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"No," I replied.
"Just me, then? I see."
"Oh my God, you’re insufferable. Will you just let me finish my thought?"
"No, I enjoy rattling you. Your blush is delicious.” He wasn’t making this easy.
I licked my lips, clearing my throat.
"Meredith, you're here!" Sonya exclaimed, coming up behind us. Cade's expression changed immediately. His smile was instantly polite, not wicked. His eyes expressed a pleasant interest. "And you must be Cade Whitley," she said.
If Cade was surprised that she knew who he was, he didn’t let it show.
“Yes, I am. A pleasure to meet you. You must be Sonya."
"Yes." She smiled when he shook her hand. I had a flash of memory from years ago. Cade and I were studying at his home, and his mom came home with a friend. She introduced her to both of us.
Cade just greeted her, but then his mom pinned him with her stare, and he immediately shook the woman's hand.
"Meredith tells me you two know each other from way back when. High school, was it, Meredith?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cade's expression change once more. His smile faded, and there was a slight crease on his forehead.
Damn it. I really should've warned him earlier.
"That's right," I said.
"What a small world, huh? Let’s go inside and see what they’ll feed us tonight," Sonya said.
Really? This woman's driving me crazy.
The setup was different tonight. There were three long tables, and the seats were assigned once more. I couldn't help but wonder if Cade would've switched seats again if Sonya wasn't here. I peeked at him at the other end of the table and saw him look right back at me.
Holy shit, my entire body turned to goose bumps. Even from this distance, his gaze affected me. And by the way he was looking directly at me, I had my answer. Hedefinitelywould've switched seats. And look at that—I had sweaty palms and a dry mouth. My traitorous body was signaling that it would've liked that very much. I didn't even recognize myself when he was near.
Sonya and I sat next to each other. Her expression was too neutral for me to be able to tell if she was pleased or not. It was unnerving.
"Welcome back, everyone," Harley—the head of the competition—said, standing up at her table. “I know everyone is anxiously waiting to find out, and I wanted to reassure you that everyone we've invited here tonight is going forward to the next stage.”
There was a round of applause. I let out a breath of relief. Even though I'd been certain of our success, you never really knew.
"Oh, that's clever of them," Sonya said. “Even though it would've been very awkward otherwise.”
She had a point. I was too nervous to enjoy the food. I’d worked for Sonya for six years, and she wasn’t a secretive or mysterious boss. On the contrary, she was always to the point, and we worked well together, but tonight she was holding back.
We’d been asked for feedback after the last event at the Plaza, and I was sure they’d gotten several complaints about everything ending so abruptly. Tonight, however, they left plenty of time to mingle after dessert. There were no speeches either; it was much more of a meet-and-greet atmosphere.
Sonya was way more sociable than usual. Later on in the evening, I noticed her conversing with the CEO of Boston Masters, Alfred Danvers, at the bar.
“Is this seat empty?” Cade startled me for the second time tonight.
“You’re asking for permission? That’s new.”
“Your boss is here. I’mtryingto behave.”
The emphasis made me chuckle.
“She’s behaving oddly tonight. She’s been like this ever since she saw me look at your profile."
