Page 76 of Mark my Words

“Can you check on them and make sure they have everything they need? I’ve got this handled, and I checked everything inside earlier. There’s still a few hours before I need the two of you to start working the crowd.”

“On it.” I nodded, heading back into the lobby. There was a wall placard to direct me toward the conference rooms and business center, but Kristine’s loud laughter guided me toward the correct one.

“Sounds like a party in here,” I smiled, watching her talking animatedly to Diana about something across the room.

“Hardly.” Her eyes twinkled as she glanced toward the door. She was bent over a table full of papers, quickly pulling a sheet from each stack and shoving them inside a black folder. “You can come help. Nice of you to finally get here.”

“I’m here earlier than I was told.”

“Let me guess. Adrian told you to show up a half-hour from now.” Her head shook dismissively, rolling her eyes before returning to the task before her. “Nice to know you two read the itinerary.”

“I’m here now. Put me to work.” Joining her at the table, I took off my sport coat and unbuttoned my cuffs, rolling up my sleeves while she watched me out of the corner of her eye. I didn’t say anything, but I could tell by the tense silence she was enjoying the show.

Baby steps.

“Now that you two have this handled, I’m going to check in on my team in the ballroom.” Diana waved on her way out the door, and then it was just the two of us.

“You look nice,” I murmured as I reached around her to grab a folder from the box on the floor at her side, my chest grazing her shoulder on the way back up.

“Uh.” Her voice was husky as she cleared her throat. “You too. I didn’t realize you owned more than one tie.”

“I’ve got a whole box full of ties and belts under my bed. You’ve got an arsenal stored under yours. I’ve got other surprises.”

“Is that where you store your big sticks and ball-handling equipment?” She laughed, stepping in front of me and reaching across the table to grab another sheet of paper.

My free hand dropped to her waist as I took a step forward, lightly pressing my hips into her before I reached around her for a paper from a different stack. “We both know that’s not where I keep my big stick.”

“Eh,” she laughed, looking over her shoulder at me. “Your stick isn’t that big.”

“Big enough,” I teased as I leaned over her, caging her against the table with an arm on either side of her. “You seem to be in a better mood than you were this afternoon.”

She ducked under my arm, dropping her folder into the box at the end of the table. “Who needs other ways to relieve stress when a girl has an arsenal of mood enhancers under her bed.”

Well, that backfired.

Despite their worries over the last several weeks that the book wouldn’t perform well, Chase and Evan were wide-eyed as they took in the ballroom full of people packed inside, mingling and laughing as they waited for the event to start.

Kristine had been avoiding me, keeping busy with last-minute preparations Isobel threw at us as people started to arrive. That was how she’d spent the last several weeks. Alternating between poking at me to try to get a reaction and avoidance.

We’d passed each other a few times in the gym, but I didn’t engage, giving her the space she’d asked me to give her. That didn’t mean I played nicely, though. I may have strategically pulled my shirt off a few times when I knew she was unsubtly staring in my direction. The pink cheeks and darting eyes indicated I’d accomplished my goal, but I didn’t confront her. And she usually retreated quickly after that, darting into the locker room while I finished using the treadmill or a piece of equipment on the weight floor.

She’d break eventually, and I would wait until Chicago to execute my plan. We just had to make it through the next few days, and she’d be mine for an entire day.

“You ready?” Adrian asked as he stopped where I’d been working, nodding toward the stage on the other side of the room. He’d already been networking with some executives holding court at the open bar. Sloane had stopped me to check in on her way through the door, but I hadn’t seen her since.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got everything handled,” I confirmed, following his lead as he approached where Isobel greeted Chase and Evan, Kristine close by.

“At least you two don’t look like you’ve been screwing in the supply closet,” Adrian laughed as we reached them, and I rolled my eyes as I stepped in next to Kristine.

Isobel and Chase both verbally jumped on him as Kristine sighed in disgust, glancing over her shoulder at me with an eye roll. “You put your foot in it again, Dickhead?”

“Sounds like he put his whole body in it,” I chuckled as my boss narrowed his eyes at me.

“Hey,” he pouted with a scowl. “I thought you were supposed to be on my side. Traitor.”

Yeah, not defending you for being an idiot, Ad.

Kristine and Adrian bickered for a few minutes before she stomped off, leaving the rest of us behind.

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