Gabe crossed his fingers that Xander would let this slide when he found out about it. And he would find out about it. There wasn’t anything Xander didn’t know about the people he hired.
He took his stance six feet away from Erik, and he scanned the room. Some top twenty pop song played, and servers with trays filled with appetizers circled the room. As if shoes were pieces of great art, women crowded around the glass display cases and the shelves on the back wall, taking pictures. In the middle of the room, there was a cube shape covered with a sparkly gold cloth, with Emergence’s logo in gold embroidery.
Gabe scoffed to himself, all this for a pair of shoes. People liked to waste their time and money. It was exactly the kind of event his brother’s girlfriend, Chantal, would attend. The lights dimmed, and the music stopped and apparently, that was a signal for all the women and men to put away their phones. Loud pop music blasted through the room. Gabe could feel the beat through his steel toes. Flashing yellow, green and purple lights cascaded over the room.
Bethany, the influencer they were hired to watch tonight, literally tittering in heels, waved her hands above her head and danced on the platform beside the covered cube. She swayed and danced and spoke into her old-school microphone.
“Hello, Vancouver!” she shouted.
And the feedback blasted through the room because, of course, it did. “You being here means you’re awesome! Thanks for coming out. I can’t wait for you to see the brand new stilettos by Emergence! You’re getting to see them first. Drum roll, please!”
A recorded drumroll echoed in the room, and the cheering increased by three decibels. Bethany pulled off the gold cloth. The audience screamed as a pair of golden heels were revealed, spinning on a disc inside their cube box.
“I know! They arefabulous. Who thinks I should try them on?”
Everyone in the entire room except him and Erik screamed “me.”
With one quick motion, two guys in grey suits lifted the case off, and Bethany reached in and grabbed the shoes, setting them in the palm of her hand and holding them up above her head.
“These are stilettos every woman wants and maybe a few of the guys! They’ll look good on anyone, and they go on sale tomorrow for only fifteen thousand dollars!”
Women jumped up and down and screamed and held each other’s arms. Gabe scoffed. So much ridiculous fanfare for a pair of overpriced shoes. It took a lot to gross Gabe out, but at this moment, his stomach kind of dropped to the floor. His brother bought stupid shit all the time, but Ivy would call him a sexist or something.
Thinking about Ivy caused him to bite the inside of his cheek. There was no way she would be in this crowd clapping for a pair of shoes, and that’s the first positive thing he had thought about the woman in months.
She stomped on his heart and cost him a job. He shouldn’t be thinking about her at all. But part of why he was working so much was because he thought of her every time he went through the door of their condo, and she wasn’t there.
“We need crowd control right by Bethany,” River Stone’s voice sounded in his ear. Gabe sighed, he wanted to be situated right by the case from the beginning, but the client, Mr. Wilder, thought it would detract from the display.
Seamlessly as possible, with Erik beside him, they made their way through the throng of people, dodging full drinks and ignoring the cries from the people who thought they were trying to get closer to the shoes.
“I can’t wait to slip my foot right in!” Bethany said.
“Sorry!” A woman apologized and bumped into Gabe. He waved her off and continued until he was slightly behind the case, beside Bethany.
“Hold this,” Bethany hissed. For a moment, Gabe thought she had given the order to him.
All the breath left him. He’d know those curves and that silky short golden hair anywhere. Ivy took the mike from Bethany, and Bethany held on to her arm as she tried to balance awkwardly and slipped the pricey shoes on her feet.
Ivy. His mouth went dry. She looked good. Damn.
He wondered if he wanted her to look bad. As if there was a single thing she could do to look ugly. A silky black dress hugged her hips and clung to her breasts.
With her ruby red lips and her green eyes illuminated by sparkly powder she had brushed on them, she was the most gorgeous creature in the room. She looked up, and Gabe saw her bare neck, which was another punch to his gut. He tried to look away. But couldn’t.
He gave her that collar two days before Christmas Eve two years ago. He remembered the feel of her cheek against his jean-covered knee as he clasped it around her neck, and she promised to submit to him. It was just them in their condo. The lights were low, and their blinds were open to the cityscape. And then, the memory of him taking it off her neck after she made that post spiked a heated fury through him.
So much for promises, he scoffed.
“Oh my god, you guys! These are amazing! They feel like a giant hug for my feet, like I’m walking on air!” Lights flashed as cameras clicked away, people crowding closer to get a better look at the shoes.
“A million thanks to Emergence for letting me have these shoes! I’m going to slip them off so you can take even more pictures, but no touching!” Bethany said.
Bethany almost toppled Ivy to the floor as she grabbed her arm, and Gabe stopped himself from reaching out.
But he wanted to. He wanted to touch her, feel her, and reclaim her as his. And he didn’t like that pulsing urge, one bit. This woman hurt him intentionally. He refocused on the crowd.
“One moment! Don’t forget to hashtag golden shoes and Emergence!” Finally, Bethany got the shoes off her feet.
