Page 14 of Bolted

Striding over confidently I greet them both.

“Evening, Riley. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up tonight.”

Flustered, she responds, “Oh, of course, we wouldn’t miss it. There was just a little incident but we’re here now and that’s what matters.” She looks up at me. “This is my husband, Nate. Nate, meet my boss, Mr. Bolt.”

Nate’s eyes narrow. “So you’re the man who’s keeping my wife out late for work,” he slurs and I catch the scent of cheap beer coming off his breath.

Riley‘s eyes widen and I noticed her nudge Nate a little bit.

“It’s Sebastian,” I say. “Riley, don't you think we’re past formalities by now?”

I put on my most dazzling smile, and put my hand out to shake Nate's. He sticks his hand out, and I grip it firmly, not enough for anyone to notice, but enough for me to see him wince a little bit.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nate. You have got a very smart wife on your hands. I see her doing great things for this firm in the future. But to reach the top, you have to put in hard work, and sometimes longer evenings. I hope that’s not going to be a problem for you?” I stare at him questioningly.

Before he has a chance to respond, Riley interjects, “It’s not a problem at all, sir. As a matter fact, Nate’s new job is keeping him out late as well. Isn’t it, babe?” She smiles reassuringly and turns toward him.

My eyebrow raises towards him but he says nothing.

Just when the silence is about to get awkward Kaz sneaks over.

“Oh my God Riley you look beautiful! I knew that dress was going to look stunning on you!”

Kaz turns toward Nate and puts her hand on his shoulder. “You must be Nate, it’s nice to meet you. You sure are a lucky man to have such a beautiful woman on your arm tonight!” Kaz exclaims.

“I need you to come over here so I can introduce you to a few people,” Kaz continues, pulling Riley away with Nate in tow.

I’m left standing there wondering, would a lucky man be showing up to a company party so drunk he can barely stand, with a beautiful woman like that on his arm?

Chapter 18

Riley

This dinner could not be any worse. I look around. I’m seated next to Sebastian, with Nate on my other side. Xavier is across from us, and he’s brought a beautiful date with him. She’s smiling as he relays some story from the partners’ time together in college. Next to her, Jonathan and Jamison are nodding along to Xavier’s story, interjecting bits here and there.

I would love to listen but I’m too focused on the sheer awkwardness of this moment. Why in the world would they have assigned me to the head table? I’m an intern, not a permanent employee, let alone a partner. All I can think is that Sebastian must have had something to do with the seating arrangement. He seems to love making me squirm. I look around the beautifully decorated space. There’s low lighting adding to the enchantment of the whole place, making the golden accents on the tables gleam. There are tasteful touches of the holidays everywhere, from the shimmering snowflakes hanging delicately from the ceiling to the red velvet chairs surrounding each of the huge circular tables.

This isn’t the kind of holiday party I’d always imagined from movies and tv shows. This is elegant and beautiful. If I wasn’t so angry with Nate, I could see this being a night for enjoying one another and maybe having a bit of romance. Instead, Nate came home an hour before we needed to leave for the dinner, completely wasted and disheveled.

“I thought you were going Christmas shopping?” I’d asked incredulously when he stumbled in. I was already finishing up my makeup and curling my hair. I did not want to be late to a company event.

“I did shop,” he said matter of factly. “Then I decided I could just grab a beer while I was out.”

Fucking Nate. Not that this is unusual for him, but I had really hoped he could not let me down at least this one time. I’m trying to show up as a professional.

“Just get dressed.” I’d said and marched back to our room to finish getting ready. By the time we left, we were later than I’d have liked. I knew this was a seated event and I did not want to walk in as someone was speaking or when everyone had already started dinner. It seemed so rude.

When we walked into the gallery at first, I was holding tightly to Nate. I could tell he was wobbly on his feet, he’d been sullen the whole ride. I had just ignored him and listened to music. I was not going to rile him up more than needed. A few heads turned toward us as we made our way through the gathering of Bolt employees and their spouses. I just kept looking around for Kaz. She would know where we should sit.

Now we’re walking toward the back of the large open space when I see Sebastian and Xavier, standing near the head table. They are both looking in my direction. Shit. I’m in trouble.

It becomes more and more tense as Sebastian introduces himself. The male pheromones are wafting all around me.

“Riley? Don’t you think so too?” Kaz asks me. I realize they must have been asking me a question. Kaz has come up to the table with her drink. “Don’t you think we should make our rounds and be seen?” She winks.

“Um no I’ll stay here,” I say. I can’t leave Nate like this. I also don’t want to piss him off. My face is still sore and my hips have bruises from being slammed against the counter while Nate roughly fucked me the other night.

“Suit yourself,” she says. She walks around the table and I can’t help but notice how she lets her hand trail along the back of the twins’ chairs.

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