“You must be Alexandra Edwards?”
His smile is cheesy, and his bald head leaves nothing to the imagination. The tuxedo he is wearing is too big.
I force a polite smile. “Yes, I am. And you are?”
“Chester Jones,” he introduces, shaking my hand. His hand is sweaty, but I pretend I don’t notice. “I’m head of the East Coast division. We’ve communicated via email.”
“Of course.” The name becomes familiar. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“And you. So, Hunter tells me your father is Lex Edwards?”
I tilt my head, swallowing the lump inside my throat. Why would Hunter mention this? He knows I prefer to keep my family life private.
“Yes, he is.”
“I understand your father is here tonight to do a speech.”
“Oh, really?” I glance around, suddenly panicked.
Chester furrows his brows. “You had no idea?”
“I don’t discuss work with my father,” I inform him.
“Interesting.” Chester moves in closer, making me uncomfortable, especially when his eyes fall to my chest. “Because anything you have access to remains confidential. Big lawsuits would be involved if you leaked to your father exactly what our company is doing.”
A chill runs down my spine, followed by a roiling stomach. I carefully choose my words, even though I want to tell this bald mother fucker to go to hell.
“I assure you, I take my work very seriously.”
“Good, because don’t cry when your father finally gets a taste of his medicine.”
What did he just say?
His lingering bad breath is enough to make me want to hurl. Just when I’m about to excuse myself to the restroom, an alluring scent washes over me. I breathe it all in, then notice Hunter standing beside me.
The tuxedo he is wearing is styled to perfection, making him appear all the sexier. He’s freshly shaven, but his eyes appear bloodshot on closer inspection. I observe him with parted lips, but I quickly turn away so Chester doesn’t notice.
“It was nice meeting you, Alexandra.” Chester musters a phony smile, but soon his expression turns stern. “Cash, we need to talk.”
“Later,” Hunter informs him.
Thankfully, Chester and his bad breath leave.
“You look beautiful, Alexandra,” Hunter mentions, but keeps his distance.
“And you look handsome, Mr. Cash.”
Our stupid fight yesterday seems even more stupid now. I ache to touch him, but of course, none of that is allowed. People fill the room, making it hard to talk to Hunter privately. For most of the night, he introduces me to people he knows, but of everyone I meet, it’s my father I dread running into the most.
“Can we go somewhere for a minute?” I ask, scanning to make sure no one I know sees me.
“Sure.”
We quickly weave in and out of the crowd, but just before we exit the main room, my parents are standing in the lobby. My father is dressed in a tuxedo, just like Hunter’s. Mom is wearing a white halter-neck silk gown. Her hair is styled to the side and waved elegantly to show her diamond necklace. As always, she’s stunning.
“Fuck,” I mumble, taking a deep breath. “My parents are over there.”
My father spots me first, leaning down to whisper to Mom, who glances my way. They both walk toward us, making it impossible to ignore them.