Fauxmance (Showmance #2)(29)

“I was just saying the same thing to Marie,” Warren replied. “It’s been what? A year?”

“Too long,” I lied and turned to his date. “Marie, you look well.”

She lifted her glass, a face on her like the cat that got the cream. “Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“And who is this beautiful little thing?” Warren asked, casting his serpentine gaze on Elodie. His quaffed, shoulder-length hair was worthy of a shampoo advert.

“This is Elodie, she’s a close friend of mine,” I said, lying again, and belatedly realised my error. I should not have introduced her as a close friend, because that only made her more of a prize to Warren. He had an ongoing vendetta against me. A couple of years ago, one of his clients dumped him and hired me instead. Ever since, he made it his mission to return the favour, which was clearly the case with Marie.

He’d also tried to seduce Rose a while back, but luckily my best friend was too wise to fall for it. She’d had the same upbringing as I did. I feared Elodie might not be so discerning as Rose when it came to men, and Warren had a way of dazzling people, so they couldn’t see the tarnish beneath the false shine.

He stepped forward, took her hand, and brought it to his mouth for a kiss. Everything inside of me recoiled at the action. I wasn’t sure why, because I hardly knew her, but I felt protective of Ellen.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” she said, gazing up at him, clearly dazzled.

He smiled his practiced in the mirror, overly white smile and murmured, “The pleasure is all mine.”

Marie cleared her throat, the ghost of irritation flashing across her face. It was gone in an instant, but I caught it all the same. “So, Julian, how have you been?”

“I can’t complain. And you?”

She looked to Warren, her expression turning smug. “Oh, just wonderful. Warren’s been taking very good care of me.”

I didn’t take the bait. “So, I see.”

“Marie and I are off to Majorca for a little break tomorrow,” Warren put in, sliding his arm around my ex-client’s waist. “I can’t wait to get some sun. London can be so dreary.”

“True. There’s not many occasions for sun worshipping in this city, and I do know you’re fond of a sunbathing selfie.” Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. Gold.

His only sign of irritation was a slight twitch in his left eyebrow. “Well, we can’t all be off the grid like you, Julian. Nobody would ever be able to find us.” He laughed boisterously, and Marie joined in. Elodie glanced at me with a raised eyebrow, and I was glad she didn’t indulge Warren with a fake laugh like Marie had.

“I think we all should take a break from social media from time to time,” Elodie said. “It does the soul good.”

Warren gazed down at her. “Does it now? Perhaps I’ll give it a try sometime.”

Up on the stage, a well-known rock band took their instruments and started to play their latest hit. I couldn’t remember their name, but I knew they’d been in the charts a lot lately because their song was on every radio station.

“Oh, my goodness, is that actually them? I love this band,” Elodie exclaimed, showing her greenness. Instantly, Warren knew she was innocent and ripe for manipulation, which was his specialty.

Couples were taking to the dance floor, and calculation shone in Warren’s eyes. “Do you know what? Me, too. Care to join me for a dance?”

Elodie hesitated only a moment, glancing to me as though for permission. Grudgingly, I gave her a look that said go ahead, while inside I’d rather pull teeth than have her dance with Warren. His surname always reminded me of the proverb, all that glitters is not gold.

I watched as he took her hand and guided her to the dance floor. Marie folded her arms and stood beside me, annoyance written all over her face.

“You would have to be here with some irresistibly sexy redhead on your arm,” she griped. “Do you know how long it took me to get an appointment with Warren?”

“Oh Marie, fret not, you’ll have him back by the end of the song,” I said, finding her jealousy tiresome. Marie was the type of client who fooled you into thinking she was fine with the arrangement, but who secretly thought she had some kind of claim over you. She wasn’t necessarily a bad person, but she was rich enough to think that meant she could simply buy whatever man she wanted.

“I better,” she hissed, swiping a glass of champagne from a passing server and taking an angry sip.

My gaze followed Warren and Elodie’s movements. Thankfully, it wasn’t a slow song, so he didn’t have cause to put his hands on her. That didn’t stop him from shimmying close. Too close. I swallowed, putting my feelings of jealousy down to the fact that I disliked Warren and his methods immensely. He was the proverbial thorn in my side. It wasn’t because I felt something for Ellen. I mean, Elodie.

Not at all.





Chapter Eight





Ellen





Wow, this man was tall.

If I weren’t wearing heels, I was pretty sure I’d look like his kid standing next to him, which was a weird thought. His blond hair was shinier than any person’s I’d ever seen, and he was built like a superhero.

If Thor were a supermodel, he’d look like Warren Gold.