Page 6 of Boss Level

I gave her a tight hug. “You didn’t stand us up,” I teased.

“Youdid the standing-up most recently.” She squeezed back. “Yes, I’m keeping score.” She always was.

So was I. “Touché.”

Dom gave her a hug too, but it hit me differently than usual when the soft lighting in the room glinted off her engagement ring.

I hated hiding my relationship with Dom, though I understood why he asked me to. In my not-so-humble opinion, he should go tell Roger to own who he was, and remind him that this was the twenty-first century, not the eighties, and men were open about loving other men.

I understood, I did. My Aunt Rosie was a lesbian, and had faced a lot of shit when she was younger, even before she figured it out for herself. But even though she wasn’tloud and proud, she didn’t pretend to be something she wasn’t.

I also saw how much Roger meant to Dominic, and I was willing to bend to make my man happy. There were few things that lit up my world more than knowing Dominic was content.

Besides, I’d known what this was going to be from the start. He’d never hidden from me that he required a certain amount of discretion in his position.

The host showed us to our table, and the waiter was already there to tell us about the specials and take our drink orders. Not our regular, and in a way I was grateful for that. The small talk would be less personal.

I was in adrink until I can’t thinkmood. Was it a good thing or a bad thing I’d driven? “Coke for me.” Fuck it. “Champagne for the happy couple.” I pointed at Judith and Dominic.

The look Judith shot me could’ve stripped the lacquer off the table, and it was meant for my eyes only, since it vanished behind a painfully bright smile a heartbeat later.

“What are we celebrating?” The waiter—Percy—asked.

Judith showed him her ring, and Dominic rested his hand under hers, holding both up.

Disgustingly synchronized. The two of them probably knew each other better than most actually engaged couples.

“Congratulations.” Percy clapped twice. “I’ll grab that bubbly for you, while you think about your dinner.”

The instant his back was turned, Dominic and Judith dropped their hands, and she blew out a long puff of air, knocking a loose strand of auburn hair from her face.

“Actually having to do that hits differently than thinking about it,” she said.

No kidding.

Under the right circumstances, I liked to watch the two of them together. This was very muchnotright. “Might as well face it now. In fact, it’s as good a time as any to figure out what’s on the itinerary for this engagement of the century.”

“Not a lot.” Was that a hint of tension in Dominic’s voice? “Office Christmas party. Client’s office Christmas party.”

Judith wrinkled her nose. “Those haven’t already happened? Damn, I was hoping to miss at least one.”

“What? You’d skip out on the best part of any relationship?” I tried to let playfulness slide into my question.

Dominic rolled his eyes. “Since when do you hate office parties?”

“I don’t. I saidbest part.” I wasn’t going to ruin this evening. I wasn’t going to be a total ass, especially since I’d agreed I was okay with this. “But they’re not the same when you can’t be yourself.”

For instance, I’d loved the office Christmas party Judith’s company threw last week. She had good people working for her. Talented, fun, non-judgmental. Dom and I got to be out. Open.

The atmosphere had been laced with stress, they were releasing the biggest game of their careers on Monday, but they were all this huge, friendly bunch. Basically family. It had almost made me wish I was more a part of things at AcesPlayed. I’d been an investor from the start, but I’d always stayed hands off. Cheered from the sidelines.

I shook the rambling thoughts away.

“Wait. I didn’t realize I couldn’t be me,” Judith said.

I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips.

Dominic sighed. “They’re conservative, but we all know how to act in a business environment. It won’t be that much of a stretch.”

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