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She wasn’t vulnerable now. And while Giddy Excited Julia was allowed to jump around inside of her over movies and games, she was not allowed out to play.
“Well,” he said, “I happened to have provided some of the software used for the highly sophisticated special effects, which landed me with the invite.”
She closed the door on her memories and focused on the presents. “Right, I was a little jealous about that.”
“But you don’t have the tech for this sort of thing.”
“No. I make technology for regular people,” she said, swiveling her chair in a circle. “Anyway, I really get to come?” She would go chained to Ferro’s leg if she had to. It was way too fun to pass up. She would go even if they weren’t partnering on the Barrows deal together.
“Yes. Formal dress. Though, it is a sci-fi film, if you wanted to do a gold bikini and a slave collar, I think that would be acceptable attire.”
“Har, har, Calvaresi. Anyway, that’s Star Wars. Cold Planet is an entirely different mythology. It’s based off of this first-person shooter game and…” She clamped her mouth shut. She was doing it again. “And I’m hardly going to a public event in a costume.”
“You’ll have to tell me more about mythologies at the premiere.”
She was sure he was making fun of her. She basically deserved it at this point. It was one thing to get in front of a room full of people and make a scripted speech, but still, even still, social interaction had the potential to be painfully awkward. She was out of practice. If she’d ever been in-practice.
“Sure,” she said. “What time?”
“I’ll pick you up at five. We have to walk the carpet, then we get to view the movie.”
“Wow.” So a lot more social interaction on the docket. Goody. “Neat.”
“You sound thrilled.”
“About the movie, yes.”
“Great, see you at five.” He hung up and she leaned back in her chair. Then she scrambled forward and hit the intercom on her phone. “Thad.”
“Yes?” Her assistant’s voice came through the speaker.
“I need a dress. A hot one. Get Ally on it, please. And I need to get my hair done.”
“Formal? And by when?”
“Yes, and I need to be waiting out front of the building at four-fifty.”
Thad sighed heavily. She knew she was asking the next-to impossible, but she also knew if anyone could get it arranged, it was him. “As you wish.”
“Great. Thank you. You rock. I have to go.” She pushed the off button and rested her chin on her desk, her hands on her lap. Then she took a breath and straightened. She was going to be fine. She wasn’t going to think about how ill-equipped she was to show up at a Hollywood premiere on the arm of a man like Ferro. She wasn’t going to think about how likely it was that she would drop a shrimp cocktail into her cleavage during the party.
No. She was going to sit back and let the professionals she hired to make her camera-ready do what they did best. If nothing else, she would look good. She would look strong.
Money might not buy happiness, but it bought an image that made it possible for her to go out in public.
And yes, she was Ferro’s date. But it wasn’t a date-date. Thank God. The last time she’d had a date it had been an unmitigated disaster. And that guy hadn’t been Ferro sex-on-a-cracker Calvaresi.
Not that she was all that familiar with sex. On a cracker or otherwise. But Ferro was. Her face got hot when she thought of some of the more revealing parts of Ferro’s unauthorized bio. Yes, she’d read it. And it made it hard to look the man in the eye.
He wasn’t just hot. He was the kind of man who made women lose their minds. Who inspired respectable members of society to throw off the bonds of convention and flaunt him at social gatherings. He’d been the much-younger stud of a few women back in his home country, setting off scandalous headlines and dissolving marriages.
Of course, that was assuming that version of his life was true. And that was assuming a lot. And as Ferro had said, he never confirmed or denied.
She took another fortifying breath. Great. Fine. She could do this. Tonight, she was going to be yet another rumor to add to Ferro’s list. And she wouldn’t confirm or deny.
