Chapter 2: Del

She took his extended hand and shook it. His palm slid roughly against hers and she pursed her lips. “Pleasure’s all mine,” she heard herself saying and Lord have mercy, she meant it. Deep breath, Del. You’ve got this. He’s just pretty. “I, uh, spoke with Xavier Wilde on the phone?”

“Yep, that’s the boss man. He’s in his office. I’ll show you.” Jake led the way and Delilah couldn’t help but appreciate the view as she followed him down the hall. His dark brown tactical pants hugged his rounded ass perfectly. Tactical as hell, she snorted to herself.

God, what was she even doing? She had a very strict no-screwing-around policy when it came to clients. A no-brainer, really, since most of them came to her with relationship and/or money problems she didn’t want to touch with a ten-foot pole. And now here she was, five minutes in, already ogling one of them like he was the main dish on an all-you-can-eat buffet.

She forced herself to look away just as Jake stepped inside the office at the end of the hall. She looked up into the eyes of a dark-haired man seated behind a giant mahogany desk. His mouth curved slightly and she knew she was busted. Damn. Oh well, she’d been caught doing worse.

“Delilah Henry?” The man rose and extended his hand. “Xavier Wilde.”

She nodded and took it. “Nice to meet you.”

He gestured to the chair and she slid in, enjoying the soft leather against her jeans. She’d considered dressing up but at the last minute, she’d gone with familiar: blue jeans, black boots, and a fitted top. It displayed all of her curves, sure, but she was way more comfortable in this than a dress and heels or some other fancy getup. And she needed all her confidence for this meeting. Now, she was glad she’d gone with her work gear. Jake’s stare alone was enough to make her lady parts tingle.

Xavier shuffled some papers and she forced herself to concentrate on that but every part of her itched to look over at Jake. He hovered in her peripheral, lounging against the wall in a sexy slouch. Since when was slouching a turn-on? Maybe she needed to get out more. Hang out with men that weren’t criminals or low-lives.

“We’re glad you accepted our invitation to come,” Xavier was saying.

“Of course.” Delilah sat up straighter, game face on. “I have to be honest, I’m flattered but I’m a little confused how you found me. I’m good at what I do, but I’m not exactly a national brand at this point.” This was the part she was dying to know.

Xavier and Jake exchanged a look. “You did some work for a friend of ours a while back,” Xavier said vaguely. “We heard you did a great job and honestly, I suspect we’ll need someone from out of town in order to make this work.”

She nodded, still confused. “I can understand wanting a new face. Small town and all. But what friend?”

Jake cleared his throat, and she looked up as he shoved off from the wall, hands in his pockets. “Me.”