“Coming right up, Mr. Weston,” the bartender said, a Weston Group employee.
Troy faced the party, putting his back to the bar. “How many people will be attending? Three hundred? Three fifty?”
“Four hundred twenty, to be exact.”
“At fifteen hundred a head, that’s not bad.”
I set my hand on the bar top, my cuff link making a sound as it hit the stone. “You’re not counting the silent auction. The Westons donated a private night of dining for two, cooked by Walker. That’s just one of the many things the bidders can win.”
“How does Walker feel about that?”
I sighed. “He’s about as pissed off as you imagine. He’s hoping the winner doesn’t claim their prize anytime soon. I think he’s going to need a break from the kitchen after all this Gordon bullshit.”
He turned his neck while he held the knot of his tie. “They won’t be in attendance tonight, will they?”
As the bartender finished pouring our drinks, I reached into my pocket to take out my wallet and handed him a fifty-dollar tip. “Hell no. This is our food, our people. The Gordons would never be on the list of invites. I’m sure they wish they were in the same circle as us, but?—”
“Troy!”
Fuck me.
Even with my back to her, I would recognize Sophie’s voice anywhere.
“Soph! I didn’t know you were going to be here,” Troy replied to her, and then he whispered to me, “Incoming. Play nice.”
Goddamn it, she was everywhere.
I grabbed both tumblers and stopped myself from turning around to face her. But as she got closer, I smelled her. The lime-and-orange explosion. A scent that made my dick throb.
Don’t get hard. Don’t you dare get fucking hard.
“It was a last-minute thing. One of my other partners was supposed to come and couldn’t, and we didn’t want the ticket to go to waste. Luckily, my nanny was free to take care of Abbi. Who are you here with?”
I couldn’t stand in this position forever, so I slowly turned around, and when her stare caught mine, I smiled. “He came with me.”
Her eyes widened, and after a few seconds passed, she still hadn’t blinked. Her body didn’t move either. But her expression did, hardening the longer she looked at me. “You.”
I grinned even bigger. “You.”
“Let’s break this up before I need to actually play referee,” Troy said.
I handed him his drink and clinked my glass against his. “No need to, Troy. I’m an adult. I can be in the same space as the enemy and not tell her that I think her latest round of antics is fucking ridiculous.”
“Except you just did.” Sophie laughed, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders.
What that movement did was give me a chance to dip down her body, taking in those delicious curves. She wore a royal-blue dress that was nothing more than a tease. The designwas a sheer mesh that wrapped around her throat and traveled all the way to her wrists. Across her chest—and I assumed her back too—was what looked like an oversize, proportioned bra that completely concealed her tits. That ended at her rib cage, where there was more mesh that revealed her navel until the start of her skirt, the fabric turning solid again and running to her ankles. But up the side was a slit, showing plenty of her slim calf and gorgeous thigh.
Not a single woman in this room could compete with her. She wasthatbreathtaking.
“Colson,” she said once her head straightened, “you’re being too sensitive. When will you realize this is just business? I’m doing what I was hired for.” She lifted her martini toward her glossy lips, a mixture that I knew was extra dirty, halting before her mouth touched the glass. “When you and your family decide to play appropriately, you won’t ever have to see or hear from me again. Shouldn’t that be an incentive to come to the table with an offer I’m actually going to accept?” Her eyes were the same color as her dress. So deep that they sparkled.
“What you will or won’t accept never enters the equation. When willyourealize we don’t give a fuck about you, Sophie? This is business, and we’ve been more than generous. I can’t help that with each day that passes, you get greedier.”
“All right, you two. Let’s remember where we are and why we’re here,” Troy warned.
“I haven’t forgotten.” Sophie finally took a drink. “I’ve been more than nice to your family.” Her eyelids narrowed. “Next round, I’m playing fucking naughty.” She squeezed Troy’s shoulder. “Save me a dance later, okay?”
The moment she walked away, I focused on her perfect ass. “She’s going to reject the twenty percent, isn’t she?” Ifinally looked at Troy.
