I blinked rapidly at Mason Fletcher’s towering form. He was staring at me with an expression that mirrored my own shock. He’d grown a short, blond beard, and it had turned his boy-next-door charm into something decidedly more dangerous. As did the tattoos that ran down his neck and disappeared under the collar of his black T-shirt. Any trace of the boy I remember was gone now—at least as far as his appearance was concerned. He’d filled out, his muscular chest obvious through his T-shirt, and his shoulders round and powerful. And the way he was staring down at me? It reached all the way inside and tugged on something in me that felt unbearably hot.
His gaze dipped to my outstretched hand. A tremor ran under my skin as soon as he made contact. His grip was firm. There was metal pressing against my palm—rings? Since when did Mason wearrings? I wanted to look down, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his face.
The face of a rock star. God, he sure looked like one. Sexy and powerful and intriguing. How the hell did this happen?
I was literally unable to speak.
My mind raced as I tried to come up with my next move. Could I play this off? Pretend I don’t know him? I was afraid to look at Trinity and see the look on her face. Had she picked up on the weird tension between her guest and I?
And then the situation got far worse. Because as Mason let go of my hand and stepped to the side, I saw Kaz standing behind him.
I felt dizzy. What would Trinity do if I went ahead and passed out during an important meeting? Probably shove my body under the conference table and tell her clients not to pay me any mind.
I forced myself to not look away from our new guests. Unlike Mason, Kaz had barely changed. His hair was cut shorter, and he stood straighter, but the mischievous air he always had swirling around him was still there. Only now, instead of pissing me off, it made the blood in my veins run cold.
I’d told him they’d never make it.
Clearly, I’d been wrong.
I could see no reason for him to not take this opportunity to make me pay.
His eyes tapered as he took me in. He wore all black, looking like the bringer of death, and maybe that’s what he was. The death of all my hopes and dreams as far as this job was concerned.
I was acting strangely, and it was becoming painfully obvious. I dared a glance at Trinity and realized any chance at pretending nothing was wrong was gone.
“What’s happening?” Trinity asked, her brows pulling together in suspicion.
I felt like a cornered animal, my attention flitting between the three of them. Would it be bad if I ran out of here and had a nice long scream inside my car?
“We know each other,” Kaz said after a long, pregnant pause.
“Is that right?” My boss was trying to deduce if this new information would bode well for the meeting or not.
Maybe I could still play it off like it was no big deal.
“Yes.” I forced a shaky smile on my face and moved to take Kaz’s hand. “We went to college together.”
When Kaz returned the gesture, an electric current zapped between our hands. It reminded me of the last time he had his hands on me. His green eyes twinkled with devilry as he took me in, dragging his gaze over the entire length of my body. “Good to see you, Molly.”
Trinity visibly relaxed. “Ah, how nice.”
“It’s been a while,” Mason said.
I blinked a few times. “Yes, it has been. So great to see you two.”
Mason’s cheek twitched. Damn it, he could see right through my fake enthusiasm.
“Let’s sit down,” Trinity said.
I followed my boss and sat at her side. Mason and Kaz took places across from us.
“You’re Last Rites?” The question burst out of me before I could hold it back.
Idiot.
Of course they were Last Rites. Who else could they be? It was as if I’d lost a good chunk of braincells in the past two minutes. I desperately needed to get them back if I wanted to make it through this meeting.
“That’s us,” Kaz answered, his lips quirking up in amusement. He was obviously entertained by my discomfort. I estimated that by the end of this meeting, I’d have approximately zero-point-zero-five percent chance of holding on to this opportunity for a promotion. There was no way these two would want to work with me in any capacity, even if I was only working on their account in the background.
