Lord of Rain (The Dragon Demigods #5) - Charlene Hartnady Page 0,37

clicks behind us as the paparazzi have a field day. Miss Shaw stands quietly to the side of us. “We have your table ready,” the hostess says as she releases me. “A big welcome to your guest,” she says to Miss Shaw. “Come this way.” She walks ahead of us.

“I’m going to assume you read the NDA?” I say under my breath to Miss Shaw.

“No…” She shakes her head. “I mean, I glanced through it.” She looks concerned. “Should I have read every word? I thought it was standard.”

I stop walking. “Yes, you should absolutely have read every word. It doesn’t matter that it’s standard. It’s legal and binding. You should always read through any agreement before you sign it. You should question anything untoward or anything you don’t understand. Never just sign.”

“I will keep that in mind. Why are you bringing up the NDA? Is there something I did wrong just then? I didn’t say anything, I kept my cool and—”

She thinks she fucked up “That’s not it,” I say. “Those pictures…of us will be in some or other publication tomorrow. When you signed that NDA you agreed not to talk about any aspect of my life, but you also accepted that you might become the object of a scandal. We will be working closely together. We’ll be seen together and photographed together. After tonight, they’re going to say we’re dating, or that you’re my latest flame…something to that effect. They’ll probably say that we’re sleeping together…”

I watch as she goes as white as a ghost. Her throat works.

“It isn’t—” I start to say, when our hostess stops walking and turns to us.

“Here we are,” she says, pointing at a table. “You’re the first ones to arrive. This area is in a quieter section, as requested.” She smiles at me.

Then she pulls out Miss Shaw’s chair. “Thanks,” my PA murmurs. She’s looking around us. “Wow! It’s all so beautiful.” She smooths a hand down her dress. It’s plain black. She’s wearing a pair of pearl earrings and the same black heels she wore earlier.

I pull out my own chair, and we sit. The hostess takes our drink orders. Miss Shaw orders water, and I ask for a beer. The hostess rushes off.

Miss Shaw looks down at herself. “I feel underdressed. I didn’t realize it would be this…fancy.”

Fancy doesn’t even begin to describe this place. I don’t like that she feels this way. I want her to enjoy herself. Thing is, Miss Shaw is completely underdressed. Most women here have primped and preened for days before their reservation. Brows have been plucked, teeth whitened, clothing carefully selected and purchased. Botox and fillers administered. Special occasion jewelry taken out of the safe and dusted off especially for tonight. Dinner at The Black Swan is an event. The waiting list is a year to get a table. “You look just fine,” I say. I can’t exactly tell her she looks gorgeous.

Fine.

Understatement of the year. Miss Shaw is fucking beautiful. She doesn’t need any of the bullshit window dressing. “I mean it,” I add, and I do mean it. I have to stop myself from letting my gaze drop to where a hint of cleavage is showing. Just the barest hint. The dress comes to just above her knees. I want to hike it up…I want to—

I stop my thoughts in their tracks. I watch as she tries to smile, but I can see she’s nervous. “Remind me why you need me here tonight. Are you sure I don’t need my laptop or a notepad?”

“The reason I need you here is two-fold. I want you to meet the executive board of my newly-acquired company. It’ll help if you can put names to faces. B&H will take up a lot of my time and energy in the coming weeks. They’ll be a big focus of mine. You need to understand the ins and outs of the organization.”

“Fair enough. So, I’m here to socialize?” I see tension written all over her lovely face.

I want to cup her cheek and reassure her. “Yes.” I nod.

She blinks a few times, looking nervous. “I think I mentioned that I’m not a good people person and that I’m shy.” She winces. “I’ll do my best, though.” I wish I could get her to loosen up. I want her to enjoy herself.

Our waiter arrives. “I’m Luke. I’ll be your server for the evening.” He puts my beer and a glass in front of me, and Miss Shaw’s water with a