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"I'll see what I can do," Malcolm said but he was pretty sure that wasn't in the cards tonight. Not that he got laid much even when his chances were better. There was a reason Candy said that thing about him not knowing how to party.
By the time he got home and started getting ready for the party, Malcolm's nerves really started to kick in. With a critical frown, he looked at himself in the mirror, at his dark blond hair, beard, and blue eyes, but mostly at his slim body. He pictured himself next to Mr. Argent and groaned. No one was going to mistake him for Mr. Argent's boy toy, that was for sure.
He picked out a buttoned shirt, but decided that was too much like what he wore to the office. Malcolm just wasn't sure what to wear to a rich guy's party. If he and Mr. Argent were at all friendly with each other, he could text him and ask.
As far as he was concerned, t-shirts were a party uniform, but then he got stuck deciding which one. He went for a black one and jeans and then thought about changing out of it about a hundred times until Mr. Argent texted that he was downstairs. Malcolm thought of changing one more time, put on his jacket and headed out. He felt like throwing up the whole way.
Outside, he saw Mr. Argent leaning against his car, looking criminally sexy in a leather jacket. Malcolm couldn't get it out of his head that this was a date and his stomach was in knots as he approached him. "On time as always," Mr. Argent said, speaking to him exactly like he was an employee, like he wanted to dispel any thoughts of this being a date.
They got into Mr. Argent's sleek, black car and drove off. Malcolm focused on what was outside his window while he considered making conversation. Everything he thought of saying sounded lame so he gave up and they drove in silence.
That left Malcolm free to imagine putting his hand in Mr. Argent's lap, telling him to pull over somewhere with some privacy. While his imagination ran wild, Malcolm noticed that Mr. Argent wore a different cologne tonight, and he wanted to lean in, smell it from right up close. If his fantasies kept getting out of control like that, tonight was going to be hell.
Then they arrived and Malcolm was so disappointed. Did he want the uncomfortable, silent drive to go on forever? He apparently did because he felt downright gloomy at the prospect of not having Mr. Argent all to himself. He really did want to sit in silence with the man instead of going to a party. Candy might just be right about him.
Warren's house happened to be in the trendiest part of the riverfront and there was a valet parking cars all up and down the street. Then there was a coat check station just inside the front door and dance music blaring from inside.
Mr. Argent took off his jacket and revealed a dark blue shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders and toned physique. Malcolm swallowed a moan of appreciation then thought he caught Mr. Argent eyeing him kind of intently. Maybe he didn't like how he was dressed.
"You look nice," Mr. Argent said and Malcolm was relieved. He did wish he could get a look of admiration to go along with that, not just a nod of confirmation that he looked acceptable.
Going further inside Warren's house, they walked into an impressive open space with minimalist décor interrupted by huge pieces of modern art. The party was in full swing and Malcolm wasn't surprised to see people he recognized because they had business dealings with Mr. Argent. But there were also plenty of trendy, younger people to make it a proper party and the music had a wild beat. A live DJ was responsible for that.
Malcolm was just standing there and gaping all around when he felt Mr. Argent's hand on his lower back urging him on. A shudder passed through him at the unexpected contact and he wished Mr. Argent had kept his hand there as they made their way past groups of people talking and laughing.
"Over here!" Warren called out from across the room, waving them over to a small group of people.
"Other investors," Mr. Argent said, not happy about it.
"He's not going to talk business at a party, is he?" Malcolm said.
"That's what parties are for when it comes to people like him," Mr. Argent said but Malcolm couldn't imagine him talking about anything else either.
"We can always pretend we didn't see him," Malcolm challenged him. He didn't really believe Mr. Argent wanted to snub Warren.
"I want to say hi then we can move on," Mr. Argent said.
As he started to walk toward Warren, Malcolm spotted another of Mr. Argent's friends waving to him. "Mr. Argent, Therese Millford is here. You can use her as an excuse."
"I actually do want to talk to her," Mr. Argent said. "But you should call me Derrick while we're here. And at the office too. It's simpler."
Malcolm was surprised, but he wasn't sure he could really call him Derrick. He rolled the name around in his mind. Maybe he could. In his head, it had a warm sound, like butter melting on his tongue. Oh, hell. He hadn't even started drinking, why was he thinking like this?
Warren greeted them very warmly, throwing an arm over Malcolm's shoulders as he introduced him to the group as a good friend. "Every time I see this guy, I find something new to like about him," Warren said and looked down his body.
The people he was talking to were all a lot more interested in Mr. Argent, uh, Derrick, and wanted to know if he was going to invest. "I'm here to relax, not talk business," he told them. Then took Malcolm's arm. "We need to say hi to Therese." As Derrick pulled him away from Warren, Malcolm wondered if he did it because he didn't like seeing his friend's arm around another man.
As they went over to Therese Millford, Derrick had to reintroduce Malcolm to her, and she admitted, "Oh, I didn'trecognize you away from your desk." She kept eyeing him like she was wondering what he was doing there. Oh, yeah, that didn't make Malcolm feel out of place at all.
After Derrick talked to her, they mingled with some more of the guests. Derrick was introducing Malcolm to people as his friend and that made them look at him like they were wondering what kind of friend. Most of the time greetings were quickly followed by talking business. So much for what Derrick said to Warren and his investors. Malcolm just ended up standing around, sipping champagne.
Despite that, Malcolm was still sticking with Derrick though he wasn't sure if he should. He noticed a guy smiling at him and at the same time noticed Derrick frowning at him. He should have gone to talk to the guy who had a smile on his face and an inviting look, but here he was with his glowering boss. That decided it, he officially didn’t know how to party.
Derrick ended up talking to a guy who wanted to discuss something kind of confidential. Derrick stepped away with him to a quieter area and Malcolm wandered away. He found a spot in the corner by one of the huge windows and alternated between looking out at the lights on the other side of the river and watching the flow of people at the party as they mingled.
Somehow he missed Warren approaching him. He just seemed to appear, smiling at him. "I was wondering where you ran off to," Warren said.
"Just hanging out," Malcolm said and took a step back because Warren was standing a little too close.
