Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
I froze, and he turned to look at me. “What’s wrong?”
People from Maxwell and Locke will be here?”
He nodded. “Yes. This is a huge fundraiser that both Ava and Derrick’s parents are involved with.”
I relaxed and grinned. Why was I worried? I could easily explain why I was with Joshua, so I wasn’t sure why I’d gotten myself worked up. “So, Ava and Derrick will be here?”
Placing his hand on my back again—which he really liked doing—he led me over to the bar. “Among other people.”
I swallowed hard. Shit. That’s why I’d gotten myself worked up. It had sounded like Mason was at a function on the phone.
Quickly glancing around, I attempted to peer through the sea of people.
“What would you like to drink, Saylor?”
Needing something strong, I focused back on Joshua and replied, “Jameson Rum and Coke.”
His mouth turned up into a beautiful smile. It was the first time I’d actually seen his smile reach his eyes. And strangely enough, I found I liked it.
Returning his smile, I started to say something when I felt all the hair on my body rise.
“Fancy seeing you here tonight.”
I heard his voice behind me and I froze. Joshua looked past my shoulder and drew his brows together before realizing what he’d done. His smile returned, but it wasn’t the same brilliant one as before. Reaching around me, he said, “Good seeing you, Mason Quinn. Figured I might see you here tonight.”
I shot my eyes over to Joshua and gave him a “What the hell?” look. My body shook, but I wasn’t sure if it was because Joshua had set me up or because Mason was standing so close to me. Either way, they both pissed me off.
Slowly turning, I faced Mason. My breath caught. He was dressed in another tux, looking handsome as hell. My stomach dipped, and the ache between my legs showed up like the bitch she was.
“Mason,” I whispered. I was hardly able to speak because the man standing in front of me did such crazy things to me. He made me angry, thrilled me, excited me, and had me longing for more than I bargained for.
He skimmed my body quickly before his brown eyes caught my hazel ones. “You look beautiful, Ms. Night.”
Before I could respond, a lovely blonde walked up and wrapped her arm around Mason’s.
The sudden realization that I was falling for my boss hit me like a Mac truck. There was no denying the sexual tension between us that was there from day one, but that was something I could deal with. But this…this feeling I was experiencing… I didn’t know how to deal with it. Not even with Ron had I experienced this type of emotion. It was as if Mason drew me to him, and I couldn’t fight it, no matter how hard I tried.
“Mason?” the blonde asked as she looked between us.
“Annie Rogers, this is Saylor Night and Joshua Jameson. Saylor is one of my research analysts, and Joshua is a…client…of ours.”
The way he stressed the word client made me flinch.
“Joshua Jameson of Jameson Rum?” Annie asked.
Pulling my eyes away from Mason and his date, I glanced up at Joshua to see him wearing a huge smile. “That would be me.”
“Oh wow, I love your rum.”
Mason snapped his head over to look at Annie. “Since when did you start drinking rum, Annie?”
She laughed and pushed on Mason’s chest lightly. “Hush up, Mason.”
With a chuckle, Mason shook his head and looked at Joshua. “Watch your back, Joshua; Annie here is a lawyer. She represents a number of large companies in the New York area.”
Joshua’s brows lifted as he nodded. “It was a pleasure, but if you’ll excuse us.”
Taking me by the elbow, he led me away from Mason and his date and over to a large group of people. After being introduced, I stood there and attempted to listen to them all talk about nothing. Golf games, tennis matches, boat rides to finish off deals. None of it interested me. Nothing about these types of dinners interested me. Even though I’d been to my fair share throughout my career, my hatred for them grew with each one I attended.
“Dance?” Joshua asked.
After scanning the room for Mason and Annie and not finding them, I nodded. “I’d love to.”
It didn’t take long for me to find them, though. They were on the dance floor as well, and the way Mason held Annie in his arms caused a pang of jealousy to rip through my chest and practically burst out of my body. I looked away.
“Why don’t you just tell him?”
My eyes swung up to meet Joshua’s. “I’m sorry?”
“Mason. Why don’t you tell him how you feel?”
I let out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He lifted his head and gave me a stern look. “Saylor, please. I noticed the way you two looked at each other the first day I met you. The way he was smiling at you when you gave that presentation made me jealous as hell. I couldn’t tell if you were already his or not.”