Page 109 of Contention

With that, he turns and goes back to his section, sitting down between the two models, smiling blandly at them, watching them melt in his presence. Kara rolls her eyes, making her way back to where she knows Bianca is eagerly waiting for her.

Once she reaches Bianca’s side again, just a little past the dance floor, Kara leans against her casually. Bianca’s body is warm, feminine. “Sorry about that.”

“Sure, you are. I have eyes, you know. He’s gorgeous,” Bianca says loudly into Kara’s ear, trying to be heard over the music on the dance floor. “It’s almost a shame we are both off men tonight. Otherwise…”

Kara rolls her eyes. “Did you miss the fashion models hanging off his arms? Good luck. They both want to eat me alive.”

“Don’t make me laugh. You may be shorter, but you aremean. That’s gotta count for something, my itchy bitchy,” Bianca replies. Her delicate eyebrows quirk. “You seemed to know him. Got that starstruck look on your face, not that I blame you. From where?”

Tipping her nose in his direction, Kara drawls, “That’s Dietrich Bittinger.”

Bianca gasps, pale eyes widening in shock. “As in, the rich heir turned executive? Doesn’t he like, buy up other companies or something? Some big banking stuff too?” Whipping out her phone, Bianca types his name into a search engine. He comes up rather quickly, a professional photo showcasing his confident presence and intense gaze.

Kara leans over, peering at his birthdate, feeling like a creep.He’s only thirty-five.

Scrolling through his public profile, Bianca clicks on a name that jumps out to her. “His mother was a famous runway model, she traveled internationally for it. Wow, wow. Just look at her. She mademillions.” Bianca gives Kara a curious frown. “How do you know him,know him? He’s not the guy-”

Kara shakes her head instantly. “Oh, no. He’s not. They’re…friends. Kinda.”

“Shit, girl.” Bianca takes a big gulp from her concoction of ginger ale, lemonade, and grenadine. She twirls the fruity umbrella stick out of the top. “What have you been getting up to these days, seriously?”

What indeed. The music is uplifting and being out of her lonesome apartment helps carry her above the slime of wallowing in self-hate. Kara feels sick, thinking of Nick and his casual corruption in the courtroom. She’d known he was capable, but not towards her.

Not only that, it just hadn’t felt right, in that hotel.

Eyeballing the handsome blonde in the VIP section, Kara says idly, “You know, he invited us over to sit with them.”

Bianca’s head turns to stare at her, mouth agape. “What are we waiting for? I want to meet a filthy rich man for once.”

Shaking her head, Kara says, “I’d rather not, actually. He’s not nice and he’s got a temper to boot.”

“Oh, he sounds like he’s right up your alley.”

“B, fuck you. His temper is scarier than mine.”

Poking Kara with her paper umbrella, Bianca winks. “Time to try something new. It could be likeFight Clubor something. Just think; the one guy you wouldn’t be able to scare off, because he’s as awful as you!”

“Yeah, well, what if he scaresmeoff?”

“Impossible.” Bianca smirks. “Are we going over or no?”

Shaking her head vehemently, Kara pulls her closer on the dancefloor, “No.”

Though she sighs with disappointment, a sound almost lost in the bass, Bianca allows Kara to pull her onto the dancefloor for the next few songs.

“He’s scowling over here,” Bianca giggles into Kara’s ear, pressing against her in a way meant to be provocative.

“Boo hoo for him. He’s a spoiled brat.Seriously.”

“You’re an idiot. He clearly wants you to sit next to him instead of the bitch that’s trying to snag his dick under the table. Oh, look, he’s telling her off now.”

Swaying to the beat, Kara rolls her eyes, unsympathetic. “B, beautiful women grope that manall the time. He’s perfectly fine.”

“Sounds like sexual harassment to me.” Bianca spins Kara around so that she can see the table in question, arms wrapping around Kara’s waist from behind. “You should save him.”

She’s not going to save Dietrich Bittinger from casual molestation. Growling in frustration, Kara disengages from her friend. “I’m getting some air on the upstairs patio. Are you coming?”

“Nah.” Bianca wiggles her empty glass. “I’m going to get in line at the bar. Takes forever here,ugh. I need to double fist these tasty things. I think I want a virgin Pina Colada.”

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