4. Chapter 4
Chapter four
J udas was only employed by Paul Arthur for a week and yet he had managed to pull together an entire security team, vet a location for the first fundraiser gala, and fully orchestrate a safe event for the would-be senator. Tonight marked the official beginning of Judas proving his worth to his new employer and he knew he had done the job well. If Paul was disappointed in any facet of the evening, it would simply be because he was an impossible-to-please, racist old man. Of that, Judas was entirely sure. Still, he completed his every duty with professionalism. This was not the first in his very long lifetime that he had encountered someone like Paul.
Judas opened the car door and watched Paul stumble from the car in the most uncoordinated way possible. Judas rolled his eyes while Paul straightened his tie and brushed off his suit. This man was nothing more than bluster and Judas had figured him out entirely in just his first couple of days. How on earth was anyone else fooled by his make believe bravado? Still, Judas followed behind him dutifully as he walked into the law office lobby.
As they walked through the familiar doors, Judas was blown away. Eliza mentioned plans for transforming the business setting into a real life gala, but the result was beyond anything he’d expected. The walls draped with delicate satin curtains, the ceiling as well; the fabric had softened the lighting to intimate glow. Decadently dressed tables were arranged around the room creating private spaces for potential donors to sit while the middle of the room stood empty except for the lone, raised stage. No one would know that just hours ago this place had seemed outdated and truly nothing remarkable. The catalyst for this transformation started walking to the podium, welcoming the guests as they began to filter into the room.
Judas felt his heart thudding in his chest, his skin growing warm just looking at her. She was radiant. Her hair, always in a tightly wound bun, was looser with a few golden curls escaping as they trailed down her neck and framed her face. Her usual suit had been exchanged for loose, flowing wide leg pants and a snug, white lace top. She was absolutely stunning. She took his breath away.She’s was as close to heaven as Judas would ever get. All his doubts and fears aside, he fought an overwhelming urge to steal her away from the room and never let her go. He had no idea what to do with the feelings, but they were becoming harder and harder to ignore the longer he knew this woman.
As crowds gathered, Judas floated discretely between Paul and Eliza as his eyes continued to scan the room. He watched every face as they sipped drinks and ate appetizers being served by the wait staff. At eight o'clock sharp, Eliza took the stage as the room erupted in applause. She smiled as she announced the evening’s schedule and her father’s desire to raise funds to run for office as a long standing pillar in the community. No one else noticed her slight grimace as she gave this last bit of information, but Judas did and it made him smile. She clearly loved her father, but he also mortified her in so many ways. Judas fully understood the feeling.
At the conclusion of her speech, Eliza handed the microphone off to Paul and made her way to the sidelines alongside Judas.
“That was torture,” she whispered.
Judas smiled down at her, “You did wonderful.”
She rolled her eyes and shook off the last of her nerves, “Thank you, but unless I’m in a courtroom, public speaking is not my thing.”
“You seem like a natural. You were eloquent and perfectly professional up there,” he told her earnestly.
Eliza wrinkled her nose at his words playfully, “Are you flirting with me, sir?”
Judas felt the blush in his cheeks and hoped the lighting was dim enough to hide it, but Eliza’s matching red cheeks suggested otherwise. They both stared awkwardly toward the floor in hopes that the heat was leaving their faces.
After several quiet moments passed, Judas offered “You were beautiful up there too, for what it’s worth.”
Eliza’s lashes fluttered as she gazed up at him, “I think that might actually be flirting.”
Judas, feeling brave by her side, shrugged his shoulders, “And if it is, what would you do?”
Eliza pondered over her answer before responding. The butterfly feeling in her stomach was back. Looking up at him was the sweetest reward but absolute torture all at once. She wanted to touch him. She wanted him to touch her. She wondered what his lips would taste like.
Sucking in a sharp breath from the weight of her own thoughts, Eliza played coy, “A lady never reveals her secrets.”
Chuckling, he nodded his head head. She was absolutely captivating and without a single second of hesitation he decided to dive in headfirst. “You are absolutely right, but I have to tell you,” he said leaning down closer to her and whispering in her ear, “This man will walk to the ends of the earth to learn every secret you have to offer, Eliza.”
