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Silas waved from another table and elbowed Dev, who was hunched awkwardly over a tumbler of whisky like he was attempting to appear invisible. Dev up-nodded us.
“Thank you for bringing me,” I said impulsively, pulling Bash to face me before we took our seats at Landry’s table. “I’m glad I’m getting the chance to experience something like this.” Not just being at the glittering party but the chance to be part of his brotherhood, even temporarily.
“First of many, I hope,” he said, giving me a half-smile that made my knees go weak.
“Huh?”
“I mean… I hope this is the first of many boring awards banquets you experience with me.” He leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “Ducking behind a potted plantaloneseems like such a waste now.”
My heart beat fast, and my stomach dropped. “Are you… are you saying…” I licked my lips. “Do you mean while I’m living in New York? Or, like, you’d want me to maybe come back to the city sometime? O-or…” I trailed off, unable to think of a third option.
“No.” Bash set his hand on my waist. “I’m saying I’d like you to consider—”
“Bash.” Austin Purcell stood behind one of the empty chairs. “Hey, hey. Sorry to interrupt, but there was a mix-up with my ticket tonight. The people at the entrance said—oh.” He noticed Bash’s arm around me and broke off with a frown.
Bash stiffened and turned, blocking Austin’s view. “Austin. I thought you were in Sierra Leone until tomorrow.”
“Well, I was, but I changed my flight. I assumed it was an oversight on Kenji’s part since I was meant to behere.” He peered around Bash, his attention fully on me. “Are you…?” His eyes widened in recognition. “Your picture was up on Bash’s wall screen.” He looked to Bash for confirmation.
Bash ignored him, instead smiling broadly at someone near the entrance. “Oh, look, Clarissa’s arrived. We should take our seats.” With a hand on my shoulder, he finally took his own seat.
Austin plopped down into the chair on the other side of me. “What’s your name again?”
My stomach gave a sickening swoop. I didn’t want to give him my name and possibly start something. Would Austin remember the name of the man whose project he’d stolen? Possibly not, but I couldn’t take the chance of tipping off Austin before the board meeting on Monday, when Bash and the others would confront Austin with the legal team present.
My best option was to lie low.
“I’m Bash’s date.” I managed a tight smile. “Nice to meet you.” I turned to Bash. “What were you saying again? Something about polo, I think?”
Under the table, Bash grasped my hand tight enough to cut off my circulation. Thankfully, someone stopped by the table to greet Austin, and he stopped talking to me. But as the uniformed servers began delivering dinner and an older man in a sweet navy tux stood up at the podium to make his opening remarks, I felt Austin’s attention on me again, like he was trying to figure out a way to ask my name without being overtly rude.
I straightened my posture, ignored the keynote speech I couldn’t care less about, and tried to look like I belonged.
“Bash, darling.” Constance Baxter-Hicks appeared next to Bash. “They’ve seated us at the Loringtons’ table, and that just won’t do. I’ve asked them to switch us here. You don’t mind, do you?” Without waiting for Bash’s confirmation, Constance took the seat beside him. Her daughter, Miranda, took the chair next to hers, and a nice-looking guy around my age took the next seat down—after holding out Miranda’s chair for her.
I shot Miranda a covert thumbs-up, gesturing to her elegant, understated green dress, and she blushed and smiled hugely.
“Always happy to have you with us,” Bash said with a genuine smile. “Miranda, Hank. Nice to see you both.”
The man nodded, then leaned toward Miranda like he was continuing a conversation while Miranda cheerfully munched her dinner roll.
Another pair of women arrived and took the remaining seats at the table. They both appeared to be in their forties. One had a pale complexion with a short platinum pixie cut, and the other was dark-skinned with long mahogany hair that tumbled in shiny waves against the red satin tux she wore.
Bash stood and went around the table to help the ladies with their seats, then returned and put a hand on my shoulder. He gestured toward the blonde woman first. “This is our CEO, Clarissa, and her wife, Kamaria. Ladies, I’d love to introduce you to my date. He’s—”
“The Burrito Bandito!” Austin blurted triumphantly, like he’d finally come up with the answer that had been eluding him. “You’re the one who does the dance!”
Bash’s fingers tightened on my shoulder, and I knew my face had to be fire-hot.
What was I supposed to do now? Would it cause more of a scene to confirm or deny?
“See, I know him as the brilliant inventor of—” Bash began in a low growl, but I set my hand on top of his to stop him.
“Don’t,” I said softly. “Don’t.”
“And you are?” Constance leaned forward to look down her nose at Austin like he was a lower life form she’d only just deigned to notice.
But Austin wouldn’t be distracted. I could see the scales falling from his eyes like dominos,plink plink plink.
