“Another new one,” Gage said with some judgment.
“Yeah, whatever. I thought I needed to have someone on my arm tonight.” My eyes scanned the room, noticing very few people were here. “Is Cal here? I should give my congratulations.”
Gage looked around the room with me. “He and his wife are over there.” He pointed toward the front of the room. “And before you ask, his wife’s name is Laura.”
Yeah, I wasn’t planning on asking, but it was vital information.
“Calvin,” I said as I walked up. He took my hand and shook it firmly.
We had a fondness for each other. When my father was still here, and I would visit as a younger child, Cal’s office was one I would visit often. He was nicest to me of the older employees.
“Congratulations on your retirement. I’ll be sorry to see you go. I’m sure Laura will be happy you’ll be home more.” Leaning in, I gave her a small hug and kiss on the cheek.
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Cal said, laughing. “I think she’s already thinking about all the ways to keep me busy and out of the house.” He smiled warmly at his wife.
“Oh shush, Calvin,” Laura said. “That’s not true. I’ve got plenty of things to keep me busy and out of the house, don’t you worry. Chase, how is your father doing? It’s been a while since we’ve seen him. We were sorry to hear he couldn’t make it tonight.”
Laura and I continued talking for a few minutes while Cal greeted other guests arriving at the party. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a gorgeous blonde in a simple black dress with sky-high red stilettos coming down the hall toward us.
It was Maryellen.
And she was with that asshole I saw her outside the bar with the other night.
Dammit. This night was gonna suck even worse now.
She approached Calvin. The proper thing to do would have been to excuse myself and allow Laura to greet them as well.
I chose not to.
“So, Laura, any travel plans for you two once Cal is home?” I asked.
She had an answer for my question; however, I couldn’t tell ya where they were going. Instead, I strained to hear Maryellen introducing her date to the guest of honor. There was too much background noise since more people had arrived and the hall became crowded.
The tool bag recognized me, I could tell. He stared me down as he stood by her side, making sure his hand was on her back. Refusing to play along, I finished my conversation with Cal’s wife and politely moved to the side.
And I waited.
I waited for them to move toward the room and walk right past me.
That was when Maryellen saw me. Our eyes connected, and I watched her steps falter the slightest bit, but she recovered well.
Keeping my eyes glued to hers as they walked by, I watched her drop her hand from his. It was subtle, and she tried to mask it by using her hand to touch her hair. But I saw it, and her widened eyes told me she knew it.
As soon as they passed, I felt a body sidle up next to me.
“Hey,” a warm voice said. “There you are. I wasn’t sure where you went.” Lena put her arm around me, pulling me deeper into the room, away from Maryellen. “Harper said we should sit with them.”
She continued to steer me toward a table near the front of the room. This was expected, of course, to sit with Gage. We would have to be a united front as co-CEOs of Parker Financial.
My plans of skipping out early were now dashed.
“Hey, Chase,” Harper said while coming up behind me.
Turning to her, I pulled her into a hug. “Hey, yourself. Place looks great. Did you have a hand in it?”
She looked around and smiled. “This one was more Maryellen than me. They provide their own flowers here. Maryellen found the space. It’s a great venue. And Gage got a band, so it should be a fun night.”
A band.
