“He caught me committing what is either a major misdemeanor or a lesser felony. Now he’s blackmailing me with the threat of jail to spend time with him. It’s this or an orange jumpsuit and group pooping,” I say before turning around.
Chapter Nine
The woman laughs. “I like this one.”
Gavin gets up, so I do the same. This must be the target. Showtime.
“Gina Rodriguez. It’s a surprise to see you here.” Gavin smiles and extends his hand.
She accepts the handshake. “Is it? You’ve been calling and emailing the office about my cars all week.”
I turn my head to hide my snicker. She burned him good, and I’m so glad I’m here to watch this in person.
“I’m Priya Gupta. From Loot.” I take my turn to offer my hand.
“I know.” She shakes my hand. “I’ve been to your sales. They’re always really well put together and entertaining.”
“Thank you for saying that. It’s nice to hear I’m not the only one enjoying my shows.”
“Her shows are great.” Gavin slides his arm around me, making me start. When did we get to this level of familiarity? “And we were just discussing the best ways to show your collection in our upcoming car sale by—”
“Do you think Carlyle’s can do it?” Gina asks me.
“Oh. Well.” This is a weird position to be in. I don’t want Gavin to succeed, but also he has my freedom at stake. Plus honesty.
“Loot could obviously do it better, if we did cars. But if you’re wanting an auction house with experience, Carlyle’s will do a better job than selling them on eBay, and better than the other houses too.”
There. That’s all true and I don’t have to say really nice things about Gavin. Maybe I should go into politics after I do the President of Loot thing for a while.
“That’s a glowing recommendation,” Gina says with light sarcasm and a smile. The smart CEO puts her skills on display, picking up on my reticence to compliment the man.
“Gavin here—” I slap his chest “—does have some great ideas that you should hear about for a potential sale.”
We all look at him expectantly, me from the vantage point of his arm. I get comfortable in the position and let the man do his work. He outlines the show he wants to put on, talking about the history of cars until my eyes start to glaze over in boredom. But Gina looks happy, so he’s saying the right words.
Being this close to him while he works is a unique experience. I can feel every change in his body, like his arm tightening around me as we wait for Gina’s response. The hint of vulnerability is unexpected in the usually easygoing man.
I don’t think he needs to worry. I might not know cars, but I do know buyers. Whatever he’s saying is impressing Gina, and she nods along with his words. Gavin is very good at his job. He wouldn’t be a worthy adversary if he wasn’t, so I don’t have to feel bad admiring him.
Gina makes Gavin sweat, which makes me like her right back. She looks from me to him, and I try to remain as neutral as possible.
She finally responds. “Your ideas are impressive. I’ll set up a meeting with your office so we can discuss particulars.”
“I look forward to it.” Gavin’s voice is cool, but I feel him relax. Hard to miss when I’m pressed up against him like a barnacle on the bottom of a ship.
Gavin nudges me back to our seats across the large table from Gina and her date.
“You happy?” I whisper when we settle back into our seats.
“You’ve done well,” Gavin says, but he can’t hide his excited little boy smile.
“You really want this sale.”
“Yeah.”
He doesn’t say anything else, so I turn back to the place setting in front of me, where an attentive waiter has dropped off a salad and another glass of wine. This is excellent service.
But then Gavin gets my attention again by continuing. “My dad loves cars. He started restoring vintage cars as a way to de-stress from work and I would watch him. When I got older, he finally let me help. He always says that he likes cars better than paintings or sculptures because they’re beautiful, but they still have a functional purpose aside from their beauty.”
