They were now chatting to an elderly man, Matthew, who’d been introduced as Zara’s mentor back when she’d first started out, their conversation flowing easily. Daniel rested his fingers in the small of her back, toying with her above the thin fabric of her dress, his attention only half on the conversation, and then he felt her spine straighten, her words fall away with a sudden breath—vad fan?
He looked down at her, watched her swiftly recover, but not soon enough, not for him. She was talking again now but he wasn’t listening; his eyes followed her line of sight from a second before. There were three men standing together talking, one with a blonde hooked over his arm.
Was it...?
Matthew started speaking. ‘Yes, I heard, it’s wonderful, I was just talking—’
‘Excuse me one moment,’ Daniel interrupted with an apologetic smile, lifting his empty glass. ‘Can I get you both a drink?’
Matthew looked to his almost empty glass. ‘That’s very kind, thank you.’
He nodded and looked to Zara, his blood racing with growing unease.
‘Please,’ she said.
‘Won’t be long.’ He swept away, towards the bar, towards the group that had unsettled her, his curiosity and another, far more fierce emotion mounting. He had his suspicions, but he wanted to know for sure; he needed to know.
As he approached the blonde’s gaze landed on him, her mouth parting as she subtly pulled on her partner’s arm. He didn’t need to hear to know what was being said, was used to people trying to be subtle and failing miserably. What he didn’t anticipate was the man accompanying her to step into his path, almost causing them to collide.
Daniel backed up a step, his brow raised in question. ‘Can I help you?’
‘Charles Eddison,’ he said, holding out his hand. ‘And I think it’s I that can help you.’
It was him—His jaw pulsed with the confirmation, his eyes searing into the man’s proffered hand and tracing it right back to his face. He cocked his head to the side. ‘Is that so?’
Charles cleared his throat as his woman sidled around him to offer up a smile. He was sure she intended it to be seductive; instead all he could see were surgically puffed lips, eyelashes that looked as if they weighed more than the hair on her head, and as for her age, she had to have only just hit the legal age to drink. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce me, Charles?’
‘Sure...erm...’ The man shifted nervously on his feet.
How did one introduce someone when they hadn’t been introduced themselves?
Daniel wanted to laugh; he probably would’ve done if it weren’t taking his all to hold back.
‘This is...’ the guy squirmed, looking to her and back to Daniel ‘... Claudia—er—my assistant.’
‘And his fiancée,’ the girl admonished with a giggle, her elbow digging into the guy’s ribs.
Kristus, he felt sick, he could barely give her a nod in recognition, but it was hardly her fault she was associated with the man who’d broken Zara’s heart. Jealous anger consumed him, clouding his brain. He could feel it ringing in his ears, turning over his stomach.
‘So, as I was saying, Mr Lazenby,’ Charles continued, his voice suddenly steady, his recovery poking at Daniel’s anger. ‘I believe you are in the city looking for a home yourself.’
‘News travels fast,’ he clipped out, his hands slipping into his pockets, the move outwardly casual, but in reality he needed to lock them away; the urge to swipe the smarmy look off the guy’s face was burning into his fists.
‘My firm, Eddison Associates, is the best there is.’ He waved a flourish of a hand and Daniel felt his eyes glitter, his rage bloom—he knew where this was going. ‘You’ll see the evidence tonight in all the awards we scoop up.’
Charles paused, waiting for Daniel to say something, anything, to acknowledge his sweeping statement. A stony silence ensued. Daniel spied Charles’ throat bob, his girl toyed with her drink, and he relished their discomfort, saying nothing.
‘Anyway,’ Charles blurted, first to snap, a hand rummaging into the internal pocket of his jacket, ‘please allow me to give you my card and we can arrange—’
‘You can keep your card.’
Charles stilled, a small cough erupting.
‘I’m not int—’
‘Daniel, is everything okay?’ Zara’s calming voice washed over him, her arrival radiating down his back and cutting his rebuke short. He turned into her, his smile warm but not enough to fool her as she frowned back at him.
‘Absolutely, darling, come here.’ He drew his arm around her, pulling her close, bringing her in to face Charles off together. ‘Mr Eddison here was just offering me his services.’