Room 452

I moan to myself and shivers run down my spine at the mention of going home with him, but then I let out a sigh and turn and face him. “I can’t.”

He leans his forehead up against mine and groans. “Do it anyway.”

I reluctantly pull back. “We haven’t even given out the awards to our team yet.”

He closes his eyes and lets out a long breath. “Fine. Let’s get this moving.” He smirks at me. “Go tell daddy he needs to get things rolling.”

I smile back. “Why don’t you go tell him?”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “That man is on the verge of murdering me whenever we’re in the same room.”

I laugh. “That’s really not uncommon for you though.”

He narrows his eyes. “Goddammit woman. Can’t you just do what you are told for once?”

“No.” I smile really big. “But if you ask nicely, I might be able to make something happen.”

He grabs my arm and yanks me around so his mouth is next to my ear. “Blake, for the love of God, will you pretty please go fucking ask your dad to move this along so that I can finally get your stubborn ass back home in my bed?”

I swallow hard and bite my lip to hide my smile. I glance over my shoulder and look at him. “Give me a minute.” Then I walk away to go find my dad.

It takes me a bit to find him since there are so many people here, but eventually I track him down. “Hey dad.”

He wraps his arm over my shoulder. “Hi sweetie, you having fun?” He asks.

“Yeah, of course.” I blush as I think about what went down in that closet not too long ago. “Uhm...I was just thinking we should get some of the awards and speeches done now before everyone has had too much to drink.”

He laughs. “Hopefully it’s not already too late.”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “You might be right. What’s first? Want the managers to come grab the items for their own team?”

My dad nods. “Yes, Kelly will announce it on the mic. I’ll tell her now.” He pauses. “But before I do, you come grab your team’s stuff. I don’t want that bastard Sawyer to be looking like the good guy again.”

I pull my dad to the side a little so he is out of earshot from the people around. He must’ve had too many drinks tonight. He would never talk about an employee that way in front of people. “Dad!” I scold.

He grits his teeth. “I never should have made him your partner. Fuck what’s best for business. He can rot in hell for all I care.”

I squeeze my dad’s arm reassuringly. “Dad, it’s okay. He really hasn’t been that bad.”

My dad stares back at me, and his eyes are angry. He must be riled up after visiting my mom. The same thing always happens to me, which is why I don’t go see her that often. “Don’t worry.” I continue. “I’ll take care of it.”

My dad smiles at me. “You’re a stronger person than I am.”

I walk over to the table with the envelopes for the team member’s bonus checks. One of my dad’s assistants hands me my batch. Sawyer walks up to the table next to me. “All set? I can take half.” He reaches his hand out to grab half to hand out, but I swat it away.

I squeeze his arm and push him away from the table. He looks at me confused. “What’s happening?” He asks.

I give him a serious look. “You need to not be around right now.”

He smiles back. “Sounds good to me. Let’s get out of here.”

I ignore him. “My dad is not your biggest fan at the moment, and I don’t need you being all flirty.”

Sawyer seems to want to flirt more now that he knows he shouldn’t. He smirks at me. “Is it still considered flirting if I know where this night is going to end up?”

“Yes!” I shout back. “Now make yourself scarce until after I hand these out!”

He laughs and starts to turn. “Fine. Chelsea said she wanted a dance anyway.”