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Max quietly retreats, leaving me alone with Judy.
“A pleasure,” I manage to produce, but barely. My voice is hoarse, and I have to clear my throat before I find myself able to add, “Should we find a quiet place somewhere?”
“Yes, sure,” she says, pointing to a deserted table close to the entrance. “It’s not going to take long, I promise. I don’t want to keep you from the buffet for too long.”
The buffet, right. I wonder if I’ll even be able to enjoy the magnificent food after what just happened. My stomach is still upside down, churning with nervous butterflies instead of yearning for fuel.
I follow her to the table, a temporary sanctuary amidst the gala’s vibrant chaos. She asks questions about my work, my motivations, and my vision for the future of prosthetics and public health. But it’s a struggle to focus on her words as my thoughts continually drift back to the balcony and the enigmatic man who has unraveled me so completely.
I want to look for him, see his face again, as if to make sure that this kiss really happened. It feels so unreal now that I’m back in the vibrant and busy hall with all of these people. I’m sitting with my back to the wall, with a perfect view across the entire hall, and it takes all my strength to keep my focus on Judy, who holds me in place with her super attentive and friendly smile.
I try to answer with poise, to convey the passion that drives me in my field. But my mind keeps wandering, remembering the taste of Chase’s kiss, and the sensation of his touch.
What does all of this mean? He seems to be such an open book on one hand, but a great danger on the other. Is he playing me? Is he just trying to soften me up and get that buyout he so desperately wants? Somehow, it doesn’t feel that way. If he’s really just trying to get into my pants for that reason, he’s a great actor for sure. His interest in me seems real. He has a way of making me feel seen that I’ve never experienced before. I feel unraveled, as if the carefully constructed walls I’ve built around myself are crumbling in the wake of his presence.
Where is he now? Is he watching me from somewhere? Is he even still here, or did he leave and flee from the embarrassment of being caught with me like that? Is he even embarrassed? Does he care?
“Okay, I think I’ve got everything,” Judy says, pointedly closing her notebook. “Thank you very much, Miss Hailey.”
I return her thanks and I’m glad that she lets me go without any attempt at redundant small talk. We shake hands and she gets up from her seat, leaving me alone for just a split second, before Max comes running toward me from God knows where. The wide grin on his face tells me that he has no intention of letting me off easy.
“Sooo,” he begins, as he hooks my arm into his. “We are getting some food, and more drinks, and then we will sit down somewhere and you’re going to tell me everything. No objections!”
“Fine.” I nod, but can’t stop myself from scanning the room for Chase as we walk.
“I think he left,” Max tells me in a low voice, adding a consoling tap on my forearm. “I’m sorry, I really am.”
I’m not sure whether he’s talking about the moment when he caught me and Chase together, or if he’s referring to the fact that Chase has left the scene right after kissing me like that. The latter certainly leaves me with a sting of disappointment.
Of course he left. He got what he wanted and now he’s leaving the scene confident that he’s left me wanting more. It’s all part of his elaborate game to win me over, and to pull off this goddamn deal he’s so hyper-fixated on.
I squeeze my best friend’s arm and try to swallow the lump that has formed in my throat, as we make our way over to the buffet.
Chapter 21
Chase
I shouldn’t have left like that.
It’s been a couple of days since the gala, and I can’t help but feel a nagging sense of discomfort as I sit at the desk in my main office in downtown LA. It’s still morning and the city is hustling and bustling a few hundred feet below me, the sun bouncing off moving cars and still windows.
The memory of Madison’s lips pressed against mine on that moonlit balcony is still fresh in my mind, but so is the regret for how hastily I left, something entirely uncharacteristic of me. I’ve always been one to face situations head-on, not one to run away when things get uncomfortable. But with Madison, it was different. I was different.
I’ve been wrestling with my own thoughts since then. I haven’t spoken to her, haven’t reached out. I know I should have, and I wanted to. But the truth is: That kiss floored me. It wasn’t meant to feel like… that. Like so much more than just lust.
There’s something between us, something that refuses to be dismissed so easily. Something that will make all of this a lot harder than I anticipated. I’ve kissed a lot of tantalizingly hot girls before, but none ever made me feel like this. I have no room for this confusion. She was meant to be a fun conquest, with a profitable buyout attached to our interplay—nothing more and nothing less.
As I contemplate my next move, my phone rings, and I see Aston’s name on the caller ID.
“Hey, Chase,” Aston’s voice comes through, full of his characteristic enthusiasm. “Long time no talk. How are things going?”
Aston’s greetings always have a hint of reproach to them. He’s the only one of the four of us who regularly picks up the phone to check in with another Plutus boy. One could almost say he’s the caring mom of the group.
I lean back in my chair, grateful for the interruption. “Hello, Sir Aston, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
We never miss a chance to address Aston’s noble British background, mostly because we know how much he hates it. Even without seeing his face in front of me, it’s easy to visualize the way he rolls his eyes at my silly response.
“I’ll be giving a talk at UCLA the week after next, was just wondering whether you’d be up for a drink?” he says.
