“Well… If you’re sure. But you can take comp time. It is work-related, after all.” He reaches into his wallet and pulls out a black American Express card. “Here.”
I stare. He said he’d pay, but I thought it meant I’d have to pay for everything myself first, then he’d reimburse me. I didn’t realize it meant he’s going to give me his credit card. A freaking black AmEx! How much does he think I’m going to spend? Or is this the only card he carries?
When I don’t move to take it, he places it in my hand. His fingers are warm and gentle against my skin, and I shiver as a fris
son of electricity travels up my arm.
“Put everything on it,” he says. And there’s that smile again.
“What’s the budget?” I ask, my voice a little faint.
“Budget?” He looks at me. “Don’t be silly.”
Chapter Six
Nate
Cha-cha-cha, cha-cha-cha. Oh yeah.
If I could, I’d tap-dance to the office, but it’s too damn far. And I’m sure Evie wouldn’t want to join me. The stilettos she’s wearing are sexy, but probably aren’t that great for tap.
I should’ve known she’d come through. She’s never let me down since she started working for me. Well, she is obtuse about my attraction to her—and irritatingly immune to my charm—but that’s personal, not professional.
So now I don’t have to rely on Court’s ex, who disappointed me by breaking up with him. I mean, seriously, what woman would break up with Court? If I were gay, I’d do him. The fact that she doesn’t recognize his coolness makes her stupid. She would probably only bid like fifty bucks and think that was enough to win me. I’m better off in Evie’s lovely, competent hands.
We might even have a real date. That’s the least I’m going to owe her.
“You have a meeting with Elizabeth King to go over the May fund-raise for Ethel Sterling Memorial,” Evie says, her soft blue gaze on the tablet.
Her gaze isn’t the only thing soft on her. Her palm is soft too. I enjoyed touching it, placing my card into it. Maybe I should have her buy stuff every week.
She keeps talking, reading off the day’s agenda. I watch her mouth move. She’s wearing some kind of plum-colored lipstick, and her lips look scrumptious and extra juicy. I wonder if she tastes like plum? Some lipsticks are flavored—something I learned when I was thirteen.
But even if she doesn’t, it’d be okay, because then I could taste her instead…
Kissing her will earn you a slap in the face and leave you at the tender mercies of Georgette at the auction.
Okay, stop. I have a meeting with Elizabeth at her office, and I don’t want to go in there with a mushy brain full of thoughts about Evie’s mouth.
Miguel pulls the Bentley SUV up in front of the Pryce Family Foundation building. It’s tall and looks impressively expensive, all gleaming marble and glass. You can’t do charity work out of a humble, low-cost office, not if you want the rich to open their wallets. They like to be seen, and they like to feel special as they give money they will never miss to people for whom it will be life-altering.
The floor the foundation occupies isn’t ostentatious, but welcoming and trust-inspiring in neutral colors. The interior is minimalist, but everything’s high quality and old-money, just like the Pryce family itself.
Elizabeth’s “assistant,” Tolyan, who looks like he’s chewing on broken glass, grunts at me in greeting. Evie moves a little bit closer. Don’t worry, Evie—I’ll carry you if we ever need to run from that serial killer.
“She’s waiting for you,” a normal-looking person says to me. Rhonda is her name, if I remember correctly. A nice woman, and loyal to Elizabeth. She turns to Evie. “Would you like some donuts? Tolyan brought some.”
Probably poisoned or full of blood jelly, but Evie looks so thrilled at the prospect of sugar that I can’t bring myself to warn her. “Just…eat it with a lot of coffee,” I tell her, and walk into Elizabeth’s office.
She rises from her desk, and I smile with genuine pleasure, since she’s one of my closest friends. A gray-eyed blonde with a model-perfect face, she’s in a blue dress cinched with a thick white belt. One of my exes was of the opinion that white belts make you look fat, but on Elizabeth, it looks fantastic. Probably because she also has a model-perfect body.
Numerous tabloid writers have tried to link us romantically, but we never had those kinds of feelings for each other, even if we were seen in each other’s company a lot. We do quite a bit of work together, since she manages the charitable foundation for her family. Unlike mine, hers does everything, not just health care. But accessible medicine is still a big deal to her, and she knows leveraging what my family has already built makes more sense than trying to start from scratch on her own.
“Nate, so good of you to drop by. I know you’re busy.”
“Not as busy as you. I’m just going to my office, while you’re already here, toiling away.” I grin.
She leads to me the sitting area with a love seat and two armchairs. “Want anything to drink? Coffee?”