The Summer of Sunshine and Margot(68)

“You’re threatening me?” the guy asked, sounding incredulous.

“I am,” Alec told him. “Now, how do you want to handle this?”

Margot watched him weigh his options. She would guess if the photographer was hired for an event this large that he would be used frequently by the campaigns. She doubted he would want to lose that income for a single sale of a shot of Bianca.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Whatever. She’s old. No one cares about her anymore.”

Alec smiled. “Enjoy the party.”

“You handled that very well,” Margot said when they’d walked away. “You do have experience.”

They searched for Bianca and found her with yet another man. This one was closer to her age and more into her than made Margot comfortable.

“He’s standing close and is too animated,” she said. “I think she found a fan.”

“Not good. Bianca loves being adored.”

Although Bianca was at least twenty feet away, with several people between them, Margot heard her laugh over the other conversations. It had a more frenetic quality than she liked, with a slight edge.

“That doesn’t sound good,” she murmured. “There’s too much energy between them.” She hesitated, not sure if she should intervene or let Bianca handle herself. The only way to learn was to do, at least in Bianca’s case.

She watched her client lean into the man. Alec didn’t offer an opinion, no doubt because he knew this was a training session and she was the expert—not that she felt especially certain at that moment.

When the guy leaned in to whisper in Bianca’s ear, Margot started toward her.

“Hi,” she said, as she approached. “I’m Margot and this is Alec.”

“Brandon,” the man said, offering them both an easy smile. “Do you know Bianca?”

“Oh, Alec is my son and Margot is...” Bianca’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Margot is his lover.”

Margot did her best to look casual and hoped she didn’t blush. Bianca was trying to get to her—not a surprise considering her client frequently chafed at being told what to do.

Margot didn’t know what to say—should she refute the claim? Ignore it? Say nothing? Before she could decide, Alec stepped in.

“I doubt anyone finds that of interest,” he said easily, before taking a sip of his champagne. “Mother, there are some people I’d like you to meet.”

Brandon grabbed Bianca’s hand. “Don’t go. Please. Just a few more minutes.” He grinned at her. “Don’t take this wrong, but I had posters of you on my wall when I was growing up. You were the sexiest woman I’d ever seen and you still are.”

Bianca preened as her smile turned flirtatious. “Oh, stop. You’re embarrassing my son.”

“I’m used to it,” Alec murmured quietly to Margot. He raised his voice back to conversational level. “If you’ll excuse us, please.”

Bianca shot him an annoyed look. Margot stepped between them. “It’s just this way,” she said, pointing across the ballroom.

“Fine.” Bianca sighed. “It was lovely to meet you, Brandon.”

He nodded, looking stricken at the loss of her company. “Could I just kiss your cheek?”

Bianca smiled. “Of course. I’ll even do you one better.” She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the mouth. “There. Dream about that tonight.”

“You know I will.” He stared into her eyes. “I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars if I can touch your ass. No, wait. I’ll give fifty thousand dollars to your favorite charity. Anything. Kids, pets, those cow people. You name it.”

Alec took his mother’s hand and pulled her away. “That’s it. Nice to meet you, Brandon. Have a good life.”

Margot stepped around to Bianca’s other side as they walked across the crowded ballroom.

“That was a surprise,” she said, not sure what to make of Brandon. Regardless, she was going to have to come up with a lesson plan that dealt with middle-aged men with lingering Bianca fantasies.

Bianca smiled. “It’s been a long time since a man wanted to pay me to touch my ass. I still have it.”

“You’ll still have it a decade after you’re gone,” Alec told her.

“Oh, that’s so sweet.” She turned to Margot. “I’m sorry for teasing you back there. I just couldn’t help myself.”

“You’re in your element. I completely understand.”

Margot was less concerned about the crack now that she knew Alec wasn’t embarrassed or upset by it. She had to admit—Bianca always kept her on her toes.

They circulated through the crowd for another half hour. Bianca chatted with a few more people, making pleasant small talk and avoiding any subject the least bit controversial.

Margot glanced at her watch. “The speeches are due to start in twenty minutes. I assume we want to leave before then?”

“Absolutely.” Bianca finished her glass of champagne. “We do, indeed. It’s enough that I bought tickets to the event. I’m not willing to stay and listen to a bunch of politicians.” She smiled at Margot. “I’ll have plenty of that when I marry Wesley.”

“Shall we go?” Alec asked.