I blinked as the daydream popped. I flushed red and backed up a step. It would be so easy. But sex was not our problem. We’d had great sex before we ever had a relationship. Sex would only complicate things more now. We couldn’t go back to who we had been on that tour bus.
I shook my head. “Good night, Hollin.”
Then, I walked away.
And he let me.
I was still focused on the bullshit that Daddy Sinclair had been spouting to me. My anger, curbed slightly by Hollin’s interruption, rekindled. Our award. Fucker.
I pressed the button for the elevator, and as I entered, I froze as an idea hit me. It was outrageous. Completely crazy.
But I was going to do it.
39
Hollin
Watching Piper walk away was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
She’d wanted me to come back to her room. I could see that in her eyes. The way she disappeared inside her head. She’d looked as if she were imagining what the night would entail. And I wanted that.
But I let her go. I could have pushed. She would have let me push. It had been on her face. But if we’d fallen into bed like I wanted to, she’d have hated me in the morning. That was the opposite of what I wanted. Not when she’d dropped her guard enough to let me rescue her from Daddy Sinclair. She’d stayed and talked to me for a few minutes, as if everything was going to be all right.
It meant I had a chance.
Any chance was worth it with her.
I’d had plans to wait in the bar for her all night. Now, I had no plans. She wasn’t going to come back down after that. I didn’t blame her, but I still needed a drink.
I returned to the bar and ordered a Jack and Coke. I was sipping on it when Eve Houston took the seat next to me.
“Hey there,” she said, waving the bartender down for another drink.
“Eve,” I said. “Where’s your sugar daddy?”
She lifted one perfectly arched eyebrow. “He had to take a call.”
“Ah, the wife?”
Eve smiled at me and ordered another Amaretto sour. “I have no idea. I try not to pay that close of attention to that kind of thing.”
I snorted. “Like whether or not the guy is married.”
“Are you going to kick me off of the team?”
I laughed softly. “Did you hurt my sister?”
“No.”
“Piper?”
“No.”
“Then no. What you’re doing is stupid and dangerous. If his wife found out, he’d lose half of everything. And you’d be fucked since you work for them.”
“Well, until this moment, no one else knew.” She glanced over at me, and I saw the first hint of fear from her. She didn’t want to lose everything for this guy. She’d gotten caught up in it. Power dynamics and all.
“But now, I know,” I said.
She took the drink from the bartender. She had it put on Daddy Sinclair’s tab. Cheeky. “You do. So, I guess I’m trying to figure out what you’re going to do with the information.”
“Did he send you to ask?”
She shook her head with a laugh. Eve had always been beautiful in a way that said she knew it. But young. Almost as young as Nora. We’d only crossed paths because of soccer. I might have been interested once…if she hadn’t been into Zach. Never a more drastic change in relationship had I seen.
“No way. He isn’t even thinking about it. But I like contingency plans.”
“Trying to figure out if it’s time to bail?”
Eve tapped her glass against mine with a wink. “Maybe.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to do anything with the information.”
“Cool,” she said, taking me at my word. “Well, see you tomorrow at the ceremony.”
I waved her off and downed the rest of my glass. I had a second and third until a buzz hit me in the face. Then, I returned to my room and crashed. All I wanted was to be in bed next to Piper. Instead, I was here. Alone.
This fucking sucked.
The award ceremony wasn’t until seven tonight. So, I spent the day wandering the convention center, keeping an eye out for Piper. It was a huge place, so I didn’t see her, but I was still frustrated that it never happened. I tasted a decent amount of wine, made some connections for Wright Vineyard, and played the part that Jordan and Julian had been grooming me to take over.
With a frustrated sigh, I went back to the Four Seasons, changed into a black suit, and left for the award ceremony. I was offered a glass of champagne as I entered the enormous ballroom. A large stage was at the front of the room. A banner hung behind it with the IWCC logo on it. The logo was also represented on two projection screens on either side of the stage.