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His friends laughed, but all Andreus cared about was how his words had Monique relaxing against her seat. The memory of her outburst during last week's board meeting was a nightmare he didn't care to relieve. It was something Hallie hadn't done anything to deserve, and there was no fucking way he would let such a thing happen again.
Silver went on to ask the others the same question, and Andreus was able to eventually deduce the topic had to do with the staff uniforms for the sports bar Silver co-owned with his fiancée. Lace apparently was leaning towards having everyone wear jerseys (no surprise there) while Silver believed it was better for the staff to be comfortably dressed in shirts and jeans.
“As compromise is the key to never missing a night of sex,” Kellion drawled, “I’d say go for jersey tops and jeans.”
“That could work,” Lace acknowledged grudgingly.
“Speaking of uniforms...”
Andreus barely managed not to tense in his seat at the sudden sound of Hallie's voice.
“I was thinking it would be nice if we could present a united front tomorrow, remind everyone about our roots.”
Monique could only resort to grinding her teeth the moment she heard the other woman talk about tomorrow's debutante ball. She was dying to ask what exactly a Greek slut like Hallie would know about such occasions, but she also knew better than to court everyone's disapproval when her outburst in the board meeting was clearly still fresh in everyone's minds.
"Explain."
Helios' monosyllabic command, uttered in a gruffly spoken voice, would have most people quaking in their shoes, but this only had the rest of the Afxisi hiding their smiles, since it was something they had gotten used to over the years. Their President might be named after the sun god, but Mr. Sunshine he would never be.
“I was thinking, when all the debutantes had been presented, and the ceremony's officially over, the guys could change into leather jackets, white shirts, jeans—-”
Kellion’s lips curved in a smile of understanding. “The Afxisi uniform, in other words.”
"The idea has merit," Helios acknowledged, "but it's something all concerned parties must unanimously agree on."
A bland smile formed over Andreus’ lips. “I was actually thinking of hanging up my jacket for good—-”
“Why?” Aria asked curiously. “Because you’re married?” She saw Andreus’ wife stiffen and realized too late she had accidentally struck a nerve. My bad, the redhead thought, but she wasn’t really that sorry.
Conscious of how everyone was now looking at her, Monique let out a shrill laugh and placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder, saying, “If you’re doing it for me, you don’t have to. I fell in love with you, leather jacket and all. I don’t expect you to change just because we’re married.” She felt Hallie Athanas’ blue eyes boring through hers, and a tremor of fury shook her when she realized what this was all about.
The bitch knew!
She had no idea how, but Monique was willing to bet her trust fund that the bitch knew she had pressured Andreus earlier to ditch his jacket for a business blazer.
Fueled by rage, Monique turned a hard smile at the other woman’s direction. You may have won that round, darling, but I’m not going to let things end just like that. She picked her flute of champagne, saying sweetly, “That’s enough business talk, I think. It’s not what we’re here after all.” She stood up and raised her glass. “It’s time we do a toast to the next chapter in Hallie’s life...”
There was a moment of silence, but just as everyone had started to stand and reach for their own champagne flutes Monique heard the other woman say rather baldly, “I’ve changed my mind.”
Andreus stiffened, Monique stopped smiling, and no one seemingly dared to draw another breath.
Only Hallie appeared not to have lost her composure. “I’ve decided it would be cowardly of me to fly back to Tokyo just when things aren’t going well—-”
“Oh no,” Monique interrupted even as she strove to keep her rage under control. “Please don’t change your plans on our account.” She forced herself to send Hallie a look of appeal. “Andreus and I will feel so horrible if that were so. And I assure you, there’s nothing for you to worry about. My husband and I have already discussed it, and we both agree that it’s only a matter of time before the public’s interest wanes—-”
“Be that as it may,” Hallie slotted in politely, “I consider it my duty and honor to work hand in hand with the others in weathering this storm.”
Monique opened her mouth to protest, but Helios Andreadis beat her to speaking. “While none of us would’ve held it against you if you had pushed through with your travel plans, I'm glad you're choosing to stick around, and I know everyone here feels the same way."
