Chelsea came up beside me as I walked down the stairs. I scanned the room seeing several men I didn’t recognize, but no soul-searching eyes.
“Optimus wants to see us before shit gets crazy,” she said.‘I told you so’very much present in her tone.
I laughed. “Lead the way.”
We walked down the slim hallway. The small rooms down this end of the building had been offices reserved for the hotel managers and head staff. There was even a large safe located in Optimus’ office.
Chelsea knocked on the door. I could hear deep voices coming from behind it and I wondered who Optimus might have in there with him.
“Come in,” he called, his voiced echoed loudly.
Chelsea pushed the door open and I followed in close behind her. Optimus reclined in his large leather office chair. He had his hands linked behind his head in a relaxed manner, but his signature scowl was ever present on his face. It was when I moved to the side of Chelsea that my eyes found the man propped up against the front of the desk, his arms folded across the front his chest. His biceps stretched mouth-wateringly against his white shirt and his eyes once again studying me like I was a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit.
“Girls, this is Kit. Troy’s new chapter President.”
Chelsea and I both dipped our heads in a nod toward him which is a respectful way to acknowledge someone important in the biker world. He gave a small chin lift in acknowledgment, but his eyes remained focused on me, not even blinking in Chelsea’s direction.
Optimus leaned forward and tapped his knuckles on the wooden desk. “Harmony. I couldn’t get a hold of you after I ripped the guy on the phone another asshole.”
I screwed up my nose. “Yeah. The douchebag completely totaled my phone.”
His eyebrow raised curiously. “Really?”
“Mhmm. He hung up on you by slamming it face first onto the table we were sitting at. Then if that wasn’t dramatic enough he threw it at the fucking wall,” Chelsea explained. I tried to keep my eyes focused on Optimus, but they continued to drift toward Kit.
Kit was a magnificent specimen of a man. His hair was short but just long enough for me to grip between the spaces of my fingers if I ran them through it. He had the lightest beard that shaded his jaw and just above his deliciously full lips. His shoulders and chest were wide beneath his cut but led down to a trim waist and powerful legs.
“He say anything to you?” Kit asked, his voice so deep I could almost feel the vibrations in my chest. There was also the slightest accent present that made him even more intriguing.
“Uhh…yeah.” I racked my brains, trying to think about the threats that the suited man had thrown at us that afternoon. “Um, when I attempted to give him the phone he told me I needed to learn my place. And then after he had talked to you he said we needed to learn a lesson in behavior and that it would come.”
“And that he would‘conduct it personally,'” Chelsea added, using her fingers to quote the man.
Kit glanced over his shoulder at Optimus, who met his eyes with a raised brow. I frowned. Sure I’d been a little frightened at the time, but guys made pathetic threats all the time when they didn’t get their own way. It was like a defense mechanism in some men.
“You said he looked pretty well off?” Optimus inquired, tapping his fingers on the table.
I nodded. “Hell yeah. That wasn’t just a rental suit. My mom’s friend owns like a high-class bridal hire place. I worked there one summer when I was at high school. It was the real deal, I think maybe Armani.”
“And those shoes. Jesus! I could see my face in them, they were so damn shiny,” Chelsea added dramatically causing me to giggle.
“You gotta leave the compound over the next couple days?” Kit asked, pushing off the desk and standing with his feet shoulder width apart and returning his arms to their previously folded position.
“We both have classes almost every day this week. The semester is coming to an end and we both have tests.”
“Put someone on them,” he said sternly and Optimus’ head bobbed in agreement.
“Caleb. He can go with you to classes and bring you home.”
Chel and I looked at each other, our faces both resembling confusion. It wasn’t unheard of to have a prospect follow a club girl if there were some kind of grave danger or threat to the club. But this seemed a little overkill.
“Come on, Optimus. It honestly wasn’t that bad. He made some idle threats and threw his toys outta the cot like a child who didn’t get his way. But having a tail, isn’t that a bit extreme?” I tried to explain my feelings in the most respectful way possible without it sounding like I was calling him an idiot for being so dramatic.
“You are the property of the club, aren’t you?” Optimus gritted, obviously taking offense to what I’d said. I caught a small smirk form on Kit’s lips.
Knowing I should have kept my mouth shut and followed orders, I changed my tact. Opting for a little bit of greasing. “Yes. We are, Prez.”
His shoulders loosened but only a smidge. “We protect what’s ours. You know this. I like you Harmony, you’ve been here a long time.” He stuck me with a hard glare. “But don’t question my decisions.”