“Who?”
“The woman with the big… err, blonde hair.” He caught himself just in time, pivoting frombig titstoblonde hairwith a nervous flinch.
I turned to see Jasper’s busty secretary standing near the patio doors. “She was there that night?”
“Yes. She bought me a drink. Fuck. How could I be so stupid?” I didn’t point out that he was no doubt dazzled by the size of her breasts.
Yeah, way to go, Storm! Because that’s the part you should have been focusing on right then.
Shaking his arm to get his attention back. “You still have that drug in your system, Reed.”
His nostrils flared. “How do you know?”
“Because Jasper has threatened to make an anonymous call to say you were seen taking drugs. So, they test you, the NFL. To get you suspended.”
“Not going to happen, it’s been forty-eight hours.”
“This one stays in your system for much longer. Jasper told me the name, and I Googled it.”
“So, that’s why you’re back-peddling? You’re allowing him to blackmail you?” Reed pinched the bridge of his nose, silently taking in everything that I had just shared. I did think it might put him off his intention of going for Jasper, but it did the opposite. “That’s it. I’ve had it with this prick.” He then lifted his head above those around us and waved over my shoulder.
Feeling someone at my back, I saw Reed’s leggings-wearing assistant from earlier. “Give me the shit, I’ll do it myself.”
My brow threaded. What the hell was going on?
“Are you sure?” she replied, removing a brown envelope that had been tucked down the back of her pants.
“More than sure.” Reed took it from her and slid it inside his tux jacket.
“What’s that?” I uttered.
“Insurance,” he replied gruffly.
Before I could question him, we were once again heading in the direction of what could only be described as trouble.
As we came to stand just before the top table between the two groups, one by one, they turned to face us; all conversation dried up in a split second.
“Darling, I didn’t realize you’d invited a celebrity guest?” Jasper mused, his tone oily and unwelcome.
Thinking on my feet, I replied, “Well, he donated so much money to Daddy’s cause that I thought it only right.” Under the cover of my words, I carefully disentangled my fingers from Reed’s death-like grip.
“Indeed,” the snake hissed with a fake smile. Jasper shifted from one foot to the other as he raised his drink at the man beside me, clearly uncertain how he should act with an audience. “Thank you again for yourextraordinarydonation.” Jasper then addressed the two strangers flanking him. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us.” The two suits left with a respectful nod, and Theo moved to stand by his son, like a bodyguard: an old, wrinkly bodyguard.
Phoenix and Hudson moved to greet us both, shaking Reed’s hand. Nix placed a kiss on my cheek, whispering, “You look stunning, sis.”
As we gravitated into a group, everyone’s expressions were varied. Hudson looked bored, the girls were curious, and Phoenix’s smile suggested he was thrilled by our appearance. The guy got off on confrontation, and so that was no surprise. He was clearly itching for something to happen. Theo’s face was blank and unreadable, and Jasper looked pissed off.
I cleared my throat, feeling nervous. “I must say, I’m parched. Won’t you get me a drink, darling?” I husked, stepping towards Jasper. My body jerked slightly as Reed stopped the movement by holding the back of my dress.
Lifting my chin, Reed glanced down at me with a smirk.
What the hell are you playing at?My face must have screamed. I almost coiled into myself.
There was an awkward moment before Theodore cleared his throat and held out a hand in greeting.
“Theo Remmington. I don’t think we’ve met?” I almost choked on my surprise at such civility.
Reed took the older man’s hand, much to Jasper’s annoyance, and shook it. “The pleasure is all yours, I’m sure.”
