by Parker, Ali
I smirked. “I own more than one suit.”
Her soft laughter floated through the phone. “I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to assume. Wear whatever makes you comfortable.”
“Nothing,” I replied. “I like my birthday suit.”
“I like your birthday suit too, but I’m not sure the men there would appreciate it though. You’ll give them a complex.”
I smiled, looking down at my bare chest and rubbing my hand over it. I liked that she liked my body. I wasn’t sure why I cared, but I did. “Then a suit, it will be.”
“Thank you so much for doing this. I’ll owe you big time.”
“I’m going to remember you said that,” I warned her.
She giggled again. “Is it crazy that I am looking forward to you calling in your debt?”
“Nope. I’ll see you tonight.”
We ended the call. I was not looking forward to another party, but it didn’t put me off as badly as it usually did. I wasn’t required to mingle. I was going to be there acting as the bouncer. I would absolutely bounce any asshole that messed with her.
I headed inside to take a quick shower. I had been planning on a night in and was going to work on the design for the client on the side. I would work on it until it was time to go to the party. I was truly looking forward to seeing her.
I wasn’t familiar with the feeling of missing someone. I was never close to my family and therefore didn’t miss them when my parents moved out of state and my brother was shipped overseas.
I missed Evie. I didn’t really know her that well, but I wanted to know her better. On a strictly friend basis. I spent the rest of the day watching the clock. I couldn’t believe I was actually looking forward to a party. I dressed for the event and called a car to take me to the downtown address. The party was being held in one of the tall office buildings. I found the right floor and took the elevator up.
The doors slid open. The law firm was throwing the party but was obviously too cheap to spring for an actual venue. My eyes scanned the area that was much larger than I thought it would be. It appeared most of the typical office furniture had been removed. There were a lot of suits. A lot. It wasn’t hard to spot Evie. She was wearing a blue dress with a very high neckline and sleeves. It was the kind of dress I would expect to see on a woman going to church.
I moved toward her, watching as a man, probably in his forties, leaned in close. She stepped back, clearly uncomfortable. I walked up, put my arm around her waist, and dropped a kiss on her lips. My back was to the other man, making it very clear he didn’t matter.
“Hi,” she breathed when I pulled away.
“Hi,” I replied.
I turned to stand beside her, my arm around her waist. The man who had been hitting on her disappeared.
“Thank you,” she said on a sigh.
“No problem. Is that normal?”
“With this group, yes.”
I looked around at the men talking and laughing. Some had removed their suit jackets and loosened their ties. Others were still buttoned up tight. “They are lawyers?” I asked.
“Yes. The expensive kind. They have one of these parties every few months. They always ask for me. Every party is always the same. The married men are on the prowl. They are worse than the single guys.”
“What do you mean?” I growled.
“They are relentless. They think they are god’s gift to women. They do not understand the word no or what marriage vows mean.”
“Assholes,” I murmured. “I’ll make sure they know it is not okay.”
She smiled up at me. “I think you being here is definitely going to change things. I’ve claimed I had a boyfriend at past parties and they don’t care.”
“They will now.”
“There’s one of the partners. I need to talk with him.”
“I’ll go with you,” I insisted.
Her pretty smile made me very happy I showed up. “Thank you. I think he is one of the worst of all.”
That didn’t make me happy. I stuck by her side as she crossed the room. I glared at a few of the men that were checking her out. “Mr. Calhoun,” Evie said. “How is everything?”
The man was looking at her tits. I wanted to throttle him. I cleared my throat to get his attention. He looked at me. I glared back at him. “Everything is fine,” he said, looking away from me.
“Great. This is my boyfriend, Xander. He’s here to help me tonight.”
“I thought you hired caterers,” he said, clearly not happy to have me there.
“I do,” she said. Her smile never slipped. “He’s here to help me put out any of those little fires that tend to pop up with events like these.”
The man’s face turned red. “I’m sorry about that incident. We’ve talked with our team, and I assure you, there will be no more drunken antics that not only embarrass the parties involved but the firm as a whole.”
“I appreciate that. Xander will make sure of it.”
He looked at me once again. I didn’t know what the incident was, but I didn’t like where my mind was going. I was going to ask her. She walked away, and like a good bodyguard, I stayed right beside her.
“What was that about?” I asked in a low voice when we were out of earshot of anyone else.
She shook her head. “It was no big deal.”
“What was no big deal?” I pressed. The more she held back, the angrier I got.
“One of the partners got a little drunk. No, very drunk. He seemed to be struggling with the concept of no.”
“Did he touch you?”
She was blushing. “Nothing terrible. He was pulled away.”
“Why do you keep doing their parties? Why not tell them to fuck off?”
She burst into laughter, quickly covering her mouth. “Because I like my job and I think I’m better able to handle it than anyone else at my company. It was a drunken moment and I don’t think it will happen again.”
“But you wanted me here to make sure it didn’t happen again?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yes. You are kind of an intimidating man.”
