“You sure are,” Vivian says in a husky voice while looking him up and down.
I’m about to beat this bitch down.
“Troy, this is Ms. Miller, she’s the one who will be working on our opening event,” Jace says, taking the attention away from Vivian. “Ms. Miller, this is Mr. Thompson, the one you were supposed to meet the other day.”
I’m realizing how much I hate that he’s referring to me as Ms. Miller like he doesn’t know me, but understanding that this is his other business partner. Troy, or Mr. Thompson as I should refer to him, extends his arm to shake my hand. He has a wonderful smile, and smooth, dark, flawless skin.
“Ms. Miller, it’s so great to finally meet you. I’m sorry I was unable to meet with you the other day, but I hear Mr. Jamison here took care of you.”
I shake his hand and can’t help but smile back. “Yes, sir, he did. It’s nice to meet you as well. “Please. Call me Troy. Mr. Thompson makes me feel old, and I’m anything but,” he responds with a cheeky grin.
Oh, he’s charming alright. Did Jace and his friends all go to a charm school together? I feel myself smile again and realize he’s still holding my hand in his. I hear Jace clear his throat and Troy looks up at him, and back at me before releasing my hand.
“I’m sorry if we interrupted anything,” Troy says. “I just wanted to come get my buddy so we could go talk with our…somebody real quick.”
“No worries. I need to get back to work and make sure everything is running smoothly. It was nice meeting you.”
I glance at Jace and give him a small nod before I walk away. I hear Vivian say something to him, but don’t bother to try to linger to hear any of it. Trying to find Mrs. Roberts, I make my way through groups of people who are standing around and drinking, or gossiping. The minute I see her, I plan to ask if she’s okay with me leaving. I’ve done my job and everything went as planned. The decorations were perfect, flowers were strategically placed, food was plentiful, centerpieces came out gorgeous, the bride had thrown her bouquet already, so there was no longer a need for me to be here.
I spot her talking with an older gentleman and a younger one, both handsome in their own right. She has a champagne glass in her hand, and her head is thrown back in laughter. At least she’s in a good mood.
When I’m a few feet away, she turns and spots me.
“Oh, Adrienne! Please come here. You’ve done a wonderful job, dear. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Roberts. I’m so glad you’re happy with it.”
She places her arm around my shoulder and brings me into the circle with the two men she was talking to.
“This is Ms. Miller; she’s responsible for putting this whole thing together. Isn’t she fabulous?” she says.
“Oh yes. You did great. It couldn’t have been easy working with this one,” the older man says playfully as he points at Mrs. Roberts with his thumb.
“Oh you shush!” she says with a gentle push.
“Adrienne, this is Benjamin Wright. My friend, financial advisor, and attorney,” she says gesturing to the older man who’s probably in his sixties. His hair is almost completely white, but he looks to be in good shape for his age. “This is his son, Mason, who also works as an attorney in his father’s firm.”
Mason looks to be in his thirties. His dark hair is slicked back, and he’s wearing a black on black tux. The darkness of his eyes catches my attention. They almost look black and they are boring into me. He looks to be the epitome of dark and dangerous.
I smile and shake both their hands before asking Mrs. Roberts if I can speak with her alone.
“What is it? Is there an emergency?” she asks, as soon as we step away.
“No. Everything is fine; you have nothing to worry about. I just wanted to check in to make sure you were happy with everything, and see if it would be okay if I took off.”
“You don’t’ want to stay and enjoy what you put together?” she asks, seeming a little hurt.
“It’s not that. I’m just extremely tired. I don’t think I’d be much fun anyway.”
She gives me a small smile. “Are you sure? There are definitely some young hotties here. I told you I didn’t just know old people.”
“I may have seen a couple that weren’t hard on the eyes,” I say with a smile.
“Just a couple? Goodness, are you blind?” she says, stretching her arms wide and looking around the room.
“Let me introduce you to some people. Maybe that will make you feel more comfortable to stay. I just want you to have some fun. You work too hard, dear.”
As soon as I’m about to open my mouth to respond, I hear high heels clacking on the floor, getting closer to us.
“Mom, I need to talk to you.”
I see Mrs. Roberts roll her eyes and let out a low sigh before turning around.
“Yes?”
When I look past Mrs. Roberts, I see Vivian standing there.
“Oh hey, Adrienne,” Vivian says.
“You two know each other?” Mrs. Roberts asks.
“Kind of,” I answer.
“We went out the other night,” Vivian responds.
“Hmm. Well what can I do for you, Vivian?” Mrs. Roberts asks.
I step away to give them some privacy. I had no idea she had another daughter, she’s never talked about her. I wonder what that relationship is like. After a couple of minutes, Mrs. Roberts finds me lingering in the doorway.
“Sorry about that.”
“No worries. I had no idea you had another daughter.”
“Step daughter,” she clarifies.
“Ah.”
“Yeah, she just moved here. We’ve never been close. I’m Mommy Dearest according to her, but she’s like my red headed step child. Evil.”
I can’t help the laugh that erupts. “So is this the unruly child you were talking about before?”
