Dazzle her: Laws of Seduction Book 3 (5 page)

I know that it will upset Nick to see how shaken I am over the incident so I try my best to hide it from him. Once we reach my apartment, I distract him by asking him to pick out a dress for me to wear to the gala evening that I am attending with James tomorrow night. Thinking of James settles my frayed nerves. I think back to how foolishly I had acted this week by trying to keep our relationship under wraps at the office. My attempt to avoid him at the office had failed miserably. I smile as I recall the events of this past week.

When James asks if I can have lunch with him, I put him off for the second day in a row. I feel awful. A message pings on my computer reminding me to come to the Washington Conference Room for some birthday cake. It is Bethany’s birthday. I debate skipping the celebration, but I don’t want to appear unfriendly. Walking past the open door of James’s office, I glance in, but it appears empty. I enter the conference room to find James surrounded by his fan club, eating a slice of cake. I take a piece and join the group. James smiles at me mischievously, and I wonder what he is up to. He flirts and laughs, and Bethany and Becca are eating it up. Although James attempts to draw me into the conversation a few times, I keep my distance.

I leave the group to go and talk to Alex, who cocks his head towards James. “He’s quite the office heart throb.”

I roll my eyes. “Tell me about it.”

My phone pings with a text. I look down and see that it is from James.

I know what you are doing.

Puzzled, I glance over in James’s direction, but he is not looking at me. I put my phone down on the conference table and take a bite of the vanilla birthday cake. The butter cream icing melts in my mouth. I am about to take another bite when James steps in front of me. He takes the small paper plate with cake out of my hands and sets it on the table. Before I can react, he swoops down and bends me back. My arms fly up to his neck. James leans over me and covers my mouth with his in a scorching kiss worthy of a Hollywood movie.

As usual, my reaction to James’s touch is instantaneous, and a searing heat pours through me. James pulls back slightly and looks down at me with a satisfied smile. I am still bent over backwards, and if James were to release me I would topple over into a heap on the floor. I distantly become aware of the utter silence that surrounds us. I whisper, ““James, let me up.”

He pulls me up so that I am standing, but keeps his arm around my waist. Every single pair of eyes in the room are locked on us with varying degrees of shock. James leans over close to my ear and whispers, “Try keeping us a secret now.”

I whip my head around and narrow my eyes at James. He had done this on purpose and outed us in the most public way possible.

Bethany is the first to find her voice. “What about Elizabeth?”

I feel James’s arm tighten around me. “I have never been with Elizabeth. Not in the past and not now.”

A gasp from the doorway of the conference room has everyone looking that way. Elizabeth stands there looking as pale as a ghost. Everyone waits with bated breath to see what will happen next.

Elizabeth steps further into the room. “You are cheating on me with her?” If looks could kill, I would be dead.

James doesn’t waste any time responding. “Elizabeth, how many times do I have to tell you. We. Are. Not. Together.”

Valerie Rodriguez approaches Elizabeth. “I think we should move this discussion to my office. James, would you please join us?”

Once they have left, the room erupts with questions about James and my relationship. I patiently explain that we met last spring but had only recently started dating. The look of accusation in Alex’s eyes makes me feel bad, but I hope he will get over it.

With the excitement over, people start returning to their workstations. Before I can follow, I feel a hand on my arm stopping me. I turn to see Becca looking at me with an odd expression. “How did you do it?”

“Do what?” I ask with confusion.

“Hook James McAllister?”

I am not sure how to reply to this question and give an experimental tug with my arm. Becca lets go but doesn’t step back. “You must have done something to get his attention.”

I give a helpless shrug. “Why is anybody attracted to another person? Can’t we just like each other?”

Becca scoffs. “Don’t be naïve, Lainey. It’s all a game, and the smartest one wins, and I always win.”

Something about her attitude alarms me, but I force myself to stand my ground and not back down. “Listen Becca, James is not a puppet. You can’t make him like you.”

