Page 21 of A Night of Indulgence and Sloth
Before I can respond, Aiden chimes in. “We normally have advance notice of these things, but since this is your first week, we wanted to make sure you were aware and could plan accordingly. It’s black tie, so you’ll need to dress the part as well.”
Aiden’s and Kaleb’s gazes snake along my body, making my skin prickle. “I’m sure my sister will be quite happy to help me pick out another outfit.”
Aiden’s gaze shoots straight to mine. “Another outfit?”
Shit. Why did I even say it like that? My tongue seems constantly tied around these two. Thankfully, Kaleb doesn’t notice, and when his phone rings, I take my chance to escape.
“If that’s all, I’ll get back to work.” I don’t give either of them a chance to reply before I’m out the door and back at my desk.
Five minutes later, there’s an email from Aiden with the details of our celebratory dinner tomorrow and another from Kaleb with the charity event details. I don’t bother readingthrough them, not now. Not while I’m within view of these two powerful men.
Calantha is going to have a damn field day with this tonight.
Aiden
“He’s late.”
I sit stoically in the boardroom at The Plaza, wishing I could get up and pace. Kaleb sits beside me, his laptop open and his fingers moving across the keys. I know he’s tallying up a list of all the things we know about this particular council member so far, even though there isn’t much to go on without a name. But making us wait on a fucking Saturday doesn’t make either of us happy.
“We give him ten minutes. If he’s not here by then, we’re leaving.”
Kaleb nods his agreement before shutting his laptop and placing it back in his bag. We’re due to have a nice meal with Liliana this evening and never should have booked this meeting. I don’t want to bring my frustrations to dinner, not when she is already so tense around me.
For a moment, my mind wanders back to the night of the lock-in. To the feel of her body coming apart beneath me. To how she trusted us with her pleasure. This woman has a holdon me so fucking tight, sometimes it’s hard to breathe. And she doesn’t even know it.
“Incoming,” Kaleb says, shaking me out of my thoughts.
The door opens and a thin, pale man walks in, followed by a robust older gentleman and what must be his two bodyguards. The protective detail stays outside after closing the door while the other two men take their seats opposite Kaleb and me.
The pale man breaks the silence first. “This is Burt Brandon, the City Council’s newest elected member.” He motions to the larger man beside him with such bravado that I half expect him to announce he’s also the next prince of fucking Monaco or some shit.
His nasally voice grates against my eardrums, but Kaleb and I don’t say a word. They wanted this meeting, so they can say what they need to say or not. It makes no difference to us.
“I appreciate your interest in meeting me, and I look forward to working closely with you both,” Burt says, flashing us a winning smile.
Kaleb and I share a look before turning back to him. “What is it you hope to work closely on, exactly?” Kaleb asks, tilting the corners of his lips into a smile. He can plaster a smile on his face and fool almost anyone, but not me. I mostly just intimidate. I don’t really see the point in false pleasantry, especially not when it’s with a snake.
“All in due time, my dear friends.” Burt stands and motions for his companion to open the door. “I’ll call on you when you’re needed.”
Every cell in my body lights up with the need to pummel this man to the ground. Who the fuck does he think he is? To make us wait here on a Saturday, only to stick around for less than five minutes while talking in riddles. There’s no chance in hell we’ll be doing this again. My facial expression gives nothing away as Kaleb and I stand as well.
“A word to the wise, Councilman,” I say before he leaves. “We don’t tolerate tardiness. Don’t waste our time again.”
He sputters, completely shocked that anyone would dare talk to him in such a way, but neither one of us stops to soothe his bruised ego. He might want some sort of alliance with us, but we don’t fucking work with little weasels like him.
Only once we settle inside the car waiting for us outside the hotel do we speak.
“What kind of name is Burt Brandon? It must be fake.” Kaleb sends a text to our hacker friend, Elliott, asking for all the dirt he can find on the new council member. “What I want to know is how does a guy like that even get elected? We were barely in the room with him for five minutes, and I already hate him.”
“Guys like him rely on fear and power. Chances are, he has friends in high places. We just have to figure out what the fuck that means for us.”
“That’s what you’re wearing? You realize it’s a celebratory meal and not a work meeting, right?” Kaleb takes in my dark gray suit with disgust.
“Well, I’m certainly not going to put on a pair of old jeans and worn out shirt,” I reply, frowning at his outfit and knowing he’ll take the bait. Not that he’s dressed like a slob or anything, but I like to make him sweat from time to time.
He gestures to his dress pants and expensive polo shirt. “Neither of these areoldorworn out, so fuck off, yeah?” Not bothering to fight me on it further, he gets up from his seat at the table and heads to the bar.
Because Kaleb and I have been friends for years, I know how to push his buttons and when to quit. Or at least I used to.With Liliana around, he seems different. Before her, he’d have bantered with me back and forth about our outfits, but now he appeared genuinely worried. Knowing I fucked up, I follow him to the bar to apologize.
