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He started to stand, but his view of the dance floor was suddenly blocked by a pair of double D’s barely confined in a low-cut sequined top.
“Hey, Gage. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He barely restrained his groan when he looked up to see Connie standing next to his table. “Connie,” he said, hoping his less than friendly tone would penetrate. Matt had told him to set things right with their barracuda HR woman, but he’d failed to do so.
Forgotten was the more accurate word. Ten minutes after his brother issued that order, Penny had walked in, asked for a favor, and this past week had taken on a life of its own.
“Were you here for the meeting with Conor as well?” she asked.
Interesting. Connie knew Matt’s schedule? It was starting to look like Connie wasn’t setting her sights just on Gage but any Russo brother she could land.
“No.”
“You looked good out there on the dance floor.”
Gage narrowed his eyes. The last thing he wanted was for Connie to fuck with Penny, but before he could warn her away, she looked over her shoulder, toward the dance floor, and mused, “That woman looks so familiar, but I can’t place how I know her.”
It was more than likely Connie and Penny rarely crossed paths at work. HR was on the eighth floor of the Russo Enterprises building, while the IT department was on the third floor. Penny joked she used the stairs every day instead of the elevator because it was her cardio workout, so it was unlikely they ever ran into each other.
“Connie, I think I need to reiterate a few things to you.”
His ploy to draw her attention away from Penny and back to him worked.
“I know what you’re going to say, Gage, and I’m very sorry about the Marjorie incident. I don’t know what came over me, but you don’t have to worry. It won’t happen again.”
The perfect canned response courtesy of Human Resources.
“I hope that it won’t.”
“I’d love to buy you a drink—just as friends,” she hastened to add. “As an apology.”
He shook his head. “No. That’s not necessary.”
She hovered for a second longer, obviously trying to find another excuse to stick around. He was anxious to check on Penny, but he didn’t want to draw Connie’s attention back to her.
“Good night, Connie,” he said dismissively.
She nodded once then executed a perfect spin, making sure he’d not only gotten a front row seat to her tits but a parting glimpse at her ass in the shortest, tightest miniskirt ever designed.
She’d wasted her time. She wasn’t two steps away from the table before he was searching the dance floor for Penny again.
When he found her, he didn’t like what he saw. The song was winding down, so Penny fanned herself before pointing to the table. It was an excuse, a way to make her escape from the two couples, and it worked. At the table, she pulled her phone out once more then stifled a yawn.
He recognized the second she decided to pack it in. She headed back to the dance floor to say goodbye to her friends.
He threw cash down on the table to pay for his drink then caught up to her at the exit. “Leaving so soon?”
“Yeah. I’m kind of tired and my feet are killing me. Not used to heels. Besides, I think my window of opportunity closed. I’m just going to get an Uber home and try this again another night.”
“Forget the Uber. I’ll drive you home. It’s my fault that window closed.”
“No, it wasn’t. I needed the lesson in bouncing…I mean dancing,” she joked. Even though he could see how disappointed she was, she didn’t lose her sense of humor.
“Come on, Beaumont. I’m taking you home.”
She didn’t put up an argument, and he realized why when she ripped off her shoes the second they pulled out of the parking lot.
“Sweet mother of God,” she said, sighing in relief. “How much did those shoes cost?”
