“Uh-huh,” she drawled. “And how does that explain how no one has reported sleeping with you the past three nights?”
Mike couldn’t lie. It felt good to have Chloe be so forward with him after Rori’s harsh rejection last night.
“Work,” Mike said, patting his camera. “I’ve been editing as I go for a quick turnaround time.”
Her lips pursed out in amusement as she regarded him. “Wow. Quite possibly the lamest excuse for not getting laid that I’ve ever heard.”
Now that Chloe said back to him, Mike had to agree. It sounded pretty lame.
“Admit it, Mike,” she said, nestling in against him. “You’re whipped on your little artist friend. It’s okay. You can tell me. I already know.”
He gave Chloe a little squeeze. “I can admit it all day long. It doesn’t matter, though. She’s made her choice. You’ll meet him tonight. He’s quite the stud, I hear.”
“Interesting,” Chloe said, not sounding remotely surprised. “Is it one of those deals where her publicist and his publicist have some master plan for cross promotion that requires them to date for like six months or a year?”
“No. More like a millionaire matchmaker thing where their pedigrees line up and they’re put together to breed.”
Chloe’s sudden burst of laughter caught him by surprise.
“You think that’s funny?”
Chloe’s laughter turned into a smirk. “Of course it is. Poor rich people. Sometimes I wish someone would tell them what century it is and that their shit stinks just like everyone else’s. It would make life easier for all of us.”
“No joke,” Mike breathed.
“They drive me crazy,” Chloe said, her gaze a little too adoring as she looked up to him. “So I’ll take my pleasure where I can by driving one of them crazy now.” Before the meaning of her words registered, Chloe had already dropped a quick kiss on Mike’s lips and stepped away, grinning. “And just so you know, she totally saw that.”
Chloe reached up to brush her thumb again his lips, allegedly wiping away remnants of her lipstick, although Mike doubted there was any to wipe away. “Keep playing it cool with her, Mike—even when her man shows up. It’ll piss her off. I promise.”
Mike gripped her hand as she started away, and based on the sly smile that appeared on her face, she approved of the move, unintentional as it was.
“Why the advice?” he asked. “Why do you care?”
The smile that slid across her face was sensual, and if Rori saw it, Mike had no doubt as to how it would be interpreted. “I think I just found the employee bet for the night. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the cool veneer of a rich girl peeled back. And trust me, that girl over there is just begging for an excuse to snap.” She leaned in, pressing her lips to his ear suggestively. “So go wind her up a bit more, will you? It will make for good people watching and maybe win me a pot of cash.”
Chloe disappeared before Mike could respond, but that was probably for the best. It didn’t matter how things had ended between him and Rori, it was still not professional to have one of the employees pawing him during the event. He was on duty. He needed to keep things cool for just a few more hours. Then all bets were off.
Chapter 58
“I like this one,” Anton said, his hand lightly stroking the shape Rori had sculpted based on her own hips. “So sensual. It makes me eager to be inside you.”
Or any woman, Rori amended, her eyes drawn to the other set of hips in the piece before looking away to where Mike and Chloe had just been stealing kisses. Had he been keeping Chloe in the wings the entire time? Even with all his talk of fidelity the night before?
No, even in her anger Rori couldn’t get herself to believe that. Besides, it was obvious watching them that Chloe was the one making all the moves while Mike seemed more flustered than anything.
Anton noticed the direction of her gaze and followed it.
“I see,” he said, his voice calm, refined. “The man with the camera, yes? Are you fucking him?” He ran a finger down the curve of her hip on the sculpture. “Am I looking at a captured moment in time here?”
“Of course not,” she said, keeping her voice as civil as his.