Page 6 of Kiss and Tell

I put my metaphorical tongue back in my mouth and examined him with a closer, more professional, eye.

In the dimness of the bar, I had thought Connor might have been my age. With the slight stubble on his chin, having no doubt skipped his daily shaving routine, he looked as if he could have been more than a few years older than me.

Still, that wouldn’t even put him close to thirty. How could he afford to buy a place like this? Maybe I’d been right about the wealthy parents.

Then again, this place wasn’t exactly prime real estate. Maybe it had been cheap.

It didn’t matter either way, but the thought that Connor might be richandgorgeous was too unfair.

“I’m co-owner,” Connor corrected. “Technically my brother owns the majority share of this place, but I’m the one in charge of it.”

“Connor’s the guy who’s been giving me all these headaches,” Jessie said. “He’s impossible.” As I half-expected, half-feared, Jessie turned to me with a nod toward Connor. “This is who you’ll be working with on the redesign.”

My heart leaped in anticipation then sunk to the floor.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Quinn,” Connor said. “I can’t wait to work with you.”

His dark eyes trailed a path down my body, taking in every inch of me. That gaze glinted with a hint of heat and anticipation, as if he’d scented prey and was looking forward to the tasty meal.

“I’m sure we’ll be spending a lot of time together,” he continued.

Shit,I cursed inwardly in dismay.

What had I gotten myself into?

Three

“It’sa pleasure to meet you, too,” I told Connor through half-gritted teeth, trying not to sound pained.

“You won’t be saying that once you start working with him,” Jessie said.

Connor scanned me up and down. It was less of a once-over and more of an assessing look, as if seeing me for the first time.

“So you’re the new business consultant Jessie hired?” Doubt now creeped across his face.

“I am.” Straightening my back, I forced confidence into my tone. “Why?”

“You look a little young, is all,” he said. “How much experience could you possibly have?”

I lifted my chin, ready to launch into a sermon about age-ism. I’d been underestimated one too many times in my career.

Connor held his hands up in surrender before I could open my mouth.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend,” he said. “I was just wondering. I’m new to this bar-owning thing, too.”

“I’ve been working in the industry for a few years now.” Two and a half to be exact, and one of those years was as an intern while I finished school, but he didn’t need to know the details.

“She comes highly recommended,” Jessie said.

I felt a surge of gratitude toward her for defending me.

“I started as a waitress before it was legal for me to drink, even though it wasn’t technically legal,” she told me. “Walt’s not the kind of guy to care about those small details. Now I’m part of the management team. I worked my way up. So I get it.” She gave Connor the stink-eye. “A lot of people like to underestimate young women in their professional careers.”

“I get it,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

I nodded sharply, acknowledging his apology.

“How many people have you gone through?” I asked.