Chapter 29
“Invicta, you are a vision,”Philip Harris said as she entered the ballroom.
She offered him a smile.“Thank you, Congressman Harris.”
“Philip, please,”he said as he came forward and offered her a glass of champagne.
Taking the glass, Vic said a few hellos to several guests and continued to stand there with a big fake smile plastered on her face. She wanted to go further into the room and, well, disappear into the crowd but she’d been instructed to stand at the doorway for a few minutes. She was so close to freedom, at this point it made no sense to balk at her uncle’s orders. She wasn’t going to jeopardize her chances by drawing attention—or should she say any more attention to herself.
Austin had ostensibly gotten a last minute phone call and needed her to wait for him but, in reality, his distraction was all planned. It didn’t matter that this was her thirtieth birthday, it was really his party, and he was the guest of honor.
Silence rang for a moment when the band stopped playing, and Austin Davis entered the room, sweeping his arm around Vic and walking her toward the middle of the ballroom, nodding, smiling, and pointing to no one in particular. He shot one guest a thumbs-up and Vic wanted to reach out and break that thumb right off his tiny little hand. The crowd broke into applause which made Vic want to vomit. This would be what it was like from now on. Her uncle forever the center of attention, and people fawning over him the entire time.
Come to think of it, nothing would be different except maybe the level of fawning. Ah well, it wasn’t something she had to worry about. She was out of here as soon as the party was over. She was catching a late-night flight to Dallas.
“Invicta, darling, you look wonderful,”Marilee said as she planted an air kiss by each cheek.
“Thank you, Marilee, as do you.”And she did. The older woman had on a black, floor-length gown that hugged her figure. She’d opted for amethyst jewelry, no doubt to match in the pictures. The only thing marring the look was the anger snapping in Marilee’s eyes. Vic was sure most people wouldn’t notice, but after spending all that time with her on the lead-up to this debacle, she now recognized it, and she was pretty sure she knew who caused it. Austin had been ignoring Marilee all day. He even told her he would meet her at the party instead of picking her up. It was the height of meanness after all she’d done.
“The room looks beautiful.”The whole ballroom was done in white with deep purple accents. Each centerpiece of white roses was adorned with three purple ones in the center. The purple sashes on the chairs made lovely accents over the white covers and the choice of her own purple dress meant that she matched everything perfectly.“It was all your doing and it’s marvelous,”Vic said as she squeezed Marilee’s hands.
The older woman focused on her and gave her a genuine smile.“I must say, Vic, I have enjoyed getting to know you over the last few weeks. You are an amazing young woman and I wish only good things for you.”
Vic gave Marilee a hug. It was the first really nice thing the woman had said to her, and she knew Marilee truly meant it.“Thank you. I wish the same for you.”
“Now, I’m going to play your mother for a second and give you some advice. Don’t drink too much, don’t smile too much, and don’t say yes to anything.”
Vic laughed.“Sounds good.”
Marilee added,“And don’t spill anything on your dress, we still have to take the pictures by the fountain. We’ll do it just after midnight so it’s actually your birthday.”
Vic started to comment when Austin called,“Marilee, honey.”
The snap of his fingers, like Marilee was nothing more than a faithful dog, instantly infuriated Vic. After a brief tightening of her lips, Marilee let go of Vic and walked away. So much for caring. Vic gave a mental shrug. She couldn’t blame the woman really. She’d worked so hard for this chance and Austin wasn’t playing fair. Vic made her way over to the bar and set down her champagne glass. The bartender glanced up at her and offered a smile.“What can I get you? Another glass of champagne?”
“I’ll have an old fashioned please.”She was done with the niceties.
“Coming right up.”
She scanned the room via the mirror over the bar as she waited. The bartender returned with her drink, and as she took her drink from the bartender, Phillip Harris sidled up to her.
“Vic,”Philip Harris said as he stood too close to her.“I lost you in the crowd.”
“Philip,”she said.
“I’ll have what she’s having,”he called out to the bartender and shot her a smile.“So, what are your plans?”
Her heart rate ticked up in her chest. Did he know something? Did her uncle know she was leaving?“Plans?”She kept her voice vague as she glanced around to find Austin. He was still in the middle of the room surrounded by his admirers.
“For the next year.”Philip grabbed his drink and then took her by the hand and led her to a quieter spot.“Have you made any decisions/”
As inconspicuously as possible, she extracted her hand from his.“Decisions about what?”Now she was truly alarmed. What did this man know?
“Your uncle was telling me that you were still trying to find your way. That although you studied finance at university, you are very good at writing his briefs. He thought you might go back to law school.”
Vic let out a long sigh.“He’s been trying to get me to go to law school for years. There are too many lawyers around already. There’s no need for one more. Plus, I don’t want to waste my time studying something I don’t like.”
Harris smiled.“I’m sure you’d be great at it but if you’re not into it, then I agree that’s a long time to spend studying something you don’t like. So… What do you like?”
She blinked. That was a good question.“I’m…I’m not really sure, to be honest.”
Harris nodded.“I get that. I didn’t know either. I did go to law school?—”
“Oh shit, I’m sorry.”
He laughed.“No, no. Don’t worry about it. You’re right, there are too many lawyers. I do like the law, but politics is far more interesting. I love the idea that I can make a difference.”
