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Then Matthew sat down beside me, signaling the two visitors to take the other two empty spots. The man in the navy suit took the empty chair beside my flowers and the Chief of HR took the only remaining one between the two men.
“Sullivan,” Matthew stared down at his employee as he finished his drink. “I see you’re having fun tonight. Shouldn’t you be in the kitchen seeing to it that nobody is screwing up?”
“Isn’t it time to get that stick out of your ass and let people have a good time?” the redhead playfully snapped back.
“Yeah, Parker,” the other man jumped in, his voice deep and resonant, his lips stretched to the side as he lazily stared at Matthew. “Just because you’re a miserable fucker doesn’t mean we all have to be.”
As I stared at the two men, I couldn’t put a finger on whether they were friends. Were they business rivals? But Clair had been grinning nonstop since she sat down, indicating that the three of them knew each other.
“How have you been? The last time I heard about you, your other business went down the drain. Some asshole stealing from you or something.” I stiffened at Montgomery’s words because I thought it would rub Matthew the wrong way. But the former only scoffed and shook his head as his hand went to my thigh under the table.
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Matthew answered. “But how’d you find out about my new business, Mont? Best in the state.”
“So I’ve heard. Could use a bar in the lobby, though.” The amusement that was now slowly lacing their words told me they were old friends who didn’t do well with pleasantries.
I couldn’t help but exhale a laugh at our guest’s words because that was the exact same thing I had said to Matthew when we first met in the elevator. But my laugh earned me Montgomery and Clair’s attention, their eyebrows raised.
“Reagan,” Matthew said, breaking the split-second silence. “This is Vincent Montgomery. A high school friend of mine. Vincent, this is Reagan.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Vincent,” I said, extending my hand that wasn’t holding a flute of champagne. Vincent took my hand and brought it to his lips.
“Pleasure’s all mi—woah! That is one big rock you got there, Reagan.” My eyes grew wide in stunned silence, my mind racing at how I was going to handle this situation because Clair, was studying me. And Matthew needed to keep this ruse from his parents.
A light squeeze on my thigh told me what I needed to do.
“Yeah, well. Matthew’s not very frugal,” I said cooly as though my mind hadn’t stuttered at all.
“Damn right, he isn’t. He’s never really been the humble type either.”
“You didn’t let me tell you had proposed already,” Clair complained, her attention on Matthew, and her words told me that she knew about us. I reminded myself to ask my boss how that happened because we had agreed not to tell anyone.
“Oh, I did.” Matthew bobbed his head, a proud look on his face. “Just a few days ago. We didn’t want to tell anyone before we told our parents. So, we’d appreciate it if you guys keep it on the down low for a while.”
“How’d he propose?” Montgomery asked, still holding my hand, studying the exquisite diamond just like I did the first time Matthew gave it to me.
“Well, he and I were in a—”
“Don’t tell him that, darling,” Matthew interrupted, reaching across the table to tug my hand out of his friend’s grip. “He might steal my idea when he proposes to his girlfriend.”
“My girlfriend and I broke up, so…”
“Too bad,” Matthew mumbled. “I was hoping that you two wouldn’t find each other. This is a formal event, and the last thing my hotel needs is a commotion coming from my Chief of HR and whatever your position is in your daddy’s business.”
Clair smirked like she was remembering something due to Matthew’s words. But she didn’t say anything. She looked cool like she was used to the banter of these men. She looked at me, and her smile spread, telling me that she wasn’t bothered about me being at the table with the boss.
“Hey, I run things now because Mont Sr. kicked the bucket last year. And it’s a security company—Montgomery Wards and Security.”
“Whatever.”
“You could hire us, you know. We have the best security detail in the field. Some of our men used to work for the President. It could be our little partnership or something.”
“I think I’ll pass on anything requiring me to partner with you. But I’ll think about it. And I’m serious about the commotion. No drinks for you two until all the guests leave.”
Clair rolled her eyes and shook her head, still smiling. “Look, I need to go back to work before my boss here fires me.” She cocked a head in Matthew’s direction before turning to look at Montgomery. “How about I’ll see you after work and we’ll get a drink from that bar across the street?”
“As long as Matthew doesn’t come, I’m in.”
“Wasn’t even interested.” With that, Clair left and it didn’t take a moment before Montgomery left as well, slamming the table to signal that he was done with his friend.
