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“What, why not?” I’m a bit puzzled by her hesitance. Perhaps she hasn’t found anything that she wants yet.
“Archer,” she says, lowering her voice so that only I can hear her, “I can’t afford any of these things. Even if I could, I wouldn’t know what to do with…” reaching to grab the closest bidding sheet she reads off the top, “six sessions with Seattle’s premier life coach?”
I want to let out a laugh at the thought I would actually let her pay for anything, but Hollie has a lot of pride, and that would most likely not go over well. Instead, I draw her forward so her chest is pressed against mine. I try to ignore the fact I can feel her tits pressed against my upper abdomen. Instead, I lean down and brush my lips against hers in a kiss that’s almost a caress. I pull away and let my chin rest upon the crown of her head, breathing in her distinctive scent that always makes my pulse quicken.
“Angel, we’re bidding with the company money. That’s the whole reason we’re here. And if we’re going to bid on something anyway, it might as well be something you want.”
She leans back in my arms and smiles sweetly. “Then let’s bid on that one.” She points to something on the table we passed a few items ago. I release her and step closer to see what she’s picked out.
“You want a box of Gurkha His Majesty's Reserve cigars?” I lift my eyebrow pointedly at her. “That’s funny. I’ve never noticed you smoking cigars before.”
“Fine.” She crosses her arms over her chest and gives me my favorite disgruntled expression. “I thought you would like them. I don’t need any of this stuff.”
“Of course you don’tneedany of this. You’re supposed to get something youwant.Besides, if you don’t bid on something, I’ll be forced to go home empty-handed and no money will go to the schools. But I guess if you can live with that…”
“Fine.” She gives a harrumph and continues walking down the tables, looking over what’s being offered, with me dutifully following behind her. If anyone were watching us and thought it was humorous that Archer Clarke was following around a girl fresh out of college like a lovesick puppy, I’ve got news for them. I couldn’t give a fuck. I’d follow her to hell and back.
“This one.” She grabs a pen from the table and starts scribbling the Clarke Hotel information on the bid sheet. I lean over her shoulder to see which item finally caught her attention.
“A trip for two to a Château on a lake in Alberta?”
“It sounds beautiful. I wonder who I’ll take with me.”
My head jerks back to her and before I can protest about her going on a romantic getaway with anyone who isn’t me, I notice the sparkle in her eye. Instead, I pinch her ass as discreetly as I can in a room full of people. “Don’t even think about it, angel.”
We make our way through throngs of reporters to find our name cards on one of the large tables covered in expensive china and elegant floral centerpieces. Hollie’s hand is securely in mine when she pulls back slightly, missing a step. I stop and wrap an arm around her, noticing that her entire body’s gone still as a board. Her eyes are so large they look like they’re about to fall out of her head and I can feel her begin to tremble. I turn to see where she’s looking when I spot a familiar but wholly unwelcome sight.
“Archer, my boy. I didn’t expect to see you here this evening.”
Patrick Shaw is standing directly in our path wearing a suit that’s as expensive as my own, but he’s nowhere close to pulling it off like I do. I only try mildly to suppress my eye roll. He is the last thing I want to deal with tonight.
“Hey there, Archer. You’re looking rather well. It’s been a while,” Selene Shaw says to me suggestively, leaning forward allowing me a glimpse down her dress. A shudder runs through my body. I can’t believe I put my dick in that, even if it was to fuck with Patrick. She’s draped in a piece of fabric that could be called a dress by only the loosest of definitions. Her breasts are hanging out of the snug neckline and her face is plastered with about an inch of makeup.
I can see now that every woman in my past was just me wasting time until my angel came along. If it’s possible, Hollie tenses up beside me even more than she was before. She’s got a death grip on my elbow and she’s squeezing into my side like she hopes she can disappear inside of me.
“I was sorry to hear about your offer not getting to Caroline DuPont on time. I wonder what could have happened.” Hollie lets out a quiet gasp at my side. I hadn’t had time to talk to her about the fact that the proposal had gone missing. I knew she would be upset, and I didn’t want to worry her. Enjoying our evening together was tonight’s top priority.
Shaw has a smile on his face that’s nothing short of triumphant. I don’t know how the fuck he knows the bid didn’t get there today, but I don’t have time to figure it out right now. I’ll have Richard start on an official inquiry to who has been leaking information to Patrick Shaw on Monday, but right now I want to get Hollie out of here. There’s definitely something wrong with her. I’m going to insist that she see a doctor first thing in the morning.
“If you’ll excuse us, we have somewhere we need to be,” I say, trying to move past the wall of bullshit that’s stationed itself in front of us.
His smile turns downright evil as his eyes move from me over to Hollie at my side. Every protective instinct inside of me rises to the forefront. If he doesn’t stop looking at her in the next three seconds, he’s going to end up in the hospital.
“Of course. And how are you doing, Hollie, my darling?” My head physically jerks back like I’ve been slapped. How does he know her name? When I find out whoever has been giving information to Shaw, I’m going to kill them. I recognize that I’ve threatened violence, even if it was internally, twice in the past ten seconds. I’m worried that this might become par for the course where Hollie is involved.
“Fine,” she says in almost a whisper.
“Frankly Archer, when I heard that you’d hired my very own daughter as your personal assistant, I figured you were either incredibly cunning or monumentally stupid.” He raises one of his eyebrows up to his receding hairline, like he’s waiting for me to say something.
It feels like I’ve just received a punch to the gut. All the air escapes my body in a rush and I want to hunch over with my hands on my knees, gulping in all the oxygen in the room. Instead, I barely maintain my upright position and direct my next question straight to Hollie. “Daughter?” I wait not so patiently for her denial.
“Archer, I—”
“Oh, I see, you didn’t know.” Shaw clasps his hands together in a show of mock sympathy. “I guess we’re going to go with monumentally stupid then. Hollie dear, you’re a chip right off the old block. I hope you understand. It’s just business, after all.” He lets out a laugh that sounds like it might verge on manic while pulling Selene closer into his side. I guess he really is still pissed off about our hook-up. “I hope you both have a lovely evening.”
With that, he whisks his wife away from us, leaving Hollie and I in a stunned silence. The confrontation with Shaw was short and didn’t draw too much attention. Still, there are a few people nearby that are eyeing us with curiosity. As quickly as possible, I guide Hollie through a closed door that leads us to a hallway cast in shadow. It’s obviously some place that’s off-limits to guests and attendees, but it will afford us the privacy we need for this.
“You’re Patrick Shaw’s daughter? Your last name is Simmons,” I state the obvious.
