a name for themselves after two solid decades of hard work and getting the word out within the community.” Parker grinned again as he turned to look over at me. “You’re pretty fond of judging people before you get to know them, huh?”
“It’s kind of part of my job, Parker,” I explained. “Being able to gauge people early on lets me know what I’m dealing with before things get hairy.”
“Yeah, but it also keeps you from ever crossing that line, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t ever really need to get to know anyone if you think you already know them,” he went on. “It’s like… putting up a windshield before you even finish building the car. You’re done before you even get started.”
“I don’t think that’s how building a car works, Parker.”
“Maybe so.” Parker raised his shoulders. “I think that’s how you work, though.”
“That’s not really fair—”
“I’m going to go grab a drink from the bar,” Parker cut me off with his response. “Feel free to actually get to know a few people before you write them all off.”
“Parker—”
“Don’t you need to go survey the perimeter, anyway?” Parker playfully beamed, his footsteps already heading toward the open bar on the far side of the room.
“Dammit, he’s right,” I murmured before I let out a heavy breath and began making my way through the crowded hall.
The banquet hall was just as safe and boring as the Bed & Breakfast.
There were zero signs of anything suspicious or any kind of foul play, the place almost seeming like it was already its own fortress. And when I scanned the room for anyone who appeared fidgety or out-of-place, the only fish-out-of-water I was able to locate was myself, again and again.
I’d been offered multiple drinks and multiple appetizers as I moved throughout the venue, the servers happily holding their trays out toward me. I turned down every offer of alcohol, although I couldn’t help myself when it came to the uber-fancy meat and cheese platters, their selection just too tempting for me to resist.
And by the time I was munching through my fourth bite of an exotic cheese, I spotted Parker by the bar, with Billy at his side. Billy was leaning against the countertop with a glass of something dark in his hand, his head thrown back in a laugh.
Parker seemed to be amused by whatever Billy had just finished saying and it appeared like he was laughing pretty hard in response.
Billy.
I was aggravated by the way my body reacted to the scene of the two of them so thoroughly enjoying each other’s company. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine a scenario where Billy asked Parker out tonight, even inviting him back to spend the evening at his place.
The longer I thought about it, the more a headache seemed to appear out of nowhere, and the more it felt like there was something heavy and rotten in my stomach.
No.
I needed to stay out of it. I needed to keep things professional, and I needed to stick to my guns when it came to not crossing that line. Sure, Parker may have been right about me judging people so I didn’t need to get close to them, but pre-judging people was a hell of a lot better than me gritting my teeth at the sight of a client flirting with his probable-future-boyfriend.
A few moments later and Billy was out of the scene. I kept my gaze on Parker at the bar, wanting to keep my distance for more than one reason. The first was that I wanted whoever else was here tonight to think Parker didn’t have any backup, which meant that they might do something stupid like reveal themselves without realizing that I was watching their every move.
And the second reason was that I wasn’t in the mood to deal with whatever I’d been feeling for Parker. It was so much easier to shove down whatever was in my head when I wasn’t face-to-face with him, so much easier to pretend I wasn’t feeling anything at all.
As I kept my eye on Parker, I watched as someone came up to him at the bar. It was another young guy, just like Billy, except his energy didn’t seem as friendly or inviting. There seemed to be a darkness about him, even from the other side of the room.
I calmly observed their interaction for a minute or two, wanting to make sure that I wasn’t just judging another one of Parker’s friends by their