by Peak, Renna
“I know. I’ll behave myself. Best behavior.” I turned to look out the window, chewing on my upper lip. The thought that we’d never get past that—him seeing me as a little girl, determined to embarrass him, ran through my mind.
“Jenna, I was only going to tell you that I want you to try to enjoy yourself. There are going to be plenty of people your age, people you should get to know. People that can help your career.”
I turned back to face him, my eyebrow raised. “I don’t have a career.”
He tilted his head to the side. “We’ll see what we can do to rectify that tonight. It’s not just celebrities that are going to be there, you know. There’ll be a lot of business leaders.” He folded his hands together. “I’m quite proud of the work you’ve done for me. People will be lining up to have you work with them. I can promise you that.”
I wasn’t sure if that was true or not. I also didn’t know how much pull he’d have when his “news” came out about the affair. I wasn’t sure if he’d have any clout at all with the people we were going to be socializing with tonight. I knew it was debatable, for sure, but he seemed to be oblivious to the ramifications of what was about to happen. It didn’t occur to me until right then that his own political career could be over—that maybe he’d be forced to resign. Certainly, there had been many politicians that had survived scandalous affairs, but his seemed to be pretty serious. If there was also the allegation that he’d used my mother… I turned my head back to the window, trying to force the thought from my mind.
The limo stopped outside a swanky building in the financial district that I didn’t even know existed. We exited the limo, and I hurried my father around the red carpet area that was littered with celebrities. There was no way I was stopping there to have my photo taken or to answer any questions from the press. It was bad enough that I was there at all. I hated these huge events—they were exhausting and it seemed like I always did something to embarrass myself at them. I heard a few of the paparazzi call my name—they called out “Jenna” at least—but I didn’t turn to even acknowledge them. For all I knew, there was some other person named Jenna. A movie star, maybe.
We entered the enormous room and I hadn’t thought it possible, but it was even worse than the red carpet. There were celebrities everywhere, all of them A-list types. From TV stars, to movie stars, to every California politician ever elected, they were all there. I saw the guy that had been named “Most Beautiful Man” for the last two years in a row across the room and I felt my heart start to race a little. I was way out of my depth in this crowd.
I stuck to my father’s side for as long as I could. He introduced me to several politicians that I’d already met before. I smiled and nodded through the endless boring conversations about the current political climate and my father’s chances for the presidency. I wanted to scream from the rooftops that his chances were zero, at least this time, but I knew I couldn’t. All I really wanted to do was leave.
My father pulled me over to introduce me to another person, one I hadn’t met before.
He nodded at the man. “Oh, I’m glad we found you.” He motioned at me with his hand. “Ryan Agostino, this is my daughter, Jenna. Jenna, this is Ryan Agostino. He owns a venture capital firm in Palo Alto. He’s been a big supporter of the campaign.” His eyes darted between Ryan and I. “I was hoping I’d be able to introduce the two of you.” He motioned with his head toward me. “Jenna just finished her MBA at Georgetown last December.”
The man smiled over at me. He was young, probably only a few years older than me, with dark features that I figured must be Italian, given his last name. “What was your concentration, Jenna?”
I returned his smile. At least talking business wasn’t talking politics. I didn’t think I could take another second of talking politics that night. “Marketing.” A waiter passed by and offered a glass of champagne, which I gladly took. If I’d ever needed alcohol, it was that night.
My father excused himself and walked to another group of men, who I recognized as the governor and a few members of his cabinet.
Ryan grabbed a glass, too. He took a sip. “I’m actually looking for someone to help me with marketing. Not really me, but the companies I fund. So many of them have no idea about marketing.”
A small, blonde woman sidled up next to him, just a little too close. Her lip turned up into a small sneer and her eyes narrowed at me. “Who’s this?”
Ryan let out a small, uncomfortable laugh. “Amanda, this is Jenna Davis. Senator Davis’ daughter.” He glanced over at me. “Jenna, this is my sister, Amanda Agostino.”
I extended my hand to the woman, who made a point not to take it, rolling her eyes and flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder as though she was too good to even acknowledge me. She turned and took a glass of champagne from another waiter. I pulled my hand back when it was clear she wasn’t going to shake it.
She took a drink from her glass. “If you’re going to work for us, you’ll be working as my assistant.”
“Oh.” I forced a small smile to my face before taking a sip from my champagne flute and glancing around the room. I didn’t know who she was, but she wasn’t anyone I wanted to get to know better, either.
Ryan forced out another chuckle. “Yes, my sister has proved she can be… difficult to work with. What are we up to now, Mandy? Five people you’ve fired?”
“Six as of this afternoon.” She glared over at me. “So if you want to work for us, you might as well start now. I need a few calls made tonight. I wore this shit to this thing and had my pictures taken on the red carpet. They damned well better pony up some free stuff for me.”