“Unruly is a nice word to describe her. Anyway, so you went out together? How did that happen?”
“My friend works with her friend, and they made plans to go out and Vivian and I got invited.”
“I see. Just be careful with her. She’s vindictive, selfish, and…”
“Evil?” I finish for her.
“Yes,” she says seriously.
“Okay. I don’t think we’re going to become the best of friends anyway.”
“Excuse me, Liz?” a deep voice interrupts.
I turn to look towards the voice and see that it’s Charles from the club the other night.
“Oh,Charles! So great to see you,” Mrs. Roberts beams as she gives him a hug.
I almost forgot she had a first name; I’m so used to calling her Mrs. Roberts. I believe she told me her name is Elizabeth, but clearly Charles knows her on a more personal level.
“You too. You look great,” he responds.
Liz blushes and playfully smacks him on the arm. What a flirt. Charles looks at me and then does a double take.
“Sorry. Charles, this is Adrienne. Adrienne, Charles,” she introduces.
“I know you from somewhere,” Charles says while he looks at me.
Liz looks back and forth between us like she’s trying to figure out what to say.
“I saw you the other night at the club. I was with Vivian.”
“Ah yes! I knew I recognized you. Sorry to interrupt your conversation here. I just haven’t seen Liz in so long and wanted to say hi.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “I’ll leave you two to catch up.”
“Please say you’re staying, Adrienne,” Liz pleads.
“I might hang out for a little while,” I respond with a smile.
“Good. Maybe Charles can find you later and you guys can hang out. You don’t mind, do you, Charles?”
I feel my face flush. I hate that everybody feels like that have to hook me up. I hate that Charles probably thinks I’m some lame ass now.
“It’s okay,” I start to say at the same time Charles says, “Of course not.”
/> I give them both a small smile and walk off. Hopefully I can find Em, that way I don’t look like a lonely loser who needs friends.
Unfortunately it’s not Em who I find first. Instead I find Jace and Vivian. She’s got her body pushed up on him, and has her hand on his chest. She looks desperate. I try to turn around before they see me, but I see Jace’s head lift up and we make eye contact. He apparently has his attention off Vivian too long because she turns to see where he’s looking. When she sees me, a small scowl is on her face, but she quickly loses it and plasters a fake smile on instead.
“Adrienne! Come here,” she says in a fake friendly voice that’s way higher than her normal voice.
I take a deep breath and try to force a smile of my own while I walk over there.
“Hey, I didn’t know you knew my mom,” she says as she finally peels her body off of Jace.
“Oh yeah. Well she hired me for this wedding,” I say as I chance a look into Jace’s eyes. He’s already staring at me.
“Oh. I had no idea. Then again, she doesn’t tell me anything,” Vivian says.
“Yeah. I like her,” I respond, because I don’t know what else to say.
Vivian shrugs. “If you like the bitchy type.”
I don’t bother to point out that she’s the bitchy type.
“So anyway,” she says when I don’t respond. “Tons of hot guys here, right?” she says looking back at Jace.
Jace’s eyes are narrowed at me, waiting for my response. Well, since he’s here letting bitchy fingers rub all over him, I decide to have some fun. We’re only friends after all.
“Oh yes, definitely!” I say, feigning excitement. “I just got done talking with one.”
I hope she doesn’t ask who because I don’t want to admit it’s the escort from the other night.
“Only one? I’ll have to walk around with you so we can find more.”
I glance over at Jace and almost laugh at his expression. He’s almost daring me to continue to walk around talking to guys all night, but as soon as Vivian looks at him he forces a smile on his face.
“Sounds good to me,” I say in response. “I might as well have some fun tonight, other people seem to be.”
“So I take it you’re not interested in that guy anymore?” she asks.
Fuck. I do not want to have this conversation in front of Jace. Shit. I don’t know how to get out of it. I hesitate and my eyes glance at Jace again before looking at Vivian.
“You know? The one with the beautiful eyes? The one you say you slept with but don’t want to be in a relationship with?” she says with a smile.
What the fuck?
She looks back at Jace. “Don’t worry; they probably weren’t as beautiful as yours.”
Jace looks pissed. His stance is stiff, and his jaw is tense.
“Uhh, no. I…” I start, but she quickly interrupts me.
“Oh, wait! Didn’t you say he was a man whore or something? Maybe you should hook up with someone tonight. No strings attached. Someone like Charles…if you know what I mean,” she says with a devious smile.
I know she means with an escort, but there’s no way I’d pay to sleep with someone.
“I don’t think I’m desperate enough to pay someone to have sex with me,” I say sharply.
She looks embarrassed for a minute before forcing a smile on her face. “Be careful not to offend anyone,” she says. “There might be people here who both pay and get paid.”
She looks to Jace and then back at me.
“Sorry, but I have to go find somebody,” Jace says before storming off.
I look at Vivian but she only shrugs, turns around, and walks away.
Deciding it’s probably a good idea to leave, I go find Emilie so I can at least let her know. After scanning the entire ballroom, I don’t see her, so I decide to go look in the bathroom. As I leave the ballroom, and enter the hall with the bathrooms, I hear whispers and giggles.
