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The woman of the hour may not have been performing that night, but she sure as well was ready and waiting for me. Blake leaned against the wall of the hallway, dressed up in tight-fitting slacks and a blazer with nothing underneath. I had watched through her window as she tried on that same outfit multiple times.
Despite my annoyance, light amusement tickled at my senses at her choice of clothing.
She was waiting for me, which means…She was going to corner me finally. The bait had worked.
She dressed up for… me?The thought caused my lips to twist, and I wondered if she would look at me the same if she realized what I had done.
She tilted her head when she saw me, a light pink coated the tips of her ears.Cute.Even after everything, the target is nervous.
She’s going to come up and talk to you. You knew this was coming. You knew this was the only way.
Be charming.
She pushed off the wall and walked toward me, but even when she came to a standstill, she didn’t speak.
“You aren’t performing,” I noted.
A smile pulled at her lips, and her eyes lit up. This was the closest I had gotten to her in person. My eyes roamed her face, cataloging every freckle, every hair out of place. The way she looked at me from under her lashes. The way her pink lips looked to be freshly moisturized.
Something stirred inside me. Something I didn’t like.
“No, but I had a feeling you’d show up,” she said. Her tone was attempting to be light, but there was a light shake to it.Nervousness? Her?
“Did you now?” I asked, my lips curved, and there was a slight teasing to my tone, though I meant it to come out flat. I leaned forward and dropped my voice. “Do I have a stalker now? Should I be concerned?”
Pink dusted her cheeks, and her mouth popped open. It took all my strength to stop the light chuckle from escaping my lips.
I had assumed the target was charismatic, seductive even… but I hadn’t been prepared for her shyness.How is it that she pulled people in like she did?
A part of me didn’t understand it, but as she shifted nervously under my gaze… another part of me began to see exactly why people were falling over themselves for her.
“No-o,” she stammered, her eyes leaving mine to look at the floor. “I just noticed you watching me, and I just—I don’t know. I—”
Feeling emboldened, I allowed my free hand to brush her cheek. The action caused her gaze to shoot back up to mine.
“Who knew someone like you could so easily get flustered.” The pink on her face traveled down her neck. Her facial expression changed to something akin to shame. “I like seeing this side of you. So different from the one on stage… but yes, I was watching. I quite enjoy seeing you up there.”
She swallowed thickly, the shame slowly melted away and was replaced with a teasing smile of her own.
“There’s a reason I’m not performing tonight,” she said.Here it goes. My chance.“I was wondering—”
“Would you look at whofinallyshowed up?”
My skin raised, and I couldn’t help but stiffen as an arm slid across my shoulders. I knew that voice.
I didn’t have to turn to know that Avery Maddox was right next to me. Out of all of the people that I could have met here, she was the least desirable.
“Weren’t you kicked out of this place?” I growled under my breath.
Shewaskicked out if my research was correct. And last I checked, she was hiding out in Princeton. Seeing her only meant one thing:trouble.
“Someone’s been digging into things they shouldn’t,Quinn,” Avery teased. The use of my real name caused me to freeze. But not in fear. It was anger. I wanted nothing more than to bash her head into the wall, but I knew it would fuck over whatever chance I had with the agent in front of me, so I forced myself not to move.
Blake took a hesitant step back. I was thankful she did. I didn’t trust Avery with her. With one wrong word she would ruin this all for me.
I turned to look at her. Her light blue eyes dug into mine, and a teasing smile spread across her lips. She hadn’t changed much since I saw her last. Dirty blonde hair fanned out in waves and framed her face. She didn’t bother to wear a mask, like she didn’t care that anything she did here would be traced back to her. With her reputation and her father now in jail, I doubt there is much she could do here that would prove sufficient enough for blackmail.
I met Avery back when I was just getting into my career. I fucked up and didn’t check to make sure the coast was clear after a job.
