SWNOVELS Dear Grumpy Boss: Chapter 29
into my room. “Your Prince Charming has arrived, and he looks positively delicious.”
I turned to her, smoothing my palms over the skirt of my burgundy gown. My nerves were fluttering. “Am I suitable?”
Her breath caught. “Oh, babe. You look like a pinup. So stunning. Weston is not going to know what hit him.”
Laughing, I shook my hands out. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”
She crossed the room, taking my hands in hers and rubbing them gently. “It’s like your big couple debut. I get it. But you have to remember this is Weston. He’ll be by your side the whole way. It’s going to be romantic as hell.”
“It’s Weston,” I murmured to myself. The flutters still happened, but they were for him instead of nerves. “Is he wearing a tux?”
She nodded, her eyes rounding. “He is, and he’s looking like James Bond, the Daniel Craig era.”
I sucked in a breath. “Okay. Let me go look at my man.”
My floor-length gown swished as I strode out of my bedroom in my strappy heels. This dress had been more expensive than my rent, but being on Weston Aldrich’s arm at a black tie fundraiser called for a splurge. I wanted to look good for him, like we belonged together.
I turned the corner, and there he was, standing in the middle of my living room. I wondered if he’d waited there to give me space to make an entrance.
“Hi.” My teeth dug into my crimson-painted bottom lip. My heart flipped in wild circles. My man was gorgeous, always, but in a tux? Weston Aldrich put every other man to shame. And the way he was standing, his hands tucked in his pockets like he was casual, his heated eyes and tight jaw telling a different story, made me want to drop to my knees and tell him he could do anything he wanted to me.
“Hi, baby.” His gaze trailed over me, from my red toenails to my pin-curled hair. “Come over here. I have something for you.”
My movements were automatic. He called, and I answered. With each step I took toward him, the high slit in my skirt revealed my leg all the way to midthigh. The boning in my bodice straightened my spine, pushing my breasts out, making me feel graceful and sensual. And from the hunger in Weston’s eyes, I looked that way too.
After an eternity, I reached him. He took my hand, kissed my knuckles, then spun me around. His mouth was beside my ear. His lips pressed to the shell, then his tongue darted out for a taste.
“You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, Elise.”
I shuddered, my lashes fluttering against my cheeks. “Thank you, Weston. You make me feel that way. And you”—I turned my head so our eyes met—“look absolutely dashing tonight.”
“Thank you, baby.”
His arms circled around me, and in his hands was a black box, which he flipped open. Inside, resting on black velvet, was a diamond pendant that had to be antique. Diamonds arranged in a star motif framed a dangling, cushion-cut diamond. From the bottom, more diamonds dangled in something like a sparkling fringe. It was unique and extravagant. No one had ever given me anything like this, nor had I seen something so beautiful up close before.
“I cheated slightly and asked Saoirse about the neckline of your dress. I wanted to make sure I bought something you could wear tonight.” His mouth was beside my ear again. “Do you like it, baby?”
My entire body was trembling as I attempted to hold back tears. I would not ruin my makeup before we even left the house.
“It’s exquisite, Weston. Put it on me?”
His fingertips trailed over my neck. The pendant rested heavily on my chest as he slid the thin chain around to my nape. When he was finished, his lips touched the back of my neck, then he spun me around, his eyes flaring at the sight of his necklace on me.
“You should be dripping in diamonds,” he told me. “How did I get so lucky to have you?”
I touched the pendant then cupped the sides of his neck, tipping my face up to his.
“You have made me feel so special and the night has barely started. Thank you for the necklace. I don’t think I’ll ever take it off.”
“That’s the first of many. You’ll have to rotate.”
He pressed a lingering kiss to my cheek, then my throat, ending with a featherlight kiss to my lips.
“Your mouth looks incredible with that color on it, but I hate it right now.” He glared so hard at the lipstick on my lips I almost laughed.
I held it in for his sake, but I did smile. “I’m keeping track of all the kisses I owe you. I’ll make up for it later.”
He took my hand in his, looking grumpy but somehow happy too. “Good. I won’t forget that promise.”
Andes gave grants to many environmental charities, and tonight’s fundraiser was in support of the largest land trust in Colorado.
