by Lisa Oliver
“Then we were lucky to find each other then. Two pack-less wolves used to life in the human world,” Ronan said, reaching up and kissing Asaph on the chin.
“I need to warn you there’s a good chance Leticia will be at this dinner tonight,” Asaph said, feeling the car slow as they reached their destination.
Ronan shrugged. “If she bothers me too much I’ll drop kick her. If she’s a society girl like you claim, then she should be too well-bred to cause a scene.”
“Let’s hope so,” Asaph said, gripping Ronan’s hand tightly. Leticia wouldn’t be stupid enough to cause a ruckus with Asaph, but if she could get Ronan alone she might do serious damage to his mate’s self-esteem. Hopefully the phone calls he made when he’d set up this date night would pay off.
/~/~/~/~/
Ronan barely had enough time to appreciate the venue, before he heard an overly forced happy voice sing out, “Asaph, I’m so glad you could make it. I was just telling our dinner companions that there was a chance you’d be held up at work.” He turned, Asaph still holding his hand, and watched the tall blonde he recognized from his Google search heading their way, her gaze intent on Asaph.
“Leticia, it’s nice to see you,” Asaph said politely. “And where’s your date for this evening? I haven’t had a chance to meet your intended groom, and I want to pass on my congratulations to him. I’m sure the two of you will be very happy.”
Leticia froze for a moment, her voluminous red gown settling around her slim figure. Ronan could see the color worked wonders with her blond hair and lightly tanned skin, but not so much with the mottled red of her cheeks. Then Leticia laughed, throwing her head back and making a production out of it.
“Oh you do like to have fun, don’t you? This dinner has been on our social calendar for weeks.” Leticia went to take Asaph’s arm and Asaph turned, putting his arm around Ronan instead.
“It has indeed,” Asaph said smoothly. “May I introduce my date, Ronan Montgomery? He’s the new owner of a club my company has been working on. Ronan, sweetheart, this is Leticia Corsairs; you might recall you met her father the other day.”
Ronan nodded but didn’t hold out his hand. He had no interest in touching anyone who looked like they wanted to see him dead and buried, not necessarily in that order.
“Your date? But I thought….”
“Fiancé, actually,” Asaph said with a fetching blush and a slight duck of his head. “But honestly, I saw no need to announce it, especially when I read in the paper today about your upcoming wedding. You must have been furious when you saw they’d used one of our old pictures instead of one with you and the man you are supposed to be marrying. I certainly hoped you called and gave Rudy’s brother a piece of your mind. I can only imagine the confusion a mistake like that would cause. Make sure you get them to print a retraction.”
Leticia’s mouth opened, and closed and then she repeated the action. When her eyes narrowed, like any shifter, Ronan prepared himself for an attack. “Married, really? How long have you and Ronan known each other? It can’t have been long or I would have met him.”
“Ronan’s been a friend of my family for years, although we’ve only recently met up again,” Asaph lied smoothly. “But I could say the same about you. You and I have only been split, what, two or three weeks, and then I read about your upcoming marriage in the paper. Isn’t it wonderful when you get that instant connection with someone? I know I couldn’t be happier.”
“Asaph, we need to talk,” Leticia said lowering her voice. Around them couples, small groups of expensively dressed people were apparently mingling but Ronan knew they’d be listening in as hard as they could. “Privately,” she added shooting another hate-filled look at Ronan.
“I certainly look forward to meeting the new man in your life, maybe later this evening,” Asaph said in his normal tone, even managing a small smile. “But if you’ll excuse us, I see my dinner companions are waiting. Ronan, come and meet some old friends of mine.”
Asaph moved his arm until his hand was settled on Ronan’s lower back, and Ronan allowed himself to be moved. It wasn’t as though he knew where they were going. His mate stopped a few times, introduced him to a couple of people Ronan was sure he’d forget, and nodding greetings to others. It was a huge place, and everywhere Ronan looked he saw money. He wondered what Enzo would have said about the whole affair and wished he was around. But then he spotted a woman with an outlandish purpled concoction on her head and quickly retracted his wish. Enzo would not have been able to keep his mouth shut about something like that.
