Inking Up Love (Insta Love Shy Girl Romance 4)

“Who is he?” the marketing lady asked.

“I have no idea. But he was talking to the president of the company about fancy tequilas, and the two of them were clapping each other on the back like old friends.”

“I wonder if he’s one of the new hires in the research department?”

They left quickly, and I didn’t bother telling them that the two new research employees were both women. But going to the bar certainly sounded like a good idea. Once I had fluffed my hair and checked my lip gloss, I went directly to get a drink. I figured just one might make me mellow.

Mr. Henderson, the president of our corporation, was at the end of the bar with a big man in a jet black suit. His shoulders were as big as Grant’s, but this guy had a slightly crisper haircut.

“There is our girl,” Mr. Henderson said to me, waving his glass in greeting.

I wasn’t sure what he meant until the other man turned around, and Grant’s dark eyes met mine.

“Sweetheart,” he said brightly, pulling me into a huge bear hug. “Sorry I got here before you, but it gave me a chance to teach Nathan here about some top-shelf tequilas he’s never tried.”

Mr. Henderon laughed merrily. “In my defense, I never would have guessed that tequila would go with steak.”

Grant held up a finger in warning. “Only the square dark blue bottle is spicy enough. Don’t get it confused with the silvers.” They chuckled together like old friends, then Mr. Henderson nodded to us and took off to a large group of people.

“Please don’t be angry,” Grant said quickly. “I couldn’t stand the thought of you being here alone. I didn’t want you to be nervous, and I know how men sometimes get aggressive at these sorts of things.”

Then he put his glass down and took a step back to hold my hands in his. “Look at you,” he breathed. “Leah, you are a vision.”

“Hold on, let me look at you,” I gasped, checking out his haircut and clean-shaven, handsome face. “Where did you get the suit?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Every quality man must have a sharp black suit in his closet. It’s a basic rule.”

I shook my head. “I’m so sorry I didn’t invite you. I didn’t want you to be bored, or feel out of place.”

He slid an arm around me, tucking me against his side. “Angel, my place is with you. Anytime you want me, anywhere you want me to be, I will be there in a heartbeat.”

Looking up at him, I couldn’t quite believe it. “You went to all this trouble for me?”

He looked shocked. “Leah, you’re my girl now. You’re my other half.” He took my hand and held it against his heart. “This is yours. I will be everything I can for you, and try to improve both of our lives every single day, for as long as you’ll have me.”

Closing my eyes for a second, he gave my hand a shake. “Baby, are you okay?”

I nodded, smiling. When I opened my eyes, he could probably see they were a little glassy. “No one’s ever been this sweet to me before. I’m trying not to cry and wreck my mascara.”

He leaned in to give me a tiny kiss at the temple. “Just breathe, baby. Now, do you know how to work these functions?”

“What do you mean? People just hang out and have a drink, right?”

Grant shook his head. “No. Leave that to the amateurs. If you want to further your career, you have to think of every work social function as an opportunity. First off, you drink a quarter as much as everyone else. You make sure to make a good impression with any person you’re having problems with, might need favors from, or want to work with in the future.”

I nodded. “That’s smart.”

“It’s important that they like your work, but when it comes to promotions, it’s also important that they like you personally. This is the time to ask them a lot of questions about themselves. The more personal things you discover about them during an event when they’re chatting freely, the more questions you have to ask them sometime when things are rocky, and you need to smooth things out or cheer them up.”

I nodded, carefully taking mental notes.

“And you need to leave about two-thirds of the way into the event. That way nobody realizes that you left early, but you’re long gone before people get tipsy and start misremembering things.”

I laughed. “How do you know all this?”

He shrugged. “My dad is a lawyer. He often uses the term, ‘career beers’ for work functions.”

“Oh. I had no idea.”