Page 88 of Pure Recklessness

‘Bro, you’ve really got it bad for her.’ Oscar shook his head as Ingrid finally got the hint and left our table.

That was the second time she’d come over and she reeked of desperation.

‘Ingrid’s an agent I’ve known for years. Our relationship is purely professional,’ I said firmly.

‘I wasn’t talking about Ingrid,’ Oscar rolled his eyes. ‘Although she’s clearly hoping that your relationship will become something more unprofessional.’

‘You’re talking about the lady in the red dress he’s been drooling over all night, right?’ Heath looked up from his dessert plate.

‘Jeez, for Heath to notice, it must be obvious,’ Seb added.

‘Fuck off,’ I snapped. ‘I haven’t been drooling.’

‘Lies,’ Oscar said. ‘We’ve all seen it.’

‘Keep your fucking voice down,’ I warned.

It was a good thing the other directors on our tables had finished dessert and gone to the bar whilst they waited for the ceremony to officially start.

‘Even if you hadn’t been staring, the way you acted earlier was a dead giveaway,’ Seb said.

‘Exactly!’ Oscar agreed. ‘Why else would you have warned us off or looked like you wanted to knock us out when we commented on how hot she looked?’

‘Because… you know the rules,’ I replied weakly.

‘Yeah. Sure,’ Seb said, his tone laced with sarcasm. ‘Is that why you’ve been shooting daggers at the guy with his arm around her?’

He was right about that. Anger bubbled in my chest when I saw how tightly he’d hugged Eleanor earlier. I hated the way he’d scrutinised every inch of her body, his eyes lingering before sitting next to her.

Now he’d just put his arm around her.

Those were not the actions of a friend.

It took every ounce of strength for me not to storm over and knock him out for daring to touch her.

I’d be asking Melissa for his employee file tomorrow. I needed to know who the hell this Joe guy was.

My eyes flicked back to Eleanor’s table, but she was gone. I scanned the ballroom and saw her walking out.

I leapt from my seat.

‘I’m tired off your bullshit,’ I announced. ‘I’m getting a drink.’

Continuing this conversation wasn’t a good idea at the best of times, but especially in a room full of industry peers.

If anyone got wind of the fact that I was eyeing up an employee, they’d use it against me.

I strode to the ballroom exit, nodding in acknowledgement to various people as I passed, willing them not to stop me. I needed to find Eleanor and talk to her.

Privately.

The head of an advertising agency caught me just as I was about to walk through the doors and launched into a spiel about wanting to set up a meeting, but I shut him down, explaining that we had everything handled in-house.

When I finally got out of the room, I scanned the area for Eleanor. She wasn’t at the bar. I’d put money on finding her near the toilets.

Eventually I spotted her exiting the ladies, heading back to the ballroom.

‘Eleanor.’ I stood in front of her.