His cheek brushed against hers as he pulled away and Eliza desperately wanted to grab hold of him and keep him near. His words made her head spin, her pulse quicken. She wasn’t used to feeling this out of control. She didn’t know what to think about how she felt or about him. Thankfully, the crowd began to clap as her father ended his speech and she was catapulted back into the here and now.
She turned her attention back to the podium in time to see her father walking toward them. He was beaming with joy at all the attention and immediately wrapped Eliza in a bear hug.
“How’d I do, Betsy?” he asked in his signature drawl.
Eliza cringed, but recovered quickly, smiling as she escaped the hug, “It was great, dad! Completely perfect and the crowd loved it!”
She, in fact, had absolutely no idea what her father had said up there. Every moment he was speaking, she was staring into the eyes of a man she barely knew and, undressing him in her mind. Recalling this in her father’s presence caused Eliza to stiffen and stare around the room to avoid her father’s eye contact at all costs. She was hopeful feigning boredom would cause him to move on to a more willing conversationalist, but luck was not on her side.
Instead, Paul frowned at his daughter’s seeming disinterest in this party just for him, “Listen, sugar, you need to lighten up. This is a party. Get out there on the dance floor and celebrate your daddy!”
Eliza looked horrified, “Oh, absolutely not.”
Paul was not the kind of man that liked being told no, especially by his daughter, and insisted she take his advice, “I’m not offering ideas, Betsy. I’m telling you to get out there and have fun. Looks tacky if we don’t enjoy our own party.”
She firmly shook her head, “Dad, people are out there slow dancing. What do you want me to do? Go out there and sway by myself?”
Paul’s brows furrowed as he considered this dilemma before he glanced at his bodyguard, ”I’m plenty safe in here surrounded by friends. Take the boy. Christian, take my daughter on the dance floor for a while. She needs to get with the program. This is a party.”
Judas had to use every ounce of self-control in his being to not react in the way he would’ve liked to. Instead of grinning from ear to ear, Judas simply nodded solemnly and extended a hand to Eliza.
She stared from Judas to her father, biting her lip in uncertainty, but couldn’t resist this delicious opportunity that just fell into her lap. Eliza took his hand and let him lead her into the middle of the crowded dance floor.
Judas moved her across the floor like he had done this a thousand times before. He was graceful and sure on his feet. Eliza easily let her body lean into his as he twirled her through the notes of a slow, country ballad. She felt like Ginger Rogers to his Fred Astaire. Being in his arms was the most grounded she had felt in more years than she could count.
As the music faded into the faster melody of a new song, Judas changed up their movements, shifting seamlessly into a two-step.
Eliza smiled up at him, “You’re a very good dancer.”
He twirled her away from him then pulled her back in even closer than before, “I’ve not had a chance to dance in a long time, but it's something I very much loved to do once upon a time.”
“You are a constant surprise, sir,” she said, “Did you have lessons when you were growing up?”
He laughed, “Oh, no. We never did much dancing when I was a child, not like this. I was once friends with a tremendous jazz singer and she taught me everything I know. She was a wonderful teacher.”
Judas revels in the flooding memories of all the nights he spent in Harlem listening to Billie singing and all the mornings they shared, still sitting by the bar or tearing up the dance floor. She was such a beautiful woman, inside and out. He felt extremely lucky to have known her.
“You look so wistful, thinking about her,” Eliza said. She would never admit it, but the look on his face when talking about this woman who taught him to dance, sent shockwaves of jealousy through her. “Is she the one that got away?”
Reading the look on Eliza’s face, Judas realized what his trip down memory lane must have looked like. He laughed, “Nothing like that. She was my friend. I enjoyed her company and she enjoyed mine. No, hanky panky or innuendo. I promise.”
She was embarrassed that he so clearly read her intentions. She bowed her head and looked at the floor. He squeezed Eliza tighter against him and checked their surroundings to make sure they weren’t being watched too closely. He then leaned closer to her and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. He bit his lip, overcome with the weight of their close proximity. Their faces so close he felt the warmth of her breath.
He seemed to stare straight to her soul, “With each passing day, I get the feeling that the one that got away may end up being you.”