Page 22 of Black Velvet

"I'm sure Scott is aware of that," I say. "And he won't disappoint us. Right, Scott?"

The young man nods enthusiastically. "Definitely not, sir!"

"Stop calling me that. We're almost the same age."

He nods and casts me an apologetic smile.

I turn to Dean, raising my eyebrows in a silent question.Are we done here?

Dean understands and gives me a quick nod before he turns to Scott.

"Thank you for stopping by today, Scott," he tells him. "We'll have to look this over again with Mr. Graves’s private accountant, but I can tell you that things are looking very good. We'll get back to you in a couple of days."

Scott sighs with relief and the smile on his face widens as he jumps up, getting the hint. We're ready for him to leave.

He shakes my extended hand and casts a last smile toward Dean before gathering up his belongings and is escorted to the door.

I check the time as I turn back to Dean, and then cast him a quizzical look.

"Anything else?

He's gathering up the papers spread on the table, arranging them in neat stacks before filing them in separate folders.

He shakes his head. "Not at the moment. I'll have these looked over by your accountant and suggest we meet again in... let's say a week?"

His questioning gaze meets mine, and I shrug. "Sure, I'm in no hurry."

A smile spreads across his face, making him look like a twelve-year-old boy.

I regard him with a polite nod and am about to leave the room to retreat to my personal office when he calls me back.

"Oh, there's one more thing," he says, pulling my attention back to him.

I arch my eyebrows. "Yes?"

"It's um... your mother's birthday is coming up," he stutters, nervously fiddling with one of the paper stacks in front of him. "I thought you might want to—"

"Thanks for the reminder," I interrupt. "I'm aware of it."

He nods, looking at me with an expression that I dislike. Pity and worry. I hate it when people look at me like that.

I ignore it and turn around, opening the door with momentum before marching through it angrily. It's been a long day and I'm in dire need of a drink and some diversion.

Luckily, I know just where to go.

Chapter 15

Elene

"Well, that innocence streak didn't last long."

Sandi eyes me from the side, winking at me when she sees me fixing my outfit for the night. I avert the intensity of her appraising eyes.

"I was surprised when Miss Barry called up your name tonight," she adds. "Care to tell me what brought about this change of mind?"

I shake my head. "Nope, sorry."

She scoffs, positioning herself between me and the full-size mirror, robbing me of any leeway to move to continue checking myself and pretend that I'm too busy to pay attention to her interrogation.

---