Page 72 of The Encounter
A smile grew on her face. It was worth paying the chef an extra tip to make that food specifically for Maddie, and he had every intention of bidding on it to make sure their table got it.
She took hold of his hand, which was still resting on her leg and gave it a squeeze.
The next course came out, and she joined in on the conversation as the table discussed market trends. His father enjoyed learning about every profession out there, so having a new person at the table excited him.
“Would you like a drink?” Jace said close to Maddie’s ear. “Full bar.”
She nodded. “Yes, please. Um, a lemon drop?”
“I’ll be right back.” He kissed her cheek and walked toward the bar. The lines were shorter since everyone was eating dinner, so it didn’t take long for him to get to the front.
“Hi Jace,” Samantha said, fingering the necklace at her throat.
Jace glanced down at it, still wondering what had Maddie so entranced.
“Hey,” he said, turning back to the bartender and ordering his and Maddie’s drinks.
“It’s too bad your girlfriend didn’t win the necklace. Seems like she was pretty upset over it.”
He looked back at Samantha and leaned one arm on the bar while his other hand tucked into one of his pockets.
“She’s doing fine.”
Samantha had a way of twisting everyone’s words to get what she wanted, so he knew he needed to be careful what he said around her. They had dated briefly several years prior, but the fact that she couldn’t take anything at his word drove him crazy. She twisted everything to work in her benefit and he eventually realized she was only with him to dig up dirt on his family for her career. After that, he was careful who he dated.
Maddie had been different. She didn’t even know who he was that night at the club, which earned her bonus points right off the bat. Even after, she didn’t seem to be too obsessed with his status. She was more curious why he wanted to be with her.
That she wasn’t throwing herself all over him was the biggest turn on. It was rare to find a woman who didn’t care about his status and wealth. Maddie was a rare woman, indeed.
“Are you sure about that? She was crying in the bathroom.”
Jace’s heart lurched. If she had been, it would explain why she was in there so long. But he certainly didn’t want to take Samantha’s word for it.
“I think you’re mistaken,” he said casually.
The bartender handed Jace his drinks. Jace nodded and dropped a generous tip in the bartender’s tip jar before taking them and turning toward Samantha.
“Have a good night.” And he walked away before she could respond.
Sitting back down at the table, Maddie was still engrossed in a deep conversation with his father, so he took the moment to observe her. She had been upset about the necklace, but so much so that she would cry? That he didn’t know.
She smiled over at him and took a sip of the drink he handed her.
When the live auction finally started, Jace leaned back in his chair and waited for the dessert auction to roll around. When it finally did, he bid on it immediately. Another person bid against him until it got high up, and then they finally dropped out.
“Going once, going twice, oh another bid in the corner,” the auctioneer said.
Jace turned to see who it was, and Samantha stood raising her paddle, smirking back at him.
He raised his paddle again, and soon they were in a bidding war. Maddie set her hand on Jace’s leg.
“You don’t have to keep bidding on it.”
He looked back at her. “The hell I do. We are getting this. And the money is for charity, anyway. I don’t mind donating.”
It was as if Samantha knew he would not let her have it, so she racked the bid up to a huge amount. He didn’t mind since he could afford it and it was going to a good cause, but he couldn’t figure out why she was doing it. What did she gain by it?
“Ten thousand dollars for dessert! And we still have a bidding war!” The auctioneer said, genuinely surprised that it was going as high as it was. “How about this? How about we ask the chef if he can make enough for both tables and you can both purchase it for ten thousand?”
