Hornet's Nest by Jaycee Ford Read Free Book Online

enjoying your coffee?” He nodded at my cup and I couldn’t help a little smile.
    “Yes, thank you. That was sweet of you,” I answered as Lance passed by. My eyes flickered to his as a pained look crossed his face and he walked away. What the hell was his deal? I tore my eyes away from a retreating Lance and looked back up at Josh.
    “Would you like to join me for a drink, say about five-thirty down the street? To go over the trust checks, of course,” he said as he hinted a playful smile.
    “Well, if it has to be done.” I sighed with a playful sarcasm, then smiled and said, “Sure.”
    “Great, I’ll meet you there.” He stepped close to me and placed his hand on my hip as he bent down to my ear and whispered, “Have fun at your meeting.”
    I turned to watch him go, completely unable to get over the shock of what had just happened. I was going to have a drink with Joshua Black. The Joshua Black. I stood for a moment as I replayed and absorbed the conversation. I paused. Why wasn’t I more excited about this?
    I shook it off as just being numb and headed toward the conference room. I passed by a few more cubicles and was pulled off my route into another cubicle. I stumbled and those damn green eyes caught me, only a few inches away. The numbness wore off as my body hummed from the touch of his hand on my arm.
    “Katherine, we need to talk,” Lance whispered as his eyes roamed my face. I should have pulled my arm away from his grasp, but I didn’t. I craved his touch for so long. I didn’t want to move though I knew I had to. I gently eased my arm out of his grip, tearing my eyes away from him.
    “We have nothing to talk about Lance,” I whispered as I took a step away, but he grabbed my arm once more.
    “The hell we don’t.”
    “Lance, we have a meeting. Not now.” I pulled away again and continued to the conference room. His following footsteps came up behind me and I had this feeling that he would keep following me, not just into the conference room, but also into my life. I couldn’t let him in. Not again. Not after what happened.

THAT WOMAN INFURIATED me to no end. She already pushed me out of her life once. I was here for a reason, damn it! I didn’t know if the planets aligned or if hell had frozen over, but I got a job working in the same city, the same building, the same law firm, the same department as Katherine Klein. Was I supposed to think this as a coincidence? No one in God’s green Earth would ever think that this was a coincidence. It was fate, pure and simple.
    To watch her walk away was pure agony and pure ecstasy. She wanted nothing to do with me, but that ass in that skirt should be illegal. I remember how every one of her muscles moved and the sensual touch of her skin. I experienced heaven in one day… but I’d be damned if I had to endure this hell without her.
    I couldn’t believe she agreed to go out with that douchebag. The way that blonde barmaid waited on him hand and foot didn’t seem like someone who was just going after tips. There was definitely something going on there, and if he thought I would move to the side so he could go after Katherine, then he had another thing coming. The hell I would. I wasn’t going to back down from any suit, even if I was one of them now.
    Katherine walked through a doorway. I paused before I followed. My rage over this whole situation was taking its toll within one day. How the hell was I going to do this?
    Cowboy up.
    I blew out a breath, allowing the anxiety to dissipate before entering a conference room that was nearly full. Katherine sat on the far side of the table without an open space next to her. I walked around to an open chair opposite of her and a few seats away. I sat down and noticed everyone else had a notepad with them. Good job, Lance . I was going to blow this opportunity before it even started. I leaned back in the chair and tried to look everywhere else except in her direction, but that damn shirt had one too