Chapter 14 – Hanson
She was a vision in silver, and she was smiling. I hadn’t seen her smile since I’d met her. It was the sexiest thing she’d worn since we’d met. When we were out to dinner, she was a different person. It was like taking her out had somehow gotten through her cold façade to something warm and friendly underneath.
When we stopped in front of the Cruz building, my chauffeur Carl opened the door for us, and I got out first. I held out my hand, and Lacey took it, appearing from the car. She looked like she belonged in this world of black ties and parties. I had a lot of money, and I was less comfortable and confident in this surrounding than she looked.
How many people did she deal with? How often did she come to places like this? She looped her hand through the arm I offered her, and we turned to the tall, upright building that had been a part of the face of luxury events for years.
We walked through the double doors that led into the building. The place was magnificent, with a giant stair case leading to the second level right in front of us. Pillars and checkered floors to the left led to a bar that stretched along the length of the room.
Everywhere, men and women were dressed to the nines. Men walked around in their tuxes and tails, and women sashayed on their arms, making them look better.
Classical music, not my taste but not terrible, floated from hidden speakers, and the murmur of conversation and clinking of glasses provided the soundtrack for the evening.
“I’m going upstairs to talk to a few people,” Lacey said as soon as we were inside. “Why don’t you walk around and make some introductions? Network a bit. And if a reporter approaches you, feel free to explain why you’re here. Stick to the basics, though. You believe in this charity and want to help out. I know that you do feel that way, when you aren’t distracted by other things. And try not to drink too much.”
I liked the way she mentioned me being distracted by other things. It seemed that she and I were on the same wavelength.
She let go of my arm, and I realized she was leaving me.
“I have to do it all alone?”
She smiled. “You’re a big boy. I’m sure you know all about charming people.”
Her smile was playful, and her eyes were sharp. She turned with a swish and walked up the stairs, ascending like a goddess.
I looked around me. I was out of my depth here. Put me in a nightclub like the White Room or E11even, and I knew exactly what to do. This place, however, not so much.
I walked to the bar. If I was going to manage this at all, I was going to need a stiff drink. I didn’t care if Lacey thought I shouldn’t drink too much. I needed to get through this without looking as unsure of myself as I felt. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like being in a place where I wasn’t comfortable.
This was all part of the plan, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
At the bar, I ordered a Remy Martin, and the bartender poured me two fingers on ice. I would have loved to have three, but it felt tacky to ask. I sipped the amber liquid, feeling the smooth whiskey run down my throat. Something I knew. Warm and familiar. What a treat.
“You are the last person I expected to see here,” a familiar voice next to me suddenly said.
I turned. Brian was dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and tie, and he looked very modern in it. His hair was slicked back, his chin clean-shaven, and he held a whiskey tumbler in his hand like it was precious.
“Don’t even ask,” I said, sipping more of my own whiskey.
When I had asked him during the week if he wanted to come out with me this Saturday, tonight, he had told me he was busy. I hadn’t bothered to ask with what. Now I knew.
“Don’t drink too much,” he said. “This place is crawling with reporters. It’s the one place you don’t want to be caught screwing up.”
“So I was told,” I said and drank more still, not listening to what Brian or Lacey were telling me.
I know it’s her job to make me look good, but I’m used to being bad. Old habits are hard to break, and all that.
“So, what are you doing here?” Brian asked. “It’s not your scene.”
I shrugged. “Working on my image.”
“Oh, with your PR Manager.” He grinned. “Where is she? I’d like to see this woman you’ve been talking about.”
I waved my hand. “Somewhere upstairs. I have to network by myself.”
“She’s making you work right away then,” Brian said, and I shook my head at him. “I think I like this girl for you.”
“Don’t you start,” I said.
“So, have you made any progress with her? Or is the fact that you’re in a suit proof that the only person making progress here is her?”
He chuckled.
I shook my head. “She’s good at what she does. I’ll give her that. And no, I haven’t really made any progress. I just can’t figure her out. I just thought I had a hang of her, and now, tonight, she’s different.”
“Different, how?”
I shrugged. I didn’t know how to explain it. She was just less of a hard-ass and more expressive. And more beautiful, as a result. Which caught me off guard because I didn’t usually describe women, even to myself in my own mind, as beautiful. They were hot or sexy, judged on a scale of how likely it was that I would fuck them.
This was something else entirely. I had no idea what this meant when it came to Lacey, or what this meant for her and me— as if there even was a her and me— but I intended to find out.