My nerves were back at the forefront when Weston and I walked into the lavish ballroom filled with filthy rich people in their finest attire. He’d told me on the drive here there was someone he would need to speak to, but other than that, he would be by my side the entire evening.
A waiter swept by. Weston snagged a glass of champagne and handed it to me. I held the stem between my fingers and lifted a brow.
“None for you?”
“No.” His hand curved over my shoulder. “I’ll have something harder from the bar.”
We wandered over there, Weston stopping to greet multiple people on the way. He introduced me to everyone, but names went in one ear and out the other. I was a little bit high on how proudly Weston announced me as his girlfriend to all the stately men and women we spoke to.
We found Luca at the bar, flirting with the bartender. If Weston was James Bond, Luca was the ravishing villain the audience was secretly rooting for. His dark hair fell over his forehead in an artful swoop. Thick stubble lined his chiseled jaw. A playful smirk pulled at his full lips.
Weston’s tux was classic, whereas Luca’s was modern and stylish. Navy blue with contrasting black lapels and black piping down the cigarette pants, not many men could pull it off, but Luca did in spades.
As soon as Luca spotted us, he yanked me away from Weston, taking my hand to twirl me in a big circle.
“Bellissima.” He shook his head as his eyes swept over me. “You’re something special tonight, Elise.”
Blushing, I pressed my face to my shoulder. “Thank you. Did you see the necklace Weston gave me?”
He leaned in and definitely peeked down my cleavage. “Stunning. Though I think West could afford something bigger.”
Weston shoved his shoulder. “Eyes to yourself.”
Luca held his hands up. “She invited me to look.”
I spread my hand over the tops of my breasts. “At my necklace, Luca. Which I think is perfect, by the way. If he had given me something bigger, I don’t think I would have been able to wear it in public. I’m not used to jewelry this extravagant.”
Weston’s arm circled my waist, and he lightly kissed my temple, his whiskey in his other hand. “Get used to it.”
Luca grinned at both of us. “I like this. Too bad Elliot isn’t here tonight to see you two looking like you stepped out of a fairy tale. He sends his regards, by the way.”
“More importantly, he sent his check,” Weston added.
“My brother, the philanthropist.”
The three of us chatted for a while until Luca saw someone he knew. When I checked where he was headed, I laughed. Of course his trajectory was the gorgeous blonde in red. His very own Bond girl.
Weston and I found our table. I set my bag on the chair, but I wasn’t ready to sit down yet. He grabbed another glass of champagne for me when my first one was empty. A band was playing surprisingly recognizable rock music from a couple decades ago.
“There’s something I don’t know about you.”
Weston skimmed his knuckles along my bare shoulder. “Is there? Let’s rectify that. What would you like to know?”
“Do you dance?”
His mouth tipped. “Not often. You?”
“Not often enough. This band is good.”
“They are.” He pulled me close, his hand splaying low on my back. “Will you dance with me tonight?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I leaned into him, hoping he’d kiss me, despite my lipstick, but Weston stiffened, his attention on something in the distance. I turned in his arms, trying to see what he was looking at. A sultry woman in black strutted toward us, her dark eyes gleaming and laser-focused on Weston.
Marisol.
Weston had prepared me for her presence here tonight, but my stomach still soured when she joined our group and pressed her cheek to Weston’s in greeting. She shook my hand as though we were meeting for the first time.
“Lovely dress.”
“Thank you. Yours too.” That wasn’t a lie. I didn’t think I liked this woman, but I couldn’t deny she was nothing short of stunning.
Her smile was tight and went no further than the barest tilt of her lips.
“Weston, Dominic Peters and his COO, Charlie Platt, are here and ready to have a chat now. Do you think I could steal you away for a bit?”
“Give us a moment, please,” he answered, pulling me a few feet away from Marisol.
Weston’s hand skated down my arm, and his eyes bored into mine. “Will you be all right if I step away and take care of this?”
“Of course.” He’d warned me he’d have to be the boss tonight. “Go, have at it. I’ll drink champagne and mingle.”
He stared at me for another moment then shook his head. “You are truly the best, Elise. I’ll try not to let this take long, but Peters likes to hear himself speak, so—”
“It’s fine. If I get bored, I’ll hunt down Luca. But I doubt I’ll get bored.”
