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Adam
Part of me wishes I could have kept her at Wellington Estate, where we could be alone. I like having her all to myself. But I need to appear settled, strong, and stable in front of my board of directors tonight. I don’t want anyone to sense even an ounce of weakness in me. I’m already viewed as a loose cannon, a damaged heir to the throne of Wellington Corporation. And they aren’t wrong. I am damaged, but I’ll be damned if Titan thinks for one moment that he has a chance at dissolving what five generations of Wellingtons have worked toward.
Chaz makes his way through the crowd.
“Bolinger wants to speak with you,” he says under his breath as he approaches us.
“Isa Garren, Chaz Yarnell,” I introduce my assistant to my date. Chaz’s eyes flick over to Isa and back to me and then back to Isa. I watch him assess her. He notices. She’s not like the other women that I typically bring to such events. He looks back at me, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Pleasure to meet you. I have to steal your date for a moment,” he says.
“I’ll come find you in a few minutes. The bar is open. Why don’t you go get yourself a drink?” I suggest as I motion to the bar in the corner of the room.
“Oh, of course, do what you need to,” she insists, giving me a small smile. I can tell she’s a little nervous. This isn’t her normal crowd. I can’t blame her. She should be nervous. I’ve brought a lamb to slaughter. Most of these people would chew her up and spit her out. I watch her walk across the room and only drag my gaze away when Chaz clears his throat.
“She’snew,” he states with a raised eyebrow.
I glare at him. “Where’s Bolinger?” I inquire.
“This way,” Chaz says as he leads me to a table in the corner of the room.
Karl Bolinger starts yammering on about something irrelevant the second he sees me. He’s nearly ninety years old and I question whether he should even be on the board any longer. But he was close to my parents and his loyalty to them is something I continually remind myself of during these types of conversations.
I keep darting my gaze behind him to where I can see Isa standing at the bar. She’s now talking to someone, and when they turn toward me, I feel the anger bubbling inside of me like lava in a volcano that’s ready to explode.
Jace Baskins is talking to Isa and she’s motherfucking laughing. I don’t like anything about this. I don’t like that she’s talking to one of Titan’s executives. I don’t like that she’s talking to a man that nearly ruined my life. And I really don’t like that she’s talking to another man, period.
“Karl, I need to check on my date. Let’s find time next week to talk more about this,” I say, cutting off the older gentleman as I stand and begin walking toward Isa.
I can hear the woman I’ve tasked with running the charity auction this evening asking Cruz a question. I keep on walking, ignoring what I normally would be listening to. I’m across the room in a matter of seconds.
“Adam, how are you?” Jace asks as I approach him.
“I’m fine. Just here to escort my date to our table,” I growl as I place a hand on Isa’s lower back. Isa’s proximity is the only thing keeping me from pummeling Jace.
She looks up at me with confusion. “It was nice to see you, Jace.”
“Great seeing you as well, Isa. I’ll stop by the library next week to check out that new book,” he says. I watch his eyes flick down to her breasts.
“This way, Isa,” I state from behind clenched teeth.
Thankfully, Isa starts moving before I decide to deck Jace for eyeing my date.
“A friend of yours?” Isa quips as we walk.
“Not exactly,” I mutter as I press my hand flatly on the skin revealed on her back.
“You don’t say,” she responds.
I don’t have to look down to know she’s rolling her eyes. I would explain it now, but I don’t want to cause a scene and I also don’t want to explain how I know Jace. Or how Jace followed us to the States after he dumped Stephanie. He tried to win Bastian back, but Bastian had already met Max, thankfully. Yeah, Jace is the man who nearly ruined me by sleeping with my ex.
“Why are you this way?” I ask as I wave at a couple I know and give them my best fake smile.
“Why areyouthis way?” she retorts.
I stop walking and look down at her. “I have my reasons,” I state.
She bites her red-stained lip. “I know you do,” she says, surprising me. Does she know? I highly doubt that.