His mate was the epitome of confidence, power and…yeah money. He blended easily with these people, congratulating some on deals that’d been finalized, commiserating with others. Asaph was taller and bigger built than most of the attendees, and Ronan felt a fissure of pride at how easy Asaph made socializing appear. Ronan kept his own back straight and his head high, but even in heels he was shorter than many.
Finally, Asaph stopped in front of a table that held three couples. They appeared to be older people, probably in their fifties or thereabouts – the men in well-cut suits like Asaph’s and the women dripping in jewels.
“Asaph, you young pup. Who’s this under your arm looking like we’re going to bite him? My secretary said she saw the announcement in the paper you were marrying Corsair’s daughter.” The speaker was a portly gentleman with a full beard, but a kindly face. Ronan felt his body relax.
“Huge misprint, Gordy,” Asaph said. “I was just telling Leticia she should contact the papers and get them to print a retraction. Her intended must be furious.”
“Glad to see you’ve got more commonsense,” the gruff man said with a smile. “Now, who’s this?”
“Ladies and gentleman, this is Ronan Montgomery; my actual fiancé, and as of yesterday half owner of Bosch Investment Company. He’s also the new owner of a dance club I’m having built for him in the warehouse district. Ronan, this is Gordon Monze, CEO of Orlando Oil and his wife Daisy; next to them is Peter Fuller, CEO of Prime Real Estate and his wife Jean, and last but not least, Alistair MacIntosh, CEO of our local Citibank and his wife Lucy.”
Ronan smiled, nodded, and shook the hands of the three gentlemen before Asaph ushered him to his seat. There was a moment’s silence and then the one Asaph called Gordy laughed and slapped Asaph on the back.
“You are a sly one,” he said with a chuckle. “Now I understand your phone call this afternoon.”
“Ronan’s not used to the money crowd, and we all know what vultures they can be, don’t we? I wanted him to meet some friendly faces otherwise he’d likely never let me come to these things again.”
“Understood.” Gordy eyed Ronan with a shrewd glance. “You keep this man on his toes. We’ve been telling him he’s been working too hard for years. Make sure he finds the time to have some fun.”
Ronan smiled and nodded, but wasn’t sure he should say anything. Asaph was talking to Gordy about the development around the old Albion club and his wife, who was sitting next to Ronan was chatting to Peter. He looked up and saw that Lucy was watching him from across the table, a twinkle in her eye.
“I take it you’re not a businessman, Mr. Montgomery,” she said with a smile.
“Dash it, I was hoping it wouldn’t show,” Ronan said with a smile. “And please, call me Ronan.”
“Ronan,” Lucy nodded. “So what is it you do? Your hair and shoes suggest something in the arts perhaps. You don’t look stuffy enough for business.”
“I’m a dancer,” Ronan admitted. “My two friends and I will be performing three times a week at my new club. We do a range of dances – some modern, others more classical. You and your husband should come along one night. Asaph has gone all out to create a place where everyone would feel welcome.”
“A dancer, how positively lovely,” Lucy said. “These guys spend so much time making money, they forget about the lighter things in life. Promise you’ll dance with me later.”
�
��I’d be honored,” Ronan smiled.
“Oh, do you dance, wonderful.” Daisy said beside him. “I so love to dance but it takes all my time to drag Gordy to the dance floor. Honestly, it drives me nuts. Say you’ll save one for me?”
And that’s how it went. Ronan relaxed, letting the women talk to him about casual things, listening to gossip, while the men talked shop. Ronan didn’t have a lot to contribute to the conversation, mostly because he didn’t know the people his new friends were talking about, but he felt included and that was a nice feeling. Asaph smiled at him every now and then, his hand on Ronan’s knee – hidden by the table cloth of course, but it still felt nice.
Everything was going well. Ronan had an appetizer that was some sort of fish dish. It tasted all right, but given the company he was in, he thought the food would have been something better than fish sticks and sauce. Unfortunately, things didn’t get better when the main course was served. Ronan could smell the peanuts immediately, and left his knife and fork where they were. Whoever dished up the meal spread the sauce over everything, so it wasn’t as though he could even pick at his meal. He picked up his water instead, hoping no one would notice.
