I smirk at my own cleverness. They say the key to pulling off a convincing lie is to keep it simple. What’s more believable than the truth?
He catches my eye and holds it. “Trust me, you don’t need to try so hard.”
I blink in surprise—and Chase chooses precisely that moment to reappear, a wineglass cradled in each hand. But before he can hand me one, my new companion intercepts it and passes it to me himself.
“Thanks for grabbing that for her,” he says smoothly, reaching a hand out to a clearly confused Chase. “I’m Jack.”
“Chase,” he answers slowly, casting me a quizzical look as he accepts Jack’s proffered handshake. I’m no help—I’m a deer in the headlights. “Are you two—”
“So what is it you do, Chase?” Jack cuts him off and takes a small step closer to me, wordlessly establishing dominance and staking his claim so shamelessly that I’m left speechless.Whoisthis guy?
Chase slides his eyes from Jack to me and back again.“Uh... I’m in investment banking. The retail and consumer side.” I would laugh at how accurately I pegged Chase but for the fact that I’m still openly gawking at Jack.
“No kidding?” Jack jabs a thumb over his shoulder. “I was just chatting with a friend of mine, you might know him. Neil Waltham?”
Chase goes bug-eyed. “Neil Waltham, as in CFO of Cohen Property Group? The largest owner of outlet malls in the country? He’s here?”
When Jack nods in the affirmative, Chase looks a bit sheepish. “Could you... point him out?”
“I’ll do you one better. Want an introduction? Neil and I go way back.”
I watch the exchange in mounting disbelief, simultaneously appalled and impressed by how effortlessly this guy’s managed to turn Chase into a pawn on his chessboard.
“Uh,yeah, if you’re offering,” Chase says eagerly, barely glancing at me, the now-forgotten footnote in their conversation.Really, Chase? I nearly ruptured my spleen for you!
Jack lightly cups my elbow and I startle.
“I’ll be right back.” He says it in the casual,just checking intone of a significant other, and when I gape back at him, he shoots me a nearly imperceptible wink.
I take a generous gulp of wine as I watch their retreating backs and attempt to unscramble my conflicting feelings about this guy. His arrogance is completely obnoxious, that much is for sure. And yet, the ease with which he dispatched Chase was... pretty hot, if I’m being honest. I don’t know whether I’m offended or turned on. Before I can decide, Jack’s back at my side, his smirk somehow even cockier than before.
“Well, that was... something.”
“Thank you,” he replies seriously, like it was a compliment.
I eye him over the rim of my glass. “So what’s your game?”
“Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“You make a habit of running off perfectly nice guys?”
He considers the question. “How many’s a habit?”
I let out a puff of air. “What if I liked him?”
“Come on, that guy? Really?”
We both swivel to look across the room at Chase, who’s now talking the ear off a bored-looking older man. I think of a puppy wagging its tail.
“I am a little insulted by how quickly he gave up on me,” I admit.
“And after that stage dive you took, too. So much wasted effort.” Hetsks.
“Ifell,” I groan in exasperation, then move to leave. “You know what, forget it.”
He grabs my elbow to stop me, laughing as he holds his hands up in surrender. “I was just messing with you. Anyway, I did you a favor. You don’t want a guy who’s that easily manipulated.”
I wonder how many times this guy’s been slapped. “And I supposeyouknow what I want? You don’t even know my name.”