I was a little taken aback; I’m sure the confusion was apparent on my face. My lips turned down into a frown of uncertainty. “Um, tonight? Don’t you want to wait until the pictures are published somewhere? You might have more leverage…”
She interrupted, holding up her hand to stop me from speaking. “Do you want to work for me or not? Here.” She looked down, pulling out a piece of paper from her bag. “I made a list of what I wore and the phone numbers of the companies. There’s only four, so it’s not like it will take you that long. Call them tonight.” She looked back up and shoved the paper into my hand.
She couldn’t be real. This had to be some kind of joke. “Uh, I don’t think there was any offer…”
She interrupted again, holding up the same hand to stop me. “If you even want to be considered, you’ll make those calls for me. Tonight.”
I furrowed my brow. “Well, no offense, really, but I doubt that any of these companies will be open this late. And I think you’d have better luck getting what you want…”
Her mouth dropped open, her eyes widening. “Why are you arguing with me? Do you know who I am?” Her mouth remained agape, waiting for my response.
Her brother found this incredibly amusing, his eyes darting between the two of us. He bit his upper lip to contain his grin. “I’m sorry, Jenna. My sister can be a bit… pushy. This isn’t really the place or time, Mandy. Okay?”
She glared at me. “You’ll do it tonight or we won’t be talking about any jobs or anything else with you.” She turned on her heel, walking away.
I looked down at the paper in my hand. There really were the names of four designers written out neatly on the paper with the phone numbers listed beneath them. My first thought was that if she had the time to look this stuff up, she had time to do it herself. I just shook my head and shoved the paper into my bag. I forced a smile to my face and extended my hand to Ryan. “It was nice to meet you.”
He winced a little, his grin now gone. “I’m sorry about my sister. It’s a long story.”
I nodded and gave him a little wave as I walked away from where he was standing. If those were the kinds of marketing jobs that were out there, I would have rather just stayed unemployed.
I made polite small talk with a few other people, but really just wanted to get out of there. I looked for my father, but he had
disappeared into the huge crowd. Even though the room we were in was massive, big enough to hold at least a thousand people, the walls were closing in on me. I was hot and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. The tight dress was definitely not helping.
I made my way through the crowd to a hallway that looked like it might have a restroom. I walked through a set of double doors into another, much more brightly lit hallway that was completely devoid of people. My shoulders dropped and I could finally breathe again. I let out a sigh through my pursed lips. It looked like I’d found the office space behind the ballrooms, probably where the business of running the space was done. I knew it was probably someplace that I shouldn’t have been, but it was so nice to be away from the crowd that I didn’t want to go back. At least not yet.
I thought I spied a restroom against the far wall of the very long hallway, and began making my way there, my heels clicking on the tile floor, echoing through the corridor.
It was a restroom. I could see it clearly as I made my way there. I breathed a small sigh of relief.
I had just passed the last darkened hallway when the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Someone was watching me. Before I even had time to process the thought, I felt a hand cover my mouth, stifling my scream.
9
I could hear my heart thrashing in my ears and a rivulet of sweat dripped down my back. I was pulled into one of the offices in the dark hallway, my mouth covered by a strong hand that I was sure was male. His other arm was wrapped around my waist, forcing me into the dark room. I dug my heels into the floor to try to stop him, at least to slow him down.
I felt his hot breath in my ear, recognized his scent as he bent down to whisper to me. “Shh.”
I kicked wildly behind me with the heel of my shoe, striking him in the shin with the sharp point of the stiletto. I felt the heel break from my shoe after it made contact with the offender’s lower leg.
He released me instantly with a hushed but definitely pained, “Ow.” His hand grabbed my forearm with too much force and he pulled me into the office, closing the door behind him.
I pulled my arm away from his grip. I balled my hands into fists and pounded them hard against his chest. “What the fuck, Brandon? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” My heart was still racing in my chest, thrashing wildly in my ears.
He turned the light on from a switch on the wall, illuminating the small office space. He stared down at the floor, refusing to meet my gaze. He shook his head slowly from side to side and I could see him working his jaw. “That was stupid. That was a seriously shitty thing to do to you. I’m sorry.”
“What are you doing here?” I rubbed at my forearm, still sore from the force of his grip against it.
He held his hands up, palms out to me. “I’m sorry, Jenna. I’m sorry.” He looked up to meet my gaze. “I’m so sorry.”
It wasn’t until that moment that I saw what he was wearing, a perfectly tailored black tuxedo. A familiar warmth began to form deep within me, and I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to form another coherent thought. All I could think about was tearing that white shirt off of his perfect chest, the magnetic energy between us making every sane thought leave my brain. I leaned back against the desk, resting my rear end on the edge.
I continued to rub at the red spot he’d left on my arm, my eyes grazing over his perfectly tailored suit. I forced the thoughts of stripping him right there in the office from my mind. My brain finally returned, remembering that he was somewhere he definitely should not have been. I looked over at him with disdain. “You’re not going to tell me?”
He shrugged, looking down at the floor again. “Last minute invitation.” He looked back up at me, lifting an eyebrow. “You didn’t mention that you’d be here. Hot date?”
I tilted my head, narrowing my eyes. “Jealous much?”
His eyes raked over me, almost devouring me with his desire. “In that dress? Hell, yes, I’m jealous.”
