Page 55 of Billion Dollar Mistake

“Grab a drink. And have some fun. The sale is done. We need to celebrate.”

He is the boss and he’s being insistent, but I don’t feel comfortable letting loose.

As a server passes by, I ask what drinks they have. I decide on some champagne. One of the only two drinks I’ll have tonight.

I look around at the men and women. Everyone is holding a drink or eating as they engage in conversation. Servers walk around with trays of small yet delicious looking food.

The chatter isn’t too loud, and I can hear a new pop song playing in the background.

“Who are all these people?” I ask, feeling calm now that I’m here on the yacht.

Bentley drops his arm and takes another glass from the tray before the server walks away. Then, turning to scan the crowd, he shrugs. “A mix of people. My staff and Mr. Lincoln’s. Even a couple of existing and future clients.”

“Well, this is some celebration,” I say, not really knowing how to put into words how overwhelming this feels.

“Come over here. Let me introduce you to more people. I don't think anyone else you know is here.”

Great…

“Okay,” I say, following behind him.

But as we walk, I see Dalton and Poppy sitting there. They spot me and I wave. My eyes widen as if to say, please come and save me. A silent conversation. Of course, Poppy rolls her eyes as if I'm a burden and she really doesn't want to. But Dalton excitedly waves and then jumps up, grabbing her hand and dragging her along. He gives me a wry smile as they come over.

“Hi. Um. Mr. Spencer’s showing me around,” I explain. My voice carries a pleading tone that I hope they pick up on. I want them to come with me.

“Yes, exactly what Nova said,” Bentley says. “Come with me and I'll introduce you to some important people.”

I’m thrilled he has asked them to join.

Bentley inspects their drink and says, “I see you all got drinks. Perfect. Let's go.”

We walk, but it doesn't take very long to find the people he's looking for. We are down one side of the yacht now, where a guy sits there leaning back, drink in hand. He has wavy blond hair that’s swept to the side, almost a little too long for my taste. He can tuck it behind his ears. He may be wearing sunglasses but I can tell his eyes are zeroed in on me.

Oh, no. I think to myself.

I take a sip of my bubbles, wondering where Jeremy is?

I had a feeling he was as excited to see me in a social setting as I was to see him.

I’m sure he’s late.

He would be a nice friendly face to have around, but also, yeah, I can’t lie to myself, the only reason I am here––and all dolled up––is because he is also going to be here.

If I don’t find him soon, I'll text him.

“Grant, I'd like to introduce you to my colleagues,” Bentley says as he waves a hand over each of us and introduces us. “This is Nova, Dalton, and Poppy. They work in my financial and accounting department.”

“Nice,” Grant says. “You're trying to get me to talk numbers before we've spoken about design or any other finer details, Mr. Spencer. Smooth, very smooth.” He laughs.

“I never stop working,” Bentley replies, tossing his head back and letting out his own chuckle. “But never, Grant. I’d never do that to you. I'm just getting you familiar with my team. I know you'll be working with me. There's no one better than us.”

I can't help but laugh inside. Bentley is good at talking business, I’ll give him that.

“Take a seat, everyone,” Grant says.

“I'm going to grab us some food. I'll be back in a moment,” Bentley says.

Dalton and Poppy have already taken their seats, so there's only one spot left, and that's between Poppy and this Grant guy that I've never heard of. Grant leans back with his arms straight out over the back of both chairs.

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