Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 94546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Before Jess can reply with a big, hearty, “Yes,” a deep voice at our side interrupts, “No. They will not be participating. They were just leaving.”
Jess looks set to tear Jack a new asshole, but since he is her boss and he recently gave her a shiny new promotion, she can’t.
I can, though.
“Yes, we would love to sign up. Which form do we need to sign?”
Jack’s heated breaths hit the back of my neck when he growls, “Octavia.”
Ignoring him, I arch a brow at Elaine, wordlessly pleading for her to point me in the direction of the right form.
She succumbs to peer pressure with only the gentlest of nudges. “It’s this one.”
“Elaine,” Jack grumbles this time around.
I’ve only just scribbled my name across the form when Jack seizes my arm and drags me toward the exit. “You cannot stay. I forbid it.”
“Why? Are you afraid I might embarrass you?” My words crack out of my mouth as fast as the steps I need to take to keep up with him. He is like a bull in a china shop—fast and without fear of destruction. “If that’s the case, don’t fret. You’re already making a fool of yourself. You don’t need my help.”
When he spots the paparazzi watching our exchange with eager eyes and lenses, he curses under his breath before tugging me in a direction opposite the exit. Once we’re hidden in an alcove, he locks his eyes with mine and says sternly, “I need you to leave. Please.”
The pain in his eyes halts my retaliation for all of two seconds. “And I need you to take your hands off me before I remind you harassment laws aren’t solely reserved for office hours. Please.”
He drops his hand from my arm so fast, a cool breeze wafts over my skin, then he takes a giant step back.
“I don’t know what is going on with you, Jack, and at the moment, I don’t really care. But I’m not leaving this party no matter what you say, so if you can’t be civilized and attend it with me, perhaps you should go.”
I don’t give him the chance to reply. I return to the registration table with Jess, curl my arm around her elbow like she did mine earlier, then drag her into the opulent room.
“Don’t,” I warn when Caleb approaches me with pleading eyes. “I have every right to be here.”
“Unlike you,” Jess snaps out before she snags a flute of champagne off a waiter’s tray and downs the entire glass in one gulp.
When she snatches up another one, I veer her away from the man coming at us with a full tray. As much as I told Jack I’m planning to stay, I still don’t want to make a scene.
Although I’d rate my effort as commendable, within an hour, Jess is rip-roaring drunk and dancing with a man in a flashy tuxedo, even with the dance space being used more as a meet-and-greet location.
With my feet aching, I hobble toward a cluster of tables and chairs at the side of the elegant space. Like a bad smell I can’t shake, Fitz arrives at my table two seconds after I sit down.
“I’m not leaving, Fitz,” I snap out, replying with the same response I’ve given when approached by him numerous times this evening. “I signed on for the auction, so I can’t leave until I’ve done my part. It is, after all, for charity.” I hate myself the instant my snarky comment leaves my mouth. Tonight’s event is for charity, and from the scent of wealth in the room and the sheer volume of participants, it is an absolute success. I’m just not feeling spirited. Although his eyes have barely left mine, Jack hasn’t approached my half of the room in the past hour, and it is irritating the shit out of me.
“That’s what you want? You want to participate in the auction, then you’ll leave?”
I reply purely on the knowledge the bachelorette auction is the final agenda item on tonight’s list of events. “Yes.”
“Okay,” Fitz replies, shockingly giving in. He’s even more stubborn than Jess when she wants something. “I’ll advise Mr. Carson of your wishes.” He bobs his chin in farewell before he makes a beeline for Jack.
If I thought signing up for the auction would make Jack jealous, I’m dead wrong. Not an ounce of envy crosses his face when Fitz whispers my demands in his ear. He looks more relieved than anything.
I learn why when five minutes later, the hostess announces that there’s been an alteration to tonight’s scheduled event. “We’re going to start with the bachelorette auction. See if we can kickstart some matrimonial matches before the end of tonight.” The crowd oohs and aahs. “So can all bachelorettes please make your way to the stage so we can get proceedings underway?” She tells the men honing in on the stage area to get out their checkbooks before she hands the microphone to Elaine so she can state the extremely stringent rules for any matches made.