Page 2 of Dominant

“So tell me,” he asked, “what do you do at these parties when you get bored?”

I gave him a sidelong glance. “I don’t know you well enough to tell you yet,” I answered flirtatiously, before remembering he was probably a friend of my parents. Whoops. “Are you bored?” I added, trying to pretend like I wasn’t thinking about how unbelievably hot he was.

He shrugged, eyeing me with dancing, mischievous eyes.

He was trouble, I could tell.

“Well, what about… playing a prank on someone?”

He raised his eyebrows. “A prank?”

“Yes.” I scanned the room. The grand hall was enormous and the room was packed. Most of the men were older, even than Alexander - closer to my father’s age, and round and puffy from a life of privilege. Their wives tended to be younger, richly dressed and better-preserved. It was a crowd of privileged people hoping to increase their privilege by meeting other rich people. Just people with money chasing more money.

As I thought that, I noticed a man pulling a business card out of his wallet and dropping a bill on the floor in the process. He bent down to pick it up, with some effort because of his size. A sudden idea seized me.

“What’s the largest bill you have in your wallet?” I asked Alexander.

“Wait,” he said slowly, still watching me with bemusement. “Is this a scam?”

I laughed. “No, trust me. Just give me your largest bill.”

He arched an eyebrow, but reached into his wallet, pulling out a hundred dollar bill.

“Perfect,” I grinned, reaching into my purse and pulling out the small emergency sewing kit Jennifer had given me last Christmas. I threaded a needle and pulled it through one corner of the bill, unspooling several feet of thread before cutting it.

“Hold this.” I handed the tied end of the thread to Alexander and walked several feet away from the bar into the crowd, the thread unspooling between us, and then dropped the bill casually on the floor, before walking back in a circle to the bar.

“Now we wait.” I picked up my drink and took a sip, feeling the burn of the cheap vodka in my throat.

“A game of fishing,” he commented, a small smile on his face.

Not a moment later, I saw the bill catch a man’s eye. “Look,” I elbowed Alexander.

“We got a live one,” he whispered.

“You know what to do, right?”

He nodded, eyes locked on the man as he bent over.

Just as his fingers grazed the bill, Alexander pulled the thread, tugging it forward and out of the man’s reach. The man stumbled forward in surprise, reaching for the bill as it hopped away of its own accord, and we both broke out into hushed, snickering laughter. It made me laugh even harder to hear this tall, perfect, sexy older man beside me quietly giggling.

The man reached for the bill again and once more Alexander pulled the thread, but at that exact moment a woman in the crowd stepped forward and inadvertently placed her foot on the thread, causing the bill to tear loose. From the other side of the interfering shoe the man grasped the bill and stood up with it triumphantly. The woman looked at him in surprise, and they smiled at each other.

“Oh my God, your money!” I exclaimed, bursting into laughter.

Alexander broke into a wide grin. “Is that how this prank is supposed to go?”

I started laughing harder. “I’m sorry,” I said, wiping tears of laughter. “I feel so bad.”

“Don’t feel bad. I haven’t laughed that hard in years. It was worth the hundred bucks.”

In front of us, the man and the woman were talking. I pointed them out. “Maybe you made a love match, too.”

“Perfect,” he said with sarcasm, tilting his head. “He can take her out for dinner on my dime.”

I laughed again, surprised at how much fun I was having. I didn’t usually enjoy myself at my parents’ events.

“Okay, what other games do you know?” he asked. “Something cheaper.”

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