Teasing The Boss (17 page)

“Okay, guys. It’s going to be a busy night, but if we play our cards right, it’s going to be a fantastic evening.” Grace looked over her team of Andre, Dean, and the new temp. “Everyone, this is Jennifer. She’s going to be helping out for the next week or two.” Dean and Andre both said quick hellos as Grace handed the three of them a sheet of paper. “Now this is the vendor list for the night. It includes phone numbers and descriptions of what I expect out of everyone.

“Dean, you’re emergency guy. If there are any technical problems, lights going out, mics not working, you’re the man.”

He nodded. “Got it.”

“Jennifer, you’re new so I’m not expecting miracles. Your main job is to stay mobile. I’m making sure everyone knows you’re with me, so if anyone has any questions or requests, your responsibility is to find me, Andre, or Dean. I’m sure I’ll have some odd jobs for you throughout the day, okay?”

Jennifer smiled. “Sounds good.”

Lastly, Grace turned to Andre. “And you know everything already, so I’m going to take a nap and you just get me when the event’s over.”

He snorted. “You’re the crazy one who accepted this gig. I’ll be damned if I’m working even a tiny bit harder than you.”

She let out a melodramatic sigh. “Fine…I guess I’ll help too.”

“Damn straight,” said Andre.

The clacking of heels sounded from behind Grace, and she craned her neck to see Victoria approach. “That’s it for now, guys. You all know how to find me if you have any questions.”

The three turned to get started on their respective tasks as Grace smiled up to Victoria. “Hey. You’re here early.”

The tall, elegant woman tightened her lips as she overlooked the room. “It looks good.”

Grace raised a brow. “Really? Because you look like you hate everything.”

Victoria rubbed at her temples. “I’m sorry. It’s been a stressful week. I think my resting bitch face has gotten worse.”

An unexpected laugh escaped Grace. The few times she’d dealt with Victoria, the CEO had been so serious and determined. The humor was more of a surprise than it should’ve been. “I can relate,” she said.

“So you and Simon are pretty serious?” asked Victoria.

Grace tried to read the other woman, but Victoria remained expressionless. “We’re doing okay.”

“Okay? That doesn’t sound good.”

Grace narrowed her eyes. “I’d rather not discuss my relationship if that’s all right with you.” In truth, things were…strange between her and Simon. She’d barely seen him in the past week due to how busy Victoria and her other clients had been keeping her. The times they’d spoken on the phone, he’d seemed just as busy as her. Every time she tried to mention their night together or the Mark situation, he clammed up and ended the conversation.

Every time she tried to figure out what the hell was going on, she got more confused. It wasn’t as though Simon expected them to have a one-night stand. He could’ve run off long before if that was the case. Even though her schedule was filling up quickly after his patch job on her reputation, she should have time after Victoria’s event to spend with him and get him to admit what was really going on.

“I can understand that.” Victoria pulled Grace from her thoughts. “I suppose it was my roundabout way of asking about his situation.”

“Situation?” Grace’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

Victoria sighed. “Damn it. I should’ve kept quiet. It’s not my business to say. You should really ask him.” She took a step back. “Things are looking good so far, though. I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Wait!” called Grace, but Victoria didn’t turn back around as she continued to walk away. The sound of her heels clacking on the tile echoed through the large ballroom.

“Everything all right?” asked Dean from behind her.

Grace set a hand on her hip. “I need tonight to be over,” she whispered. She turned to face Dean. “Thanks again for making it out here on short notice. Katy wasn’t too upset, was she?”

He raised a brow. “Upset? I’m fairly certain she’s off celebrating her freedom with friends right now. Hopefully female friends without alcohol.”

Grace set a hand on his arm. “She’s a good kid. I’m sure she’s fine.”

Dean pushed a hand through his scruffy, black hair. “No. She was a good kid. Now she’s a teenager, and I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.”

She sighed. Suddenly her problems with Simon didn’t seem as important. After Dean’s parents died in a car crash a decade ago, he’d been the sole guardian of his younger sister and had worked two jobs or more ever since to try to provide for her.

