“I suppose it wouldn’t be a big deal.” Selena shrugged. “A little latte or cake won’t be the end of my job. It’s not like those idiots at the permit office are suddenly going to change their mind in the next few minutes or probably at all.”
“Great.” Maximus inclined his head toward the coffee shop. “Let’s go.”
It was strange to be suspicious of his own motives. Part of it was checking out the location of interest and gaining any new possible information, but he couldn’t deny how much the feisty redhead appealed to him. Something about her hazel eyes drew him in, and it was taking all his concentration not to stare and freak her out.
It didn’t matter. Even if the woman wasn’t involved with the Phoenix Corps, learning more about why her permit was denied would provide some useful intel about the area of interest.
There were worse things than recon dates.
Chapter Six
Selena lifted her latte to her lips and took a slow, careful sip. The gesture was as much about hiding her face as getting her caffeine jolt, especially since she had to concentrate to not stare at Max. She was supposed to be figuring out how to solve the permit problem, not going out for coffee with the statue turned real-life hotness sitting across from her.
He must have been interested, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked her out for coffee. Her luck might finally have been turning. The new job and the Hawaii shoot were turning into disasters, but at least she could get a nice date out of it when it was all said and done.
If Bill had known what she was doing, he might have fired her on the spot. There wasn’t that fine a line between expecting hard work and ridiculous and unreasonable requests, but neither Bill nor Chris seemed to understand that. Defying them partially motivated her side excursion. It was easy to undermine people when they weren’t around to yell at her.
Selena didn’t sigh, despite her lingering irritation with Bill and Chris. It was hard to be that upset when she was having coffee with Max. Every time the man looked at her, it was like his gaze was piercing right through her, like he knew everything about her. It both frightened and excited her. She’d never had a man look at her like that before, let alone one as handsome as Max.
It was strange. She hadn’t met him before. There was no way she could have forgotten someone like that, but at the same time, she felt like she’d known him all her life. She trusted him implicitly and wanted to talk to him. Before she knew it, her whole sorry tale spilled forth.
Selena’s mouth ran on autopilot as she let the conversation flow well past idle interest and explained in detail about the job and her issues with Bill and Chris, including how she wanted to punch them both or kick them in the balls. Probably both at the same time. It wasn’t the best friendly conversation starter.
Max laughed after she finished. “That’s one way to express how you feel. You might want to add a throat punch in there, too.”
“I’m sorry.” Selena gasped and put a hand over her mouth. She lowered her cup to the table. “I’m sure you have better things to do than hear me whine about my job and how I hate my boss. I didn’t intend for this to be a bitching session.”
“It’s fine. I’m my own boss, so I don’t have to deal with that kind of thing.”
“Never had a bad boss?” Selena looked curious.
“I… used to work for some people, and I’d like to punch them. Location to be determined.” Max shrugged, a look of faint amusement in his brown eyes.
Something was off about his eyes, not the expression, but the color. For some reason, he didn’t feel like the kind of man who should have brown eyes. Selena didn’t know what color she thought he should have, just not brown. It was like his face was screaming that his eyes were a lie, but that didn’t make sense.
“I… don’t know why I just told you all that,” Selena said. “I’ve been bottling it up, and I think it just came spilling out. I’m really sorry. I’m not usually this needy.”
“Maybe I have a trustworthy face,” Max said. He picked up his half-eaten bagel and took a bite. “I wouldn’t have a problem with you thinking that. Most people are intimidated by my size, so it’s nice to be trusted.”
Trustworthy, maybe. Handsome, rugged, and with just the perfect-sized beard for Selena’s taste? Definitely. His size was a bonus, not a problem.
“That could be it,” Selena murmured, staring into those alluring yet somehow wrong eyes. She lifted her drink again as an excuse to break eye contact. It was like the man was hypnotizing her. Was that a real thing?
She didn’t know anything about him other than his name. He could be a serial killer or a mob boss. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up a cautionary tale on some show about cold-case murders in beautiful places. Her body told her to not worry about that, but her brain fought against its treachery.
“Job,” Selena managed to get out.
“Job?” Max raised an eyebrow. “I’m not following you.”
“Your job.” Selena chuckled nervously. “You said you’re your own boss. What do you do for a living? Wrestle polar bears?”
She cringed inwardly at the joke.
Max laughed. “No, I’m a private security contractor. So far, no polar bears have gone after any of my clients, but I might wrestle one depending on the circumstances.”
“Oh, private security contractor in Hawaii.” Selena laughed, this time more confident. “You’re a show waiting to happen. You just need a Hawaiian shirt and a nice helicopter. Max Polar Bear Wrestler, P.I.”
Max shook his head, a playful smile on his lips. “I’m here checking into something for a job. While
