Pretty soon, Yolanda and JoJo came back with four more friends in tow. All of us scooted closer together and stole some chairs and place settings from another table to make room for them.
Over the next hour, Lark excelled in his quest of intercepting wine and appetizers for our group, we all took turns fetching cocktails at the bar with our drink tickets, and our table became the happening place to be. Several more coworkers gathered around, and the laughter and conversation flowed freely. I was glad both Kel and Lark seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Right at seven p.m., an army of wait staff brought out baskets heaped with dinner rolls, followed by huge trays laden with green salads. Once the salads were placed before us, the waiters went around and recorded our choices from among three different dinner entrees. After I made my selection, I stood up and told my group, “Please excuse me for a moment.”
Lark assured me, “I’ll save your seat while you go potty.” I grinned and thanked him before leaving the ballroom.
I felt overheated, so after I used the facilities, I exited the hotel through a side door and spent a few moments breathing in the cool night air. Then I tried to go back inside, only to find I was locked out. No one responded when I knocked, so I began to make my way around to the hotel’s main entrance.
Pretty soon though, I came to another side door which was unlocked. When I stepped inside, I found myself in a part of the hotel that was used for conferences. It was currently deserted. The meeting rooms to either side of me were dark, and the lights in the hallway were dimmed to about a quarter of their full brightness.
All along the right side of the hall, pairs of large potted plants bracketed a series of benches. They were the reason I didn’t see Theodore Koenig until I was right in front of him. I flinched with surprise, and he leapt to his feet and blurted, “What the hell is it with you, Lassiter? No matter where I go, there you are, like a recurring nightmare.” He’d been sitting on one of the benches looking at his phone, and I’d clearly startled him as much as he’d startled me.
“I’m not following you. I got locked out and had to come in through that doorway back there.” I vaguely gestured behind me. “What are you doing in an empty conference center?”
His eyes narrowed. “It was the quietest place I could find in this hotel. Or it was, until you showed up.” There was pure venom in his tone.
Koenig stuck his phone in the pocket of his suit jacket and started to walk away. Despite myself, I called after him, “What is it about me that you hate so much? I mean, I get that you hate absolutely everyone, but you seem to hate me even more than most.”
He turned back to me and snapped, “Is it any wonder? You’re the most annoying person I’ve ever met in my life.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What do I do that’s so annoying?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“Apparently, I do.”
He threw his hands in the air. “Everything! Every single thing you do is annoying! You go bumbling through life in this oblivious haze, but everyone just adores you. Then you show up at a work function with a gorgeous guy on each arm like you’re some big stud, which is absolutely ridiculous! Who does that?”
This was far more emotion than I’d ever seen from him. Something about it made me want to keep pushing, just to see what would happen. I closed the distance between us and smirked as I said, “You sound jealous.”
“Of you? Hardly!”
I leaned in, so close that I could feel his body heat and hear his breathing as it became quicker and shallower. A faint trace of his cologne mingled with his intoxicating natural scent, and a current ran through me as I whispered in his ear, “Actually, I think you’re jealous of those two guys.”
He pulled back a few inches and stared at me. His chest rose and fell as his gaze dropped to my mouth. Then he licked his lips. That was when I knew he was feeling the same thing I was, an undeniable electricity in the air.
But he growled, “Fuck you, Lassiter.” That was the first time I’d ever heard him swear, and it seemed totally out of character.
He started to turn away, but all of a sudden he whirled back around and lunged at me. I expected him to punch me in the face. I’d been purposely pushing his buttons, so it wasn’t much of a surprise.
Instead, he shoved me against the wall and held me there with his hands gripping my biceps. I could feel his heart pounding, since his chest was pressed to mine.