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Genny and Duncan were talking to Teddy Mankowitz, Elsa had managed to lose Baldwin, and she was making her approach to Genny’s group.
Therefore, his hackles raised after hours of watching her flirt with Baldwin, he approached too.
Elsa started when he wrapped his arm around her belly from the side, dipping his chin to the grouping. “Genny, Bowie,” he greeted the only true mom he had, and as one of the chosen few allowed to do so, he used her husband’s nickname. He then turned to Mankowitz. “Teddy. I need to steal Elsa.”
Before any of them could say a word, he ignored Genny’s startled look, Duncan’s knowing look, and Teddy’s confused one, and he stole her, pulling her away with his arm around her middle, then letting her go only to clasp her hand and drag her out of the ballroom toward the Oak Room.
She came with him, likely so she wouldn’t cause a scene.
The attendant with a list outside the Oak Room nodded to them as he dragged her in. He was thrilled to find it was empty. He closed the door behind them, pulled her in further, and around, so he was between her and the exit.
Pure Elsa, she faced off first.
“Kindly explain yourself,” she demanded.
“You can push your agenda with Mankowitz some other time. Tonight is not the night.”
“I was simply introducing myself.”
“Of course you were,” he derided.
“And I don’t have to explain myself to you,” she added.
“Tonight is about helping kids, not your career.”
Her torso jerked like he’d struck her.
Hale ignored that and kept at her.
“And on the subject you wanted to broach with Mankowitz, Dougal Baldwin is too young for you.”
Her head twitched. “Sorry?”
“And he’s a player. He fucks everything that moves.”
“I’m not…are you…are you honestly giving me shit about Dougal Baldwin?”
“It was just a date, a fake date, in your estimation, but you couldn’t have missed it meant something to me. So at least pretend you have a heart in your chest and maybe not outrageously flirt with some other guy when I’m in the fucking room.”
Her big blue eyes got bigger before she asked, “Are you insane?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“You ghosted me.”
“I fucking did not. But it was all business with you after that night. I knew my place, you made that clear.”
Now her very red, very full, very sexy lips parted in shock.
Then she snapped, “You have an interesting take, because it wasn’t all business with me, it was all businesswith you.”
He shook his head once, testily. “Oh fuck no, sweetheart. That isn’t the way it happened. You didn’t say, ‘hey, I had a great time last night, come over tonight, I’ll get in some takeout.’ You said, ‘have a look at this rough cut and let me know your thoughts as soon as you’re able.’”
“I needed you to have a look at the cut.”
“Obviously.”
“You didn’t say ‘great night’ either, Hale.”
