Page 10 of War Within
Her bold question took me by surprise. “I just felt it was better this way.”
“Oh.” Shuffling her feet, she seemed to have something on her mind. It was hard to read her. As her gaze focused on several people around us, it finally settled on me. “So, um, I think I know how we can meet the deadline for the Dansville project.
“No work talk tonight.” I lifted a hand. “Let's go eat, drink, and get this night over with so I can get the fuck out of here.” I winked, forgetting who she was momentarily. “After you.” I stretched my arm out, nodding to the ballroom.
The elegance of the affair was unmatched. My team of event planners always went out of their way to create spectacular displays and decorate with lavish arrangements. Gold and black with a splash of red. Placing my hand on her lower back, I guided her to the edge of the room.
Emilio not dared to approach. He conducted an intense conversation with Nick, our long-time family friend. They only paused briefly to glance in our direction. Emilio did not mingle with people he did not know unless he was fucking them or taking their money. Luca and his wife both waved but were locked in their own conversation with other guests. They were social butterflies and would be making their rounds later, I’m sure.
“I’m going to get us a couple of drinks.” I pointed to a nearby bar. “What would you like?”
“Just water is fine, thank you.”
Bowing my head ever so vaguely, I excused myself. The moment I ordered the drinks, I made eye contact with my friend, Valentino, who lifted his glass briefly. I twisted the corners of my lips up, raising my eyebrows in acknowledgement.
My gaze finally settled on my assistant whose nose was buried in her phone as she texted, giggling every few seconds. In all the time I saw her texting at work, she was never that focused on her phone. I narrowed my gaze as I thanked the bartender. Striding around the dance floor to her side, I handed her the glass of water and a cocktail napkin.
“Boyfriend?”
“What?”
I nodded toward her hand.
She shoved her phone in her bag, awkwardly smiling. “No. He's a new friend, I guess.”
“Your smile said otherwise.”
“He's just,” she sighed, placing the rim of the glass to her lips, “a guy I met at a bar.”
“A terrible place to meet guys.” Lifting my hand to my chin, I stroked my neatly trimmed beard.
Her mouth fell agape. “I—”
“Relax.” I struggled to stifle a smile. “I'm just giving you a hard time. I'm sure he's just lovely.” Arching my brows, I took a sip of my drink.
It was still unclear if she knew I was joking. She seemed quite confused by the statement. Still, she laughed awkwardly, tilting her head as she swayed back and forth.
It was hard to believe, but we were truly having a nice time as the night went on. It was something I never expected from her. She was easy to talk to, at least about general topics. I was sure a part of it was she did not realize what my family did. She seemed to live under a social rock of some sort. If she did know, she acted oblivious.
Against my usual routine, I acted rather human for once. Normally, I had a somewhat,robotmode. It was where I would go through the motions of expectations without ever considering those around me. Tonight, I laughed at her cheesy jokes and even danced with her.
Like all good things, our night came to an abrupt end. I glanced up to see Luca giving me a subtle hand signal. My eyes trailed to the doorway where three men stood, masked. My grip tightened on my date’s wrist.
“What’s going on?” She recoiled, trying to yank her hand from my grasp.
Throwing her behind me, I spun around and pushed her toward the patio. Luca and my head of security, Leo, flanked us. Leo mumbled incoherently in his earpiece.
Grabbing her arms, I examined her eyes, troubled. “I need to get you home immediately.”
“Did I do something wrong?” Her eyes filled with tears. She appeared sincerely frightened.
“It was a terrible idea to invite you.” I spun to my security. “Leo.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I need you to take her home right now. Make sure you're not followed. You know the drill.”
Taking her hands in mine, I nodded my head toward the back gate. “Jane, go with Leo.” I used her actual name. “You'll be okay.”
