Anyone But Nick (Anyone But... #3) - Penelope Bloom Page 0,24
tried to focus my thoughts elsewhere. I was here for business. Maybe that was all I needed to do. Focusing on my career had always been enough for me before. I just needed to get my head back to that place and stop seeing the other side of Nick. For now, he was my boss. He wasn’t the boy I used to daydream about, and if his recent behavior was any indication, he wasn’t interested in me as anything but an employee, anyway.
Inside his house, I found a relatively tame party. I was halfway prepared for some playboy billionaire–style engagement. I’d thought I might find scantily clad women dancing in giant glass tubes filled with smoke and aggressive techno music.
Instead, the party had the vibe of a business Christmas party before anybody had gotten drunk enough to risk looking bad in front of their bosses. People chatted in small groups with drinks and appetizer plates in their hands, tastefully professional music slid from unseen speakers throughout the house, and waitstaff circulated throughout. It was all very prim and proper.
Since I hadn’t seen Nick after my initial sweep of the main area of the party, I decided to do a little exploring before I introduced myself to anyone. I found a hallway lined with windows and art displays that seemed to take me away from the hub of activity and music. It led to a sort of theater room, where Cade King was reclining on a daybed with a metal plate of grapes beside him.
He was so deep in thought that he didn’t even look up as I approached.
“Cade?” I asked slowly. “Is everything okay?”
“Hmm?” he said. He seemed to notice me for the first time, then smiled. “Oh, hey, Miranda. I was just trying to sort through some issues.”
I leaned against the wall and folded my arms. I didn’t see Iris anywhere, and my thoughts immediately went to the worst. Were they fighting? “I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but if you need to talk, I’m listening.”
“It’s just . . .” Cade frowned, then popped a grape in his mouth and chewed it before speaking again. “I mean, where the fuck are snails even going? Like where would you be trying to go in that situation? You look like a wet booger, you move at the speed of drying paint, and, I mean, let’s be honest—if sex is on your mind, you can’t seriously be too excited about getting your snail dick anywhere near some snail booty, can you? Do you think that’s it? Maybe they’re all just slurping around, looking for love? Do snails even know what love is, or is it just about the sex to them?”
I sighed, pushing off the wall. “Do you know where Nick is?”
“What does that have to do with snails? Were you even listening to me?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Nick is probably avoiding everybody, if I had to guess. Maybe upstairs in his sex dungeon, or something.”
“Nick has a sex dungeon?” I asked.
Cade smirked, popping another grape in his mouth. “All right, all right. I was just messing with you on that. I mean, who knows if he’s got a secret door somewhere, but no. As much as he’d like to be avoiding everyone, he’s probably convincing somebody they should invest their life savings in our newest business. He can get you thinking the most logical thing in the world is to give half your money to a bunch of billionaires if you give him a few minutes. It’s kind of scary.”
“Right. Thanks.” I started to leave but stopped, putting my hand on the wall and then looking back toward Cade. “If I ask you a question, can I trust that you won’t ever tell Nick I asked?”
“You can trust that nobody believes half the things I say.”
I grinned. “I guess that works. Does Nick ever talk about me?”
Cade sat up suddenly with a mischievous look in his eyes. “Oh. Oh my. I didn’t see it until now, but it’s so clear.” He walked over and started circling me with this goofy expression on his face. “I think I smell infatuation on you. Well, that and dandruff shampoo.” He took a pinch of my hair and held it up to his nose, but I pulled it away before he could sniff again. “No shame in a little bit of dry scalp, though. I’m not judging.”
“What kind of person can detect that by smell alone?” I said.