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I had been procrastinating over an important decision the last couple of days, but tonight I had finally decided. As the executive benefactor at the Northwestern Museum of Natural History, I had a strong say in the staff that came and went there, and it was my decision that the NMNH internship would go to one Jesse Clark. Yes… He would fit in just right in the paleontology department, and it would keep my little lamb exactly where I wanted him. Within sight and under my thumb.
9
Oh hell. It’s valet only tonight, isn’t it? I thought as I pulled Pretty Baby up to the front of NMNH’s entrance. There were several valet attendants bustling around, greeting the guests who were pulling up in luxury cars worth a small fortune, and I wanted nothing more in that moment than to turn around and go back the way I’d come. I’d have no such luck, as an attendant opened my door with a creak and gave me a forced smile.
“Attending the gala this evening?” he asked, giving my car a quick once-over.
“Uh, yes.” I stepped out of the car, leaving it on, and buttoned my suit jacket. Well, it wasn’t my jacket, it was one of Brayden’s that apparently had fit him in high school, but since I didn’t have anything in my closet fancy enough for this evening’s event, it would have to do.
The valet tore off a numbered card and handed it to me, and as he lowered himself into the driver’s seat, I said, “Oh, if the key gets stuck, you just have to push this button”—I leaned over the guy and stuck my finger through an open compartment under the steering wheel to show him—“and…yeah. That should work.”
The attendant gave me a look of amusement and distaste, and I felt myself turn thirty shades of red. “I think I can manage,” he said, before shutting the door and driving off to park.
How embarrassing, I thought, slipping the card into my pants pocket. I didn’t need to be ashamed, though. I had every right to be here among all the elegantly dressed couples walking into the museum. I’d worked my ass off to win a spot in the internship program, and when they’d called to offer me the job earlier in the week, I knew all the hours spent studying and hiding away while everyone else partied had been worth it. This was the stepping stone to the career I wanted, and tonight was the night I’d be introduced to this world. It was the annual opening gala, the night all patrons and employees gathered to celebrate and raise money for the upcoming exhibitions.
I tugged on the hem of my tuxedo jacket, and then, projecting a confidence I didn’t feel, made my way inside.
The gala was taking place tonight in the rotunda, an enormous room lined with marble columns and capped with a stunning stained-glass dome. As I entered the vast space, already filled to capacity, I looked up at the rising statue in the center of the room, three sirens holding a flaming orb above their heads, and could hardly believe I was here in a professional capacity. Tonight, the museum seemed even more magical, with twinkling lights strung across the balconies and a jazz band playing, and out of nowhere I felt the pang of disappointment that I didn’t have a date to share tonight with. Sure, I could’ve invited Brayden, but I’d have preferred a certain other dark-haired male, one I’d been fantasizing about all week, though I hadn’t seen him since our coffee date a week and a day ago. Not that I’m counting…
Salvatore had called a couple of times, late at night after I’d finally gotten home from a long workday, but he’d made no mention of seeing me again, and the conversations had been surprisingly…platonic. Asking how my day had been, if my car had been giving me any problems. No mention at all about what he’d said about wanting me, no hint of interest, sexual or otherwise. I kept running through our conversation at the café, wondering if I’d said or done something that made him change his mind about me. God, I hoped not. The more time I’d had to think about the enigmatic man who’d captured my interest, the more I wanted to know him.
I grabbed a flute of champagne off a passing waiter’s tray and took a sip. What would it be like to have Salvatore Wolfe by my side at an event like this? He probably would be entirely at ease here, surrounded by other wealthy, important people. As my eyes traveled over to the makeshift dance floor by the jazz band, I wondered if he’d ask me to dance. No doubt he’d be good at that, too, while I’d spend the whole time trying not to trip over my feet.
