“What?”
Delilah let her smile reach her eyes, waiting until he met her
gaze again. “That you’re an impatient man. That fast is your favorite speed.”
His eyes dropped to the swoop of her neckline, studying the cleavage she knew was framed to the best advantage in this dress. He bit his lower lip and opened the door for her. “I am impatient,” he acknowledged as she passed, taking her arm again. “In most things. If you want something, you should want it more than you need to breathe. Go after it without hesitation. Otherwise, what is the point? However, only a foolish man wouldn’t realize there are one or two things worth having that are also worth…savoring.”
She liked the way he spoke. Not just his accent but the words as well. She wondered what it would be like to be wanted in the way he was describing. To be the focus of that kind of intensity.
Business. You are distracting him, getting to know a potential buyer. Feeling him out.
She could feel the heat coming off his forearm. Feel the muscle. There was no give at all. It took effort to hide her shiver. “So, do you and the boys get into regular sparring matches over the cleanliness of the coffee machine?”
Sebastian made a face. “I apologize for that. It was my peace offering, you see. The coffee pot they used to drink from looked twenty-years-old and riddled with plague when I first came here. The agreement that we were to share the central office was in the sales contract I had with the previous owners, so I thought—”
“You thought if you bought an expensive cappuccino machine they’d start arriving at the garage with scrubbed nails and ties?” She smirked.
He looked embarrassed. “Not quite that. I thought I could get them to accept what I was doing. The pavers, the work crews and noise etcetera. But Wilder hates my changes and he has no respect for what I’m trying to do here. He thinks it’s a joke, and the men follow his example…though it hasn’t stopped them from enjoying their coffee. Or finding creative ways to make me look ridiculous in front of my clients and employees.”
She could only imagine. Angel and the Major were a powerful duo when they agreed on something. And apparently, they’d agreed to give Sebastian Kosta a hard time. “Is that what the sudden dueling offers are about? In your email you implied this was about your business needs for expansion, not a Hatfield and McCoy situation.”
“Dueling offers? Surely my bid was higher than Wilder’s.”
“I’m here to look into all aspects of the potential sale, Mr. Kosta. This is a family business dear to DD4’s heart. Money isn’t the only deciding factor.”
He furrowed his brow as they entered the main room where tricked-out designer motorcycles were being built. Most were obviously custom orders—nothing new as far as the moving parts that she could see—but attractive.
That was one thing Kosta Ironworks was already known for. Art bikes. Elegant or abstract. Exquisitely fabricated and visually stunning motorcycles. Delilah could appreciate all the work that went into making them, but she was more interested in the talk about his new engine and the aerodynamic design he’d sketched out for the KII in an interview with American Iron Magazine. There was supposition that he could be the Elon Musk of their industry. Fulfilling Albert Crocker’s dreams of speed.
And if it didn’t work, he could be finished.
The loud buzz of an angle grinder and the sparks of the MIG welder made Delilah feel at home. She’d still rather be in a garage than a salon, even after all these years with her sisters’ guidance.
She did like her heels. Maybe there was hope for her yet.
A young man in the black Kosta Ironworks T-shirt rushing toward them stopped her from turning back to Sebastian and continuing her line of questioning about the timing of the offer.
The man paused when he reached them, hardly sparing her a glance. “Sebastian, I was just coming to get you.”
Sebastian lifted one eyebrow. “Were you in such a hurry you left your manners behind?” The hand covering hers on his arm tightened, holding her there. “This is Delilah Dean, VP of DD4. Ms. Dean, this is my assistant Stavros Kosta.”
“Kosta?”
Sebastian’s smile tightened. “Second cousin.”
Stavros bobbed his head. “The guys around here just call me Steve, Ms. Dean. Pleasure to meet you. I didn’t realize you had a visitor. I’ll get out of your way.”
“Are you going to tell me why you were looking for me?”
Steve’s gaze shifted uncomfortably. “It isn’t urgent. It’s just about the…modifications to the motor mounts on the Kosta II.”
Delilah could feel Sebastian tense beside her. “I’ve promised to give Ms. Dean a tour.”
But he didn’t want to, she could tell. Not now. Was there a problem with this new motorcycle that everyone, including her, was dying to get a sneak peek at?
“I’ll be here for several days,” Delilah offered gently, understanding she would no longer have his full attention, and that if there was trouble, she wouldn’t be allowed to see the machine. “I have a few business calls to make today anyway. We can delay the tour until tomorrow, if you’d like.”
Sebastian gestured to his assistant, who instantly turned on his heel and raced toward the back of the warehouse, opening a door that must have led to a back room. They’d made so many changes to this building, she hardly recognized it. The last time she was here it was wide open and abandoned. She and Drew had learned to roller skate in the space.