“Okay.” He kissed my forehead then dipped his head to take a deep inhale of my hair. “Be good, beauty.”
Watching him walk away with Marisol twisted my stomach into knots even though I didn’t doubt for one second he was fully mine and she had no hold over him. They met up with two other men near a set of doors then all four exited the ballroom entirely.
Exhaling, I raised my drink to my lips. He’d be back as soon as he could. Until then, I’d make the most of my evening.
It was more than half an hour before Weston returned. Over that time, I had gone from happily watching the glamorous people milling around to being miffed to feeling slightly abandoned. When he took the seat beside me and kissed my cheek, I frowned at him.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he murmured. “That took longer than I expected.”
“Longer than I expected too.” Though the last thing I wanted was to get in a fight with him, I also wasn’t going to pretend I was happy with being neglected for so long.
He shifted in his chair, angling his body toward mine, his warm breath brushing my ear as he spoke quietly. “Events like these are for charity, but they’re also where connections are made and deals are brokered. Can you give me patience tonight? I might have to speak to Peters again, if he gets his head out of his ass. Otherwise, I’m all yours.”
I slid my narrowed eyes to his. My night out with my Prince Charming was turning out to be less Cinderella’s ball and more like my senior prom when my date kept sneaking outside to smoke weed with his boys.
“If you don’t dance with me, I don’t think I’ll forgive you.”
“Elise”—he took my hand in his, his arm draped around the back of my chair—“if I don’t dance with you, I’ll never forgive myself.”
I managed to settle down and enjoy myself for a while. Weston introduced me to our tablemates, the ones who’d basically ignored me until he arrived. They weren’t my people. Most were old enough to be my parents, but they were clearly all enamored with Weston. I tried to be mad about it, but I sort of got off on watching my man being fawned over.
On the inside, I was preening. They might have wanted a piece of him, to be able to tell their friends they’d had dinner with the Weston Aldrich, but at the end of the night, he would be only mine.
After dinner, Weston asked me to dance. On our way to the dance floor, we were waylaid by Marisol and a silver-haired man in a classic tuxedo. He had to be seventy years old if he was a day, and he was wearing a pair of cowboy boots on his feet.
Something about him set me on edge.
“Weston, I’m ready to talk brass tacks if you are.” This must have been Dominic Peters, the man who’d already stolen Weston from me once tonight.
I braced myself for it to happen again.
Weston’s fingers flexed around mine. “I would love to do that, Dominic, but we were on our way to the dance floor. I made a promise to my—”
Marisol shook her head and made a strangled sound. Dominic Peters held up a hand.
“My plane is taking off in two hours. We can schedule something when I’m back home, but I’m not sure when I’ll have the time for this discussion.”
Weston’s gaze slid to mine. I gave him a closed-lip smile. This was where I was supposed to play the good CEO’s girlfriend and happily give him up again without making him feel guilty.
“I’ll be fine on my own,” I told him, though I didn’t really mean it. “Do your thing.”
His fingers loosened then slipped from between mine, dragging up the back of my forearm. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he murmured.
“It’s really fine. Who even wants to dance?”
His calloused thumb rubbed my elbow, then he kissed my temple. “I do, Elise. I’ll be back.”
Luca sank down in the seat next to mine. “Bella.”
“Hey.”
“Where’s West?”
I shrugged. “No idea.”
It had been…a long time since Weston left me. I had gone from watching couples swirl around the dance floor in waves of silk and satin to watching the minutes tick by on my phone.
“I noticed you sitting alone but thought he was getting a drink. When he wasn’t back the next time I checked, I decided to come see what was going on.” Luca laid his hand on my shoulder. “How long has he been gone, Elise?”
“Mmm…I’ve lost track.”
I stopped checking because it was making me nauseous.
He frowned and cursed under his breath. “This isn’t the first time he left you tonight either.”
“He and Marisol are discussing a possible contract with a supplier. It’s important.”
I felt like a robot, saying the things I was supposed to say as Weston’s girlfriend. I couldn’t quite pinpoint my real emotions, though. Angry, sure. Hurt, definitely. But confusion seemed to trump both of those, at least for now. How could we have started the night so beautifully to have it go like this?
