Page 54 of Up All Night

His blue eyes gazed into mine, and I worried about what he saw. Could he tell I liked how attracted he was to me? Did he see how confused I was about our friendship? Was I staring back at him in a way that he could tell exactly how gorgeous I thought he looked tonight?

A valet opened my door, breaking the moment. I took the hand he held out for me, letting him help me get out of the car. Soon West was by my side, holding out his arm again.

We made our way to the event in the Banking Hall, and whatever I thought tonight was going to be like, it was levels above. The decorations were beautiful, with bouquets of white and light pink flowers on all the tables, gossamer sheets hanging from the ceiling to the floor in between pillars to help soften the hard exterior, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Between the decorations and the people clad in designer clothes, the room screamed money. Thanks to West’s credit card, I looked like I belonged.

My eyes scanned the crowd, and I found Cannon at the bar on the far side of the room. He sipped a drink as his date talked animatedly to him, but his attention seemed to be elsewhere. I followed his gaze to see a beautiful blonde woman. Her petite frame, matched with her flowy light blue dress, gave her an ethereal look. I could see why Cannon’s eyes had been drawn to her. She was speaking with an elderly couple, and the way she held herself was the epitome of poise and professionalism. I looked back at Cannon, whose eyes were still on her, his date not seeming to notice.

I was about to ask West if he knew who she was or if there was some kind of history between her and Cannon, but I didn’t get the chance because he was saying something about how I should meet his parents now, to get it out of the way.

I let him guide me across the room to a couple who looked far from having a son as old as West. His father barely had any gray hair at the temples, and his mom’s blonde hair looked as full and voluminous as someone in their twenties. They were both striking, and it wasn’t hard to see where West had gotten his looks.

“West,” his mother exclaimed excitedly. She placed her hands on his shoulders and moved in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “You look so handsome, sweetheart. I knew that tux was going to look amazing on you.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I thought I detected a hint of embarrassment in his response.

His mom stepped back and his dad gave him a simple nod. “Son.”

It wasn’t the warmest welcome, and there was a tangible tension between them. West had mentioned how he felt like he couldn’t live up to his dad’s expectations, and it seemed like it had affected their relationship. I didn’t know anything about a father and child relationship, but I knew enough to recognize that theirs probably didn’t go any deeper than the surface.

His dad turned his attention to me, looking happy that I was here, which I guess was a good thing. “And who is this beautiful young woman you brought with you tonight?”

“Dad, Mom, I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Halle,” West said. “Halle, meet my parents, Victor and Rose.”

His dad’s excitement at me being here seemed to diminish at the word friend, but he still shook my hand and smiled.

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

Rose gave me a genuine smile as she shook my hand. “It’s always nice to meet a friend of West’s. We are so glad you could join us tonight.”

“Thank you. I’m grateful to be here.”

“How do you and West know each other?” she asked.

I took a peak at West, who looked at me as if he wondered how much I was going to say. “We live in the same apartment building. I’m his upstairs neighbor.”

I left out the part about how we’d initially hated each other and pulled pranks on one another, how I had been his personal trainer for three weeks, and then through all that had somehow become friends enough for him to ask me to attend this gala with him.

“It’s always so great when you have wonderful neighbors,” she smiled.

Ha! I wanted to laugh, but managed to keep it in. West was also suppressing a smile. We’d come a long way.

“Make sure you mingle, son,” Victor said to West, abruptly changing the subject. “We need to make a good impression. Our clients like it when we go out of our way to speak to them.” He grabbed flutes of champagne for himself and Rose from a tray that was offered to him. “And make sure you talk to the Andersons. We’re still working on that deal, and I’d like to close on it soon.”

“Yes, of course,” West said, but he sounded like a robot.

I glanced up at him, his jaw clenched as he reached out to take champagne for us as well.

“The Mortensen’s will expect you to pay a visit, too. You know how important Bill views relationships in business,” his dad continued.

“Yes, Dad. I know.”

Victor took a drink from his flute and then added, “It would be good for you to have Halle with you when you talk to everyone, but maybe leave out the friend part.”

My brows rose. West hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said his dad was making him bring a date to advance his career.

“Victor,” Rose reprimanded, giving me an apologetic smile. “Let the boy enjoy himself tonight. This is supposed to be a relaxing evening.”

Victor continued his scan of the room. “This isn’t the time to relax, Rose. These are the types of events we need to network and utilize for our gain. That’s why I agree to putting on this gala every year. It is great for Vanderhall Capital.”

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