Of course, Asaph did. “What’s this,” he growled, looking at Ronan’s plate and then attracting the attention of the nearest waiter. “I called this afternoon and confirmed there would be an alternative main for my date this evening as he has a nut allergy. Who served him this stuff?”
“Sir, I’m sorry.” The poor man was blushing terribly and didn’t seem to know where to look. “I didn’t realize this man was your date. The manager’s list shows Miss Corsairs as your date for the evening and we’ve no food restrictions noted for her.”
“It’s not a problem,” Ronan said quickly. Asaph looked like he was going to attack the poor waiter. “If Mr. Bosch already arranged an alternative meal on my behalf, then perhaps you could bring that for me.”
“I can’t do that, sir. My manager spoke to Miss Corsairs when she arrived, because he wanted to know if her food choices needed to be changed. When she confirmed that she was fine with the regular menu, and that she was definitely your date for the evening, my manager felt there’d been an error and cancelled Mr. Bosch’s order.”
“This is unbelievable!” Asaph threw his napkin on the table and made as if to get up. “That woman has gone too far.”
“Asaph, it’s fine.” Ronan put his hand on Asaph’s shoulder, pressing firmly. “A little misunderstanding; I’m sure Miss Corsairs didn’t mean anything by it,” he said to the rest of the table.
“Nut allergies are serious,” Asaph grumbled. “Not to mention there’s no entree for you.”
“Things could have gotten a little hairy there for a bit, if I’d eaten it.” That was an understatement. Ronan found out the hard way he was allergic to nuts. Fortunately, he was at home and only his mother was there to witness his immediate shift into his wolf form. He smiled at the nervous waiter. “No harm done. Perhaps your manager could scrounge up a bit of spare meat in a bread roll or something? Absolutely no nuts, but anything else would be fine.”
“I’ll see what I can do, and I’m so sorry. Mr. Bosch, please, I had no idea. I just do what my manager tells me and he plated the food for this table.”
Asaph waved him away but Ronan could feel he was still fuming. “Please, don’t let your meals get cold. I’m sure the waiter will bring me something shortly,” he said with a grin he didn’t feel. Being the focus of his dinner companions, and a dozen others from the tables around him, was making him edgy. Lucy winked at him, and picked up her fork, and the others around the table followed suit. Once the focus was off of him, Ronan relaxed, and when the manager arrived with a totally different meal that was probably from another restaurant, he thanked the man and stopped the flow of apologies. Really. He didn’t want anyone to make a fuss.
After a passable dessert, again with no nuts, unlike the others at the table, people started to move around. The music started, and apparently this was the social side of the evening. Ronan sat back, happy to watch his mate ooze charm, and expound on this theory and that. It was all to do with developments and finance which Ronan had no interest in, but he could listen to Asaph talk in that sexy voice of his for hours. Lucy caught his eye and tilted her head towards the dance floor. Ronan smiled, stood and offered his hand.
“Care for a dance, Mrs. MacIntosh?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Ronan laughed, and led the older woman out onto the dance floor, thanking his mother for the lessons she gave him as a child. This was one area he wouldn’t embarrass himself or Asaph.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Not your usual date, Bosch, you serious about marrying him?” Gordy said as Asaph watched Ronan swing Lucy effortlessly around the dancefloor. He moved so gracefully and as Lucy was no slouch in the dance department either, they looked really good together.
“Sure am. Hopefully, next week in Vegas,” Asaph turned back to one of the first men who’d befriended him when he arrived in Orlando. It was Gordy who set him up with his first deal and he’d always been grateful for the advice the man had given him over the years.
“Would’ve been frowned on in my day, but I don’t see it’ll do you any harm now” Gordy said, leaning back in his chair. “So what’s the guff with Corsairs’ daughter? That was no misprint in the paper and you know it.”
“Leticia and I broke up weeks ago,” Asaph said. “I don’t know why she’s got it into her head that we should be getting married, but I’m going to have to find a way to quickly stop her nonsense. Her dad’s not being a lot of help and I’m starting to wonder what’s behind this.”
