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Harlan looked like he hadn’t shaved in a week, but he was still so sexy. He wore a slim fitting dark blazer, but all other staples of business dress were absent. Under the dark jacket he wore a clingy black microfiber shirt and slim casual pants over dark laceless high tops.
Tory told herself to look away, although he was a very handsome vision to behold indeed. She absent-mindedly snapped a few images of the architecture while admiring the clear lines of his musculature, accentuated by the slim athletic fit of his clothes. Hoping not to be seen, she quietly backed out of the door, watching Harlan give orders to his assistant, who was pretty enough to be a model herself.
She wondered if he had seen her and if he was as interested in her as she was in him. But then she told herself not to be silly, and hurried up to get ready, her heart pounding and her panties damp.
Chapter 4
There was an insistent knock at Tory’s door. Mahira came in as Tory opened it, wearing a slim low-cut dress of a semi metallic fabric that caught light and refracted it. She ended the call they had been on moments earlier before completely turning around. Tory stepped closer to her to zip up the shimmery fabric then turned away herself so that Mahira could zip up her much less dramatic black dress.
“Doesn’t look like you go out much,” Mahira said, smiling at Tory, “You won’t make an entrance at the ball in that.”
Tory laughed at her.
“I’m not clearly on a manhunt,” she said, cleaning her glasses.
“Right. You have a hometown hunk, don’t you?” Mahira teased.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Tory said, not wanting to admit how very inexperienced she actually was.
“Trouble?”
“No, not really. I had one boyfriend, but we broke up due to an immaturity issue, I guess.” Tory confided in her new friend. “Whenever we would go out somewhere and I was dressed up, like really hot, he’d turn into like a weird robot-he-man bodyguard. He’d stand around shooting steely glances at every other guy around and make sure to take me by the hips and pull me close to let everyone know I was spoken for.”
“I think you can do better than that,” Mahira said, as her phone vibrated to let her know their Uber car was approaching.
“I agree,” Tory told her. “That’s why he’s my ex.”
But sadly, I haven’t been able to find anyone else since, she thought, but didn’t add aloud.
***
The dinner had been exceptionally quiet, as almost everyone looked at their phones for updates on the Coronavirus situation as it had been upgraded to pandemic status and travel bans were being put in place.
The fanfare and media coverage buoyed most people’s spirits as the awards were presented.
After Giada received her award and said her thank yous, she paused and looked out over the group in dire consideration before swiftly walking off the stage. In the roar of the applause, Tory watched her go back to her seat, put on her coat, and walk away, pulling a small bag behind her.
When her name was called, Tory rose and proceeded towards the stage, realizing for the first time that Harlan was nowhere in sight. His pretty assistant wearing black, who had been introduced to them by the MC as Ms. Kalinski, was in his seat at the head of the panel, conversing via Bluetooth with someone unseen.
Tory felt her heart sink, but she once again told herself not to be silly. There was no reason to think that Harlan should be here, and especially not that he would be paying any attention to her, even though she was always looking around for him.
Chapter 5
Trace Linder led Harlan’s digital design team, not because of position or seniority but by default as the most requested designer. This had been the case with the big iGo Icon commission.
Two Chinese members of his staff had taken a leave of absence to self-quarantine somewhere in Canada. Others were concerned as the COVID 19 cases were springing up in New York City at an alarming rate.
Looking at his face at four times its size in a corner of the 80 inch, Harlan could see he was concerned. Trace, it seemed, had hit a wall in the project and couldn’t find the essence of the change he wanted to make in the iGo Icon. Clearly, the stresses faced by the absence of part of the team and the crisis itself, during a crucial week played some part.
Still handling the crisis, Harlan felt somewhat remiss in not attending the award ceremony earlier, yet he had almost welcomed having an excuse to work on it personally during the evening. If the city was going to close up, he could fly out in the morning with a ProBook and work from a great coffee shop in rural New England.
