Page 20 of The Wrong Date Deal

“I usually like to have dinner before I let someone rip my clothes off,” Piper quipped.

Claire narrowed her eyes and glared at Piper. Not a fan of jokes, apparently.

Piper sighed. “Who is Marco?”

Claire huffed as she flung Piper’s coat into a closet by the door. “Marco. He works in artists and repertoire. Great scout. He’s brought in some of our most lucrative recent acquisitions—which, you know, means great royalties for him.”

“Right…” Piper had never met Marco and she was not particularly thrilled discussing someone’s income as a way to identify who they were.

“So, you’d be lucky to get with him. I’m aiming high for you here. The least you could do is show up on time.”

“It’s seven o’clock.”

“Well, he’s been here for twenty minutes. I didn’t think I needed to tell you to be here at six thirty.”

“You did if you wanted me here then.”

She shook her head and took off towards the noise of the kitchen, clearly expecting Piper to keep up with her. “I’m going to have to warn him to watch out for your attitude—and to work on your timekeeping.”

Piper glowered. She hadn’t once been late for work, but Claire was late at least once a week, so suggesting Piper needed help was a bit rich. Even worse was suggesting she needed some random man to start monitoring her, a grown-ass woman.

She wondered whether she’d be able to get away with simply turning around and leaving.

Claire stepped into the kitchen and called for Marco like a teacher telling off a student.

Piper could not have regretted coming any more. She could have been at home, eating pizza, watching TV, and being surrounded by people she knew and enjoyed.

A tall guy with brushed-back black hair walked towards them like a deer in headlights.

“Marco,” Claire said, stroking his arm once he made it over to them, “this is Piper. She works in the marketing department. Forgive her tardiness, she’s young and foolish.”

Piper stared at her. “Excuse me?”

Claire turned to her like nothing was wrong. “Piper, this is Marco. You know what he does because I just told you. But you should also know he’s just gotten divorced and is ready to get back on the scene.”

“Oh? What scene is that?” Piper looked between them with a polite smile.

Claire’s left eye twitched. “I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure that out.”

Marco laughed a little awkwardly. “I don’t usually lead with that information.”

Claire grinned up at him. “You should. It’s good to let women know you’re available.”

“Uh. Sure.” He looked around, shifting from side to side.

“Well,” Claire said, gripping both their arms and forcing them slightly closer together, “I’m going to leave you two to it. I’m sure you’re going to get along great and have a wonderful night.”

They watched her melt into the crowd of other guests and disappear, both taking a step apart once she was gone.

“Sorry about… all of that,” Marco said, wincing.

“It’s really okay. I’m only here because if I refused, she’d have spent the next week sitting at my desk, whining about me not coming, and I’d never get any work done.”

“Yeah, me too. She pulled the same thing with Freddie from A&R, so, now, he’s got an imaginary girlfriend.”

Piper laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly. It was the only way he could get her off his back.” He shuddered. “Only now, Claire wants to meet her. So he’s having to ride the line of pretending it’s serious and going well, but not to the point where she’s ready to meet all of his colleagues.”

---