“Is everything okay?” I ask, hoping my question will lead him to spill the tea on what that was all about.
“Yes,” he says, recovering quickly. “I better go mingle. It was lovely to meet you both, Kat, Nora.”
Nuts. He didn’t bite.
“See you around,” Kat calls after him.
The pair of us watch Paz stride over to a group of other contestants, all of whom welcome him with loud displays of excitement.
“He’s clearly the alpha,” Kat tells me.
Gawking at him, I say, “Oh yeah.”
“Still thinking of all the people at work like you do Uncle Dan?”
I snort out a laugh. “Okay, maybe Paz gets a pass, butonlyin our imaginations. In his case, we can look, but we cannot touch.” I point a warning finger at her.
“When did you get to be so old and boring?”
“The day I paid my first month’s rent.”
I leave Kat at the welcome desk with strict instructions to stay put and make my way around the perimeter of the party, checking to make sure everything’s running well. I probably don’t have to do this. The staff knows what they’re doing, and there’s nothing extra difficult about what we’re doing. In part I’m savoring the moment, allowing myself the smug satisfaction of knowing I set this up, and it’s a raving success.
If only my bosses were here to see how smoothly everything runs under my watch. I entertain a fantasy of Libby appearing, taking in all my glorious preparation, then gushing over how amazing everything looks, and how I thought of every detail, when I hear him behind me. The man I love to hate.
“Ms. Cooper, hello.”
Stopping my eyes mid-roll, I face him, phony smile in place. “Hello.”
He stares at me for a moment too long before he says anything, probably taking note of clumps in my mascara or something. Jerk. Glancing around, he says, “You’ve created a very nice evening for everyone.”
“Thanks. It’s not my first rodeo so…”
Theo gets a little twinkle in his eye. “Yes, I know. You are a professional problem solver. You solveallthe problems.”
I sort of want to laugh, but I hold it in, only allowing a tiny upward curve of my lips to escape. “That’s the queen problem solver to you.”
He smiles down at me, and dammit, if it’s not one of those “could light up the whole world” smiles. Talk about unfair. A man that rich, young, and powerful also in possession of a smile like that. Ugh. I hate him so much.
“What’s your first impression of the group?” he asks. “Do you think we’re going to run into any problems?”
Asking my opinion. That’s slightly flattering. “Hard to say. I imagine they’re all highly competitive. Hopefully that means they’ll be so busy practicing they won’t have time to get into any trouble.”
“Let’s hope so,” he answers, concern written all over his face. “Anyway, Carolina and I would like to give a quick speech to welcome everyone.”
“Yes, of course. When you’re ready, I’ll get you a microphone and ask the band to take a quick break.”
“I’m ready.”
Of course His Highness wants to do it now. “Perfect. I’ll be right back.”
12
Cock-blockers of the World Unite
Theo
Checking my watch,I see that Ms. Cooper has been gone for nearly ten minutes, and I find myself getting increasingly irritated, because the longer we wait to make our remarks, the more out-of-control this party is getting. We probably should have done it already, based on how quickly the booze is flowing.
