Page 35 of False Evidence

She sipped her fresh drink and tried to decide what to do. Wait for Kendall to tire of dancing and get a ride home with her? Or take the stranger up on his offer and see if he’d spring for a cab?

She wouldnevergo out on a date this far from home without cash for a cab again. It had never occurred to her she could be stranded in Menanichoch, a forty-minute drive from the apartment she shared with Kendall.

Just when she was working up the courage to interrupt Kendall’s fun, Russ reentered the room. She watched him as he stood in the doorway, scanning the crowd. Finally, he spotted her and made a beeline in her direction.

He was only a few feet away when he said, “Hey, gorgeous. I was wondering where you went off to.”

“Oh. Did you notice I was gone?” She’d left him at the card table over thirty minutes ago.

“Sure. I didn’t have my good luck charm.”

“And yet you still kept playing.”

“Well, sure. Had to try to win it all back. I knew you’d be having fun in here with Kendall and Brent.”

“Yeah, because couples really love it when a third person moves in on their slow dance.”

Russ’s brow furrowed. “Cranky, are we, babe?”

Lord, now he was treating her like she was a toddler without a nap. “I’m not cranky. I’mangry. And bored. I want to go home.”

“What’s the rush? It’s still early.”

“No. It’s not. We finished dinner an hour ago, then you played cards and expected me to watch like some sort of groupie.”

Russ turned to the bartender and ordered a drink.

She gritted her teeth. “Russ, you’re driving. You can’t have another drink. I want to go home.”

“You know I got us a hotel room, sweetheart.”

Did he even remember her name? Sweetheart. Gorgeous. Babe. She wouldn’t mind the terms if she believed he knew her actual name.

“I’m not staying here tonight. Give me money for a cab.”

“C’mon. Let’s have a drink. Maybe dance a little and discuss it.”

She huffed out a sigh. “I’m too tired to dance.” She nodded toward an empty table at the edge of the crowd. “Let’s sit. I’ll finish my drink, then you can get me a cab, or Kendall and Brent can give me a ride home.”

She had a free drink to finish and wanted to get the kiss-off conversation over with here, so he wouldnevercome back to the apartment with Brent again.

Before they sat down, however, she decided to visit the ladies’ room. Let him stew by himself for a little bit and see how it felt.

ChapterFourteen

The blonde at the bar was breathtaking. And funny. And she didn’t put up with bullshit. JT was a huge fan of that exact combination in a woman.

He would’ve asked her name, but learning she was there with Spaulding changed things. He had no problem moving in on another man’s obviously miserable date, but if he did it to Spaulding, he’d have a problem with HR. And Ed Drake.

“So, what’s the deal?” Lee asked. “Who’s she here with?”

“Fucking Spaulding.”

“Well, damn. That complicates things.”

Lee knew about JT’s issues with Ed Drake. As his former stepbrother, he knew all the players but had nothing to do with the company, which made him the perfect confidant. He hadn’t attended the formal dinner part of the evening because he said engineers gave him hives, but he’d shown up for the after-party to keep JT company.

Six years in, and JT was still working to earn the respect of the company’s top executives, who’d balked at him taking over as CEO when his dad was elected to the Senate, but in a privately held company, they didn’t have the votes to oust him. Not when Joseph Talon Sr. anointed him and forced his partner and minority share owner, Edward Drake, to support the decision.

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