Chapter 15

Mason

I was walking on air when we entered the ballroom. I was still high from the incredible orgasm Ash’s lips had sucked from my cock, and she looked absolutely amazing tonight. I could tell she had made the jewelry she had on, and it reminded me to talk to her about the store off Rodeo Drive I’d been to earlier.

Some people interrupted us while we made our way to our seats, and I could tell Ash had already taken stock of the type of people in the room. I kept reassuring her that things would be fine and that we wouldn’t be here long. I finally wound us around to our table, where we promptly sat down.

There was an elderly couple beside us who commented on Ash’s earrings, and she quickly got to talking with the woman about how she had made them. Her face lit up when she realized the woman was actually interested and made comments about how her granddaughter loved quirky things like that. At first I thought Ash would take offense to the idea of someone calling her jewelry “quirky,” but she seemed to take it as a compliment and began walking the woman through the methods she had used to make the jewelry she was wearing.

She looked absolutely radiant, and my chest filled with warmth as I watched her slip into her element.

I glanced around the table, curious as to who was joining us. I looked at the name cards and felt the warmth drain from my body. The high I had been riding fled my body, and my hands grew cold. I started praying to the heavens above that the people meant to sit beside us didn’t show up.

But that smoky voice busted every single hope I had, and it was calling my name.

“Hello, Mason,” Eva said.

I cleared my throat and craned my neck back to watch Eva walk up to the table. I stood and offered her my hand, but she looked smugly at it before she wrapped me in an embrace that was a little too close for comfort.

“Hello, Eva,” I said curtly.

“Won’t you introduce me to your friend?” she asked.

“Eva, this is Ash. Ash, this is my friend, Eva.”

Eva slowly roll her eyes over Ash while Ash stood up and offered her hand. I knew the polite smile she was offering was anything but. It didn’t reach her icy eyes, and it was then that I realized why Winston thought Eva was like my mother.

It was because she looked like my mother, too.

“So, did you get a peek at the closing Dow numbers this afternoon?” Eva asked me.

“Not particularly,” I said.

“Closed higher than it has in three years,” she said. “Bodes well for us, don’t you think?”

“I suppose,” I said.

“And did you hear about the eruption carrying on over on the East Coast? It’s practically a mad house over there since the election.”

“I bet.”

I knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to make Ash uncomfortable by speaking about topics she didn’t think Ash would be informed about. I knew, somewhere, my mother was watching, so I was trying to be as polite as possible. The only thing I could do was glance at Ash out of the corner of my eye. She looked incredibly uncomfortable, and the elderly woman she had been talking to was now fully trained on the exchange between Eva and me.

I took a seat beside Ash and quickly folded her hand in mine, but not before Eva took the other seat beside me. Food came out on little plates with small portions, and Eva kept making rude comments that made me want to kick her underneath the table.

“If you want seconds, you’ll probably have to go back to the kitchen and ask,” she said.

Ash was only halfway done with her meal, but she pushed her plate away from her, unfinished. She took a sip of her wine, looking like she just wanted to avoid sitting there awkwardly. Eva didn’t miss a beat.

“I’m not sure if they’re serving boxed wine at this particular venue,” Eva said, “if that helps with your choices.”

Ash stayed silent instead of engaging with Eva.

“Will you be giving a donation tonight as well?” Eva asked.

“No, I don’t believe I will be,” Ash said lightly.

I felt myself melting into the chair, and I knew that if I squeezed Ash’s thigh any harder, I’d probably end up leaving bruises. I kept leaning in and telling her I was sorry the entire time. All I wanted to do was finish dinner so we could get out of here and go do anything else.

Anything else but this.

Once dinner was over, the music started up, and Ash told me to stay for the dancing. She thought it would be nice for me to have a dance or two just to save face before we left. I couldn’t do anything but admire her bravery. I knew she was uncomfortable, and yet she was still thinking about me. And I had to admit, it felt good to have her velvet-wrapped body in my arms while we danced.

