Page 86 of Fighting Mr. Knight

God knows how I found the willpower to stop.

“You know the team, Jack?” Bradshaw asks. He beckons Bonnie over along with the other architect I’ve met once. Max comes over too.

“Steve.” The other architect assumes I’d forgotten his name. I had. He shakes my hand. “Good to see you again, sir.”

Bonnie steps forward. “Good to see you again.” A pause. “Sir.”

Amused, I take her hand in mine, holding on to it for longer than necessary.

Dear God, she’s breathtaking.

Now she has a bra on, thank fuck.

She pulls her hand from mine.

Max clears his throat. “Jack, I hear you needed to speak to Bonnie this morning about the brief. Is everything okay?”

“Perfect.” I look at Bonnie. “Everything’s perfect.”

Her cheeks flush.

“I’m happy to be your point of contact going forward.” Max steps forward. “Obviously, Bonnie is more than capable, but I have a holistic view of what the team’s working on. I’ll be able to direct any questions to the right person.”

I force my eyes from Bonnie and turn to Max, who has a deep frown across his face.

I almost laugh.You’re an idiot, mate. You gave up the best thing that ever happened to you for a fling with an intern.

I’ve got five years on him. I’m the one that should be hitting a midlife crisis.

“Sure, Max. Whatever is easiest for the team. Shall we get started?” I say cheerfully. It’s their lucky day, presenting to deliriously happy Jack. “I have twenty minutes. My team will handle questions after that.”

I take a seat beside the Lexington senior project managers and directly in front of Steve and Bonnie.

Steve introduces himself first and sets the scene, but my attention is on Bonnie.

As she introduces herself, her voice is strong, but it’s clear she’s trying hard to modulate her tone.

I need to calm her down. It’s my fault she’s unhinged.

“Bonnie has already gone through the designs and layout plans with me,” I tell the room. A complete lie. “They’re on track against our vision.”

I give her a private smile and a nod.

She nods back.

“A key element of the style we propose is to mix the old with the new and to bring into focus the original features. The factory’s most iconic features are, of course, its four slender three-hundred-foot chimneys. Each will be restored with viewing platforms added at the top.” She clicks through a series of visual designs to bring home the concept. I’m impressed. It’s a little rough but has a lot of potential.

She relaxes as she answers questions thrown at her by the team.

I sit quietly, taking in every one of her features, every curve, every line, every smile, banking it in my mind for later.

Fucking delicious.

“Okay, moving on. I’ve worked with the interiors team to provide an example interior 3D visual,” she continues. “Right now, one of the walls is entirely covered with graffiti by the locals. The great debate is always whether graffiti is vandalism or art. But, like it or not, it plays a significant role in our East End culture. It was and still is, a key form of expression for youths of some of the poorest areas in London. Our proposed design fuses it in such a way that no one can ever doubt it is art.”

Her delivery is stilted, but the quality and granularity of detail is evident in her designs.

I know my eyes eating her up is off-putting, but I can’t help myself.

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