Chapter Five
Wells
It wasn’t hard to figure out whose birthday party Victory was attending.
One social media search about an MMA fighter’s birthday party gave me all the information I needed.
I got lucky when I discovered that Leni Steele is Cage’s PR rep.
Convincing her to get me on the list of attendees was nothing short of a miracle.
I’m sure I’ll owe her forever, but if I have it my way, it’ll be worth it.
The party is hopping when I get to the upscale rooftop lounge.
The views of the city are spectacular, and the place is decked out with twinkling lights, blazing fires in massive rectangular firepits, and Happy Birthday on a banner above the bar.
Photographers are snapping pictures of celebrities decked out in designer clothes, and a band is playing at the far side of the lounge.
As I weave through the crowd looking for Victory, I wonder for the tenth time since she turned me down whether she already had a date lined up for tonight.
I hear the sweet, melodic laughter that tugged at me last night and turn toward it, scanning the crowd.
A couple heads for the dance floor, and as I step aside to let them pass, I spot my sexy temptress.
She’s wearing a killer silver halter dress that shows off those lean shoulders I cannot wait to kiss and her long, gorgeous legs, which will hopefully be wrapped around me again tonight.
She’s talking with a petite, attractive woman with mahogany hair, and they’re leaning in close, like they’re good friends.
Victory hasn’t noticed me, so I take a moment to admire her in that sexy dress and assess the situation. She and her friend aren’t holding drinks. I look around, but I don’t see anyone bringing her one or keeping an eye on her.
If she is here with someone, it’s their loss.
I snag two champagne flutes from a waiter and head for Victory. Her friend sees me before she does and nudges her with her elbow. Victory looks over, and our eyes connect, igniting the space between us, but shock douses the flames in her eyes as I blaze a path to her.
“Hello, friend . It’s nice to see you again.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. “This is a great party, huh?” I hand her a champagne flute.
“It is,” Victory says with a curious expression as I offer the other flute to her friend.
“Thank you,” her friend says, her gaze moving appreciatively over me. “Victory, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Yes, of course,” she says a little tightly. “Jillian Braden Bad, this is my friend, Wells Silver.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Jillian.”
“You as well. How do you know Victory? Are you an industry friend or a personal friend?”
Victory scowls at Jillian, who arches a brow with a mischievous grin, clearly taunting her, which I fucking love, so I play along. “I’m whatever kind of friend she wants me to be.” I toss Victory a wink, and her eyes narrow. “How about you, Jillian? How do you know Victory?”
“I’m her cousin.”
“You’re family? Really? I bet you know all her secrets.”
“Apparently not all of them,” Jillian says with another nudge.
“Wells, Jillian is an elite clothing designer,” Victory says, abruptly changing the subject.
“How exciting.” I motion to Jillian’s little black dress with colorful designs running through it and triangular cutouts at her waist. “Is that gorgeous dress you’re wearing one of your designs?”
“It is , thank you,” Jillian says proudly. “It’s one of my hubby’s favorites. You should meet him. He’s around here somewhere.” She looks around.
“Jillian is married to Johnny Bad.”
Floored, I say, “As in, the hottest rock star on the planet? The lead guitarist and singer of Bad Intentions? How cool is that ?”
“I’m a lucky girl, for sure,” Jillian says.
“He’s just as lucky to have you, Jilly,” Victory says. “Wells, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. How did you get on the list?”
I bet you weren’t. “I have connections.”
Jillian’s gaze moves curiously between us, and she says, “It’s very hard to get into an exclusive party like this. You must’ve really wanted to be here.”
“I did, and seeing Victory is the highlight of my night.”
Victory’s eyes narrow. “Surely you didn’t come only to see me.”
“Let’s just say there are important people here that I wanted to network with and leave it at that.”
Jillian nudges Victory again. “You’ve got to admire a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.”
Victory ignores Jillian’s comment and says, “Networking? How’s that going for you?” She smirks and sips her champagne.
“I think it’s going fairly well. A group of women just tried to coerce me into being a professional cuddler. I didn’t even know there was such a thing.” I roll my shoulders back. “But with these arms, I guess it’s to be expected.”
