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I turn my attention to Emma. She’s thrown herself into a conversation with Reggie Schaffer. The man owns a chain of high-end exotic resorts around the world and is fresh off the grand opening of his new flagship in Bali. He’s a charmer, but I also happen to know that he has been happily married to his second wife for the last forty years. Which is why he was intentionally seated on Emma’s right.
“… just a little intimidating, these events,” Emma says shyly, leaning towards Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer.
Mrs. Schaffer gives Emma a sympathetic smile. “Oh, honey, trust me: I’ve been there. You get used to it.”
“I don’t have to get used to it. This is not my world. I’m just the help.”
Reggie looks skeptical. “This may not be your world, but you certainly look like you fit in.”
Emma laughs and places a friendly hand on his arm. The man is pushing eighty and Emma’s touch doesn’t linger for more than a second, but it still pisses me off. I’m jealous of every smile, every laugh, every conversation she exchanges with anyone that isn’t me.
Across the table, a developer named Brady Sanchez drapes an arm around his twenty-two-year-old date and flashes me an enthusiastic smile. “Oryolov! I can’t tell you how glad I am that we’re sitting at the same table. You’re a hard man to wrangle, you busy bastard.”
I contain my smirk. Nothing about the seating chart had been left to chance. But as long as it has the appearance of coincidence, it works in my favor.
“I’ve got a new luxury skyrise apartment complex coming up in Manhattan and I need to get it decked out with all the fixings. I want that place locked downtight.”
This is shaping up to be the easiest sale of my life. Sanchez is a trust fund baby who has never met a dollar he didn’t immediately want to spend.
Then I hear laughter to my right and I completely lose my train of thought. The Schaffers are chuckling at something Emma’s just said. Even Dennis Carlisle has joined their conversation. That smarmy financemudakis sitting next to his mistress in public while his third wife molders at home and hestillhas the audacity to look at Emma like she’s a juicy piece of fruit, ripe for the plucking.
“So what do you say, Oryolov?” Brady presses when I don’t reply. “My skyrise is a forty-story behemoth. And I’m gonna want every single apartment wrapped in Bane’s finest bells and whistles.”
Another burst of laughter to my right. Instinctively, my hand finds Emma’s leg under the table. She stiffens, her smile faltering for only a moment. Then she shoves my hand right off her thigh. It’s enough to make me laugh, too. When I try again, she repeats the process, keeping her face angled away from me the whole time. All I can see is her jaw vibrating with tension.
“Only the finest for you, Brady,” I murmur.
Apparently, I’vereallypissed her off tonight. It’s gonna take more than a little under-the-table feeler to thaw my sexy littlekiska.
Lucky for me, I enjoy a good challenge.
Of course, not all challenges are quite so enjoyable. I’m reminded of that when Jessica’s hand finds its way back to my own thigh. I give her five seconds to reconsider and then I peel it off again. She interprets that as an excuse to sidle a little closer to me. I ignore her and focus on the little glacier in red sitting on my right.
This time, when I palm Emma’s thigh, grateful as ever for the slit that offers me contact with her naked skin, she’s ready for me. She grabs my hand and digs her nails in. It takes some effort not to burst out laughing.
The little hellcat is all claws tonight—literally—and I’m fucking loving it.
“I hope that glint in your eye means you’re the one who’s going to handle this account.” Brady folds his arms haughtily. “I’m not willing to accept anyone else.” His gaze veers to Fyodor and Vadim, the latter of whom hides his scowl behind his champagne flute.
I keep my face straight as Emma digs in a little harder. Any deeper and she’ll start to draw blood. Still, I refuse to remove my hand.
“I wouldn’t dream of giving you to anyone else.”
“Excellent.” He lifts up his champagne glass and we cheers to the new alliance.
But despite the fact that I’ve managed to score Bane Corp. a new contract worth millions before the main course has even hit the table, I’m more interested in closing the deal with the siren on my right.
I slide my hand up her inner thigh and pry her legs open. She jerks violently, causing her newfound friends to raise their eyes in alarm.
“Are you alright, dear?” Mrs. Schaeffer asks.
“Mhmm,” Emma grits out, trying desperately to push away my hand without being obvious about it.
“Is something bothering you?” Dennis Carlisle chimes in. It looks more like he’s talking to her cleavage.
“Fine,” Emma answers tightly. “Just, um… hungry.”
Yeah, I bet you are, my little minx.
