His admission was bizarrely endearing. Another song came on, and we danced in quiet for a while, our bodies swaying in unison.
I leaned my head on his chest and sighed. “I like this. I didn’t expect to, to be honest.”
He nuzzled against me. “Me, too. I normally hate these things.”
My guard was slipping for this man. It didn’t take long for me to be reminded to lift it back up and protect myself.
We were seated at a large round table set up to accommodate at least a dozen other guests. Graham introduced me to the couples surrounding us on either side, but a few of the chairs were still empty.
“So what do you do? Soraya, is it?” Braxton Harlow sat to my left. He was an older, yet handsome looking gentleman with silvery hair that stood in stark contrast to his tanned face. Graham was talking business to the man on his other side.
“I work for an advice columnist. Ask Ida.”
“You’re a writer. How wonderful.”
“Not exactly. It’s more like I run crappy errands for the writer and sometimes she lets me take a shot at answering some of the letters we get.”
“I see.”
“What do you do?”
“I own a pharmaceutical company.”
“You’re a legal drug dealer?”
He chuckled. “I suppose I am.”
“Does that mean you’re a doctor?”
“It does.”
“Well maybe you can talk to Graham here, he seems to have a medical issue.”
Just then, Graham joined our conversation. “I heard my name. Are you two talking about me?”
Braxton responded, “Soraya was just about to tell me about a medical issue you’re having. Is there something I can help you with, Graham?”
Graham squinted at me and then downed the last of his drink. “I don’t know, do you treat blue balls?”
At first, the man looked confused, but that quickly changed into a hearty laugh. After that, the three of us fell into easy conversation together. Graham’s hand was always on the back of my chair, his fingers lightly tracing a figure eight along one bare shoulder. I was actually beginning to relax and enjoy myself, right up until I saw a flash of red across the table. Avery was seated directly across from us. Graham and the man she was with did that silent nod thing that men do.
“Looks like we’re sharing a meal with your friend.” I leaned into Graham.
“Ignore her.”
That was easier said than done. I felt her glare, even when I wasn’t sneaking peeks. For some reason, the woman was enjoying making me feel uncomfortable. She made no effort to speak to anyone else at the table.
After dinner, I excused myself to go the ladies’ room. I closed myself in a stall and attempted to figure out the best way to go to the bathroom without dipping my expensive dress in toilet water, or touching the seat, or dropping my purse, or falling forward as I hovered in five-inch stilettos. I would have thought it was a much easier task.
The restroom had been empty when I walked in. I heard the entrance door open, then close, and then the clickity clack of heels stopped somewhere in the vicinity of my stall. My intuition told me who was on the other side. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out, and a flash of red immediately assaulted me. Avery was lining her lips in the mirror, but her gaze was set on me as I walked out.
“If it isn’t Graham Morgan’s latest plaything.”
“Is this how you get your kicks? Following women into the restroom to speak ill about their dates.”
She rubbed her lips together to even out the fiery red color, blotted on a tissue, and then capped her lipstick. “I’m providing a service to womankind by warning women about that man.”
“What’s the matter? You don’t like the way he conducts his business, so you need to warn me off?”
Her mouth spread into a malicious smile. “Is that what he told you? That I simply don’t like the way he conducts his business?”
Hating feeling like she knew something I didn’t, I said nothing. Instead, I washed my hands and took my own lipstick out. When I was all done, she was still standing there. I folded my arms over my chest. “Well get on with it. Tell me what you are dying to enlighten me with.”
She took a few steps, stopping behind me to study my reflection in the mirror. Then she spoke directly into my eyes. “On second thought, you’re not worth my time. Eventually, you’ll figure it out on your own. Or maybe you can ask Graham why he is set on destroying my best friend’s husband’s company.”
I took a minute to compose myself after Avery walked out. She was every bit as big of a bitch as when I called her that first day I found Graham’s phone on the train. I wanted to chalk her warning up to fierce competition between rival companies, but that didn’t sit right with me. It was personal for that woman in some way.