“I certainly can be. If one of these yahoos touches you, I will put him down.”
She touched my arm. “I appreciate that, but don’t go too caveman. I do need to work.”
“I’ll do my best,” I told her.
The looks that were directed her way all night were exhausting. For every leer, I returned a glare. I made it clear she was mine. I couldn’t understand how she could put up with that kind of bullshit. I hoped after tonight, she didn’t have to. Then I realized she probably had to put up with this kind of thing all the time. She was a stunning woman and any man would want to get his hands on her.
“Things are wrapping up. If you want to go, you can. Thank you so much for doing this for me tonight. It really helped.”
“I’m good,” I told her. “I don’t mind sticking around a while longer.”
She smiled and reached up to touch my cheek. “If you don’t mind breaking curfew, we could go out for ice cream. A little token of my gratitude.”
I gently wrapped my fingers around her wrist, keeping her hand against my cheek. “I would love to break curfew.”
She grinned. “Then it’s a date. I need to talk with the caterers and then get with the cleaning staff. I should be ready to go in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be right here,” I told her. “Trust me, with the amount of alcohol these assholes consumed, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
She laughed as she walked away. I was serious. I didn’t want to have to put any of the men on the ground, but I would. I watched as she talked with the staff. She was so genuine. Everyone seemed to like her. She was definitely my opposite. We were the proverbial night and day.
“I think I’m ready,” she said after she finished talking to the partner from earlier.
I put my arm around her shoulders and led her away. We made it to the elevator in record time. I could see she was exha
usted. She leaned against the wall of the elevator and let out a long sigh. “Are you sure you want to do ice cream?” I asked her. “You look exhausted. We can do it tomorrow if that works better.”
She smiled and slowly shook her head. “No way. I’m okay. I really want ice cream. I want to go for a walk on the beach and enjoy the beautiful night.”
It sounded like the perfect way to end the night to me.
Chapter 16
Evie
We carried our bowls of ice cream to a bench that overlooked the ocean. I sat down first, with Xander sitting down beside me. It was a warm night with no wind. It felt good to get off my feet for a while. I took a bite of the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and let it melt in my mouth. It was my guilty pleasure. One of many. Life was too short and stressful to not indulge in ice cream.
“Tired?” he asked.
I turned to look at him. He had loosened his tie and undone the top button of his shirt. The gel he had put in his hair was slowly failing, allowing the long layers to fall loose around his ears and forehead. The light from a streetlight nearby cast him in a soft, bluish tone. He looked absolutely handsome. “I am tired. I always like this moment.”
“What moment is that?”
“The moment the event—whether it’s a party or a wedding or whatever—it’s the moment I can sit and relax without thinking about what I need to do. It’s a chance to go over the event and identify what went wrong and how I will keep it from going wrong again.”
“Tonight went very well,” he offered.
I smiled and nodded. “It did. It was an easy one really. Tonight was a little different with the twenties theme, although none of them really dressed up.”
“It was cool. It would have been even cooler with some Tommy guns.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course, it would have.”
“It was great, and judging by the smiles and the laughter, they all had a good time. No one was complaining.”
“They were too drunk to complain,” I said with a laugh.
“True.”
“I saw you on the news,” I said.
He groaned. “I don’t know who called the news. It wasn’t exactly exciting stuff.”
“They called you guys heroes.”
He took another bite of his ice cream. “It wasn’t a big deal. Charlie did the work. We happened to be at lunch when he got the call.”
“He works with you?”
“No, he works at a plant that builds the ships I design.”
“Ah, you guys are quite the team.”
He smiled, taking another bite. “We are. We have been for a long time.”
“How long have the two of you been friends?”
“I was a junior in college and he was a freshman. So, ten, eleven years. I’m a little embarrassed to admit he is probably my only friend.”
“Because you don’t like people,” I said.
He chuckled. “It isn’t that I don’t like people as a whole, but in my experience, I have found most people are assholes. Greedy assholes.”
I burst into laughter. “Well, gee, when you put it like that.”
“I don’t mean only greedy with money. I mean in general. Greedy with my time, their time, their needs. All of it. I’m not normal. I’m not like you. I could never talk to everyone in the room and remember their names or treat them like I give a shit about them. You do that and you do it very well.”
I thought about what he said. “I think because I like people in general.”
“Charlie is like that as well.”
“You are naturally drawn to social butterflies, it sounds like,” I told him.
He made a choking sound. “I don’t know why. We are totally incompatible.”
I felt a clenching in my stomach. He was probably right, but there was something between us. I felt like we clicked, like we were drawn together. “I have a proposal for you,” I started.
He groaned. “Are you going to take me to the zoo? A crowded, nasty concert?”
I ignored his questions. “I get these parties, or similar parties, about once a month, sometimes more often,” I said. “How about we do a little trading of services?”
He lips quirked at the corners. “I think that might be illegal in California, but I won’t tell if you don’t tell.”
