Page 13 of Merging with the Billionaire

“You didn’t have to do that. I could tell your brother wasn’t happy with you defending me.”

“Despite what you think, I don’t have to have my brother approve everything I do.”

“Duly noted,” Conrad said with a grin. “You can go rogue when you want.”

“He is right about one thing; I should probably take off if I’m going to make it to the party on time. I’ll see you there?”

Conrad nodded. “I’ll be the one in the black tux.”

Tiffany let out a laugh. “I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for you then.”

A little over an hour later, Tiffany arrived at the posh, Upper West Side Manhattan restaurant that her family rented out. She made her way inside and was glad she made the decision to let Roger make all the plans. He’d always been good at throwing a successful party.

The place was filled with fresh holiday flowers along with two massive Christmas trees glittering with ornaments and stuffed with presents underneath on both ends of the banquet room. There was also a giant ice sculpture in the center representing the twelve days of Christmas, along with an enormous buffet table filled with vast amounts of delicious food. Additionally, servers in starched black and white uniforms were weaving through the crowd with silver trays filled with appetizers and drinks.

“You look so pretty tonight,” she heard Celeste praise from behind her. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you wearing anything other than a business suit.”

“That’s because my sister is naturally the exact opposite of me—all business, all the time,” Roger teased coming up beside his sister, and slinging his arm around her. “It’s why we’re such a good match. I’m great at entertaining the clients, planning the parties, and overseeing the media, and she’s great at all the boring and stuffy parts of the business, like spreadsheets and sales reports.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Is that how you really see me, boring and stuffy? I’ll have you know, I can have a good time as well as anyone else.”

“Don’t let Mom hear you say that,” Roger chided. “She’ll point out you haven’t been on a date ever since Artie. I warned you not to get involved with him. He’s the worst—”

Celeste reached out and placed her hand on Roger’s arm. “That’s enough of that. Your sister doesn’t need one more person lecturing her. Besides, we’veallmade mistakes when it comes to dating. It just takes the right one, and Tiffany hasn’t found him yet.”

“Hasn’t found who yet?” Conrad inquired as he came up to the group.

“Never mind, it doesn’t matter,” Tiffany quickly answered, irritated that she was excited to see Conrad tonight.

He looked devastatingly handsome in his black tuxedo with a white shirt and black bow tie. His dark hair, that he usually wore slightly spiked in the front, was slicked back tonight, making his gorgeous brown eyes pop even more than they normally did.

Celeste glanced from Tiffany to Conrad and then back. Her lips curved up in a smile as she suggested, “I think the two of you should kick off the dancing.”

“No, that’s all right. We’re fine,” Tiffany quickly objected.

“Wait a minute, don’t answer for me,” Conrad corrected. “It’s not the worst idea.”

“I need to check on a few things, so it is,” Tiffany challenged.

“Don’t be absurd, Tiffany. Be polite and dance with Mr. Gaines,” her mother insisted as she came up to the group. “Your father would be terribly upset if he thought you were being rude to one of our business partners.”

Tiffany stiffened, trying to hold back the irritated sigh that wanted to burst free from her throat. She pressed her lips together, then reluctantly nodded. There was no way she would win against her mother; it was better to get the silly dance over and done with and then she could move on for the night.

Conrad reached out and took her hand, and to Tiffany’s complete and utter shock, it was like a bolt of lightning hitting her. A tingling sensation surged up her arm, warming her and causing her heart to race, and her breath to quicken. In all the time they had worked together, she had purposely refrained from physical contact, knowing that once a bell was rung, it couldn’t be undone.

He pulled her into his arms, the closeness of their contact making her response to him even harder to ignore. She could swear that at any moment, her heart might explode right out of her chest.

“Did I tell you how pretty you look in that dress tonight? You look like a stormy ocean, ready to blow down everything around you with your intoxicating beauty.”

Tiffany could feel her cheeks blush. She hadn’t expected the compliment, or the giddy reaction it stirred inside her. When she had put on the sparkling blue, floor-length evening gown, she hadn’t planned on impressing anyone, let alone Conrad. It was simply the dress her mother’s stylist had picked out for her. Now, she was extremely grateful Tara knew exactly what looked good on her petite frame.

“Thank you,” she whispered, letting her eyes drift up to meet his. She could see the appreciation for her reflected back, and she realized, they were on the verge of having the nature of their relationship shift. If she didn’t know any better, she thought he might try to kiss her.

Unprepared and thoroughly confused, Tiffany jerked back from Conrad. “I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

Before he could question her further, she took off out of the room. She needed to put some distance between herself and Conrad. He was dangerous, and the worst kind. He could derail every part of her plan for the future, and he was Roger’s enemy on top of it. She shouldn’t have let herself be pushed into getting that close to him.

She spent ten minutes in the bathroom, calming herself down enough to return to the party. She hoped no one noticed how out of sorts she still felt inside. Tiffany took a final look in the mirror, pushed her shoulders back, and marched out of the powder room ready to firmly put Conrad Gaines out of her mind.

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