I rolled my eyes and rested my hands against the smooth surface of the desk. “I’m here with my father. You?”
I saw him gulp, even though he tried to hide it from me by shifting his head ever so slightly. His jaw tightened and he spoke through his clenched teeth. “Just a business thing. Not a big deal.”
I lifted an eyebrow of my own, regarding him closely. “What are you doing back here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.” His eyes raked over me once more. “And what the hell are you wearing? Are you trying to kill me?”
I looked down at my dress and back up at him, tipping my head ever so slightly to the side. “It’s just a dress.” I fingered the pendant I was wearing around my neck, the one he had given me. “You’re really not going to tell me what you’re doing back here?”
He cocked his head to the side, his gaze dipping to my neck. His voice dropped, almost to a growl. “I know what I’d like to be doing back here.” He took a step toward me, his eyes dropping even lower on my body, looking at me with silent expectation.
I stood from my perch on the desk, taking a step back. I almost tripped over my own feet; my shoe was completely broken. I kicked both of them off and knelt down to pick them up.
He caught me by the elbow as I stood up. “Jen…”
I pulled my shoes up and clutched them tightly to my chest. The heat I had felt only a moment before was gone and a cold chill ran down my spine. “What are you doing back here, Brandon?”
His blue eyes riveted into my own, searching. “What are you doing back here?”
“Looking for the bathroom. Are you going to answer me?” I tried to hide the quiver I felt in my voice.
“There are bathrooms in the ballroom. Did you see me in there?” He searched my eyes, insistent. “I didn’t see you in there, Jen. Did you follow me?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, my voice pitched higher despite my attempts to keep it from getting screechy. “No, I didn’t follow you. I needed to get out of that crowd of people. Are you going to tell me what you’re doing?”
He cocked his head to the side again. It looked like he was trying to decide whether or not he believed me. “Do you really want to know?”
The same cold chill ran down the middle of my back again and I had to force myself not to shiver. I searched his eyes for something. I wanted the truth from him, but at the same time, I didn’t. I bit at my lower lip and considered his question. Did I really want to know? “I don’t know. I guess it depends on what your answer is.”
He looked into my eyes for a moment longer, still searching, as though he was trying to decide what to tell me. He nodded; he’d decided. He took a step toward me and reached forward, but instead of reaching for me, he pulled a thumb drive from a laptop that was sitting open on the desk. He pushed the laptop closed, putting the portable drive into his breast pocket.
I took another step back, my heart racing in my chest. My mouth dropped open, my voice dropping along with it to a whisper. “You’re right, Brandon. I don’t want to know.”
He sucked his lower lip into his mouth and released it with a small pop. He only nodded and turned his back to me to go out the door. He turned to face me again before he opened it. “Jen.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I’m trying.” He turned back around and opened the door, closing it behind him as he left the small room.
I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. My chest ached. I didn’t know him. I’d probably never know him.
I collected myself as best as I could and went out the door myself, closing it quietly behind me. I looked to see if there was any clue about why he’d been in this office. The door was unmarked. The office was small—it couldn’t have belonged to anyone of any importance. I looked up and down the now empty, darkened hallway. It was just a plain office space. I wasn’t even sure what else was in this building, other than the grand ballroom, but there must have been something important enough for him to want to break into their computers.
I
walked down one hallway and realized I’d made at least one wrong turn in what seemed like a maze. I took another turn, then another, just hoping to get back to the ballroom. I just wanted to get out of there, to tell my father I didn’t feel well and go home.
I heard a woman’s giggle not too far from where I was standing. I walked the twenty feet or so to a small sitting area that opened off to my left. There was a lamp on one of the side tables that had been turned on, illuminating the area from the rest of the darkened office space.
My cheeks burned at what I saw there, my heart racing once again in my chest. It felt like every bit of air had been sucked from my lungs; I couldn’t breathe. I tried to turn to walk away before either of them saw me standing there, gaping at them, but it was too late.
The woman spoke first. “What’s your problem?”
I’d recognized the man immediately, even though his back was turned to me. He stood there kissing the woman’s neck. Kissing it in a way that was all too familiar to me. Kissing it on the same, perfect spot just below her ear. The cut of his tux against his broad shoulders and his perfect black curls—there was no way I wouldn’t have recognized him. My gut knew who he was even before he turned around and made my heart fall through the floor, crushed into a million little pieces.
He turned as soon as the woman spoke, confirming my worst fears, even though I had already known it was him. I’d known it with every fiber of my being. I’d known it from that same magnetic pull I’d felt from him since I first met him, even though this time, I felt it while he was kissing another woman.
Brandon pulled the woman in front of him, holding onto her waist, almost making her a human shield between the two of us.
I stood there with my mouth gaping open, staring into his eyes, unable to form words. My stomach twisted into knots and I still couldn’t find a way to take a breath.
“She’s star struck.” She motioned toward me with her head. “Which I’d normally find adorable, sweetheart, if you weren’t interrupting a very private moment.” The woman put her hands on her hips, covering Brandon’s hands with her own.
