Page 41 of King of Deception

However, when I stepped into his living room, I discovered that Chad and Armen were already there. Seconds after my entrance, Dean arrived. He was the last person I expected to see here.

We knew Dean from the yacht club where he was extremely active, with three different boats to his name.

After the social niceties, we all sat down while Nathan’s housekeeper proceeded to set the bar for us.

Sighing, I knew I was running out of time. “Okay, guys… I… need your help.”

Armen chuckled, “Yeah? Why don’t you start with the weird way you acted at the opening last week?”

“You completely avoided us!” Chad followed.

Nathan smirked as if he knew something while Dean—who hadn’t been there—quietly watched with a bourbon in his hand.

“Yes, I met someone,” I started before taking a sip of whiskey. “And she doesn’t know who I am.”

Chad nearly spat up his drink as he tried to stifle a laugh. “What? How?”

“It happened, okay? She has no idea who I am, but things are going so well.”

Nathan tutted, shaking his head. “Get to the important part, Abel.”

“Which is?” Armen chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna bring her here tonight.”

Frowning, I turned to him. “Aren’t you deejaying? What’s it to you?”

“Oh, my Lord.” He shook his head in disapproval. “Do you know how many single chicks I invited?”

Amused, Nathan chortled, tilting back his head. “Can you let him finish for cryin’ out loud?”

“Yeah, I’m curious,” Dean confessed.

“Okay,” I sighed. “Are you all done mocking me?”

“Nobody’s mocking you.” Chad raised a hand. “We just need to know how it’s gonna work.”

“It’s a party.” I dipped my chin. “Everyone’s gonna act natural. We’re friends.”

“And you are?” Armen smirked.

“Abel. Just Abel. Nobody needs to mention my last name or what I do.”

“What if someone else did?” Dean asked.

“If someone at this party decided to call me by my last name, it’d be a first,” I chuckled. “But leave that to me.”

They all seemed in agreement, except for Armen, who shrugged, signaling that he found my plan to be boring. Leaning toward Dean, I whispered, “Will you keep an eye on him?”

He snorted, “Guess that’s why I came here after all.”

I didn’t know why, but his statement reminded me of Jude. I had, of course, looked his full name up; Jude Thomas. Now was the time to eliminate any chances of him ruining tonight for me. As soon as the rest of the guys left the room, I walked over to Nathan and pressed my lips together. “Nate, I got another favor to ask you.”

“Anything.”

“Her ex… Jude Thomas. I want you to put his name on the blacklist.”

Raising his eyebrows, he seemed shocked. “Of all the people in my life, Abel, you’ve always been the one with the least drama.”

“Drama?”

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