“You did, and I want to know how.”

“Becca, I didn’t do anything.”

“Do you know how wealthy his family is?” She laughs, “If he didn’t want to, he wouldn’t have to work another day in his life.”

I knew from meeting his mother that James’s background was not exactly middle class, but it disturbs me to know that Becca knows more about it than I do.

Back at my desk I wonder what went down in Valerie’s office. I can’t resist sending James a text.

What happened?

Come by my office, and I’ll tell you all about it.

James is typing something as I walk into his office. I sit down in the chair across from him and wait for him to finish. After a few moments, he looks up from his computer and smiles. His dimple appears, and I resist the urge to lean over and kiss it.

“Don’t leave me in suspense. What happened?”

“Elizabeth has decided to take a vacation, since she has so much paid time off saved up.”

“That’s it. Elizabeth is taking a vacation.”

“You could say that Valerie highly recommended that she take her vacation now.”

“Will she be coming back?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit unfeeling?”

“I’m not going to pretend to feel something that I don’t. She has been a thorn in my side for weeks and frankly, I would be happy if she never came back.””

I couldn’t argue with that. “Did the fire in my office come up?”

“No.”

Elizabeth was number one on my suspect list, especially after the crazy way she acted this afternoon. “Do you think she started it?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully the fire investigator will be able to come up with some evidence that they can use to identify the arsonist.”

“I’m not holding my breath. Is it true that you are so wealthy that you don’t really have to work?”

James frowns at me. “Where is this line of questioning coming from?”

“Becca. It’s what she told me just now.”

James presses the end of his pen down with his thumb, and I hear a click, click sound before he places the pen down on his desk. “My family does have a lot of money. At one time I think everyone thought I would follow in my parent’s footsteps and become a rich playboy. You could say I was doing exactly that in college and law school. Then I graduated, and I asked myself some hard questions. The answer to those questions led me here. My law degree allows me to represent the interests of my family, and that is where most of my time is spent.”

This information surprises me. “I thought you were the firm’s negotiator.”

“That is where my strengths are and where most of my other time is spent. Plus, there were some things I was working on with Elizabeth. Speaking of my family,” James eyes me warily. “My mother insists that I attend an event this Saturday. This means that I won’t be able to go to the Hamptons this weekend.”

I want to smile at the look of consternation on James’s face. “Is that what you were arguing about the other night?”

“Yes, she is monopolizing my whole weekend.”

“Poor James,” I say in mock sympathy.

James quirks an eyebrow at me. “You think it’s funny, do you? I hope you continue to find it amusing, because you are coming to the gala with me. I told my mother I was bringing a date.”

The thought of spending the evening with his mother does sobers me up. “What kind of event is it?”

“It’s a charity event, the Lupus Foundation. My family is a big supporter, since my grandmother suffered from it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It is a terrible disease, but my grandmother died before I was born. I never knew her.”

I take in this new information. It pleases me that James is opening up to me about his family, and I delve further, “You said your grandfather raised you?”

“When I was really young, a nanny raised me, and then I was sent to boarding school, but I spent most school breaks with my grandfather.”

Once again my heart breaks for the lonely little boy James must have been. I don’t want to press my luck, so I change the subject. “I suppose we have to dress up for this event on Saturday.”

“Yes, it’s a black-tie event. You could wear that little gold dress again.”

James’s suggestive look makes me smile. “I’ll consider it.”

I get up to go when James stops me. “Oh, and Friday night I am having dinner with my grandfather. I would like to introduce you to my grandfather soon, but you will have my mother to deal with on Saturday night. I think that is enough of my family for one weekend, and I don’t want to scare you off.” James punctuates his last comment with a wink that does curious things to my insides. I inch closer to the door when he stops me again.

“Aren’t you going to give me a goodbye kiss?” The innocent look on his face does not fool me, and I know where this will lead if I am not careful.

“Definitely.” I blow him a kiss over my shoulder. I hear James’s groan of disappointment behind me as I walk out the door.

