He looked strong and handsome and sure of himself, and she probably looked like a hot mess at this point.
“He is amazing, isn’t he?” asked a familiar, masculine voice.
Grace stiffened and turned to see Mark slide into the chair next to hers. She swallowed back her nerves and smiled. “Mark! I’m so happy to see you.”
“Are you?” He smirked. “It seemed like you’d moved on.” He glanced over to Simon, and she followed his gaze.
Simon was still talking to the same group of businessmen as before. Had he seen that Mark was talking to her yet? They’d never discussed what she was supposed to do if Mark approached her.
“I didn’t realize that meant I couldn’t enjoy your company.” She turned her body to face his. If Simon needed something from Mark, it would be best for her to stay friendly. “How have you been?”
He shrugged. “Okay, I suppose. This place is so boring when you’re not here.”
She let out a laugh. “That’s because I’m only here when there’s a big party.”
“That’s probably right.” A waitress walked by, and he held up a hand. “Did you want a cranberry vodka?” he asked Grace.
“You know I don’t drink on the job,” she reminded him.
“Worth a try,” he said with a wicked glint in his eye as he turned to the waitress. “Another Scotch on the rocks please.”
Grace studied him. He was the polar opposite to Simon. His suit jacket was nowhere to be seen, and his shirt was undone halfway down. His dark hair fell carelessly around his clean-shaven face, and he always seemed to say exactly what came to mind. Simon, on the other hand, kept his words as controlled as his short hair.
“So you like Simon?” She rested her chin in her hand.
Mark took another look behind him and then back to Grace. “I suppose. I heard he’s a genius at making people money, but I wouldn’t know.”
“You’ve worked together?” Simon mentioned a plan with Mark had fallen through, but she didn’t know the specifics.
“He almost bagged me Donald Hunt as a client, but the rich old coot bailed at the last minute. It was…strange.”
She kept her face blank, but she knew when she was being led on. She followed his lead, curious to hear where he was going with it. “What was strange about it?”
“Well, I have no idea what spooked him. I mean, my track record speaks for itself and I’d already made Hunt a decent return on the test investment I did for him. Something, or someone, must’ve said something.”
Donald Hunt was one of the richest men in the city. Grace could only imagine what a blow it would’ve been to lose that big of a fish. “And you think it was Simon who warned him away? Why would he do that?” She leaned in closer and tried her best to look captivated.
“I’m still trying to figure that out. One minute he’s calling me up out of the blue to help me; the next minute, the biggest client of my career is running scared. And now he’s with you. It’s just strange.”
She pulled away and raised a brow. “You think him being with me has something to do with you?” She injected as much shock and indignation in the question as possible. Even if he happened to be right, it was an asshole thing to say to her face.
“Hey, you’re a drop dead gorgeous woman, so I’m sure he’s happy to be the one on your arm. I’m only pointing out that it’s suspicious.”
She stood, ignoring her protesting feet. “I’m glad you had fun tonight, Mark. I have a few things to check on, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Damn it, Grace. I’m sorry.” He pushed out of the chair. “I am happy to see you tonight, though. If you ever want to talk about anything at all, don’t hesitate to call.”
She tightened her lips, trying to figure out how pissed was the right amount of angry. She didn’t want to burn bridges with him, but she had a right to defend herself. “Thanks,” she bit out as she turned to storm away. She did add a bit more sway to her hips as she walked, not above showing him a twinge of what he was missing out on.
She moved into the kitchen and took stock of where the final caterer of the evening was on cleaning up after themselves. Once she determined that everything was going according to plan, she went into the employee locker room, where she’d stashed her duffel of supplies. She traded her heels for sneakers and decided to take a look at the golf course. It was her responsibility to report any exceptional messes or mix-ups to the club’s management. Although the golf tournament had ended hours ago, she knew that drunk people loved to go sneaking off and causing havoc. No matter how distinguished the executive, everyone was unpredictable once the blood alcohol levels started to climb.
It was a job that was probably better suited to Andre, but despite the exhaustion that crept up on her, she would love the chance to get some fresh air and stretch her legs.
The well-manicured lawns and perfectly landscaped hills and slopes seemed to take on an ethereal quality at night, lit only by the moonlight and fading lights from the ballroom. Grace considered herself an extrovert. She got off on the crowds of people and the rush from knowing she was the reason they were all enjoying themselves so much. But even so, she relished these quiet moments after a hectic evening.
Footsteps sounded from behind her, and Grace turned to see Simon approaching. Not running. Of course not. He caught up using the confident stride she was becoming so used to. “Done with the party?” She stopped to let him catch up.
“I wanted to say hi.” He came up alongside her and they both started to walk at a slow pace.
“Because it would look good for people to see us together?” She inwardly frowned at the unexpected bitterness in her voice. There was nothing wrong with him wanting to make sure the ruse he’d made up to help her continued. She was the one who should be going out of her way to keep it up.
But last night had confused things. As much as she tried to keep her mind from straying back to when his mouth moved over hers and his hands were on her skin, it was impossible to avoid. Good grief, he’d brought her to orgasm without much more than a kiss. She’d ridden him like a wanton woman. And for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what he thought of the whole situation.
She’d half imagined his controlled, structured mind laughing at her outburst. Giggling at how quickly she came undone. But then he’d seemed so serious this morning when he told her not to be sorry.
“So did you meet anyone interesting?” she asked as they passed the third hole.
He shrugged. “Interesting is relative. It was a who’s who of Fortune 500 in there.”
She laughed. “Relative how?”
“Honestly, I think you’re more interesting than most of those people in there.”
She shook her head as she studied him, trying to read whether he was making some sort of joke. “Before the media decided I was a harlot and sleeping with a married senator, I can promise you that I was a very boring woman.”
“I don’t think anyone with a pit bull named Princess can be called boring.”
She fell silent. Normally she could take a compliment rather well, but hearing someone like Simon call her fascinating left her speechless.