Luca’s brow pulled into a heavy, straight line. “I am baffled. Are you okay?”
The band switched to one of my favorites songs, and my chest panged. “I don’t know. No, probably not. I wanted to dance.”
Luca lifted my hand from my lap, rubbing his thumb over the top of it. “I’m not Weston Aldrich, but I do all right on the dance floor. Can I give you a spin?”
For the first time since Weston walked away, I perked up. “I would really love that, Luca.”
It wasn’t surprising Luca was suave on the dance floor. He spun me and swung me, making me laugh and ignore the ache in my chest. The music slowed, and he reeled me in, one of my hands in his, the other around my waist. He was a gentleman with me, keeping space between us while I was in his careful arms.
“How are you?” he asked, sweeping me with his concerned gaze.
“Disappointed. I had been looking forward to tonight. If you weren’t here, I think I would be ordering an Uber right now.”
A crease appeared between his dark brows. “If you want to go now, I’ll take you home.”
I sighed. “One more dance, okay?”
“Anything you want.”
Luca led me through the exquisitely dressed people, twirling me and making me feel floaty. One dance turned into two, and then I lost count.
When the music slowed again, Luca smirked, something devious lighting his expression. “Our picture has been taken quite a few times since we hit the floor.”
“Has it?” I’d noticed a few members of the press and some photographers circling around the room, but I hadn’t thought much of it since I wasn’t anyone interesting. Luca was, though. As the bad boy heir to a motorcycle dynasty, Luca often made it into the press simply by showing up places and looking like he did.
“Mmhmm. It’s going to absolutely burn West up when pictures of the two of us dancing are published everywhere.”
I wanted to be delighted by that, but it only made me sad. Pictures with Luca were fine, but pictures with Weston would have been even better. Tonight was supposed to be our night, but it had been derailed quickly and completely into something that was making me second-guess everything.
Luca noticed I wasn’t laughing with him and he held me tighter, squeezing my hand in his. “He’s messing up with you right now, but you have to understand, Weston’s like a machine when it comes to his company. I’m going to speculate he has no idea how long he’s been gone.”
“Well, I do.” The knot in my throat made my words soft.
“Yeah, you do.” Luca was so gentle with me, swaying me to the slow, rhythmic beat of a ballad. “I’m sorry for that.”
I let my eyes close and gave myself over to Luca for a moment. He’d probably left his Bond girl to take care of me. I would let him go at the end of the song so he could find her. One of us deserved to have a fun night.
Then Luca stopped moving and I was being tugged in another direction. My eyes flew open as I collided with Weston’s chest. Luca’s hand was still on my back, a look of concern shooting from his dark eyes.
“I’ve got her now,” Weston said lowly.
“It’s about time.” Every trace of Luca’s trademark humor had dropped. “You should be thanking me for taking care of Elise instead of treating me like an enemy.” His attention turned to me. “Are you okay? Offer stands to take you home.”
“I’m here now, Luca. Elise doesn’t need a ride.” Weston swept me away from Luca as if he was trying to steal me. The only thing stopping me from pushing away from him was that I wouldn’t make a scene.
Luca stayed focused on me. “Elise?”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. Thank you so much for keeping me company.”
Weston was positively rigid, and I could feel the rumble in his chest when Luca pecked me on the cheek.
“Anytime, beautiful,” he murmured. “I’m always here for you.”
He didn’t bother saying anything to Weston before he walked away, but that had been statement enough.
“Elise,” Weston ground out. “I’m—”
“I’d like to go now.” I flattened my palms on his chest, staring at a spot somewhere over his shoulder because I couldn’t bring myself to look at him right now. “If you’re not ready, I’ll take an Uber.”
He flinched at that. “On what planet do you think I would let you leave here in an Uber? Of course I’ll drive you home.” His hand slid from my shoulder to cup my neck. “But are you sure you’re ready to leave? We haven’t danced or—”
“I’m ready.”
I wasn’t a woman who yelled or threw fits when I was hurt. Instead, I withdrew. I had been closing in on myself since Weston left me behind, but now that he was back and seemingly oblivious to my turmoil, I couldn’t find it within me to even try to express how he’d made me feel.
So, I turned, freeing myself from his hold, and calmly walked away.
At this point, it was unimportant if he followed.