“Everything all right?” asked Dean from behind her.
Grace set a hand on her hip. “I need tonight to be over,” she whispered. She turned to face Dean. “Thanks again for making it out here on short notice. Katy wasn’t too upset, was she?”
He raised a brow. “Upset? I’m fairly certain she’s off celebrating her freedom with friends right now. Hopefully female friends without alcohol.”
Grace set a hand on his arm. “She’s a good kid. I’m sure she’s fine.”
Dean pushed a hand through his scruffy, black hair. “No. She was a good kid. Now she’s a teenager, and I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.”
She sighed. Suddenly her problems with Simon didn’t seem as important. After Dean’s parents died in a car crash a decade ago, he’d been the sole guardian of his younger sister and had worked two jobs or more ever since to try to provide for her.
“If you don’t want to do the city gigs anymore, I understand. I know it’s hard to be away from Katy overnight.”
Dean shrugged. “It’s all good. I need the money. I get to hang around the rich people for a while.”
“Win-win,” said Grace, feeling simultaneously good about giving him work and bad for asking him to leave his sister for a few nights. “How’s the light setup going?”
“A few of the outlets are giving me issues. I’m about to dig up the general manager. Did you need to talk to him about anything?”
“The outlets aren’t working? Are you kidding me?” Because this particular ballroom was in the middle of the hotel’s layout, there were no windows to give a feel of ambiance. Instead, Dean was setting up dramatic lighting all around the border of the room in a green, blue, and white pattern to match the colors in the Green & Sons logo.
“Don’t worry. Places like this can usually act fast to fix this type of stuff. I just have to let them know.”
“Okay. Keep me informed, though.”
He nodded. “Will do.”
As he left, Grace crossed her arms and looked over the room, mentally listing off all the things that needed to be done. Any talks with Simon would have to wait.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Simon looked over the room at the smiling and happy faces. At least some people were having a good time.
He leaned back in the chair and took another drink of whiskey, letting the burn distract him for a few seconds. His banker had called him up hours ago to tell him that the police issued a warrant to look through his financial records, and Simon still had no clue what they were digging for.
The band switched to a new, slow paced song and the first thing he thought about was sweeping Grace aside for a dance. No. Damn it. He was supposed to be distancing himself, not drooling to get her back in his arms again.
But that was exactly what he was doing. Ever since the night they shared in her apartment—hell, ever since the night in the Hamptons—his life was a constant reminder of how good they were together and all the reasons they shouldn’t do it again.
She wasn’t exactly making the whole distance thing easy. Grace wore some sort of slinky forest green dress and heels that she really shouldn’t be able to physically walk in for the entire evening, but she didn’t look uncomfortable.
She looked amazing, and Simon was somehow supposed to break up with her. She’d never believe him. The second he said “we need to talk,” Grace would suspect it had something to do with DuFord.
Damn it. He went to take another drink, but his glass was empty.
“So how do you think it went?” asked Grace from behind him.
He didn’t want to have this conversation at all. He supposed he should get it over with though. But instead of telling Grace off or explaining that they weren’t right for each other, he said, “I think everyone had a great time.”
Grace pulled a chair in closer to him. “I feel like everyone enjoyed themselves, but Victoria looked miserable most of the night. I tried to talk to her a few times, but she brushed me off and I barely saw her after she gave her speech.”
Simon shrugged. “She’s stressed. Her dad’s probably not going to make it through the week and this was a last-ditch effort to make sure the employees liked her. She’s got a lot to deal with.”
“Okay. That does sound stressful.” Grace frowned. “At least all the employees seemed to have fun. That’s what’s important, I suppose.”
Simon stared out over the sea of faces, trying to think of the nicest way possible to ruin her night without making her think he was doing it for her own good.
“Thanks to all the talking up you did for me at the Summer Blowout, I have two new confirmed clients and a few others who have consultations booked next week. So that’s exciting.”
He nodded. “Sounds like you’re going to be really busy the next few weeks. I’ll hardly see you.”
She tightened her lips and stared intently at him. “It will be busy, but not throw a massive event together in ten days busy. Andre can handle the wrap-up for the night if you want to go somewhere. We could even get a room if you really want to.” Her hand fell on his leg as her gorgeous blue eyes looked into his.
For a moment he forgot his mission. All he wanted to do was take her up on her offer, drag her to the closest available room and show her exactly how much he wanted to get that room with her.
But a familiar face caught his eye and pulled him out of her spell. “That’s Karina?” he asked.
Grace glanced over to the woman. “Yep. She’s been doing well. She sat at the table with a few contractors, so she wasn’t surrounded by a tightknit group of Green & Sons employees.”
Simon stood up. An idea formed in his mind. “Why don’t I go talk to her?”
~~~~~
Grace watched Simon walk away. A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. She’d been so excited to finally see him again. To sit down and talk things over. But he’d been utterly uninterested.
Maybe she was just a two-night stand. Maybe he’d changed his mind about mixing business and pleasure.
But it was amazing pleasure, damn it! The sex was great, conversation fun: what could she have possibly done wrong? It had to be something to do with DuFord. Simon was pushing her away in an attempt to protect her. That had to be it. She was a grown woman. If he wanted to protect her, the least he could do was sit down with her and explain why he was being an ass.
Determined to let him know she was onto his little plan, Grace stood and made her way over to Simon and Karina. A few guests moved to cross in front of her and blocked her view; her jaw dropped open when she saw them again.
Simon wasn’t just talking with her. He leaned in close, intently hung on her every word. Grace blinked a few times. No. She had to be imagining it. But as she took another step forward, Simon set a hand on Karina’s hip.
Right then, Karina turned and noticed Grace. Her smile widened. “Grace! Come on over.”
Not even managing the faintest grin, Grace stumbled over to the two.
Karina gestured to Simon. “Have you met Mr. West? He’s one of the most in demand consultants in the business.”
Grace weakly nodded. All she could think about was how great Karina looked. Her dark hair was pulled back in a sleek updo, and the black dress she wore fell just right and accented all the right places. And it was all her fault. Through a series of phone calls and texts, Karina and she had grown closer. Grace even lent her the damn dress.