Blitz (Blast Brothers #3) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,17
chewing on it or something.
I felt my eyebrows furrow, even as I kept the smile stubbornly in place. I said nothing. And neither did he.
The silence stretched out between us until a female voice off to the side said, "Mister Blastoviak? Should I call security?"
I turned to look and spotted Gretchen, eyeing me with obvious suspicion.
I straightened. "Why would you do that? I have an appointment." To drive the point home, I jerked a thumb toward Chase Blastoviak and said, "With him."
Her mouth tightened. She leaned toward me and hissed, "Yes. But you're obviously under the influence."
I felt my gaze narrow. "Excuse me?"
She didn't even bother to reply. Instead, she turned to Chase and said, "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Blastoviak. If I had known…"
I cut her off. "I'm not drunk, if that's what you think."
Her gaze shifted once again in my direction. "Well, you're obviously on something."
"Oh, please." I tried to laugh. "I am not." I looked to Chase and said, "You don’t think I'm drunk, do you?"
He gave me a long, penetrating look before saying. "No." And just when I concluded that he was actually being reasonable, he added, "I think you're nuts."
"What?" I sputtered.
Again, he did the thing with the eyebrow. By now, I was pretty sure he was doing it just to taunt me.
I made a sound of frustration. "Nuts? As in crazy? Like that's any better."
He gave a loose shrug. "Hey, you said it, not me."
Gretchen spoke up. "So, should I call security?"
Chase spared her half a glance before returning his attention to me. With cool deliberation, he reached up and stroked his chin as if deep in contemplation.
I wasn't buying the act for one moment. Whatever he was going to do, he'd already decided. I don't know how I knew. I just did, which meant that he was only doing this to torment me.
Still, I refused to squirm. Instead, I waited in stubborn silence for him to either toss me out or escort me up to his office.
I just prayed it was the office thing, because after that phone call with my mom, I'd reached a whole new level of desperation. Thanks to that blabbermouth Ginger Hawthorne, the proverbial cat was out of the bag.
If I couldn’t get Chase to say yes to the sponsorship, I'd need to deliver the bad news today, not only to the festival committee, but also to my own family.
As far as the festival itself, I'd still try to get another sponsor, but the odds weren't looking so great. Some might say it was only a festival. But to my little hometown, it was a really big deal.
The festival was where my grandpa had proposed to my grandma over fifty years ago. It was where my dad had his won his first tractor pull at only eighteen years old. It was where my mom had been crowned first runner up in the tomato queen competition – and where I'd been crowned the same thing over two decades later.
At sixteen, I'd had my first kiss under the lights of the carnival midway and had eaten my first funnel cake as a toddler while watching my older brother ride the Ferris Wheel.
Over the past few decades, our town had lost a lot of people – some due to death and old age, and others due to younger people moving away in search of better jobs.
But some of us were still here. And as long as we were, it seemed incredibly important to continue our traditions.
As my thoughts swirled, I felt my eyes grow misty. And in that moment, as I stood waiting for Chase's answer, I decided that I wouldn't give up, no matter what.
If it came down to it, I'd promise him just about anything to make this sponsorship happen – well, anything except my virtue, because whoring myself out for any event would make a mockery of everything I held dear.
But somehow, I would convince him. And I'd keep smiling no matter how much he irritated me.
If I came down to it, I'd even beg.
I just prayed that I wouldn't have to.
Chapter 13
Chase
In the lobby, she looked almost ready to cry.
See? Crazy.
I knew this because sane people didn't cry if a potential meeting went off the rails. But she looked like she wanted to, which was a real kick in the teeth, because it took all the fun out of teasing her.
I looked to Gretchen and said, "Nah. I think I'll be safe."