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She jerked her head up, and I saw worry in her eyes before she smiled up at me.
“You clean up pretty good yourself.”
Dipping down, I kissed her, lingering seconds longer than was safe. She placed a hand behind my head, her fingers tangling in my hair.
“I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I saw you. It’s been torturous,” I said.
She rolled her eyes, but her smile widened. “I only just got here.”
“I wish you could be out there with me. Talking to everyone else is miserable.” My eyes searched her face. “What are you doing here by yourself?”
“Oh, just mentally preparing myself. I’ve never been a fan of work parties.”
“At least you’re not quite as socially inept as me,” I pointed out.
“I’m also not as good at pretending there’s nothing between us.” Her smile fell, and the gesture made me want to take her hand and get out of here immediately.
My brow furrowed with concern. “I’m not good at this either, Charlie. I wish we could just leave together now. It’s killing me not to be next to you out there.”
She breathed and forced a smile before looking up at me. “I know.”
Did she? Did she realize how utterly under her control I was? I feared I hadn’t made it clear enough to her. I opened my mouthto say something but heard a whistle from across the hallway. Turning, I saw Don’s smug face looking extra punchable. Charlie pushed off the wall, and I backed up a step before we walked out of the private hallway.
“Don’t you two look cozy.” Don winked at me.
“I was running my toast past Charlie. I’m terrible at these things.” The hostility in my voice was hardly masked.
“You’ll do great,” she said, her eyes wide. I hoped Don didn’t clock her panic.
“Well speaking of that, It’s about time.” Don pulled me out of the hallway and toward the front of the room. It took everything in me not to yank my arm from his grasp. Two hundred or so employees had arrived all dressed to the nines. They all mingled at cocktail tables and talked animatedly over the soft jazz music that played through the overhead speakers. I had to admit this party was shockingly tasteful considering the event planner.
Don, Ben, and I took our places at the front of the room. Don clinked his glass. Conversation dulled until silence overtook the crowd.
“Thanks for coming everyone,” he said. “As if this crowd would turn down an open bar.” A few half-hearted giggles echoed from the back. “When I started Love Linked six years ago, I never envisioned it would be what it is today.” A twinkle in his eye had me wondering if he was about to share a sincere sentiment for once. He shook his head and continued. “But you can never underestimate what people will do to get laid.”
I rolled my eyes.Typical.
“I know everyone has worked hard to meet this deadline, and it’s all thanks to these two hardasses right here.” He gestured to Ben and me.
Ben’s smile remained frozen in place, but his jaw flexed in irritation. He cleared his throat before continuing the toast. “Thanks for that charming introduction, Don. And thanks forplanning such a beautiful party. This launch has been a labor of love, and I can’t thank you all enough for being a part of it. With the integration of our two apps, I’m confident singles everywhere will be more equipped in finding a genuine connection. I’ll send it over to Nathan for a quick exciting update.”
I looked for Charlie’s eyes in the crowd. Pretending I was speaking only to her was a hell of a lot easier than looking into a sea of blank stares.
“Thanks, Ben. Since we launched at midnight yesterday, we’ve already seen a forty percent growth in downloads—our highest jump to date.” Cheers from around the room forced me to pause. “Thanks to our marketing team for a successful campaign and getting the word out. Thanks to our engineers for working overtime on bugs. And thanks to the product team for keeping us on this tight timeline and ensuring the integration was seamless.” Charlie smiled and winked at me.
Ben clapped and raised his glass. “Cheers, everyone. Let’s celebrate a successful launch.”
Excited chatter floated around the room as everyone clinked glasses. I kept my eyes on Charlie and she mouthed “Good job.” I smiled and turned back to Ben who was being pulled into a conversation by the head of finance. I glanced back at Charlie, unable to ignore how incredible she looked in that green dress. This was about to be a long night when all I could think of was getting her alone.
As the clock struck eleven,fatigue had officially settled in. Regrettably, the party showed no signs of winding down. Most attendees had long surpassed their professional boundaries afew glasses of champagne ago. Just as Don had predicted, the atmosphere was becoming decidedly rowdy.
For the past hour, I had made numerous attempts to extract myself from the lively gathering, only to be repeatedly pulled back into the fray by various people. Amidst the commotion, I had barely been able to catch sight of Charlie, who seemed engrossed in conversation with Lila on the sidelines. I needed to make my escape. What had initially been an uncomfortable gathering had now transformed into an unbearable spectacle.
Ben had been glued to my side, but his absence had become apparent the past twenty minutes or so. I thought he had gone to the bathroom, but something told me he had managed to sneak away when no one was looking.
As someone from finance talked loudly in the general direction of my face, I glanced around for Charlie, starting to plot out our getaway. If I could just signal to her it was time to go, she could take my keys, and I could give her a five-minute head start before meeting her at my car. Although, at this point, the crowd would hardly notice us slinking away together.
I caught a glimpse of her in her green dress and excused myself from whatever gibberish the man in front of me spouted. He barely acknowledged my leaving as he turned to whoever was on his right.
