Page 26 of Obsessed Heir

At that moment, I realize I fucked up. The one thing I wanted to avoid was giving her an opportunity to weasel herself into the business operations. And yet I not only opened that door, I practically rolled out the red carpet for her. Damn it, why did I let myself get distracted?

“There you are,” Holly says. Her return couldn’t have been more perfect.

“Oh.” The model’s smile grows strained. “I didn’t realize you were with Barron.”

“Yes,” she replies, offering a champagne flute. “I went to check on the staff.”

She glances at the glass I’m holding. “Well, since Barron is still nursing his drink.” She holds the flute out like an olive branch.

The model opens her mouth, running the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip. She’s struggling to figure out how to get back on track.

“Perfect. Now we can toast.” I hold up my drink. “To photography.” Which leaves her no choice other than to accept.

With obviously contrived cheer, she takes the flute and proceeds to toast. “And Holly is the perfect person for you to talk to about that.”

Holly glares at me as she lowers her flute. “I am?”

“You are the one in charge of public relations and marketing for the company,” I remind her. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she agrees. “I certainly am.”

“How marvelous.” The model displays an overly sweet smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Rhys walks up to join us.

“Barron,” he greets, giving me a firm handshake and an easy smile before turning to Bronwyn and Holly. “Ladies, you’ll excuse me, but I’m stealing Barron for a consult.”

He steps to one side, like he’s ready to walk away, and I grab the opportunity to extricate myself.

“I’ll leave you two to discuss the setup.” I’ll probably pay for leaving her with that headache at some point. But I don’t want to deal with any of it.

“Thanks,” Holly replies, through a pasted-on smile.

“Once you’ve worked out the schedule, come by my office.” Leaving her an avenue to escape might be enough to get me back into her good graces.

I catch up with Rhys. “I assume Holly pulled you into duty.”

He grins, bringing his drink to his lips. “Figured prying you out of that woman’s clutches would go a long way toward thanking you for letting me stow away on the trip.”

I chuckle. “Glad we could accommodate you.” Though I’m not sure how, since we’re out of space and his joining us was last minute. “Holly was able to get you a room?”

He smirks. “Not quite. But I told her I’d make do, even if I had to sleep in the back seat of my copter.”

With his looks and his money, he shouldn’t have a problem finding a bed for the night.

“Well, let me know if you end up in a jam.”

He nods once. “Will do. Now, you might want to get gone before she wiggles free of Holly.”

“Good point.” I lift my drink in a toast.

With that, I turn and stride away, keeping to the edge of the crowd. Luckily, most people are on the far side of the area, trying to capture the city as it disappears into the distance.

I reach the stairs and quietly make my escape.

“Sir.”

“Sir.”

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