Frowning, I watched Theresa to see how she would handle that efficient dressing-down. Her head went down and her hands folded together in her lap. Her shoulders drooped as well. I exhaled a soft breath. It wouldn’t help for my one of only two friends to remember her previous disdain for Carter.
But when we got to the party and stepped out, Theresa stopped both of us. She looked from Amanda to me. “I’m sorry, guys. Sometimes I speak before I think.”
Amanda threw her arms around her roommate. “Oh, we know!”
Both laughed and pulled me in for the hug.
“You guys are some hot mamas. Let’s party!”
Biting her lip, Amanda’s cheeks grew rosy again, but I caught the surprise in her gaze. I agreed with Theresa. My oldest friend was a serene vision. She wore a very soft pink dress. It was a strapless A-line, hanging down to her toes. She resembled a Greek goddess.
Remembering the cop who wanted to date her, I kissed her cheek and whispered, “It’s your turn.”
Her eyes held mine and a promise passed between us. It was her turn to be happy. She knew what I meant without another word of explanation. Theresa and Noah would eventually figure it out. They had to. They loved each other and I had Carter. It was Amanda’s time now.
The event was held in the largest banquet hall, but that wasn’t big enough. The lobbies surrounding were filled as well, with liquor and food stations every few feet. The party seemed in full swing when we arrived, but as we stepped inside, I sensed the attention. One by one they turned to us. It wasn’t like at Joe’s. It was more. That’s when I realized that I’d been secluded at work the past week. Theresa wanted me to work with her in a private conference room. She got the coffee for us. She paid for the food and had it delivered to her office. The times we ate out, she suggested a cafe a few blocks away. It was starting to make sense now.
I caught her gaze. “How bad was it at work?”
She grimaced. “It would’ve been too much for you.”
I sensed the avid attention and knew she was right. I wanted to hit myself in the forehead. I should’ve known. Carter was at Joe’s. They all saw and they had a week to comprehend it. The interest had been heavy that night, but it was more tonight.
With his hand in mine, he led us through the crowd until it opened to a group of tables that had been sectioned off from the main crowd.
“Ah!” Theresa grinned. “VIP. I like it.”
Recognizing a few of the security guards from Carter’s own group, I knew he had planned ahead. Mike even nodded to me with a friendly smile. Progress. Once we stepped past the divide, all bets were off. Older and distinguished-looking men approached Carter in waves. They wanted to shake his hand, talk about the hotel, and that was when I figured it out—they knew him from the board. These were my bosses, or my other bosses. Seeing that he would be busy, Theresa tapped my arm and pointed to a back table. She leaned close. “Let’s grab that one. Noah’s already here, but I’m sure he’ll want to sit with us.”
I nodded. Anything to get away from the prying eyes.
As we settled in, Theresa went to the bar and returned with three drinks. A waiter followed behind her with two bottles of wine. Another came over with a platter of food. We were munching on fancy hor d’oeuvres, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what was in them. It didn’t take many of them before I was full and left the rest on my plate. Theresa snagged them later on and Amanda nibbled at hers. That’s what she always did.
We were able to watch the crowd and they weren’t able to approach us. The other people in the VIP section were the older men and their dates, and those women knew each other. They cast shrewd looks at us, but no one approached. I was grateful. Theresa called them Snobby Social-nators. Again, I was grateful they remained away. After awhile, Theresa pointed to a few guys and asked Amanda to rate them. The conversation soon went in that direction. We were busy picking out the Mr. Amanda-To-Be the rest of the time. It was surprisingly fun.
The fun ended an hour later.
Carter had been talking to the board members the whole time when a man went over and whispered something in his ear. I stood up without thinking. The conversation at my table stopped and Amanda asked, frowning, “What’s wrong?”
Theresa turned towards Carter. “Where’s he going?”
I couldn’t answer them, but my gut had dropped out of me. Something was wrong. Something was happening. We watched as he turned for a side door. The man went with him, but gave him one final nod before he turned away and went through a different door.
I started forward.
“Emma!” Amanda hissed at me. Her hand grabbed onto my wrist. “What are you doing?”
“Something’s wrong.”
“So let it go. Carter knows what he’s doing.”
I frowned at her. What was she doing? She’d never questioned me before, but I only pulled my wrist away. “Watch my purse.” Then I hurried after him. When I got to the hallway, I couldn’t see him, but I turned to the farthest corner. There was something about that man. He wasn’t dressed like everyone else. He wore a suit, not a tuxedo. His hair hadn’t been slicked back like most of the other men who were dressed to impress that night. There was nothing about the guy that should’ve made him seem out of place, but a lightbulb clicked. That was it. He was nondescript. He looked like he wanted to blend in and because of that, because I’d been around Carter’s security guards enough, I knew he’d been one of his men. He hadn’t been a guard though. If he had, he would’ve returned to his post, but no—the guards were all dressed in black suits. This guy wore a brown one.