Once Upon a Dare (Risky Business)(37)

“Evening, Gabby.” Cole nodded his head politely. “This is some party, huh?”

“If you like this sort of thing.” She smiled and took a sip of her wine. “Which I don’t.”

He laughed quietly. “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” he whispered. “I’m not a big fan either, but don’t tell Pritchard.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” she promised. Even in the low light, he could see she was blushing as a result of his attention. Gabby was rumored to be a gossip, but she seemed like a sweet girl, albeit one who was in way over her head at the office.

Cole glanced around casually. “Do you know who Olivia’s talking to? I don’t think I’ve met him yet,” he said, playing dumb. “I can’t recall seeing him around the office.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t have,” Gabby confirmed, happy to share her knowledge with the boss. “He doesn’t work at PBA. He’s Olivia’s date. Must be serious too, because she’s never brought a date to one of these things.”

A muscle in Cole’s jaw ticked as he ground his teeth together. She’d brought a date? Just a few days ago he was on his knees devouring her and here she was with a date? Flaunting it in his face?

“I guess there’s a first time for everything.” Gabby laughed. “Who knows? Maybe Olivia will finally get laid and loosen up a little.”

Cole leveled her with his eyes. “Excuse me.” Then he turned and stalked toward Olivia, with an emotion he couldn’t name twisting in his gut.

…

Olivia felt a familiar tingle low in her belly as her inner sex kitten roared to life. Cole. She’d hoped to avoid him this evening, keeping Alex at the edge of the crowd, but it seemed her luck had just run out. He was headed right toward them and closing in fast, the look on his face anything but friendly.

She summoned the most sincere smile she could and hoped for the best as Cole reached the edge of their little group.

“Cole, it’s so nice to see you.”

“Olivia. Chloe.” Cole nodded formally, his gaze settling on Alex. The hard set of his jaw was a stark contrast to the soft glow of the garden lights reflected in his dark gray eyes. He wore a black tux that Olivia was sure must have been tailor made. The cut of the jacket emphasized his broad shoulders and trim waist, doing little to distract her from the rock hard abs she knew lay beneath. The man had good genes, and the damn thing fit like a glove. “Lovely as always,” he continued. “And who are these lucky bastards?”

Olivia prayed for lightning, a black hole, or even a good old fashioned fainting spell—anything to escape. Chloe on the other hand, relished the opportunity to introduce their dates, completely oblivious to Olivia’s growing horror and the dangerous edge to Cole’s anything-but-innocent question.

“They are lucky, aren’t they?” Chloe gushed, waving her glass. “This is Kyle,” she poked her date in the ribs with her free hand, “and that Ken doll over there is Alex.”

Olivia searched the heavens. This had to be a friggin’ cosmic joke. Chloe needed to be cut off—STAT. And, really, didn’t she have enough problems already without adding a tipsy BFF to the mix? Before she could come up with anything intelligent to redirect the conversation, Chloe babbled on.

“Aren’t they adorable?” Chloe flashed Cole a thousand watt smile, daring him to disagree. “Just like a real live Barbie and Ken, right?”

Olivia’s cheeks flamed. She was going to kill Chloe. To his credit, Alex rolled with the introduction as if being compared to a plastic, sexless doll were an everyday occurrence. He extended his hand to Cole with as much dignity as possible and gave a firm shake.

“Alex, this is Cole Bennett,” she explained, “my boss.”

“Nice to meet you.”

God, Alex was a good sport. She mentally gave him bonus points for that alone.

“Likewise,” Cole agreed. His tone was friendly, but his eyes were ice as he addressed Alex. “And what do you do, Alex? I know you’re not in advertising, because I don’t recognize you.”

“Oh, do you know everyone in the business?” Alex asked, ignoring Cole’s blatant dig.

“Job hazard, I’m afraid.” Cole shrugged, ratcheting the tension up a few more notches. “When you own a company as big as PBA, it pays to keep an eye on all the little guys.”

“I’m sure it does.” Alex bristled. Olivia didn’t blame him. She was thinking about kicking Cole in the shin herself just to put an end to the pissing match. “I actually work on Wall Street,” Alex explained.

Olivia took a gulp of her wine. If ever someone were going to drop a house on her, now would be the time.

“Really?” Cole asked, clapping Alex on the back. “I didn’t think there was much money in stocks these days. Last I heard, the country was in a recession.”

“I do all right,” Alex replied, shrugging off Cole’s hand. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were hard. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Olivia prayed for rain, lots and lots of rain. “But truth be told, I tend to focus on the important things in life, like enjoying the company of this beautiful woman right here.”

Just when she thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Alex slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close and boldly staking his claim.