Page 19 of Mr. Wrong (Hollywood Knights #1)
Nineteen
Ellenore
Before I can say anything else or even process what he just said to me, the back door opens, drawing our attention away from each other.
“Good,” Lex says, tossing his towel on the counter.
“You’re here. Killian, this is Ellenore Pierce—Ellenore, this is Killian Davis.
” Reaching for my half-eaten plate of cold pancakes, he practically throws it at the sink.
“Introductions are complete—my work here is done.” He pushes past the man in the doorway and disappears.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Killian says, his jawline set and tight, before following Lex out the door. Because I’m just as bad as Cassie, I jump up from my seat, skirting the island to stand at the sink, aiming my gaze out the large window above it.
The man Lex introduced as Killian is in his early thirties, dark hair clipped military short.
Good-looking in a hard, covert-ops kind of way.
Despite the fact that he’s dressed like an IT geek and carrying a briefcase, I have no problem imagining him jumping out of a helicopter or rappelling down the side of a building.
They’re arguing and despite the fact that he looks like he could kill Lex with a spoon, Lex doesn’t look afraid.
He looks pissed, his arms crossed over his chest, neck and spine rigid and stiff while Killian speaks in tones too low for me to hear what he’s saying, jabbing his finger at the door they just walked through.
I don’t have to hear him, I know what he’s saying—or at least I know who he’s talking about.
Me.
Because he saw Lex bring me home last night and he thinks he knew who I was. That he was trying to sabotage me or maybe get back at his brother for hiring me.
I look away from the window, focusing on the dishes in the sink. Because I don’t know what else to do, I scrape cold, sticky pancakes into the trash can and rinse plates and silverware before loading them into the dishwasher.
“I’m sorry I spied on you.”
I jerk away from the sink and turn, wiping my wet hands on the seat of my jeans. Cassie is sitting at the counter in the spot I just vacated, watching me watch her uncle and her bodyguard. “It’s okay to be curious,” I say, excusing us both for being nosy.
“You yelled at Uncle Lex when you thought he made me do it,” she reminds me, reaching for and opening one of the catalogs her father gave me to a random page.
“Can you really tell time?” I ask her because I refuse to get sucked into a losing argument with a six-year-old.
She purses her lips together and tilts her head.
“Sorta,” she says with a shrug. I know what time Uncle Lex gets here to make me breakfast in the morning and when Paw Patrol comes on Nickelodeon—oh, and I know when Greta comes to tuck me in, but that’s it.
But I can write my name—I make really good Ss. ”
No mention of her father.
I’m not sure if that pisses me off or if it makes me want to cry.
“Did my dad ask you on a date?” She says it to the catalog in front of her, her little fingers turning down the corners of the pages when she sees something she likes, like I showed her. “I say that’s what you guys were talking about outside but Uncle Lex said it wasn’t.”
I think about what he said to me after I came inside.
His pointed questions and remarks about why I’m here.
Whether or not I have some sort of deep-seated infatuation with his movie star brother.
“No.” I shake my head, opening the kitchen cabinet over the coffee pot in hopes of finding a proper cup.
“Your dad is my boss. He didn’t ask me out on a date,” I tell her, pulling a coffee cup from the shelf and reaching for the carafe tucked into the coffeemaker to pour myself a cup.
I’m still hungry. Maybe caffeine will curb the growling beast in my stomach.
Probably not, but it’s either this or I dig through the trash for cold pancakes.
“Well,” she says when I don’t elaborate. “What did you talk about then?”
I turn and cross the short distance between the sink and the kitchen island she’s sitting at so I can look at her.
“We talked about your Uncle Lex,” I say, deciding to tell her the truth because if he’s serious about trying to get me fired, I need to be as honest with her as I can.
“I told your dad that I thought it was a good idea for Lex to keep spending time with you. That he’s important to you, and you need him. ”
She looks skeptical. “Really?”
“Really.” I nod, lifting my cup to my mouth to take a sip. Not that it did me any good. All I got was a brusque Ms. Pierce and an exasperated why are we talking about this? for my trouble.
The back door opens and both men walk in, looking tense and angry. As soon as they see Cassie sitting at the counter, the tension between them evaporates.
“Hey, Uncle Killian,” Cassie crows from her perch. “I said shitake mushrooms this morning.”
Uncle?
“ Nice .” The IT geek/Navy SEAL holds up his fist and Cassie gives it a bump with her own. “I haven’t had a chance to work it into a conversation yet.”
“Well, that’s because you say shit all the time instead of—” Cassie slaps a hand over her mouth and her big blue eyes go so round and wide they look like they’re about to fall out of her head. “Sorry.” Her muffled apology leaks through her tiny fingers, her gaze and apology aimed at Lex.
“That’s two, Cass.” He shakes his head, reaching around Killian to lift her off her stool. “You know what happens if you get to number three.” He sets her on her feet and makes a valiant effort at looking stern.
She nods, her expression grave. “No television.”
Lex confirms her punishment with a curt nod. “No television.”
“I won’t do it again.” She crosses her index finger over her heart. “It’s shitake mushrooms and God bless America from now on. Promise.”
“Okay.” Lex nods, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Get your suit on. I’m going to take you swimming while Killian gets Ellenore set up with her passcode and prints.”
Lecture forgotten, Cassie lets out a whoop and is up the stairs in a flash.