Page 18 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast

“I don’t care. Get it done.” He roared into the phone.

That voice.Why do I know that voice?

“Dr. Beast will be with you in a moment,” Ms. Ketill assured me.

Beast?! Did I hear her right?

I swallowed hard.

A growl left him as he jabbed at his phone to end the call.

I closed my eyes, listening. I’d heard that same animalistic noise before.

This is not happening. Please tell me I’m dreaming.

He’d been on my mind since the incident at the library almost a month before. This asshole made me miss Dad’s appointment. If he had only listened to me and waited, none of that would have happened.

How could I have been attracted to him just now?

The vein in my forehead pulsed wildly, while my vision narrowed in on the man in front of me. This guy had cost Dad the opportunity to be a part of the experimental study, all because he was a selfish jerk. Now I’d lose Dad to an illness we might have beaten.

I wanted to jump across the room and grab him by the throat. I barely held myself back by forcing my hands into a tight fist, my fingernails digging sharply into my palm. The sting of pain was my not so gentle reminder to stop myself from doing something I’d later regret.

After the bookcase incident. I refused to look him up on the school’s website. I didn’t want to give a face to that voice. I was afraid to. Now I had no choice.

The last thing I’d ever expected was for him to be my new boss. The one that had to sign off on a job well done. A job that I needed to convince him I could do by myself.

Chills skated across my body leaving goosebumps in their wake and a weight settled heavy in my chest as I fought against the increasing sense of dread that rocketed through me.

When he turned, it was with the grace of a predator—one that was about to snare me in his grasp. He could make or break me and Dad. My gaze tracked his movement, a detached part of me amazed that a guy so big could be agile.

Until this moment, I’d hoped I was wrong, that there were two Dr. Beasts in the world. That thought, while delusional, was the only thing that stopped me from groaning when I saw his face. His gaze locked with mine. His gray-blue eyes burned a hole right through me with their intensity. His closely cropped beard gave his face a deliciously masculine appearance.

Shit! This is not happening!

“Dr. Beast, Dr. LeBeau has arrived,” Ms. Ketill announced. It amazed me at how cheerful she sounded. I mean, she worked forhim.

He frowned.

Can he tell how nervous I am, or sense my completely illogical attraction to him?

“Dr. LeBeau.” He inclined his head toward me, then turned his attention to just past my shoulder.

What is he doing?I fought the urge to look behind me.

“I’m sure Ms. Ketill can escort you to your room while I speak with your father.”

Oh, crap on a cracker.

“I’d rather stick around.”

“Dr. LeBeau, I need work to start on the manuscript immediately, and I certainly don’t have the time to entertain you.”

“I’m sorry. Entertain me?” Oh my god. Could he be any more of a jackass?

“Your assistance isn’t needed right away in the planning phase.” He looked past me once again, his condescending tone like fingernails on a chalkboard.

The initial dismay brewing inside of me quickly receded, leaving behind a rising tide of anger. How dare he assume I had no intelligent thought in my head? That I couldn’t possibly have anything of relevance to add to this conversation?