Page 89 of Playmaker

I had reached my limit. I looked around for Callie, ready to call this event done.

Chapter26

If we were friends

Callie

I founda quiet corner and watched. The protocols people followed here were strange to me, but when I wasn’t sure what I should do, a quiet corner never did me wrong.

It was research, anyway. Cooper’s family had more money than any of the partners at my firm, but if I understood how people behaved here, it would help me when, hopefully, I had to attend the wedding of a partner or their kid. From here, I could see who was close to the bride and groom, and who wasn’t. I could tell that at some of the tables people were talking business, while at others, things were more relaxed, and people laughed.

Cooper was dancing with some woman older than his parents. Possibly a relation, or a connection to the family firm. I’d learned a lot from him. I’d also learned a lot about him. He was smiling out there but it wasn’t a real smile. The dimples were out, and he was charming people, but I’d seen those real smiles, and they were different.

I frowned. What was I supposed to do with that knowledge?

“Not dancing, Callie? I saw you up there with Cooper—did he trample your feet?”

Pierce. The asshole Benson aspired to be. He shared so many features with Cooper, and yet they didn’t work right. Even if they looked the same, I could never confuse them. Pierce was one of the blessed people. Wealthy, healthy, attractive, and intelligent. If he knew my story, my whole story, the way he looked at me would change. Now that I’d met Pierce, it was obvious how Benson’s attitude had prompted Cooper to help me with my golfing problem.

I shook my head in response to his question.

Pierce sat down beside me. I shot him a glance from the corner of my eye. He had an angle—Pierce would always have an angle. Was he looking for information on Cooper? He wouldn’t get it from me.

“We haven’t seen that much of you, Callie. Whit has kept you busy.”

“It’s a wedding. It’s kept everyone busy.”

We had not been fucking nonstop the way Pierce implied with his knowing look. Damn it, this was why Cooper’s ideas about dressing to look good didn’t always work. I preferred to look boring, not like someone’s fuck buddy. And damn Pierce for making me feel like that. Especially in this dress, which I loved.

“Still, I’d like to get to know you.”

I held in a shudder of revulsion. “There isn’t much to know about me. We went through the basics the first night.” I didn’t want to talk about my least favorite subject, namely me.

Pierce leaned back. “Tax law is a challenging specialty.”

It was. Again, something I’d already been asked about, and not something that merited a long discussion.

Pierce kept talking, but his eyes were on Cooper. “And with the work that involves, I expect you’d like to be a partner someday.”

I narrowed my eyes. Was he fucking with me? Did his firm have influence with mine, even though I hadn’t seen any connections? Could this deal with Cooper have any negative consequences at the firm?

“I’m just guessing. You’re smart, ambitious, beautiful…” He let that trail off.

I was smart, very smart, and I had ambitions, but not to take over the world. I just wanted to ensure my life was as safe as I could make it. I wasnotbeautiful. Pierce thought flattery about my appearance would numb some of my brain cells.

“We do business with your firm, could maybe put in a word.” He waited, a little smile on his face, as if he expected me to jump all over that.

“You’re going to recommend me as partner material, someone you’ve only known for days.”

He shrugged. “It’s called networking. You need connections if you want to get somewhere, and a chat at a wedding can have more impact than any CV.”

This was the way it worked for the privileged. The rest of us? SOL. I hated that.

“Are you telling me that being Cooper’s date to his sister’s wedding is going to get me on the fast track to partner?” Might as well lay it all out. He’d probably lie about it, but at least I’d be able to watch his reactions, get a feel for how much shit he was shoveling.

“No, Whit burned any bridges with the family when he had his picture plastered around the city in his underwear. Bringing you to this wedding is the smartest thing he’s done in years. If you want to make your mark as an attorney, he’s not going to help you. But I could.”

What the hell kind of word was he going to put in, when he’d never seen any of my work?

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