Chapter Six
Jasper
Looking at my watch I see that it’s only just eleven thirty. I put the phone to my ear, watching for cars as I cross the street in front of Tate and Cane. I’m not sure what time she goes to lunch but I’m hoping it’s about now.
“Hello?” She sounds distracted.
“Hiya, Fannin. You busy? I can call back.” Our work hours are so different, I’m just getting ready to start my day and she’s probably been in the office for a few hours already.
“Jasper? Hi! No. Well, yes. I’m always busy.” She gives a little laugh. “Not too busy though. What’s up?”
“Well, I was wondering if you fancied some lunch? I can bring it to you or we can go somewhere.”
“Umm, yeah. Okay. I can meet you in about twenty minutes. Is there somewhere you had in mind?” I hear papers being shuffled around and almost feel bad for taking her away from her work. But then I remember what she looked like sitting in the bar yesterday, and suddenly I don’t feel so bad.
“I’ll meet you outside your office, we can pick a place close by.”
“You don’t have to do that, Jasper. I can just meet you.”
“You say that a lot, you know that? Just let me take you.” I find that I say that to her a lot. I think I can’t help it. I want to take her. To lunch. To bed. I want to take her everywhere. By the sound of her voice, the breathy quality to it now, she wants me to take her as well.
“Okay. You can take me.”
“Good girl. Do you want me to come up or wait out front?”
“I’ll be right down. Let me just let my assistant know to hold my calls.”
“See you,” I answer, disconnecting the call.
With my sunglasses settled on my nose, I sit on a bench outside of the massive building. Kicked back, my arm along the back rest, my feet planted wide, I watch the door. People rush by, going who knows where in such a damn hurry. That’s one thing I miss about Scotland. The pace. It’s amplified by about a million here. I’ve been here full-time for a year now and I’m still not used to it. The people watching is for damn sure more interesting though. Speaking of people watching, here comes a woman I could watch all day. Her hair is down today in a wild tangle of curls around her head, arms bare in a canary yellow silk tank top thing and a black pencil skirt that hugs all of her curves. She’s tall—I would guess about 5’10”—in her matching yellow heels. She’s edgy, even when she’s all business. It’s sexy. And I’m not the only one to notice. Men all around us are noticing just fine. Makes me proud that it’s me she’ll be having lunch with. With her killer legs and stunning beauty she could very well be a model. I wonder what made her choose business? She hasn’t noticed me yet as she is glaring down at her phone tapping at it violently.
“Better be careful before you a poke a finger right through the bloody thing, Fannin.” Her head whips up searching me out. When she spots me, her lips curve into a sheepish smile.
“Sorry. I swear one day I’m going to throw this thing off the Brooklyn Bridge!”
“Aye. I can understand that. Do you have to stay here to handle that?” I ask, gesturing toward the phone in her hand.
“No. No. I should’ve just ignored it. Wasn’t important anyway.” She slips it into her purse. “So where do you want to go?”
“Well, I don’t want to keep you too long, so we can go somewhere close by. Your pick.”
“You look like a meat and potatoes kinda guy,” Fannin says, sizing me up.
“Aye.”
“Let’s do burgers. There’s this place down the street that is amazing.”
“Love a good burger, lead the way.”
She turns and starts weaving her way through the throng of people, reaching back and clasping my hand so that we don’t get separated. Once we make our way out of the upstream we’ve been fighting, we walk a little easier, side by side instead of her dragging me behind her.
“Sorry. It gets insane this time of day. You have to be an aggressive walker or you won’t get anywhere.”
“I see that,” I chuckle. “You’re a pro. I would’ve still been shuffling my way along.”
“I’ve lived here all my life. You’ll learn,” she assures me as she tugs me toward the entrance of a hotel, the door opened almost instantly by a smart looking doorman. I nod my thanks and lean in to whisper in Fannin’s ear.
“You know, we could’ve just gone back to my place, love,” I tease. Loving the way her eyes go soft with a smoldering look.
“Tsk tsk, Jasper. I may walk fast but that doesn’t mean I am.” She tosses me a cheeky wink. “You’ll at the very least have to feed me a couple times before I put out.”
The little minx. She’s forward and confident, and I fucking love it.
“Och, I can do that.” I nod.
“You’re super Scottish, you know that, right?”
“Aye. Born and raised there. You’ll learn.” I repeat what she said about the pace of the city. “Does it bother you?”
“Not at all. I love it.”
“Maybe next time I take you out I’ll wear my kilt.” Her eyes flash.
“You have one?”
“Aye. Course I do. What kind of Scotsman would I be if I didn’t?”
Fannin considers me for a second and nods, “Indeed.”
Tugging me behind a curtain, we’re suddenly in front of a hostess stand of a restaurant, hidden away in the lobby of a hotel. I’ll be damned.
“Two please,” Fannin tells the girl.
“Reservation?” The hostess asks in a bored tone.
“Tell April that Fannin is here. I have a long-standing reservation.”
“Oh, connections. I like it.” She grins at me over her shoulder.
“Stick with me, I have all kinds of connections.”
The bored looking hostess perks up a bit after hanging up the phone she had been on at Fannin’s request. “Right this way please, Miss McGuire.”
We’re taken to a round booth tucked away in a corner. As Fannin slides across the leather, she thanks the girl. I wait for her to get settled before sliding in after her. She hands me a menu. “I absolutely love the brisket burger here. It’s not anything crazy fancy, but it is insanely good.”
“Then that’s what I’ll have.” I put the menu down without opening it.
“You’re not even going to look?”
“Nope. I trust you.”
“You do?” She sounds baffled.
“Aye, why wouldn’t I?” I laugh.
The server comes over to take our order. “Go ahead, Fannin, order for us.” Her mouth drops open as she gapes at me before shaking it off and telling the girl what we’re having. Once she bounces away, with way more energy than anyone has a right to have, I watch Fannin watching me. “What? Is there something in my beard? A wee chipmunk or something?” I kid.
“Umm, no. No ‘wee’ anything,” she giggles. “I’ve never dated a man okay with me ordering for them, that’s all. I mean, not that we’re dating,” she hurries to add.
“Och, those aren’t men, Fannin. They’re boys in girly knickers. If a woman ordering for them makes them feel threatened, those aren’t the men you want to be dating.”
“Did you just say ‘knickers’?” she asks, biting at the inside of her cheek—to keep from laughing I’m guessing.
“I did. Would you rather I say ‘panties’?” My arms folded on the table, I lean in closer. “Are you trying to get me to talk dirty to you?”
Fannin leans closer as well. “Is it working?”
Lips kicked up in a grin, I nod, “Aye. I believe it is.” She better be careful or I’ll be having her for lunch and not the burger she just ordered me.