AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I understand, sir.”
His eyes ran over her face thoughtfully. “You really are very pretty.”
She could have laughed at the heavy-handed compliment. “Thank you.”
“I hate birthday parties,” he grumbled.
“This is your birthday party,” she responded with a raise of her brows. Though secretly, she felt exactly the same. Her own birthday was looming and she simply wanted to get past it and carry on with the year. “And it’s loaded with interesting people. What’s to hate?”
“Getting old,” he replied with a glum shrug of his shoulders.
Her laugh was practiced, but she suspected he didn’t realise that. She was used to the vanity of men like Hank. Rich, handsome at one time in their lives, and somewhat childish in how they expected the world to work. Managing him was like handling a recalcitrant toddler.
“Well, you have me for the night. What would you like to do?”
His eyes dropped to the generous swell of her cleavage, that was displayed in the low cut cocktail dress. She laughed again. This time, it was genuine.
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s not that kind of agency.”
He winked at her. “An old man can dream, can’t he?”
He could have seemed sleazy, but there was such a pathetic vulnerability to him that she pitied him instead. “Come on. I’m a great dancer. Let’s go for a spin.”
He put a hand on her shoulder and nodded. “Good.”
“Oh!” She exclaimed in surprise, as the man she’d borrowed the phone from intercepted them.
“Hank,” he said, with a curt twist of his lips. But his eyes, his stunning, blue eyes, were locked on Jane’s face. There was accusation in them, and sardonic derision. It burned Jane. Her skin was energised and tingling.
The older man responded with an equally unforthcoming grunt.
“You know each other?” Jane asked, surprised by how breathy her voice sounded. “Of course you do. You’re at Hank’s party.” She winced. “I should have said, how do you two know each other?”
The phrasing of her question was hesitant and uncertain, earning a quizzical look from her saviour.
“You’re here with him?” He demanded, nodding towards her client.
“Yes.” It had been a last minute booking; her agency had switched her from a different job, as they needed to send their best escort.
“You’re here with my father?”
“Your father?” She looked from one to the other, not able to easily discern a commonality in appearance. “I guess I am.” She smiled at her client, hoping that she was hiding how distracted she was by his son. “Thank you for the loan of your phone.” She reached into her purse and pulled it out, handing it to him without meeting his eyes.
Hank’s lips were pale. “This is my son, Carter Mann-Hughes.”
The younger man didn’t even acknowledge that his father had spoken. He kept his eyes locked to Jane’s face. “I trust your emergency was solved?”
“Yes,” she nodded, her throat aching. “Not so much of an emergency after all.”
He slipped the phone into his top pocket.
“Where’s Renata?” Hank asked, referring to his son Carter’s supermodel girlfriend.
“Probably knee deep in vodka,” he said with a shrug.
The animosity between the two of them was palpable. Jane looked from one to the other before remembering that she was there to work. “We were just going to dance. It was nice to meet you, Carter.” She turned her back too swiftly to see the warning determination in his eyes.
The band switched to a different song, slower in tempo, and when Hank held her close, she didn’t object. The other couples were in a similar posture.
