Thankfully, Kassie and Kelly appear from behind the door of suite A before I have to formulate a response to that. They roll their eyes at the perfect specimen of man that is Brooks, parading around in his towel.
“Are you familiar with the phrase ‘hostile work environment’?” Kelly demands, brushing into the room.
“Me? Hostile?” Brooks replies, running a hand through his wet curls. “What are you talking about? I’m a goddamn delight to be around.”
“Walking around half naked is borderline sexual harassment,” Kassie informs him, “and even if you don’t think that counts as hostile, you’re going to make me hostile if you don’t stop bothering my new coworker.”
“I’m not bothered,” I say, before I can help it. “I mean—I’m not easily offended.”
“That’s good, given our present company,” Kelly mutters, settling down at the long wooden table.
“Come on. I’m not that bad,” Brooks insists, as Kassie and I follow Kelly’s lead. “You’ll grow to love me, I promise.”
“I’m happily in love with my own hard-headed bad boy,” Kelly remarks.
“That goes double for me,” Kassie chimes in.
“Guess it’s just you and me then, Red,” Brooks smiles, shooting me a wicked wink. “What do you say?”
“Keep on with that wishful thinking, buddy,” I shoot back. “Whatever helps you get through the day.”
“So damn feisty. I’m into it,” he says, turning to go. “You’re gonna be at my party tonight, right Red?”
“You’re seriously throwing yourself a housewarming party? In our office?” I ask.
“No. He’s not quite that audacious,” Kassie says. “The rest of the Dante’s Nine guys—sorry, that’s the MC Dec’s a part of—they’re throwing him a welcome bash at their clubhouse later tonight.”
“My old man’s MC will be there too,” Kelly puts in. “They’re friendly these days. So once we get a little work done here, we’re gonna have to do some party shopping.”
“You don’t have to come along on those errands if you don’t want to,” Kassie says quickly, “We didn’t hire you to be a gopher. And of course, your attendance at the party is not a required part of this job. No matter what this guy says.”
“Actually,” I say, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice, “I could stand to blow off some steam. And I don’t mind helping you get stuff ready for the party.”
“Really?” Kassie and Kelly say in unison.
“I knew you’d come around,” Brooks smiles, heading into the suite’s bedroom. “I’ll make sure you have a good time, Red.”
“Thanks for caring, buddy,” I quip, “your concern is truly touching.”
“Much more than touching,” he corrects me, “but not until you’re ready for me.”
The bedroom door snaps closed behind him as Kassie and Kelly shake their heads.
“If you want to punch him, you have my blessing,” Kelly tells me.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I smile.
We spend a couple of hours talking at length about CrowdedNest and my role in the company. But inside, I’m throwing myself a damn parade. First day on the job and I’ve already scored a look at the Dante’s Nine clubhouse? Mitchell’s going to give me a medal.
It’s much easier to concentrate once Brooks heads off to the auto shop, looking as gorgeous as ever in light denim jeans and a white tee beneath his Dante’s Nine cut. I can feel my body yearning for him as he walks out the door. I’ve never been this physically drawn to someone. Is it because he’s off limits that I feel this wanting so keenly?
“Keira?” Kassie says, dragging my attention back to the present. “Does that all sound good to you?”
“Oh. Yeah,” I reply brightly. We’ve been talking about the sort of work I’ll do at CrowdedNest, but my attention has strayed in a big way.
“Great,” Kelly says, “now enough of this work talk. Let’s blow this pop stand and get on over to the Forty-Five Club.”
“What’s that?” I ask, as we stand to go.
“That’s the Dante’s Nine clubhouse,” Kassie clarifies, “a bar outside of town. It’s a little rough around the edges, but I think you’ll like it.”
“I know we don’t really fit the biker chick mold,” Kelly grins, “but I think you’ll see that we run with a rather...boisterous crowd. You sure you want to tag along?”
“Hell yeah. I can’t wait to meet everyone,” I smile gamely.
“Oh. But before we go,” Kassie says, looking over my techie chic outfit, “we need to do something about...all this.”
“You don’t like it?” I ask, looking myself over.
“We love it,” Kelly says, “for here the office. But you’ll get eaten alive by the guys and the girls if you show up to the party looking like a J Crew model.”
“Let me lend you a couple of things,” Kassie insists, grabbing me by the wrist and towing me away. We cross the landing into Suite A, a space even more impressive than the first. There’s something incredibly, and surprisingly, controlled about the place. I’d expect the VP and old lady of an MC to live somewhere a bit more...gritty, I guess. But I’m starting to suspect that I have a lot of misconceptions about the MC life.
I’m led into Kassie and Tiberi’s bedroom, and the girls begin dressing me at once. Thank god I’m not wearing a wire right now. They let me keep my black skinny jeans, but swap my yellow tee for a white crop top, tousle my hair into its natural red curls and swipe ruby red across my lips. My flats are replaced with stilettos, and the transformation is complete.
“Well?” Kelly prompts, leading me over to a full-length mirror. “What do you think?”
My jaw drops as I look myself over in the mirror. I’ve never been so vamped up in my life. Each curve and angle is perfectly accentuated, and the overall impression is, well, kind of overwhelming. “I think...you made me into a babe,” I breathe, staring back at my own blue eyes.
“Come on. You’re already a babe,” Kassie laughs, “Please tell me you know that.”