Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“You and Max used to date, right?”
“Sure. A couple of years ago.”
I waited for him to say something more, but he didn’t. He let that simmer between us.
I took a sip of my wine. “Was there another question in there?”
“He was touching your tattoo.”
I laughed. “Yeah. Jealous?”
“Curious,” he said instead.
“Max’s buddy Joseph does both of our ink. He’s a genius. Max hadn’t seen my new peonies.”
“Oh.”
I smacked his arm with a laugh. “Yeah. Oh.”
He looked like he wanted to say more. I could see Mr. Relationship all over him. The need to know whether Max and I were well over. The possessive glint I’d seen in his eye that said he didn’t like anyone else touching me. I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t turn me on. I could see that he was half-tempted to throw me over his shoulder and walk out of the room with me. And even though I’d said that I didn’t belong to anyone, I wouldn’t complain. Not a bit.
“So, how did they get you to have this whole party?” I asked him.
The place was packed. Not just with Wright employees, but all of the Wright friends and family were in attendance, too. Couples were dancing in the center, people drinking near the bars and congregating around food displayed on long white-clothed tables. A Congratulations, Whitt! banner was strung up across the top of the stage. A balloon arch was against one wall with a WC logo backdrop for pictures. All of this must have been courtesy of Nora, who was the vineyard event planner. I didn’t know how she had the time since she was planning celebrity weddings now as well.
“I tried to get out of it,” Whitt admitted. “Jordan told me we weren’t having a promotion party.”
“And yet…”
“Yeah, you try saying no to Morgan.”
Morgan Wright was a fierce and wildly independent go-getter. That was how she’d made CEO of her family company before she turned thirty. She was a force. I didn’t blame him one bit.
“Fair.”
“It’s not so bad,” Whitt said. He held his glass up. “Free drinks.”
I quirked my lips. “If you think you’re selling this, you’ve failed.”
“Yeah.” He took a long sip of his wine. “I’m incredibly competitive, but only with myself. I want to succeed to meet my own wickedly high expectations. I don’t need the acknowledgment from anyone else to know I’ve hit my goals. It sounds strange to other people, but…”
“It doesn’t sound strange,” I told him. “It sounds like you.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Then, he took my hand in his and placed a kiss on it. “I’ll admit that having you here in that dress sure makes this all worth it.”
I flushed at the compliment. Much better than when he’d been jealous about Max. “If you keep talking like that, I might actually let you take the thing off.”
His eyes heated. “Is that a challenge? Because we just acknowledged that I am very motivated to win.”
I bit my lip. “I suppose we’ll see tonight, won’t we?”
“Challenge accepted then, Miss Houston.”
14
Whitton
Eve’s pink cheeks made me want to forget the whole party. Anything that made her blush made me hard as a rock. If the party wasn’t in my honor, I would have already left with her.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave. She’d already monopolized too much of my time. I was sure that there were others who wanted to shake hands and schmooze. It was all so exhausting. Part of the job in its own way, but my least favorite part.
“Hey, don’t look so glum about it,” Eve teased. She flipped her dark hair off her shoulder. “The party won’t last all night.”
“It feels like it might,” I said.
I glanced around the room. All the Wrights and my coworkers and so many people from the company that I didn’t know. The networking part was half the reason I hadn’t advanced in my last job. I couldn’t kiss ass well enough. I did the work, but I hated brownnosing. At least here, that counted for something.
Then, I caught something over Eve’s head. Colton Wright was here. Huh. I was shocked that Jensen had brought him. Maybe he didn’t trust him alone at home, and what kind of babysitter would watch a fifteen-year-old who could run circles around them?
He was leaned back against the wall in the shadows of the barn, typing on his phone and sneaking sips of wine from a glass he not-so-sneakily hid behind his back.
My face went white, “Fuck.”
“What’s going on?”
“Give me a second.”
My gaze swept the room with a more discerning eye. Jensen was standing near the stage with Jordan. Emery was at the center, dancing with her friends Heidi and Julia. Morgan was in a conversation with Austin, Landon, and her husband, Patrick. Julian was ordering drinks with Hollin, West, and Nora. Anyone who would be looking into Colton’s activity was currently occupied. I didn’t know if someone was supposed to be watching him or if they thought he’d be fine at this party. Clearly, they were wrong. And if anyone saw him drinking, I had a feeling shit would hit the fan.