“You just can’t bear to think of a single woman on earth not being charmed by you.”
“Is that what’s going on here?”
The lift pinged open behind her. She stepped into it with what she told herself was a rush of relief. But it was short-lived. A moment later, he joined her.
“What are you doing?” She gawped.
“Leaving the party,” he shrugged nonchalantly.
The doors pinged shut.
“What about the blonde?” Her tone was overly-saccharine. “Don’t you think she’ll be pissed if you ditch her?”
His smile was borderline a smirk. “She’ll get over it.”
I wouldn’t count on that, Abby thought. Grayson Fortescue wasn’t exactly someone you just ‘got over’. Speaking from experience. Besides, it was all the confirmation she needed to know he was on a date here with someone else.
“You’re such a player,” she said, rolling her eyes, more at her own naivety than anything else. After all, she’d been fooled by him once before.
Another smirk.
“And this elevator is only for staff.”
“Somehow I don’t think anyone’s going to boot me out.”
She tilted her face away. He was right. She couldn’t imagine anyone on earth defying Gray Fortescue. Not only was he built like a Greek god, he was brilliant and mega-rich, the trifecta that spoke of being untouchable.
“Whatever.” She kept her gaze averted, but she was hyper aware of him the entire way down, barely breathing until the lift pinged open again. She stepped out into the dark corridor that heralded one of the conduits the staff used to pass through the building. “Good luck finding your way to the foyer,” she said with another dose of overt sweetness.
“I’ll walk you out.”
Abby’s teeth chattered together. “Damn it, Gray. Can’t you take a hint?”
“Tell me why you’re running away from me.”
She froze, his observation hardly surprising, given how obvious she was being. It sent shards of fear through her, because shewasrunning away from him, and he was far too smart not to question that. “I –,” She needed him to go away again, and he might not do that quietly if she raised questions. She had to make it seem like everything was normal, which would mean going for a drink with him.
Her heart leaped with unmistakable adrenaline and excitement. Traitor.
“I don’t bite. Unless asked,” he winked suggestively and her stomach bunched into knots. Desire, unmistakable, slamming into her, lighting every cell in her body on fire, so she was simmering from her head to her toes.
“I’m definitely not asking.” But her voice shook and she knew he heard it.
“Duly noted.” The response was infused with sensuality.
Why was he so charming? Flirting was like breathing for him. At one time, she’d thought that was a special thing he had with her, that he spoke to her in a way that was different and new, but she knew now it was simply his factory setting.
“Can I give you a lift home?”
She stared at him, the very idea of that flooring her. A lift home would mean he’d know where she lived, and there was a risk there – albeit a tiny one – that he might, somehow, discover Charlotte’s existence.
“No, I’m fine,” she shook her head, even when she found herself wanting to prolong this, to spend more time with him. “I like to take the bus.”
His eyes narrowed. “At this hour?”
“Fine, I’ll take a cab,” she waved a hand through the air, lying. She couldn’t afford to use that mode of transport. Maybe as a one off, but not regularly, and this wasn’t a special enough occasion to warrant it.
“When I have a car right outside?”