Having her body pressed against mine never ceased to be exhilarating. It felt so natural, and pretty soon, I was twirling her all along the dance floor. People began to smile at us, and a few applauded when were done. The laughter that fell from her lips warmed the nervous part of me as I slowly felt her relax into my body.

“Mason, where is the bathroom in this place?” she asked.

“Over there in the corner, down the hall, last door on the right.”

“I’ll be right back,” she said, flashing me a smile.

It killed me to let her go, but I watched her snake around everyone without anyone bothering her. I got the feeling that maybe people had accepted her, or at least had learned to keep their murmurs and glances to themselves. Just as I decided to walk off the dance floor, I heard that damned voice behind me.

“Care to have this dance?” Eva asked.

I drew in a deep breath through my nose and sighed before plastering on a smile. I turned around and took stock of Eva. She was in a spaghetti-strap, floor-length, pearl-colored gown that shimmered in the lighting of the ballroom and fluttered along her thin frame effortlessly. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back and contrasted with the fabric of her dress in an eye-catching way.

Everyone had slowly turned their gaze toward us. She stepped into my body, and I reluctantly grasped her hand in midair. My hand migrated high up on her back before we slowly started rocking back and forth to the music. It would have caused a scene to turn her down. Otherwise, I would have rejected her immediately.

Her hand lightly danced around my collar, and when I glanced down, I saw a light trace of red lipstick on the inside of the top of my tie.

Shit.

“Enjoying slumming it?” Eva asked.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said.

“I swear, you and Winston are cut from the same cloth,” she said, snickering.

“Yeah, well, I suppose there isn’t much for us up here.”

“Oh, Mason. I could understand it when you were dating other celebrities and socialites, but someone like Ash? It really is my duty to step in.”

“Because you care about my feelings?” I asked.

“Because I will eventually be your wife,” she said lightly.

“I don’t remember proposing.”

“Oh, Mason. You know that isn’t how it works with us. And anyway, Ash isn’t the type of girl that belongs in this type of scene. Down the hill is where she belongs, with other people who dye their hair blue and such.”

“Her hair is beautiful,” I said.

“Your mother would never accept the likes of her, and you know it,” Eva hissed. “Neither would your friends.”

“Winston already has.”

I turned my face toward hers, and our dancing stopped. Shock flashed in her eyes before she gained her composure. I dropped my hand from her back, and she put her lips to my ear.

“You know you can’t be with her, and it isn’t fair to string someone along like that. For god’s sake, Mason, you’ll break the poor girl’s heart.”

“Like you give a shit about that, Eva,” I growled.

“I may not,” she said as she pulled back and looked me in the eyes, “but you should. Since you care about her so much.”

She ran her fingertips along the top of my tie again, and I grabbed her wrist. I threw it away from my body while her eyes sparkled wildly. I took a step toward her and put my lips close to her ear.

“You could never be half the woman Ash is.”

“I don’t have to be. I just have to convince your mother I am. You know as well as I that she has our wedding already mapped out. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s already written me into your family’s will.”

“You won’t get a cent of my family’s money. Ever. My mother might be a recluse since my father died, but she’ll never force me to marry someone I despise as much as you.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about either of those points,” Eva said smugly. “Your mother and I just had lunch the other day, and she was already rattling off a list of nice times of the year to have picturesque weddings. And plus, that familial inheritance of yours doesn’t transfer ownership until your mother says so. It would be a shame if something were to, I don’t know, happen to her or something before that happened.”

“What the fuck is your angle, Eva?”

“You said it yourself. Your mother hasn’t been well since your father’s passing. Surely a woman who isn’t fully adept at running her own life couldn’t possibly be responsible for the billions he left behind.”

“My mother isn’t crazy, you psychotic—”

“I’d watch those words, Mason,” she said. “They can really do damage if you let them.”

I clenched my hands into fists at my sides, my entire body trembling with anger. Where the hell did this bitch get off threatening my family and its fortune? Where the hell did she get off using my father’s name in order to get what she wanted?

And where the hell was Ash?

“Have fun slumming it,” Eva whispered as she walked by me. “And give her my regards.”