“Jesus,” Shepherd said.
I put the empty glass on a small table. “Okay, I’ll do this. But you owe me.”
“Fine,” he said.
“Like, you owe me big.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t know yet.” My sister’s request ran through my head, but here was no way I was bringing that up right now. “But I’ll let you know.”
“Deal.” He offered his hand.
I placed my hand in his and he held it, his grip firm. I’d never made this much eye contact with him, but the quick infusion of champagne was helping.
He let go of my hand and placed his on the small of my back. I swallowed hard, thinking about my lack of a panty line. Trying not to think about how nice Shepherd looked in that tux.
But that was hard. He looked really, really good. It wasn’t like I’d never realized how attractive my boss was. Obviously, I knew. No woman could look at Shepherd Calloway and not be a little awed at that gorgeous specimen of a man. I wasn’t immune to that. But over the years I’d spent working for him, I’d tuned it out. Dwelling on how stupidly attractive he was would only distract me from doing my job, and developing a crush on my boss was a terrible idea. Even if office dating wasn’t bad news in and of itself, I knew his type, and it certainly wasn’t me.
So I ignored the way he steered me through the crowd. The warmth of his hand on my back. The way he walked with such confidence. It wasn’t swagger. Shepherd Calloway didn’t need swagger. He exuded masculinity and power. His piercing eyes, dark brow, perfect hair. His posture. His voice. It all said everything you needed to know about him. He was in charge, and he knew it.
Ignore, ignore, ignore.
He paused to talk to someone, so I grabbed another glass of champagne from a passing waiter. I didn’t inhale this one, just held it between my fingertips and took a few sips. I noticed I was leaving red lipstick marks and wondered how soon I’d need to reapply.
The man nodded to Shepherd and moved on.
I leaned closer to him. “How’s my lipstick?”
“What?”
“Does my lipstick need fixing? I got some on the glass.”
His eyes went to my mouth and he licked his lips while I tried not to fidget. “Your lipstick looks fine.”
I pressed my lips, rubbing them together.
“But how much are you drinking?” he asked.
“Are you serious? This is two. And if you think you can make me pose as your girlfriend, in this dress, without a few drinks you’re crazy.”
“Okay. I just wouldn’t have guessed that you drink.”
I laughed. “Then there are probably a lot of things you wouldn’t have guessed about me.”
He stared at me for a few seconds, like he’d never seen me before and wasn’t sure who I was. Then something else caught his eye and his expression changed—he was back to the emotionless Mr. Calloway I was used to.
An older man in a black tux approached. He looked vaguely familiar, although I couldn’t place him. There was a woman in a gold dress hanging on his arm and when she turned, I almost spit out my drink.
It was Svetlana.
The man smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He looked a lot like—
“Son,” he said to Shepherd. “It looks like your date arrived. Do I get the pleasure of an introduction?”
Oh, holy shit. This was his dad? What was Svetlana doing with Shepherd’s father? And why was she staring at me like that? If she’d had claws, she’d have been using them on my face right about now.
“Dad, this is Everly Dalton,” Shepherd said. “Everly, my father, Richard Calloway.”
I swallowed, hoping I wasn’t going to choke on the bubbly I’d almost spit all over him. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Calloway.”
“Please, call me Richard. And this is my lovely date, Svetlana,” he said. “I’m thrilled to meet you. It’s about time Shep was serious enough about a girl to introduce her to his father.”
Shep? And Svetlana was his dad’s date? Suddenly everything became clear; I realized exactly why he’d demanded I come. I sincerely hoped his dad wasn’t aware that his son had recently been dating the harpy currently perched on his arm. Because that was just creepy.
Regardless, my boss needed me to put on a little show, and I had a feeling it was more for Svetlana than for his dad. The hostility in her eyes was fierce. If looks could kill, I’d have been dead on the floor already.
This was going to be fun.
“Richard, I’m so happy to meet you, too,” I said. “I’ve been telling Shep he needs to introduce me already. After all, has he been hiding me from you, or the other way around?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Richard said with a laugh. “Although I can see why he kept you a secret. I’d want to keep a beautiful woman like you all to myself as well.”
I smiled and scrunched my shoulders a little. “You are the sweetest. I can see where Shep gets it.” I gave Shepherd an obvious wink.
“So, tell me, how did you meet my son?” Richard asked.
“We work together,” I said, and Richard’s eyes widened slightly. That surprised him. “I know, it’s usually a terrible idea to date a coworker. But sometimes these things are beyond our control. You work closely with someone for a long time, and feelings start developing before you even realize it’s happening. Then one day it all comes out. Once that happens, there’s no going back.”
“I like her,” Richard said to Shepherd. “A lot. Keep this one.”
Svetlana was silent, still trying to murder me with her dagger-eyes.
I ran my hand down Shepherd’s arm and clasped his hand, twining our fingers together. “Don’t worry. He won’t be able to get rid of me so easily.”
Shepherd cleared his throat and for a second, I thought maybe I’d gone too far with the hand-holding. But he squeezed my hand and turned to look me in the eyes. “But why would I want to?”
My lips parted. He held my gaze, his blue eyes freezing me in place. “Why, indeed?”
Richard smiled. “I think they need me on stage in a minute or two. Everly, so happy to meet you.”
“You, too.”
Richard hadn’t seemed to notice Svetlana’s silence. I was surprised she wasn’t digging her fingernails into his arm. But he walked away with her as if nothing was amiss. As if he’d just had a pleasant interaction with his son and his girlfriend, nothing more.
Shepherd let out a breath and released my hand.
“Well, that was interesting,” I said. “Any more family members lurking? Should I be prepared to meet your grandma too?”
He shot me a glare. “No. Just him.”
“He was with—”
“I know,” he snapped. “Believe me, I know.”
He put his hand on my back again and led me to the bar. He ordered a Manhattan and glanced at me, his eyebrows raised.
“Same for me,” I said.
“And she drinks whiskey? Interesting.”
“It’s a classic.”
We waited a few minutes while the bartender mixed our drinks. Shepherd handed the first one to me, then took a long swallow of his. We wandered away from the bar to a tall table near the edge of the room.