just for you. Remember that, no matter how kind I am to him, I hate him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Now, let’s go.”

Reliving the more amusing aspects of our childhood, we laughed and sang as we took our time getting to Ginger. I knew she was eager to arrive, but I just didn’t want the moment to end.

Somehow, I feared that whatever it was that Trent would show her, it would ruin the reunion that we’d just had. Was he going to show me up? Make me look like a chump? Like the kid who knows nothing? Was he going to do everything he could to get Kat to fall for him?

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