hand-wipes. While she made an effort to do at least some clean-up, Philip's
voice came back over the phone.
“I'm going to
assume you enjoyed that,” he sounded slightly smug. “I certainly did. That was
amazing, Jennifer. I may even leave the stains on my chair out here as a
reminder. I think we will definitely be having many more equally delightful
conversations.”
She wasn't sure
what she was supposed to say to that but it didn't matter because Philip wasn't
waiting for a response.
“One final thing
before I say good-night. I've heard that you haven't been using the car service
or card I set up. I don't know why, but as your employer, I'm going to have to
insist that you use the service so I know that you have reliable transportation
to and from work. Amaury will pick you up at seven fifteen tomorrow morning. No
arguments. It's safer and I have a lot riding on you. Now, good-night.”
Jennifer blinked at
her phone, thrown off by the abrupt good-bye. She'd use the service because
he'd invoked the term employer, but she wasn't happy about it. That same word also
threw her off about everything else that had just happened. Even after hot
phone sex, she still didn't know where she stood with Philip. Which, in turn,
meant she wasn't any closer to figuring out what do to about Brad. She could
only hope that tomorrow would help her see things more clearly.
Amanda
& Mathis
Chapter 4
“Mathis
Côté,” Mr. Sherman announced. He shook Mathis’ hand to enthusiastic applause –
unsurprisingly, Mathis was well known in these circles. I was too shocked to
listen as Mr. Sherman began to list Mathis’ achievements and the wonderful
relationship he and Sherman Inc. enjoyed together. I was too focused on Mathis
just being here. He hadn’t even contacted me.
Unfortunately,
he looked great. He was polished and unworried, no sign of any wound or anxiety
about his safety. At first my heart expanded, delighted to see him again,
looking safe and well. After a few seconds though, a cold, clenched feeling
developed in my stomach. He was alive. He wasn’t in hiding. In fact, he was
making a very public appearance at a luxury event. It was as if nothing had
ever happened. My final thought was: if he’s fine, then why hasn’t he called
me?
Although
I knew he didn’t want me to contact him, he was right here, in this room.
Surely there wouldn’t be anything unusual about me talking to him here, right?
I had to find out what had happened, whether I simply didn’t cross his radar or
if something else was at work here. As Mathis gave one last smile to the
enraptured audience and left the stage, I knew this was a golden opportunity to
get everything sorted out.
Murmuring
an excuse to my companions, I made my way down from the balcony and towards where
Mathis was heading. Apparently I wasn’t the only person who had a desire to
talk to him; I passed several groups of women eagerly touching up their make-up
and craning their heads in his direction, as well as several men and women who
clearly had business in mind and were heading towards Mathis in order to
network.
I
managed to scoot past the crowd of people, glad that I had chosen sensible
flats instead of the skyscraper heels Sharon had tried to tempt me with. Mathis
stood a few inches taller than the rest of the crowd, so it was easy to keep my
eyes trained on him.
As I
drew near, it seemed as if Mathis caught sight of me moving through the crowd.
For a moment, I thought I saw panic in his light blue eyes, but in a flash, his
charming smile was back in place as he continued his conversation with Mr.
Sherman. I hung back for a second, unwilling to break into their conversation.
Then, all the air left my body as Mathis held out his arm towards me – did he
want me to come over?
Before
I could move, however, a tall, blonde woman in a slinky black dress brushed
past me in a cloud of sweet-smelling perfume and took hold of Mathis’
voice came back over the phone.
“I'm going to
assume you enjoyed that,” he sounded slightly smug. “I certainly did. That was
amazing, Jennifer. I may even leave the stains on my chair out here as a
reminder. I think we will definitely be having many more equally delightful
conversations.”
She wasn't sure
what she was supposed to say to that but it didn't matter because Philip wasn't
waiting for a response.
“One final thing
before I say good-night. I've heard that you haven't been using the car service
or card I set up. I don't know why, but as your employer, I'm going to have to
insist that you use the service so I know that you have reliable transportation
to and from work. Amaury will pick you up at seven fifteen tomorrow morning. No
arguments. It's safer and I have a lot riding on you. Now, good-night.”
Jennifer blinked at
her phone, thrown off by the abrupt good-bye. She'd use the service because
he'd invoked the term employer, but she wasn't happy about it. That same word also
threw her off about everything else that had just happened. Even after hot
phone sex, she still didn't know where she stood with Philip. Which, in turn,
meant she wasn't any closer to figuring out what do to about Brad. She could
only hope that tomorrow would help her see things more clearly.
Amanda
& Mathis
Chapter 4
“Mathis
Côté,” Mr. Sherman announced. He shook Mathis’ hand to enthusiastic applause –
unsurprisingly, Mathis was well known in these circles. I was too shocked to
listen as Mr. Sherman began to list Mathis’ achievements and the wonderful
relationship he and Sherman Inc. enjoyed together. I was too focused on Mathis
just being here. He hadn’t even contacted me.
Unfortunately,
he looked great. He was polished and unworried, no sign of any wound or anxiety
about his safety. At first my heart expanded, delighted to see him again,
looking safe and well. After a few seconds though, a cold, clenched feeling
developed in my stomach. He was alive. He wasn’t in hiding. In fact, he was
making a very public appearance at a luxury event. It was as if nothing had
ever happened. My final thought was: if he’s fine, then why hasn’t he called
me?
Although
I knew he didn’t want me to contact him, he was right here, in this room.
Surely there wouldn’t be anything unusual about me talking to him here, right?
I had to find out what had happened, whether I simply didn’t cross his radar or
if something else was at work here. As Mathis gave one last smile to the
enraptured audience and left the stage, I knew this was a golden opportunity to
get everything sorted out.
Murmuring
an excuse to my companions, I made my way down from the balcony and towards where
Mathis was heading. Apparently I wasn’t the only person who had a desire to
talk to him; I passed several groups of women eagerly touching up their make-up
and craning their heads in his direction, as well as several men and women who
clearly had business in mind and were heading towards Mathis in order to
network.
I
managed to scoot past the crowd of people, glad that I had chosen sensible
flats instead of the skyscraper heels Sharon had tried to tempt me with. Mathis
stood a few inches taller than the rest of the crowd, so it was easy to keep my
eyes trained on him.
As I
drew near, it seemed as if Mathis caught sight of me moving through the crowd.
For a moment, I thought I saw panic in his light blue eyes, but in a flash, his
charming smile was back in place as he continued his conversation with Mr.
Sherman. I hung back for a second, unwilling to break into their conversation.
Then, all the air left my body as Mathis held out his arm towards me – did he
want me to come over?
Before
I could move, however, a tall, blonde woman in a slinky black dress brushed
past me in a cloud of sweet-smelling perfume and took hold of Mathis’
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