“If you don’t want to do the city gigs anymore, I understand. I know it’s hard to be away from Katy overnight.”

Dean shrugged. “It’s all good. I need the money. I get to hang around the rich people for a while.”

“Win-win,” said Grace, feeling simultaneously good about giving him work and bad for asking him to leave his sister for a few nights. “How’s the light setup going?”

“A few of the outlets are giving me issues. I’m about to dig up the general manager. Did you need to talk to him about anything?”

“The outlets aren’t working? Are you kidding me?” Because this particular ballroom was in the middle of the hotel’s layout, there were no windows to give a feel of ambiance. Instead, Dean was setting up dramatic lighting all around the border of the room in a green, blue, and white pattern to match the colors in the Green & Sons logo.

“Don’t worry. Places like this can usually act fast to fix this type of stuff. I just have to let them know.”

“Okay. Keep me informed, though.”

He nodded. “Will do.”

As he left, Grace crossed her arms and looked over the room, mentally listing off all the things that needed to be done. Any talks with Simon would have to wait.

Simon looked over the room at the smiling and happy faces. At least some people were having a good time.

He leaned back in the chair and took another drink of whiskey, letting the burn distract him for a few seconds. His banker had called him up hours ago to tell him that the police issued a warrant to look through his financial records, and Simon still had no clue what they were digging for.

The band switched to a new, slow paced song and the first thing he thought about was sweeping Grace aside for a dance. No. Damn it. He was supposed to be distancing himself, not drooling to get her back in his arms again.

But that was exactly what he was doing. Ever since the night they shared in her apartment—hell, ever since the night in the Hamptons—his life was a constant reminder of how good they were together and all the reasons they shouldn’t do it again.

She wasn’t exactly making the whole distance thing easy. Grace wore some sort of slinky forest green dress and heels that she really shouldn’t be able to physically walk in for the entire evening, but she didn’t look uncomfortable.

She looked amazing, and Simon was somehow supposed to break up with her. She’d never believe him. The second he said “we need to talk,” Grace would suspect it had something to do with DuFord.

Damn it. He went to take another drink, but his glass was empty.

“So how do you think it went?” asked Grace from behind him.

He didn’t want to have this conversation at all. He supposed he should get it over with though. But instead of telling Grace off or explaining that they weren’t right for each other, he said, “I think everyone had a great time.”

Grace pulled a chair in closer to him. “I feel like everyone enjoyed themselves, but Victoria looked miserable most of the night. I tried to talk to her a few times, but she brushed me off and I barely saw her after she gave her speech.”

Simon shrugged. “She’s stressed. Her dad’s probably not going to make it through the week and this was a last-ditch effort to make sure the employees liked her. She’s got a lot to deal with.”

“Okay. That does sound stressful.” Grace frowned. “At least all the employees seemed to have fun. That’s what’s important, I suppose.”

Simon stared out over the sea of faces, trying to think of the nicest way possible to ruin her night without making her think he was doing it for her own good.

“Thanks to all the talking up you did for me at the Summer Blowout, I have two new confirmed clients and a few others who have consultations booked next week. So that’s exciting.”

He nodded. “Sounds like you’re going to be really busy the next few weeks. I’ll hardly see you.”

She tightened her lips and stared intently at him. “It will be busy, but not throw a massive event together in ten days busy. Andre can handle the wrap-up for the night if you want to go somewhere. We could even get a room if you really want to.” Her hand fell on his leg as her gorgeous blue eyes looked into his.

For a moment he forgot his mission. All he wanted to do was take her up on her offer, drag her to the closest available room and show her exactly how much he wanted to get that room with her.

But a familiar face caught his eye and pulled him out of her spell. “That’s Karina?” he asked.

Grace glanced over to the woman. “Yep. She’s been doing well. She sat at the table with a few contractors, so she wasn’t surrounded by a tightknit group of Green & Sons employees.”

