“Until you go back to Sydney in six months,” I argue. “And you said that no one on your team can afford me, so unless you can promise me a permanent spot on the staff, I’m not sure sweet-talking about you to Lola will be worth the risk.”
A low growl rumbles in his throat, killing some of the sympathy I was feeling for him.
“She’s my best client,” I say and fold my arms to match his growing frustration. “And frankly my favorite too.”
“Glad to know you get along, though that shouldn’t surprise me, given your shared low opinion of me.”
I scoff, lifting my eyebrows at the nerve of this man. I haven’t said a single bad thing about him, but it’s not like he’s wrong. Logan is pretty, but only on the outside. “You know, my opinion of you would be a lot higher if you didn’t have such a high opinion of yourself.”
That gets a sharp laugh out of him, and he shakes his head and looks up at the ceiling. “I know what I’m worth, love. You should learn from me so you stop trying to makeorganicsales and start making actual money. From an outward perspective, you have a solid thing going here. Soownit. Instead ofsecond-guessing yourself, prove you deserve some notice.” On that last word, his gaze fans over me and leaves me overheating.
How can he say such nice things while sounding so condescending? I don’t know if I’m supposed to say thank you or call him out for the way he’s looking at me with interest.
And okay, yes, he’s a very attractive man with thighs the size of tree trunks, so his notice is incredibly flattering. But a girl’s got to have some self-respect. He can praise me all he wants, but that doesn’t make him a nice person. He’s aclient. A temporary one.
“I’ll make you a deal,” I say as firmly as I can. “If a chance to naturally bring up your situation with Lola presents itself, I’ll take it. And if I can get her to at least consider talking to you, you’ll introduce me to the team’s owner. I won’t go out of my way to dig into Mrs. Shafer’s past if she doesn’t want me to, but I’ll help if I can.”
He narrows his eyes. “And if you can’t?”
“Then you don’t have to keep up the other end of the bargain unless you’re feeling extra charitable.” Were he anyone else, I would hold out hope for him doing a nice thing and making the introduction anyway, but I doubt Logan has a lot of experience with truenice.
Most likely, I’ll have to take advantage of my veterinarian and see if Moxie will get me a meeting with Cole Evanson once Logan is gone. I hate that route; I’d like to avoid preying on Moxie’s kind heart more than I already have.
“Deal?” I hold my hand over the counter.
He eyes my fingers like they’re covered in dirt, but I can almost see his thoughts working behind his eyes as his expressionshifts from disgust to irritation to resignation. Sighing, he turns his gaze to the hallway as he reaches for my hand. “F—” What I hope was supposed to be ‘fine’ evolves into a much more colorful word as a yowl cuts through the air and Beef Wellington hops into the room.
He literally hops, moving sideways with his back curved in the air and his already fluffy fur standing on end and making him look like he just got in a fight with an outlet. He spits out a hiss at Logan, who inexplicably hisses right back while I stand frozen in the kitchen.
“This isn’t happening,” I moan, looking from one beast to the other in the world’s strangest standoff. I genuinely don’t know who will win if they go at each other, but I guarantee I’ll lose. There’s no way Logan will still hire me if my cat attacks himagain.
“Get rid of it,” Logan growls.
Beef growls too, and I swear he’s telling me the same thing about Logan.
“I’m not getting rid of anyone,” I say to both cat and man. “You two can play nice for an hour, can’t you?”
“You’re talking to acat,” Logan says, glancing at me.
Beef takes advantage of the brief distraction to move in closer, backing Logan into the living room.
I dash around the counter to get between them, flinching when my sudden movement sparks another hiss out of Beef as he lunges at me.
Logan grabs me and tugs, putting himself between me and my cat. “Move over there,” he growls, pointing to the other end of the living room. He keeps his arm in front of me, almost likehe’s trying to protect me until I can get to safety, but my feet are glued in place as I gape at him.
Beef blinks, flicking his gaze from Logan to me and back again. Either he’s trying to decide who to attack first, or he’s rethinking his stance on our visitor. His fur starts to settle, though he’s still tense.
“Savannah, you need to move before it hurts you.” Logan slowly slides his right leg back, shifting more of his weight to his left leg without once taking his eyes off Beef.
My jaw drops, and I grab his arm. “Don’t you dare kick my cat, Logan Callahan!”
His wide eyes jump to me. “I wasn’t going—”
“You were!”
“I wasn’t—” He flinches when Beef takes another step forward, his big paw audibly hitting the floor. Then Logan’s eyebrows pull together. “What’s wrong with its feet?”
I frown and look at Beef. “What?”