“So, is it true what they say?” the female voice asks with a giggle.
“What would that be?” the baritone voice responds.
“You know…”
I hear a deep chuckle. “You might have to tell me.”
When I get to the door that’s marked ‘janitor’s closet’ I know where the voices are coming from.
“Does that mean I’ll get the chance to find out for myself?” the voice that I now know belongs to Emilie, asks.
Oh God. Who the hell did she corner now?
I pull my phone out and send her a text. Ten seconds later she comes bursting out of the room. I’m standing directly across from the room she was just in.
“What the fuck? Adrienne, you said it was an emergency! I thought something happened to you!” she screeches.
“Oh calm down. You can go back to being a whore in a minute. I just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving. Are you okay to stay here?”
“You’re lucky I love you. Yes, I’m fine, but why are you leaving?”
“Just tired,” I say with a shrug.
“I don’t believe that, but I’ll get the truth out of you later.”
“Just like I’ll get information out of you about what’s going on here,” I say, gesturing towards the room that’s hiding some guy.
She smiles and blushes.
We hug and say bye, then I’m finally free to get the hell out of here.
When I get outside, I walk around the hotel to get to the back. I was excited to secure this hotel for the wedding location. This one is away from The Strip, and far from anything else. I turn the corner and see the outdoor pool that’s closed for maintenance. If I try to walk around this huge area I don’t know where I’ll end up, so I decide to turn around and just go the other way. After about ten steps, an arm reaches out and pulls me into the darkened area of the pool equipment area. I’m about to scream when a large hand covers my mouth and my body is pushed up against the wall.
“I’m not going to argue with you about the man whore comment. You think what you think, but I’m glad that you’ve been talking about me.”
Jace removes his hand from my mouth, but his body is pushed up against the front of mine.
“You like that I call you a man whore?” I ask breathlessly.
“No, but you at one point said you were interested in me. At least I’m assuming so since that’s what you’re friend said.”
“She’s not my friend.”
“Good.”
“Will you back up please?” I ask.
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Friends don’t normally press their junk against their friend’s stomach.”
“Friends don’t normally fuck each other, but I guess we’re special friends.”
“No, we’re not.”
“I thought I was good enough to fuck, but not be in a relationship with.”
“I never said that,” I say.
“That’s not what you’re friend said.”
“She’s not my friend! She looked to be one of your special friends,” I say as I push him away from me.
“She’s no friend of mine. I don’t even know her name.”
I scoff and roll my eyes. “I said you’ve been with several other girls, which is true, and that I wouldn’t be with someone who sleeps around so much.”
“Yet you sleep with me.”
“One time! Maybe it was a mistake.”
“So you don’t want it to happen again?” he asks as he once again moves closer to me.
He drops his head until his lips are where mine are. As he talks, they brush against mine.
“What do you want, Adrienne?”
I’m left speechless. Every thought of what I want and don’t want is running through my head, but I can’t bring myself to say anything. Not with those intense eyes of his staring into mine. Not with his soft, full lips grazing over my mouth.
“Use this beautiful mouth of yours to tell me what you want, Adrienne,” he says as he brings his thumb to my bot
tom lip and gently pulls it down. “Whatever it is, just tell me. If you want me to leave you alone, I will.”
“I…I want…” I stammer. Unable to think of anything to say, I lick my lips and take a breath.
“I’ll tell you what I want,” he says. “I want to take my time with you. I want to go slow, and make sure my mouth meets every part of your body. I want to taste that delicious pussy of yours. I want my mouth on you when you come.”
He moves his hand slowly down my body until he reaches the hem of my dress, and then he slides it up my thigh until he reaches the front of my panties. Warmth spreads through my body.
“I want to taste how wet I get you. I want your legs wrapped around my head while I lick, suck, and devour you.”
His fingers begin rubbing my clit through my panties, making my pussy even wetter.
“There’s so much I want to do to you, Adrienne. I want my body to become familiar with yours. I want you to call out my name when I fuck you. I want you to beg for more.”
Slipping his finger to my panty line, he pulls them over just enough to slip a finger in and begins running it along my wet slit. He doesn’t ever put his finger inside me; he just rubs me up and down. He wants me to beg for more.
“I want to make you feel good, Adrienne. I want to fuck you so good that you become addicted to me. I don’t want you to think about anybody else fucking you. I don’t want you to want anybody else. I want to be more than your friend, and more than a fuck buddy, but mostly I just want you to want me.”
He slowly pulls his fingers from under my skirt, leans forward, and kisses my neck right below my ear.
“I’ll be waiting for you to figure out what it is that you want. Let me know when you do.”
Then he walks away.
It’s been almost three weeks since that fucking wedding. The wedding where I thought Adrienne was going to find out about me sleeping with that bitch of a blonde, but not only her, two of her friends as well, one of which was at the wedding, too. Three weeks since I told her what I want from her, and three weeks since I’ve heard from her. She’s been communicating with Troy or Marc about the opening of our club.
Living in Sin (The Escort Series) Page 14