Maisy beamed. “Princess treatment, of course.” She winked. “Jeffrey’s idea. Whygoshopping when the shopping can come tous?”
The moment I spotted the mediocre-looking fifty-year-old sitting on a couch watching us, my stomach churned with discomfort.
“Don’t worry, I’m heading out,” Jeffrey said with a creepy smile. “You ladies have fun. Take anything you want.”
He approached us, and I tried not to make a face when he kissed Maisy on the cheek. She made soft, sexy doe eyes at him, her voice girly and higher than normal as she thanked him and said goodbye.
Jeffrey glanced at me, and I cleared my throat. “Thanks for including me.”
“Of course. It’s a pleasure to take care of Maisy’s friends. But I think one of your suitors already picked something out for you…”
I followed his gaze to a table to the left of the nearest rack. One of my suitors? Wes wouldn’t. He made it clear he would never tell someone what to wear ever again.
“Do you know who?” I asked.
Maisy nearly bounced up and down with excitement. She waited until Jeffrey left before she blurted, “Why the hell haven’t you told me about Roman freaking Graves?”
Roman Graves.Graveswas a rather infamous surname uttered near-constantly on every news station. It was also a common name, right? Roman wasn’t—oh God, wait a minute…
My face paled. “Like, related to Max Graves?”
“Related to.” Maisy threw her head back. “Girl, Roman’s hisson.”
Oh,shit.
“As in, heir?” I squeaked. “To Wave?Wave Platforms Incorporated?” I wasn’t sure why I needed to use the tech empire’s full government name, but my head was spinning.
Maisy stared at me in disbelief. “How is this news to you!”
“I don’t pay attention to details about the personal lives of evil billionaires!” I snapped defensively. “Or theirheirs.”
“Well, some of those billionaires are going to be at the party Saturday, so maybe cool it with theeviltalk.” She huffed, as if frustrated by my reaction. “And yoursuitoris one of them. Or at least, he will be one day.”
Okay, so Maisy wasnota safe space for eat-the-rich sentiments. Noted. I should’ve probably guessed that from her relationship with Archer and Jayne. She was in deep. I needed to watch what I said around her.
“Lucky me,” I said with a tight smile, and Maisy’s face relaxed an inch.
As I popped a pink macaroon inside my mouth and surveyed the outfit Roman had selected for me, my heart pounded in my chest.
I’d attracted the interest of the son of the most infamous tech oligarch in America. In theworld, actually.Max Graves was the founder of every social media platform that mattered. PicWave. VidWave. ThoughtWave. I ran book advertisements through Wave Business Suites.
We all bowed before his creations, worshipped at the altar of their effects on our hopelessly addicted brains. If we were caught in anyone’s web, it was Max Graves’s.
I panic-ate two more small pastries. Maisy was oblivious, smiling as she thumbed through the rack of delicate lingerie.
“I think I’m doing a Medieval princess look,” she said with a decisive nod. “I want to wear a pointy hat while I get spit-roasted in one of those old timey wooden pillories.”
The comment barely penetrated my adrenaline haze. The outfit Roman picked for me looked like it came straight from a couture runway, a twist on the Midsummer fairy motif that was celestial, angelic. The lingerie included hand-beaded detail, shimmering crystals I was terrified were diamonds, and champagne fabric with floral stitching. It looked like it was going to cover all sensitive areas, but it would definitely show off my ass. The wings were much better than I could’ve found on Amazon. They were elegant, long, and blended seamlessly into the rest of the ensemble.
“Aw, he’s dressing you like anangel. See—that’s sweet!” Maisy said, nudging my shoulder. “He definitely wants to hunt you down in a meadow and ravish you.”
“Is that one of the planned activities?”
Maisy nodded. “I’ve heard whispers. It’s a bit of foreplay for the real hunt that happens at the more selective autumn party. That shit isserious.”
I didn’t have the bandwidth to process the idea of rich people recreatingSquid Games:Kinky Edition.
Besides, after I found Lorelei Saturday, this would all be over. At least for us.
