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Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Six months ago she’d been a star. The youngest VP in the history of the University. The boss of Jerome’s entire department. Thank goodness they’d never actually met in person. The University had three campuses across Chicagoland and he’d worked at the suburban campus. While she’d been VP, his reputation had been less than stellar. She remembered that in last year’s performance review, his manager had labeled him “eager for advancement but unwilling to put in the hard work required.” In other words, he liked to complain about his lack of authority while he sat around playing on the Internet all day. Exactly the opposite kind of employee she wanted in her department.
And now she was dressed like a pricey call girl and letting him grope her. She felt like crying. Or slapping him in the face.
Pull it together, Jess. Focus on the goal. He’s a necessary evil for tonight.
She glanced around the dance floor to make sure that no other members of her old department had decided to dance. For those who didn’t know her well, she was confident that her disguise was good. Tonight she didn’t look anything like Ignatius University’s disgraced former Vice President of Technology. The one who’d been led out of the building by security officers last October.
No, tonight she was a skinny, tan, tarty, blonde Brit. But there were a few people in the ballroom who had known her for years. If one of them got a good look at her face...well, that could be trouble. She’d been vigilant and hyper-aware for hours, spending most of the night with her back to the room. Waiting patiently for Jerome to be alone before she approached. Don’t let down your guard. Some of the IT crowd is still here.
Luckily, the dance floor w
as still safe. It was crowded with couples, but no one she recognized. The band finished “As Time Goes By” and transitioned to “At Last.” She sighed. She loved that stupid, sappy song. Trying to distract herself from Jerome’s hands and the ticking clock, she closed her eyes and counted backward from ten.
When she opened her eyes, a tall man with brown hair was staring right at her.
About five feet away, he danced with a brunette in a purple dress. For a moment, his open stare convinced her that she’d been recognized. Her pulse raced, and she started to sweat. But, no. After meeting his eyes for ten seconds, she knew she’d never met him before. Because, good God, she would have remembered this one. Wow. He was about 6’3” with broad shoulders and wavy hair. His eyes were a vivid bright blue.
The brunette said something to him, and he broke eye contact with Jess to look down at her. Jess kept on staring. She’d been looking for a distraction and this potent combo of Tom Hiddleston and Gerard Butler had given her just that. Men dancing in tuxedos didn’t usually look so...masculine.
He looked back up at her and their eyes locked again as the female singer of the band crooned the lyrics to “At Last.” Inwardly, Jess snorted. Probably every woman in the room looked at that guy and heard Etta James singing “At Last.”
Jerome gave her butt such a hard squeeze that she swallowed a yelp. She forced herself to look away from Mr. At Last.
Get your head back in the game.
Christ, now she was channeling her father. Regardless of the situation, his encouragement was always provided in the language of sports. But her head did need to get back in this game. She was running out of time to get that damn keycard. Pulling away from Jerome, she gave him a sassy little wink before twirling in front of him. Ending her spin, she looked down at his front right pocket, elated to see the white edge of his keycard poking out.
“I like where you’re looking.” Jerome leered. Great, now he thought she was staring at his crotch. She stifled another gag with a giggle and put her left arm back on his shoulder and her right hand at his hip. If she could just ease it out with her fingernails...
“So, Sasha,” Jerome slurred. “D’you want to get a drink back at my place later?”
“Brilliant,” she twittered, sliding her second and third finger closer to the seam of his pocket. There! She felt the hard plastic edge between the tips of her fingers. She raised her elbow an inch. Yes! She had it. If he would just stay still another minute, she’d be able to tuck it in her hand.
Jerome grabbed her hand and moved it back to his shoulder. No! She blinked her eyelashes at him. “Something wrong?”
He laughed and emitted a small burp. “Sorry, babe. Can’t have your hand down there right now.” He bent over to whisper in her ear. “I have to go up on stage in a sec, and you’re turning me on too much.” He burped again and Jess tried not to flinch at the smell of shrimp cocktail and Bud Light. “Some things these tux pants just can’t hide, if you know what I’m saying.”
For the love of all that was holy. What was she going to do now? The song ended, and the lights rose. She was out of time. Jerome pulled her to the edge of the dance floor, and she followed him, mind racing. She could not fail now. There just had to be another way she could get the keycard.
Then, just like a miracle, there was.
The brunette in the purple dress, the woman dancing with Mr. At Last, suddenly slammed in them. Her busty body jolted hard against Jerome and he fell forward, completely off-balance.
Jess reached out with both hands to steady him—and grabbed the keycard. Before Jerome could even stand up again, she’d tucked it in her bra strap on her left shoulder. Her hands shook from the rush of adrenaline. I got it!
“I’m so sorry!” The purple dress woman exclaimed, giggling. “We were twirling too much!” She patted Jerome’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”
Now the man spoke. “My apologies.” Jess wanted to shiver. Of course Mr. At Last’s voice would be deep and sensual. It also sounded like he was on the verge of laughter. “Everyone all right?”
“I’m fine,” Jerome said, speaking directly to the brunette’s chest. “No harm, no foul.”
The man turned those bright blue eyes on Jess. “And you?” To her surprise, he dipped his gaze to her left shoulder. He didn’t see her take the card and shove it in there, did he? No, of course not. He must have been looking at her cleavage, not her shoulder.
“Quite all right,” she said, proud that she hadn’t forgotten the accent.
The man did laugh now, and Jess had the unsettling and unpleasant feeling that he was laughing at her. “Good,” he managed.
Jerome turned to her and bounced a little, like a kid that had to pee. “I gotta get on the stage for the staff awards presentation.” Jess nodded, trying to look interested and encouraging. Inside, she was glaring and rolling her eyes. The fact that Jerome was nominated for Staff Member of the Year was freakin’ unbelievable. It just proved that something was completely awry with the IT department, maybe the whole University. “Sasha, I’ll meet you after?”
