Page 3 of Catch a Tiger

Her long purple hair falls across her temple when she tips her head to the side. “How?”

Twisting his lips to the side of his face, he thinks it over for a moment. When he comes to some kind of conclusion, his eyes brighten. “Let’s look at your friends.”

She gives him a serious expression. “I barely have any friends. You’re my best friend and the only guy friend I have. I don’t see how this is going to help.”

He raises his eyebrows. “I’m touched.”

“You should be.”

Leaning his hip against the counter, he says, “But seriously, open your social media app and we will see what we have to work with.”

She grumbles under her breath, pulls her phone out of her back pocket, and opens the app. She heads to her friend list and starts scrolling. In truth, she doesn’t even remember half of these people. She met them at parties back in her college days and had nearly forgotten about the rest. No one pays attention to her anymore, so she lost touch with them.

“What about him?” Darius points to the tiny screen.

Maria makes a disgusted sound from the back of her throat. “Do you see that nose?”

Darius points again. “And him?”

“I’ve seen him in real life. He’s shorter than me, and that’s saying something.”

He looks up at her. “Short guys are a problem?”

With her finger poised to keep scrolling, she glances up to meet his gaze. “I don’t want to bend down to french kiss my man. I already have weight issues. I don’t need height issues too. What if I want to wear heels?”

“You don’t own a pair of heels.” It’s true. She’s a dress and flats kind of girl, but that’s totally not the point.

“But what if I decide someday that I want to? I won’t be able to because I’ll be married to someone I could squash under my heel with one misplaced step.”

He snorts. “You have issues, you know that? You’re too picky. That’s your problem.”

Maria chuffs. “We’re talking about dating here. Possible future husbands. I have the right to be picky.”

“Fine.” He huffs and sags his shoulders in defeat. “Just scroll for a while and see what you come up with. Don’t make any decisions without me.”

And with that, he strolls off to refill the coffee beans in the grinder.

Chapter 2

Mark

“Okay,” Mark says to the other man on the phone call. “We’ll talk later when you have more information. Yep. Okay, bye.”

Mark hangs up the phone and works hard not to also hang his head between his shoulders. He’s in his office at work and he’d rather not be. It’s been a long and trying day and he just wants it to be over. Working for the insurance company is definitely not his dream job, but he’s high up and it pays well, so he shouldn’t be complaining.

What would he rather be doing? He’d rather be at the gym, working out and helping others achieve their goal. He has a few clients he trains, but he’d like to turn it into a full-time job. That probably won’t happen, however. The gym is swamped with personal trainers and his job just pays too well to give it up.

He glances at the clock above the door and groans. He has one more hour of this bullshit.

Placing his head in his hands, he rubs at his tired eyes. If he has to stare at a screen for another minute, he’ll jab out his eyes. But, in one more hour, he can leave and head to the gym. It’s hope he clings to.

Mark goes twice a day. His fitness is important to him, so he works out in the mornings and after work. Then, after his own hour of peace at the gym, he has back-to-back clients. He might as well live there.

He drops his arms back to the desk and looks around. His desk is in the center of the room, a standard office desk that he hasn’t had the desire to replace for something he might actually like.

In front of the desk are two gray chairs that came with his space when he was moved up from a cubicle. There are no pictures on the wall. He doesn’t care to decorate the space, even though his boss encouraged him to do so. The only thing he has that’s personal is a rock paperweight that says ‘Happy birthday. Every day, around the clock, always know that you are my rock’. His mother gave it to him for his birthday last year and he didn’t have the heart to throw it away, so he brought it to the office. It’s a good reminder that there’s a life beyond this desk.

Even though his office is large, it feels too small. He’s a big man, broad shoulders and tall. He takes up a lot of space and often bumps into the chairs or the corner of his desk. Not only that, but it feels like a prison.