Page 8 of Virgin's Stolen Nights with the Boss

‘People want more than just the same old cursory speech. Say how much you miss him, or—’

‘I’ve already been well briefed by PR,’ Elias snapped.

‘If you don’t want to talk about yourself...’ William gestured with his hand, as if plucking ideas from the air ‘...then talk about the wedding. Talk about how happy Joel and Seraphina were.’

‘That would hardly be fair to her current husband,’ Elias replied tartly.

William Henley blew out a tense breath. ‘Talk about the last five years, then. How you’ve dealt with grief. How you’ve found the strength to move on...’

Perhaps at that moment William saw the flash of warning in his son’s eyes, because he took a second to regroup and then played his trump card.

‘The award means everything to your mother.’

‘I know it does.’

His father screwed his eyes closed in frustration. ‘Give themsomething, for God’s sake!’

He didn’t outright call his son a cold-hearted bastard, but the implication was very much there.

‘Would it kill you to show some emotion or to say how you’re feeling?’

As Elias’s father stalked off, Wanda chimed in with some acting advice. ‘Fake it if you have to,’ she told him. ‘I can give you some pointers.’

Elias pressed his lips together to mask his fury.

There was nothing fake about his emotions.

He was holding them in. He had been holding them in for five years now. If he let them out... If he dared open that box...

Be careful what you wish for, he thought, as he watched his father return to his mother’s side.

The reception was over and the guests were being ushered in for the meal, which would be interspersed with awards. It was always a long and tedious night, but at least soon it would be over for another year.

Elias was thinking of Domitian, a problem stallion he’d recently acquired. The beast would be missing his evening gallop along the beach, and so too was he. Blake, his yard manager was on a day off, and there was no one else who could or even would ride him.

‘Elias!’ Wanda whispered, pulling his focus back to the ceremony—he saw they were waiting for desserts to come out. ‘Would you please get me a lunch or something with that producer?’

Elias knew he was being appalling company tonight, so he nodded, which quickly cheered Wanda up.

‘Do you know what I do when I want to look as if I’m upset?’ she ventured.

‘No.’

This evening could not be over soon enough, Elias thought, his mind drifting as Wanda talked at length about the acting tricks she used to express certain emotions. His only saving grace came as he was watching the desserts being brought out.

There was the mystery waitress.

She was no longer smiling. Her apron was twisted and she was carrying only two small plates, while the other servers were carrying three or four. Her previously neatly tied back hair had begun to unravel, and there was a dark flush to her cheeks.

‘Are you listening, Elias?’

He wasn’t, and he felt bad at how little attention he had paid Wanda this evening, so he turned to her and forced himself to focus.

There were a lot of awards...

Films backed by Henley Finance scooped up more than their share—as they did most years.

The company Elias’s grandfather had founded was still flourishing.

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