“Coffee can wait. You haven’t gotten your turn yet.” Not to mention, there was no way he could walk out of here with a hard-on the size of the Statue of Liberty.
“I have, which is why I need coffee,” Farrah huffed. “We didn’t sleep at all last night, and it’s already…” She checked the clock on the microwave. “Nine-thirty in the morning.”
Okay, Blake may have been overzealous in making up for lost time yesterday. Farrah hadn’t complained, far from it, but now that he looked closer, she did appear tired. Her lips drooped, and she attempted to hold back a yawn with no success.
“We’ll get you coffee,” Blake said with some guilt. “I ran out of coffee beans but there’s a cafe downstairs.”
“Perfect.”
Blake got dressed, taking extra care to tuck hi
s package so it didn’t look like he was going to knock someone out with a baseball bat, and rode the elevator down to the lobby level, which boasted a coffee shop, library, screening room, and several conference rooms.
There weren’t many people up and about on a Sunday morning, and they snagged a prime seat by the window after Blake paid for their drinks.
“I have good news.” Farrah stirred her coffee until the heart-shaped latte art dissolved. “I signed another client.”
“That’s amazing news!” Pride coursed through Blake. “Who is it?”
“A model. Up and coming, but she just signed a big beauty contract and is looking to make her apartment feel more like home. She’s not paying much, but anything is better than nothing.”
“Still amazing.” Blake squeezed her hand. “I knew you could do it.”
Farrah’s eyes softened. “Thank you. I—” She stopped short. “Oh my God.”
Blake followed her gaze to the couple walking in with their arms around each other. The guy was around their age. Mid-to-late twenties, decent-looking in a metrosexual douchebag kind of way. The woman was impeccably groomed but older than her boy toy by at least twenty years. She looked kind of familiar, but he couldn’t place her.
Farrah’s grip tightened on his hand, cutting off his circulation. “That’s Kelly Burke.” Shock dripped from every word. “My old boss. And that’s her godson, Matt. The one who got the promotion after the Z Hotels project.”
So that was why Kelly looked so familiar. Farrah had idolized the woman and shown him a picture of Kelly—not to mention every hotel Kelly had ever designed—when they were together in Shanghai.
Blake watched as Matt whispered something in Kelly’s ear, and the older woman giggled like a teenager. They hadn’t noticed Farrah yet.
“Uh, he’s just her godson, right? No biological relation? Because if so, that’s pretty fucking disturbing.”
“No relation. But still.” Farrah’s voice shook. “He’s her best friend’s son and her employee.”
Blake’s mouth set in a grim line. “Now we know why he got that promotion.”
Matt noticed Farrah first. His eyes widened before he smoothed his expression into one of nonchalance. He removed his arm from Kelly’s waist and whispered something else to her that caused her to hone in on her ex-employee with laser eyes.
Kelly was pretty hot for a cougar. Shiny brown hair, curvy figure, and a subtle touch of Botox that kept her skin smooth and unlined. But she had snake eyes, dark and cold.
Blake hated her on sight.
“Farrah.” Kelly glided over with Matt in tow. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I’m surprised to see you here. With Matt.” Farrah threw a pointed glance at Matt, whose ears pinked.
“He is my godson, and he lives in the building. I was helping him with…something in his apartment,” Kelly said, cooler than the A/C blasting from the vents.
Blake hadn’t seen Matt around before, but all four of them knew what the “something” Kelly was talking about was.
“We miss you in the office.” Kelly oozed insincerity. “Which firm are you at now?”
Farrah withdrew her hand from Blake’s and took a gulp of her coffee. “I’m consulting at the moment. After KBI, I thought a corporate career might not be the best fit for me.”
“I see.” Kelly’s smile slashed across her face. “Which firms did you receive offers from? I’m friends with many designers in the city. Perhaps I can get them to sweeten the deal, so you’ll reconsider. You’re so talented.”