“Word in the club is Corsairs is looking for money – backers. He and that idiot Rudy have mortgaged themselves to the hilt buying properties to create a huge shopping complex. He hit me up for an investment, using your name as an introduction, but I turned him down. Sounded like a damn silly scheme to me. Can’t see how they’re going to turn a profit.”
“When was that?” Asaph was immediately on the alert.
“About a month ago,” Gordy said. “Why? Don’t tell me you’re actually backing them.”
“No,” Asaph said slowly as his mind raced with possibilities. “But does it seem like coincidence to you, that around the same time Corsairs is using my name as an introduction, his daughter is dropping hints she wants to get married?”
“They’re after your money, boy. You’d better be careful. Corsairs is in a real pickle; his mistress is suing him, claiming she’s pregnant, his wife’s left him and is demanding a huge alimony payment. Not to mention the bank owns most of the mansion he’s in. Rudy’s no better. Word is he’s dodging gambling debts in the thousands and you know what this crowd is like. No one is prepared to invest anything with them. Pushing his daughter into marrying you is exactly the sort of thing I can see Corsairs doing.”
“It’s knowing how to stop them that’s the problem, Gordy. I don’t want to see anyone in jail if this is all some misunderstanding, but with what you’re saying now I’m not so sure. The police might be the only answer.”
“Speak to your….”
“Excuse me Mr. Bosch. Lenny Jones, Orlando Sentinel. Any chance I can have a picture of you and your fiancé for our social pages?”
“Of course,” Asaph said, turning around and seeing Ronan was escorting Lucy back to the table. “Here he is now.” He dropped a kiss on Ronan’s cheek as the man sat down beside him looking pleasantly flushed.
“Mr. Bosch?” Lenny looked shocked. “I meant you and Miss Corsairs. She’s waiting in one of the side rooms and told me to come and get you.”
“Perhaps you should have mentioned that first. You said you wanted a picture of me and my fiancé and this is the man I’m marrying. Ronan Montgomery – write it down, I don’t want you to get the spelling wrong.”
Lenny scribbled in a small notebook, and Asaph managed a smile. “You’ll want to note this as well. Mr. Montgomery is not only my fianc
é; he is also joint CEO of Bosch Investments, and the owner of a new club….”
He looked at Ronan, his eyebrow raised. “Breathless,” Ronan said.
“Breathless,” Asaph repeated, looking back at the photographer. “Which will be opening a week from Friday. The Press will be receiving their invites within the next few days. You’re the first one to hear of it.”
“Oh, wow. Thank you Mr. Bosch.” Lenny was looking a lot happier now, Leticia apparently forgotten. “If you and Mr. Montgomery could sit closer together, that’s right.” Asaph kept his arm firmly around Ronan’s shoulder, and smiled into Ronan’s eyes as the camera flashed.
“Perfect, Mr. Bosch. Thank you. And congratulations to you and Mr. Montgomery. Will the wedding be in Orlando?”
“No,” Asaph said. “Vegas. But do me right by these pictures, mention the club opening, and I’ll see you get a Press invite to the reception we’re hosting at Breathless in a few weeks.”
With much nodding and copious thanks falling from his lips, Lenny disappeared into the crowd.
“She’s doing her best to get you alone,” Ronan whispered in a mock horror voice. “Should I worry about your virtue?”
“I never had any. Don’t look now but I think Daisy wants to claim the next dance. Are you sure wearing those heels was a good idea?”
“I can dance in these for hours,” Ronan said, smiling as Daisy hovered by his chair. “I may even take a turn on the dancefloor with you when I’ve done my duty by the ladies.”
“I look forward to it.” If anything would get Orlando’s money set talking it would be the sight of him dancing with a man for a charity event. Asaph was never known for his dancing skills, but he knew Ronan would make him look good.
/~/~/~/~/
“May I cut in?” Asaph clenched his teeth as he saw Leticia over Ronan’s shoulder. It was coming to the end of a long evening. Ronan had been in high demand on the dancefloor, and when Asaph finally got his man in his arms, he was planning to take them home. Being so close to Ronan all night, having to keep all touches light and simple was playing havoc with his cock, although the sight of Leticia’s fake beaming smile was enough to give him the droop.
