Page 32 of Brutal King
Not only that, he was clearly hitting on Kat. No doubt the guy was a player who planned to manipulate her. Did he know she was Mr. Lee’s daughter, despite Kat giving him a false last name?
You’re too innocent for your own good, Kat. And that bozo... well, I’m not going to let him get his hands on you... no matter what.
Chapter 10
Kat
“YOU KNOW HOW I HATE to be kept waiting,” Kobe said, his jaw tight and his eyes hard.
I glared at him, wondering what he was up to. “What’s the big deal? I thought you said this project was important.”
“It is,” he said.
“Then why are you all over me for spending a few minutes talking to the guy who is going to be overlooking just about everything we do with this restaurant.”
“You stayed in there longer than necessary just to piss me off.”
“Oh... get over yourself.”
“No,” he said, growing angrier by the minute. “I want you to respect... respect my...”
“Your what, Kobe? You want me to respect your what? Your precious time? Your fragile ego? Your prestigious name? What? What in the world could you possibly have, Kobe, that would deserve my respect?”
Biting his bottom lip, he sneered and shook his head. His lips parted, as if to say something, but they clamped tight again, his bottom lip once again finding refuge under his front teeth.
I opened the car door.
“What are you doing?” he said.
“I don’t like where this is going,” I said. “I don’t know what is making you so pissed, but I don’t feel like hanging around to figure it out. You go on ahead and I’ll go back in and start working with Trent.”
“I’ll go back in and start working with Trent,” he mimicked with an ugly grimace. “Forget it. We’ll start tomorrow.”
Fighting hard to keep my anger from reaching the same level as his, I pushed the door open and set one foot on the asphalt. “You’re the one who was so eager to get started on this. Why don’t you sit this one out and take advantage of the extremely strong work ethic that my father instilled in me. I want to take a good look at the budget that we’ll have to work with.”
“I said no. Get back in the car.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? Didn’t you hear him? We only have two weeks to get this thing up and running... and with a profit, I might add.”
“I don’t care. You’re not staying here alone.”
“I won’t be alone.”
“I don’t want you here alone with him.”
“With who? Trent? Is that what this is all about? You don’t want me spending any time alone with Trent?”
Kobe glanced at his watch and started the car. “Close the door. I don’t have time for this. I have to get back to campus.”
“So what? I don’t,” I shot back at him.
“You’re coming with me. Now, shut the door.”
“No.”
“Kat,” he warned as he put the car into gear and slowly backed up. “Close the door.”
Instead of following his orders, I stepped out of the moving car, almost tripping over myself in the process.