Simon stood up. An idea formed in his mind. “Why don’t I go talk to her?”

~~~~~

Grace watched Simon walk away. A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. She’d been so excited to finally see him again. To sit down and talk things over. But he’d been utterly uninterested.

Maybe she was just a two-night stand. Maybe he’d changed his mind about mixing business and pleasure.

But it was amazing pleasure, damn it! The sex was great, conversation fun: what could she have possibly done wrong? It had to be something to do with DuFord. Simon was pushing her away in an attempt to protect her. That had to be it. She was a grown woman. If he wanted to protect her, the least he could do was sit down with her and explain why he was being an ass.

Determined to let him know she was onto his little plan, Grace stood and made her way over to Simon and Karina. A few guests moved to cross in front of her and blocked her view; her jaw dropped open when she saw them again.

Simon wasn’t just talking with her. He leaned in close, intently hung on her every word. Grace blinked a few times. No. She had to be imagining it. But as she took another step forward, Simon set a hand on Karina’s hip.

Right then, Karina turned and noticed Grace. Her smile widened. “Grace! Come on over.”

Not even managing the faintest grin, Grace stumbled over to the two.

Karina gestured to Simon. “Have you met Mr. West? He’s one of the most in demand consultants in the business.”

Grace weakly nodded. All she could think about was how great Karina looked. Her dark hair was pulled back in a sleek updo, and the black dress she wore fell just right and accented all the right places. And it was all her fault. Through a series of phone calls and texts, Karina and she had grown closer. Grace even lent her the damn dress.

But it wasn’t as if Simon was truly flirting with her. He wanted to use her banking connections to do something to Mark. He was using a beautiful woman with confidence issues to get his revenge.

A wave of nausea rolled over her. “Mr. West and I have met before. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go take care of a few things.”

Simon’s face was blank, and Grace couldn’t stand to look at the two anymore. She was surprised at his actions and kicked herself for not expecting it. He wanted revenge over all things. That was the entire reason he’d agreed to help her in the first place. Her business, Karina’s feelings…nothing else was important to him.

She ducked into the kitchen where the catering staff was finishing up their cleaning. Apparently Grace wasn’t the only one who felt the need to get away. Victoria stood against the far wall. Her perfect makeup and hair were dampened by the miserable expression on her face. Everything in Grace wanted to turn back and wallow in her own self-pity, but she was still working. If her clients weren’t happy at her events, that meant she wasn’t doing her job right.

Grace slowly approached. “Rough night?”

Victoria looked up. “You have no idea.”

“If there’s anything I or any of my people can do, just say the word.”

The CEO’s eyes widened. “It’s late. I’m sure your people can head home by now, right?”

Grace let out a laugh. “There’s still a lot to do. We’ll be around for a while.”

Victoria was silent for a moment. “Everyone enjoyed themselves, though. You did a great job pulling everything together.”

A rush of relief swept through Grace at the confirmation that it wasn’t her fault Victoria was in such a bad mood. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?”

“I need to figure a few things out. I don’t think there’s anything I need from you at this point.”

Grace nodded and took a step back. “Well, I’ll be around if you need to talk. And if you can’t find me, Andre, Dean, and Jennifer are all around still.”

Victoria shook her head. “I need to get out of here.” She pushed away from the wall and strode out of the kitchen.

Grace watched her retreat, along with the other caterers. Why on earth would Victoria try to find solace in a kitchen? There had to be plenty of more private areas for her to find peace. Hell, Grace only stepped into the kitchen so Karina wouldn’t realize her bald-faced lie when she said she had to take care of things.

But she couldn’t hide forever. If Simon wanted to use Karina, he needed to fill her in on his plan. And if he didn’t want to be with her anymore, she deserved to know.

~~~~~

“What the hell are you doing?” asked Grace as Simon walked out of the hall.

“I don’t think this is the best place to have this conversation.” He pushed around her. Apparently his tactic had worked, and he’d never been this upset to have a strategy implemented successfully.

“What are you doing with Karina? If she figured into your plan, why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been in steady contact with her for the past week. I can help.”