You wouldn’t have to mingle. I need a man to save me from the other men.”
I rubbed the towel over my bare chest. “What? What does that mean? Is someone bothering you?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I have an event tonight, a corporate party for a bunch of lawyers at one of the big firms here. It’s mostly men. Married, single, and in between. I’ve done other parties for them. The men are very, um, flirty. Very handsy. If I had a guy there, posing as my boyfriend of sorts, it would help deter the constant barrage of flirting and hitting on me.”
I was immediately jealous. “Yes,” I heard myself say. “I’ll go.”
“You will?” she asked with surprise.
“Where? Should I pick you up?”
“I have to be there early to get everything set up. If you could meet me there, that would be great.”
I couldn’t believe I was willingly agreeing to go to a party, but here I was, signing up for an evening of hell. “Text me the address. What do I need to wear?”
“A suit will be fine,” she quickly answered. “You can wear the one you wore to the other party.”
I smirked. “I own more than one suit.”
Her soft laughter floated through the phone. “I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to assume. Wear whatever makes you comfortable.”
“Nothing,” I replied. “I like my birthday suit.”
“I like your birthday suit too, but I’m not sure the men there would appreciate it though. You’ll give them a complex.”
I smiled, looking down at my bare chest and rubbing my hand over it. I liked that she liked my body. I wasn’t sure why I cared, but I did. “Then a suit, it will be.”
“Thank you so much for doing this. I’ll owe you big time.”
“I’m going to remember you said that,” I warned her.
She giggled again. “Is it crazy that I am looking forward to you calling in your debt?”
“Nope. I’ll see you tonight.”
We ended the call. I was not looking forward to another party, but it didn’t put me off as badly as it usually did. I wasn’t required to mingle. I was going to be there acting as the bouncer. I would absolutely bounce any asshole that messed with her.
I headed inside to take a quick shower. I had been planning on a night in and was going to work on the design for the client on the side. I would work on it until it was time to go to the party. I was truly looking forward to seeing her.
I wasn’t familiar with the feeling of missing someone. I was never close to my family and therefore didn’t miss them when my parents moved out of state and my brother was shipped overseas.
I missed Evie. I didn’t really know her that well, but I wanted to know her better. On a strictly friend basis. I spent the rest of the day watching the clock. I couldn’t believe I was actually looking forward to a party. I dressed for the event and called a car to take me to the downtown address. The party was being held in one of the tall office buildings. I found the right floor and took the elevator up.
The doors slid open. The law firm was throwing the party but was obviously too cheap to spring for an actual venue. My eyes scanned the area that was much larger than I thought it would be. It appeared most of the typical office furniture had been removed. There were a lot of suits. A lot. It wasn’t hard to spot Evie. She was wearing a blue dress with a very high neckline and sleeves. It was the kind of dress I would expect to see on a woman going to church.
I moved toward her, watching as a man, probably in his forties, leaned in close. She stepped back, clearly uncomfortable. I walked up, put my arm around her waist, and dropped a kiss on her lips. My back was to the other man, making it very clear he didn’t matter.
“Hi,” she breathed when I pulled away.
“Hi,” I replied.
I turned to stand beside her, my arm around her waist. The man who had been hitting on her disappeared.
“Thank you,” she said on a sigh.
“No problem. Is that normal?”
“With this group, yes.”
I looked around at the men talking and laughing. Some had removed their suit jackets and loosened their ties. Others were still buttoned up tight. “They are lawyers?” I asked.