He rambled on about why the environment was so important to him and how he hoped to affect change. Vic found herself listening with real interest. Harris was probably about thirty-six or thirty-seven. He wasn’t bad looking and he was obviously intelligent. Maybe he was someone she should seriously consider dating. Better yet, he could be an ally for the solar farm.
Where had that come from? She glanced at her drink. It was more than half gone. A better maybe would be to stop drinking. She glanced around the room. It wasn’t the drink, she knew. It was how lonely she was, and how desperately she missed Ryker. She had only caught glimpses of him since the morning she threw him out and every time her heart broke all over again.
“Vic!”Tracy came flying up to her and gave her a hug almost knocking her off her feet.
“I’m so glad you’re here. You look amazing!”
Tracy’s floor-length red strapless gown had a flattering sweetheart neckline.
Tracy smiled.“Thanks, so do you.”Her friend turned and stared at Harris.
“Congressman Philip Harris, this is Tracy Langham. She works with my uncle as well.”
“So nice to meet you, Tracy,”Philip said.
“Wow, it’s nice to meet you. I’m a fan.”
“Excuse me?”Harris said rather startled.
Tracy’s face flushed.“Of your bill. A fan of your environmental bill.”
Now it was Harris’s turn to flush. He was obviously pleased. Vic glanced between the two of them and decided immediately that three was a crowd. She turned and wandered away, saying a few hellos here and there but not really stopping to chat. She made eye contact with Daisy Montague across the room. She was dressed in a strapless black gown with a mermaid flair that swept the ground. She was standing next to the senator from Montana. A married man if Vic remembered correctly. She glanced at the man and then back at Daisy. The other woman gave a small shrug. So that’s how it was. She was back with her married man.
Vic found her way to a corner and stood back to watch the room. This was the last time she was going to have to do this. Was she sad? Not in the least, she decided.
“Ms. Carlyle you look lovely this evening.”
Vic turned to find Cal Wallingford standing next to her.“Mr. Wallingford. Thank you so much for coming.”
“It is my pleasure. And it’s Cal, please.”He gave her an assessing glance.“How is it that the guest of honor is over here hiding in the corner? And with an empty glass.”
She glanced down at her drink, and he was right. It was empty. How did that happen? She gave a rueful laugh.“I think we both know I’m not the guest of honor.”
“Davis said you were smart. I’m guessing he doesn’t realize just how right he is.”He gave her the once over.“You are stunning, I must say.”
Sudden heat danced up her neck and into her cheeks. She blinked. He was looking at her like…like he wanted to…bed her. That couldn’t be right. She glanced at her glass. How strong was that drink?
She gave herself a mental admonition to focus.“Thank you. So do you have any plans for the rest of the summer?”she asked as she placed her empty glass on a tray as a waiter passed by.
Wallingford cocked an eyebrow at her.“Well now, nothing solid. Why? Did you have something in mind?”
She blinked.“Er, what? No! I…that is I was just wondering.”He was flirting with her. He was at least twenty years her senior. He was good-looking and everything but seriously?
He shifted his weight forward and she took a step back only to realize she was up against a column. He moved in closer.“I thought I might spend some time at my place on Martha’s Vineyard. Have you been?”
She shifted a step to her left, thinking maybe she could slip around him.“No. Never been.”But he moved to his right blocking her escape. How was she going to get out of this one without causing a scene?
“You should come join me. I would love to show you around.”He moved slightly closer and dropped his voice.“I’m sure we could find lots of entertaining things to do.”
“She’s going to be very busy,”a voice said over Cal’s left shoulder.
Vic glanced up and the relief was instantaneous. Ryker stood there, thunder written across his face.
“Ryker,”she said forgetting for the moment that she was seriously pissed at him. He looked incredibly sexy in his tux. Electricity danced across her skin when she met his gaze.
“Sterling,”Cal said, in an annoyed voice.“How are you this evening?”
His gaze switched off hers to Wallingford.“I’m fine. Now if you’ll excuse us, Vic is needed.”He moved around Wallingford and took Vic’s arm. He started walking toward the exit to the lobby.
“Thank you for…”She didn’t want to admit he’d just rescued her.“That. I can take it from here,”she finished lamely. She tried to pull her arm from his grasp.
“How long have you been chatting up Cal?”Ryker asked. The pulse in his jaw jumped like a ragtime band.
“Excuse me? I haven’t been. He’s just an acquaintance, not that it’s any of your business. Now let me go.”She tugged her arm again, but Ryker’s grip was firm as he moved through the crowd.“What are you doing?”she hissed.
“I’m taking you out of here.”
Ryker’s eyes were constantly scanning the room. He wasn’t even looking at her. It pissed her off more than she thought possible.“I don’t want to leave,”she snarled. She stopped walking and almost fell over when he continued.
He stopped and turned to face her.“I’m not going to fight with you. You need to come with me. I will explain but I can’t do it here. We’re causing a scene. It would be much better for every guest here if you did not cause a scene at the moment. Just… please Vic. Come with me now.”
His gaze was so intense that all the arguments she was about to make died on her lips. She gave a single nod and he started moving again.
They came out in the lobby, and he waltzed over to a waiting elevator. There was a man inside.“This is Thane Hawkins. He and Archer will explain everything. Please go with him now. I will be back to get you shortly.”He backed out of the elevator and the doors closed.
She glanced at Hawkins.“Dramatic much?”she asked with a slight hiccup.
Hawkins grinned.“A touch over the top but quite possibly warranted.”
“Wonderful.”