“Why don’t you take off that jacket and let us be the judge of those arms?” Jillian suggests.
“ Jillian ,” Victory chides. “I think I hear Johnny calling you.”
“She wants to be alone with me,” I say, earning a glower. “You know, to network.”
“You really do need to meet Johnny. You two will hit it off.” Jillian looks at Victory and says, “When you’re done networking , you and Wells should come find us.”
“Mm-hm,” Victory says, and as soon as Jillian is out of earshot, she turns a serious stare on me. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Enjoying a party with the most beautiful woman here. You look radiant, by the way.”
“Thank you, but these are my business associates.”
“And relatives, apparently, but I know you’re happy to see me.”
She shakes her head, a smile curving her lips.
“Come on,” I coax. “I saw the look on your face when you first spotted me. Your heart beat a little faster, didn’t it? I bet you couldn’t help conjuring images of us between the sheets, could you?”
A challenge rises in her eyes. “It was the champagne I was lusting over, and I’m going to need a lot more of it if you’re staying.” She drains her glass.
“Oh, I’m staying, sweet thing. I want to see you in action. Fully dressed, professional action, of course.”
A warning hovers in her eyes. “If you’re going to stay, you need to behave.”
“Don’t worry. I can be as professional as the next guy. Nobody will know I’m your boy toy.” I lean in and whisper, “Even if I’ll be picturing you naked every minute we’re together.”
Her eyes flame, but her tone is sharp. “I mean it, Wells. Everyone who knows me knows I’m a widow, and I can’t tell you how many of them have either tried to set me up with someone or are uncomfortable around me at events where there are couples.
No offense, but I don’t need people asking if we’re dating or assuming we are.
You’re a great guy, but those are not questions or rumors I want to deal with. ”
“I understand, and I’m sorry I was too playful with your cousin. I will not make that mistake again. The last thing I want is to make your life harder.”
“I hope you’re being sincere,” she says carefully.
“I am. I like spending time with you. I want to be the friend who makes you smile when you think about me. The one you have to share a joke with because you know I’ll get it, and the one you can lean on when you need to vent. If that means being a bit more buttoned-up, I can do that for you.”
“Thank you.”
And there it is, the genuine smile I can’t stop thinking about. “Sure thing. Now fill me in, so I appear to know more about you than the fact that you feel like heaven wrapped around my cock.”
“Wells.” She swats my arms, and we both laugh.
“Sorry, but it’s fun to rile you up. I had to get one last ribbing in.”
“I’ll rile that fine ass of yours right out the door,” she threatens.
“Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.”
She doesn’t respond, but her eyes narrow slightly.
She’s so fucking cute, trying to be stern, but those gorgeous eyes give her away every time.
“I’m sorry. I’ll stop messing around. Let’s go over there so we can talk.
” I guide her out of the crowd, toward the railing that surrounds the rooftop, and snag two more flutes of champagne along the way.
“Friends should know a little something about each other, and I don’t want to embarrass you, which means I need a little info.
You’re here for Cage, right? How does that work?
Are you his agent? How long have you repped him? Did he come to you for representation?”
“You sure you want to bother with all of this? I don’t think anyone will ask about that.”
“ Yes . I like teasing you, but I meant what I said. I want to be the friend you can rely on in whatever situation arises, and I want to know what makes you, you . You’re here, and you came alone, which means Cage must be important to you.
That makes your relationship with him important to me. As a friend, of course.”
“Okay.” She sips her champagne. “Now that I’m running the company, I don’t represent as many clients as I used to, for obvious reasons, but I still have a few, and I took over managing the clients that were most important to Harvey.”
“What made Cage so important to him?”
She looks a little surprised by the question. “It’s kind of a long story.”
“Can you give me the condensed version?”
“I can try. This all happened years before I met Harvey and before he opened Blank Space. Harvey was one of the biggest entertainment agents around. He loved scouting what he called underdog talent, or people who don’t have the resources or direction to make it on their own, and helping them make it in the industry. ”
“Why underdogs?”