I softly giggled. “Aren’t you funny?”
“I don’t try to be.”
“You don’t have to be,” I told him. “It comes naturally.”
“Odd. Few people have ever found me to be funny.”
“You are. My proposal is you go to some of the parties, the ones where I am most likely to be relentlessly hit on, and I’ll show you how fun life can be. We’ll go out and explore some of the fun stuff there is to do in San Diego.”
He slowly licked the plastic spoon. “You are a very confident person.”
“I guess,” I said, not sure why that mattered.
“You are so convinced you are going to be hit on,” he said, a little gleam in his eyes.
He was teasing. Oh, the man kept me on my toes. “History predicts the future. Look at me. I’m dressed like a pastor’s wife. I hate that I have to hide my boobs.”
“Why do you? They are nice boobs.”
I almost choked on my ice cream. “Thank you. I hide them because I don’t want to encourage the flirting. I am very professional when I am at work. Sometimes, the guests get confused about who I am. A little harmless flirting, someone offering to get me a drink, that’s okay. It’s the guys that are looking for a hookup that piss me off. They are the ones I want to avoid.”
He slowly nodded. “I see.”
He was suddenly very serious.
“If you truly don’t want to go out in public, that’s okay,” I said. “I don’t want to force you to do stuff you really don’t want to do.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m not a total hermit. I do go out. Just not often.”
“I think me and you will have fun.”
“I think so too. I think you bring the fun.”
I smiled again and leaned against his shoulder. “That’s sweet.”
“It’s true.”
“Will you do it?” I asked. “Will you pretend to be my boyfriend?”
“I will, but I don’t need anything in return.”
“I know how much you hate wearing the suit and mingling. Some of the events might be black tie. Do you have a tuxedo?”
He groaned. “I’m afraid to answer that.”
“You do,” I surmised. “A man like you would have to own one. How often do you get roped into benefits and fancy gatherings?”
He shrugged. “Not as much as I used to. In the beginning, I was more open to shaking hands with the people I needed to buy my designs. I shook a lot of hands. I couldn’t turn down an invitation and risk coming off as rude or ungrateful.”
“But now, you don’t have to?”
“No, not really. I still do some because I do like to support a good cause. I just don’t stay all night. I show up, drink some champagne, shake a few hands, write a check, and get the hell home.”
“It’s nice that you show up.”
“What about you?” he asked.
“What about me?”
“Do you go to parties and benefits? Ones that you are not putting together. Just as a guest.”
I thought about it. I had been to so many parties and big gatherings, they tended to blur together. Sometimes, I became so immersed in a particular job, I almost felt like I was part of the celebration. “I’ve been to a couple with my dad, or for my dad.”
“Is your dad a corporate bigwig?” he asked.
I smirked. “No, definitely not.”
“I bet your closet is filled with fancy dresses,” he commented.
I had to laugh. “It is. My closet looks like I have a very active social life with ballgowns, cocktail dresses, business casual. I have to remind myself I am not a part of the parties I throw.”
“When is the next gig?”
he asked.
“I’ll have to check my calendar. The weddings and anniversaries are fairly safe territory.”
“I guess you’ll just give me a call when you need me?” he questioned.
I thought about it and decided I didn’t want to wait that long. “Are you busy tomorrow?”
He turned to look at me. “Nope. You?”
“Want to hang out? Get started on this fun adventure?”
He shrugged. “I can do that. Do you promise to go easy on me?”
There was a hint of sexual innuendo in that sentence. “I don’t know,” I said in a sultry tone. “You seem like a tough guy. Easy might be boring.”
“I can be tough. I can be tender. I can be just about anything. I’m up for whatever it is you want.”
“Great! Are you free all day?”
He gave me a skeptical look. “You are making me nervous.”
“Don’t be nervous,” I assured him. “You will be in good hands. I will make sure you have lots of fun.”
“How can you know if I will have fun?”
“Because I think I know you, not well, but I know you can smile and laugh.”
“I’m not a zombie. Of course, I can smile and laugh.”
“Good, because I want to see it.”
He was quiet for a bit while he finished his ice cream. “What is your grand plan?”
“For tomorrow?”
“Yes. Should I wear a suit?”
“No. Definitely no suits.”
“So, you have a plan in mind?” he questioned.
I turned my body toward him, bending my leg and pulling up my skirt a little. “I always have a plan.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll see. You just have to trust me.”
“I think I do trust you,” he said in a low voice.
I wasn’t sure if he meant to speak the words aloud or if they were just private thoughts. “You can trust me,” I said and grabbed his hand.
He looked at me with those eyes that were so good at hiding what he was thinking. “I hope so.”
I gave his hand a good squeeze. I didn’t have to say anything. We sat in silence, staring out at the water and the couples taking advantage of the nice night by walking along the beach. Young love, old love, and budding romances all played out in front of us. I wondered what we were and then quickly reminded myself we weren’t anything. We were just a couple of people hanging out.