Page 38 of Still Bruised
“And guest,”Anton answered for him.
The doorman eyeballed Anton a second before he walked backwards and opened the door for them. “Have a pleasant evening, gentlemen.”
Anton urged Jude through. As soon as they were past, he said,“See?”
Jude lifted his gaze to the massive crystal chandelier in the entryway. “Dorothy, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”
Anton chuckled and urged him toward the elevator bank. After a quick trip up, they were soon standing in front of door 25-B. Anton took a deep breath before he lifted a hand to knock. Jude tensed when the knob turned.
What the fuck am I doing here?
An older guy with stylish white hair, wearing a black Mardi gras mask and a purple velvet robe, opened it. He was giving off serious Hefner vibes, and Jude had to look away to hide his grin.
He was also as tall as Anton. If it wasn’t his best friend, Jude might’ve been interested to see the two giants going at it.
“Anton,”the man said, a wide smile spreading across his face. He pulled the mask down and Jude could see he wasn’t quite as old as he’d first assumed. Maybe late forties, early fifties. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
Anton turned to the side. “Jason, this is my good friend Jude.”
“Any friend of Anton’s is welcome here,” Jason said, offering his hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Jude.”
Jude shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
What looked like a waiter appeared beside Jason and handed him a tablet. He passed it to Anton. “You know the drill.”
“Yeah,” Anton said before swirling his finger over the surface.
He passed it back to Jason, who pressed a few buttons and handed it to Jude.
“I hope you don’t mind signing an NDA,” Jason said.
An NDA?His gaze whipped to Anton’s.
Jude took the tablet and read. Not just scanned but read the motherfucker. He wasn’t signing away his life to anyone.
“Standard boiler plate, I assure you. We just want to assure that what happens at the partystaysat the party—which protects you both, too,” Jason said.
After another quick glance to Anton, he continued to read over the statement. When he was fairly confident there was nothing untoward, he signed it. Jason’s sigh sounded relieved when Jude finally put fingertip to screen. Jude handed it back and forced a smile.
The server and the tablet quickly disappeared.
“Come in, come in,” Jason said, backing away to let them through. As they passed, he handed a white mask similar to his to Anton. “Which one for your friend?”
“Do we gotta wear these?” Jude asked.
“It helps keep a sense of mystery, don’t you think?” Jason asked. “Maybe the handsome stranger isn’t a stranger at all…”
“Ahhh,”Jude murmured.
“Just put it on,” Anton whispered under his breath as he handed his to Jude and grabbed another for himself.
Jude pulled it on, trailing behind Jason and Anton once he was done.
Once they exited the hallway, he scanned the interior. The apartment wasmassive. It had to have cost millions. Real estate in Manhattan was some of the most expensive in the country. Add in a Park Avenue address and that added even more dollar signs. He captured Anton’s gaze, wishing he’d asked a lot more questions before agreeing to come. They were totally out of their element.
The living area was two stories high with a massive wall of floor-to-ceiling windows showing off an amazing view of the city. Outside a set of French doors at the end of the room was a huge balcony that could fit twenty or more with ease. They passed a gourmet kitchen with a massive island bigger than his whole kitchen that was loaded with fancy finger food and bottles of wine and champagne.
There were already about two dozen men congregating in the living room and dining space, most of them in small groups of three or four and in varying levels of dress. They all glanced Anton and Jude’s way when they entered. A few of them with interest.