CHAPTER 7

I decide not to wear the gold dress to the gala. After going through my closet, Nick insists that I have nothing suitable. Only a designer dress will do. Since I have no designer formal wear, Nick had the idea of calling Suzanne for help. Suzanne had a friend working with an up-and-coming designer known to lend out clothes to celebrities, and just this once, as a favor to Suzanne, I would be the proud wearer of a Chevalier designer dress on loan. The dress is short and black. What makes it stand out is a stripe of sheer fabric that runs horizontally along the hem. A layer of lace is at the bottom of the sheer layer. Nick suggested nude stilettos to emphasize the sexy see-through layer. Sam has also helped me with my hair, putting it in an updo à la Audrey Hepburn.

When James arrives at my apartment Saturday evening, I have to admit that I am glad that I have gone to so much trouble. I open my door to the breathtaking vision of James in a tuxedo. He looks strangely out of place standing in my living room, which somehow seems much smaller. His broad shoulders fill out his black jacket perfectly, and I wonder if it was custom-made. I see him in suits every day, but this level of elegance makes him somehow unapproachable. I feel the flutter of nerves in my stomach as we head out the door.

My anxiety ratchets up a notch when I see the limousine standing in front of my building. James must see my surprise. “You didn’t think we were going on the subway did you?”

To be honest I had not given it that much thought. I don’t have time to respond, since his usual driver, Gary, is standing with the door open waiting for me to get in.

“You look great,” I tell Gary, who is dressed in a black suit.

“Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself, Ms. Hart.”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to be so formal. Please call me Lainey or Elaine if you would prefer.”

Gary eases the limo into the Midtown traffic, and I wonder if it is hard to drive such a large vehicle on the streets of Manhattan. James places his hands over mine to still their fidgeting. “You look beautiful.”

“Tell me again how many people will be there?”

“Stop worrying. We’ll just go in, eat, and dance a little. Nothing to be nervous about.”

His reassurance is all I need to calm my nerves. I give him a bright smile. “Does this thing have a bar?”

James a quirks his brow. “Let’s see what we can find.”

I can’t take my eyes off James as he rummages through the bottles in the console. How had this ravishing man become so important to my existence? I know now what addiction feels like – James. Feeling my eyes on him, he turns to look at me quizzically. He must see something in my face, because a sudden blaze of heat flashes from his eyes. My lips part and my eyes widen as he leans in closer to me. I feel the softest whisper of breath across my skin. “If you keep looking at me like that, Gary is going to get a show that he won’t soon forget.”” The sound of my breathy pants reverberate in the silent backseat. I bite my bottom lip and hear James sharply inhale. “Lainey.” The warning in his voice is unmistakable. I am sure you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. I let my eyes fall down to his crotch and see the evidence of his desire. “Lainey.” At the sound of his voice saying my name, my eyes fly back up to meet his. “I want to remind you that in a few short moments, we will be exiting this limo in front of a mob of well-dressed people. I am trying very hard to spare you any embarrassment.”

Swallowing hard, I close my eyes and fight back the urge to throw myself in his arms. I feel something cold and hard against my knee and open my eyes to see that James has made me a gin and tonic. I accept it gratefully. It only takes a few more minutes to get to Lincoln Center, where the gala is being held. I had observed events like these in the past, but had never thought I would be a participant. There is a red carpet lined with several photographers standing outside the entrance, and I am suddenly glad that James had kept a level head in the limo. Before I have time to worry about them, James is waiting to hand me out of the car. I step out, and he leans down to whisper, “Smile, baby,” in my ear. I look up into his eyes and am reassured by the warm light I see reflected there. Taking a sustaining breath, I flash him my best smile before turning to walk with him down the red carpet. The feel of his hand pressing at the center of my back bolsters my confidence. Light bulbs flash in my eyes, and I am surprised to hear a reporter addressing a question to James. “Mr. McAllister, who’s your date?”