How had she met him? And was she going to pretend we didn’t know each other? Why the fuck did she think I’d go along with that?
But one look at my dad’s face, and I knew I couldn’t out her. Not here, in front of an audience. When it was supposed to be his night. That soft heart my dad carried in his chest was going to be crushed. I needed to get through the evening, then see my dad privately.
I took Svetlana’s hand for as brief a handshake as I could manage. “How did you two meet?”
“Hawaii,” he said. “We were staying at the same resort. She offered to buy me a drink, and then we had a good laugh because we were at an all-inclusive.”
“Really?” I asked. Motherfucker. “Dad, I had no idea you’d gone to Hawaii recently.”
“Like I said, I needed some time to figure things out.” He pulled Svetlana tighter against him. “Obviously it was time well spent.”
Svetlana batted her eyelashes and nuzzled against his arm.
I swallowed back the taste of vomit. “That’s great, Dad.”
“So tell me, son, where’s your date? I’d love to meet her.”
Svetlana’s lips parted over her white teeth in a wicked grin. “Yes, Shepherd, where is she? I’d love to meet her as well.”
I narrowed my eyes. Fuck her. She wanted to play this game? She had no idea who she was dealing with. I was going to bury her.
“She’s just running a little late.” I pulled out my phone. “In fact, I should give her a call to see if she’s on her way.”
“Good,” Dad said. “Come find us when she gets here.”
“I will.” I gave Svetlana a cold smile before turning to walk away.
I kept my pace unhurried until I was out of their line of sight. Then I rushed my ass into a stairwell and started flicking through my contacts. Now I needed a goddamn date. But who could I get down here on a moment’s notice?
I scrolled through the names, ignoring my business contacts—which were most of them. I wasn’t exactly on friendly terms with any of my exes. The women I dated typically hated me when our brief relationships were over. Somehow they always blamed me for not being what they were looking for—a wealthy man who’d spoil them—and were mortally offended when I had the audacity to dump them.
I scrolled back up, in reverse alphabetical order. I was not letting Svetlana win this round. If I had to call a fucking escort service, I was going to have a beautiful woman on my arm in the next half hour.
A name stared at me from my screen. I’d already scrolled by it twice, not even considering her as an option. But there it was. Everly Dalton, my personal assistant.
She was hands down the best assistant I’d ever had. The fact that she’d worked for me for so long was proof of that. My assistants always quit. Male or female, they always wanted a bunch of goddamn hand-holding and pats on the head. I didn’t need a pet who was constantly seeking my approval. I needed an assistant who could do the job I’d hired them to do.
That was exactly what Everly did.
At first, I’d thought she’d be just like the others. She didn’t come across as a woman with a solid backbone. She was too cute—smiled too much. But she was tough as nails. Smart, efficient, productive. She was great at her job and I paid her well for it. Very well, in fact. In three years, I’d raised her salary four times.
But standing in as my date? I scowled at my phone. Everly wasn’t that sort of girl. She was nice to look at, certainly. I didn’t choose my assistants based on their attractiveness, but if I did, Everly would’ve passed with flying colors. Pretty face, long blond hair. I could almost picture her in an evening gown, but that was a stretch. She was not the sort of woman I dated—not anything like them. Could she pull it off and fool my dad?
Plus, Svetlana had met her. She’d know I was lying.
Or would she? When Svetlana had come to my office, she’d eyed Everly with open jealousy. As if she’d been sure I was fucking my pretty assistant on the side. I wasn’t—I never dipped my pen in company ink. But Everly here as my date would dig at Svetlana in a way no other woman could.
That clinched it. I tapped Everly’s number and hit call.
“Um, hello?” she said. “Mr. Calloway?”
“I need you at the Four Seasons Ballroom,” I said.
“Wait, what?”
“Four Seasons.”
“I know where you are, I just don’t understand why you need me to come down there. It’s nine o’clock at night. What’s wrong?”
I glanced at my watch. I needed her here, now. “Text me your address and I’ll send a car to pick you up.”
“Wait, Mr. Calloway, I don’t understand.”
“Just get down here,” I said. “I’ll pay you for your time.”
“Well, okay, but I’m confused.”
I let out a frustrated breath. She never wasted my time like this. “Everly, listen to me. Address. Car. Four Seasons.”
“I… you just… um… okay?”
“And dress sexy. Text me when you get here.”
I hung up so I could text my driver, letting him know he needed to go pick her up, and I’d forward the address as soon as I had it. A few seconds later, Everly’s text with her home address came through.
Good girl.
I pocketed my phone. Judging by her address, she lived about fifteen minutes away. That meant half an hour before she’d arrive. I’d have to avoid my dad and Svetlana while I waited, but that shouldn’t be an issue. This place was crawling with people who wanted a piece of me. I usually kept to myself, so all it would take would be to show a bit of interest in a conversation, and I’d have no shortage of people to keep me occupied and unavailable.
Now, I just had to wait for Everly.
6
Everly
I stared down at my phone, wondering what had just happened. Had my boss just told me to meet him at the Four Seasons? At nine on a Friday night?
That wasn’t even the weirdest part. He’d called me Everly.
I had no idea what was going on. I’d never gone to an event with him before. He always either took a date or went alone. What was going on that he needed me down there? And dress sexy? What the hell?
The Seattle Philanthropic Society Gala was black-tie. The men would be in tuxes, the women in formal evening gowns. I didn’t know if I had a dress that would get me in the door, let alone one that was sexy. This was truly an emergency. So I did the only thing I could. I called Nora.
“Hey, love,” she said.
“Oh, thank god you answered. Are you busy? I have an emergency, and literally no time.”
“Talk to me.”
“My boss needs me to come to a black-tie event. His car is on the way to pick me up. And he said dress sexy.”
“I’ll be right down.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief, then ducked into the bathroom to glance in the mirror at my flat hair and makeup-free face. I wasn’t giving her much to work with. But if anyone could pull this off, it was Nora.
I barely had time to contemplate why Mr. Calloway had put me in this position before Nora banged on my door. I answered and she burst in, a bag slung over her shoulder and a heap of clothes in her arms. She went straight to my bedroom and dumped everything on the bed.