“Sable.” The gorgeous man groaned and rubbed his hand over his tired face. “You can’t say things like that to clients. What is going on with you? You’re not normally like this.”
Client? Was Cash a client?
“He’s not a client,” Sable said. “Plus, he got me up at five in the morning. I’m not a morning person. I need four cups of coffee before I even arrive at work. That’s why I’m grouchy this morning.”
They all gaped at her.
“Four?” the gorgeous man asked. “That’s not very good for you.”
The woman shrugged. “I get things done. Plus, I want to know how she got that mark on her cheek and the bandage on her hand.”
“Yes,” the man said with a frown. “I would also like to know that.”
A shiver ran through her at his cool tone.
“We didn’t fucking hurt her, if that’s what you’re implying,” Cash said heatedly.
Hmm, he seemed to be very grouchy. He probably needed a nap.
The gorgeous man raised his eyebrows and sat across from her and Cash, while Ralen was down at the other end of the table.
“What’s going on, Cash? Why are we all here?” he asked.
Suddenly, the door slammed open. Addie let out a cry and would have jumped from her seat had Cash not held her down. She put her hand on her chest as she felt her heartbeat skip.
Another man rushed in. His glasses were askew, and his hair was standing up on end. He still seemed to have his pajamas on, with a coat over top. His pajamas were pale blue with mathematical equations on them.
He was cute, but looked flustered and worried. “What’s the emergency? Why did I need to come in so early in the morning? He’s not very happy about it.”
He’s not very happy about it? Was he talking about himself? Why didn’t he just say, ‘I’m not very happy about it?’
Addie stared at him in confusion.
“Brody, you could have come in quieter. You gave Addie a fright,” Cash scolded.
What? He didn’t need to make a fuss on her behalf. Everything gave her a fright. She was a giant scaredy-cat.
“Oh, sorry,” Brody said, adjusting his glasses and staring down at her. “Who hit you?”
Addie sank into the chair. Why were they all so nosy in this place?
“We’re just about to find that out,” the gorgeous man said. “Sit, Brody. Hi, Addie, I’m Ink Callahan, and these are two of my employees, Sable and Brody.”
“First, Cash needs to give the hot chocolate back. He took it from her.” Sable pointed at Addie, then turned her glare back to Cash.
“Huh?” Brody asked as he fixed his glasses and took a seat. “Why did he take it from her?”
“Because it looked hot,” Ralen said, sitting back with a grin. He had his hands behind his head. He seemed weirdly happy right now. Especially for a man who’d nearly just choked to death. “You going to test the drink, Cash?”
“Yes, Cash?” the gorgeous man asked. “Are you?”
Cash glared at them all. “Shut up, you assholes.”
She gaped at him in surprise. What was he doing? He’d called all these people here at close to five in the morning, and now he was being rude to them, telling them not to give her a fright, and calling them assholes.
Reaching over, he picked up the hot chocolate and took a sip. “Yep, too hot. Addie would have burned herself.”
Sable glared down at Cash, pointing a finger at him. “My hot chocolates are legendary, and they are not too hot. Addie looks like she needs the injection of sugar, not you. And maybe she doesn’t want you drinking from her mug.” She turned to Addie. “You can tell them if you don’t want them to do that, you know. You can tell him if you don’t want him crooking a finger at you or touching you.”
