Page 129 of Strange Seduction
“Really!” He motioned to his well-tailored suit. “Same here!”
We both gushed over the details in both our outfits before Theo cut in with a dramatic groan.
“What happened with Jack?” he asked.
Carter straightened and fell back into his professional aura. “Martin showed interest in one of the beachfront properties, and Jack swooped in like a vulture five minutes later, waving his checkbook around. Bastard took over the whole thing.”
“Sounds about right,” Theo muttered. “If Martin so much as breathes in a direction, Jack has to do something louder.”
I blinked. “Wait—who are Martin and Jack?”
Carter leaned in a little, grinning like he’d been waiting for someone to ask. “Martin Blake and Jack Stanton. Longtime rivals. Big names in property investment.”
“Jack’s got this obsession with being first,” Theo added. “Especially when Martin’s involved. It’s like…if Martin shows interest in something, Jack takes it personally and has to one-up him.”
“Every time,” Carter agreed. “It’s petty, but entertaining.”
I glanced around the room, eyes landing on the display tables again—the ones crowded with investors, PR reps, and media.
“Is that why all of these projects are getting ridiculous offers?” I asked. “Because of their rivalry?”
“Sometimes,” Theo said, with a wink. “Sometimes it’s ‘cause our work is ridiculously good.”
I blushed a little. What could I say? The man looked good in that suit with the hair I retwisted earlier. It was getting harder and harder to keep Brunello Cucinelli on my body.
“Tonight was a great success, Tee.” Carter broke our quiet intimacy. “Just about all projects sold within the hour. All except one at least.”
Theo stiffened at that, and I knew what that meant instantly. I stepped closer to him. “Your project’s the only one without an offer?”
He didn’t answer right away.
He shook his head and offered a small shrug. “Nah, but it’s okay. I knew it wasn’t ready yet. We got a lot of investors for the company projects, though, so that’s good. I’ll just go back to the drawing board on mine.”
“But it’s already perfect,” I said without hesitation.
He didn’t respond. Just took a mouthful of his whiskey instead of his usual sip. Theo rarely drank hard, so that told me everything.
This was his chance to debut something personal, something I pushed him to display, and it was getting overshadowed. He wouldn’t admit it, but it stung him. It had to, and I couldn’t let that slide.
Time to intervene.
I downed the rest of my champagne and handed him the glass. “I’ll be right back, y’all.”
Carter nodded and Theo gave me a curious glance, but didn’t stop me.
I made my way to his display, and I lowered my neckline a touch, softening my expression. My stride became slower, more deliberate as I swayed my hips seductively. When I reached the table, I started pacing around the model with exaggerated interest—tilting my head, sighing, and dragging a finger along the edge like I was utterly mystified and lost.
Finally, a fish bit.
“You lost, honey?” came a voice behind me.
I turned and found a middle-aged man basically eye fucking me through some pretty thick frames. I thanked God I left my overly jealous boyfriend on the other side of the room because he would ruin what I was trying to do with a well-earned punch to this man’s face.
I blinked up at him with a sweet, clueless smile. “Oh no, I was just looking at this little dollhouse. It’s so pretty, I want to know more about it. Can you help me?”
I watched his eyes shift like he’d just found a beautiful idiot to impress. Predictable men with oversized egos were my favorite kind of tool.
“Well, it’s not a dollhouse, my dear,” he chuckled. “This is a display. We’re here tonight to look at projects this company wants us to invest in.”
