Then she took another card from him, wrote something, and gave it back.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He texted her again. Did you just give that guy your number? Seriously?
She didn’t look at her phone this time either.
Noah blew out a breath and glanced around the club again. Things were in full swing. The space was packed with the elite, the powerful, the rich, the famous. Sponsors on every athlete’s top most-wanted list trolled the crowd.
His gaze caught on Phillips, and he followed the direction of the man’s attention—straight to Julia. Noah straightened. Someone was trying to talk to Phillips, but he wasn’t listening.
Noah tried another text.
Hey, beautiful. I need to talk to you about something important.
He waited and watched, but she seemed to be tying up her conversation with Mr. Ordinary, oblivious to Noah’s messages. Also oblivious to Phillips working the crowd on a path in her direction.
Noah picked up his drink and started that way, unsure if the hairs on the back of his neck should be standing up or if he was overreacting.
Phillips stopped in front of Mr. Ordinary and Julia before Noah could squeeze through the throng. He paused nearby as Phillips’s deep voice touched Noah’s ear.
“Tim,” Phillips said. “How’s your practice going?”
As the men chatted, Noah took a more diagonal approach, trying to get a better view of Julia. From this angle, it looked like Phillips’s position had trapped her in the chair.
“Excuse me,” Julia said, trying to stand. Phillips didn’t acknowledge her and shifted his body in a way that made Julia fall back into her seat.
“No way, asshole.” Noah plowed through the crowd, straight toward Julia with a one-track mind—get her out of there and set this Phillips guy straight. So what if he was four inches taller and seventy pounds heavier? No one pushed Julia around like that.
Right. No one pushes her around like that, so…why doesn’t she knee him in the balls?
The thought hit him just as his view of Julia cleared. She was pale, her face tense, making her eyes look huge.
Scared. She was scared.
That realization twisted something deep in Noah’s gut and propelled him through the crowd. But before he could reach the threesome, Julia touched Tim’s arm, drawing his attention. “Would you mind letting me up? I’d like to find the ladies’ room.”
“Oh, oh, of course, Julia. I’m so sorry.” Tim stood, stepped aside, and let Julia pass. He called after her, “I’ll call you.”
But she didn’t look back as she made a beeline for a hallway that led to the bathrooms.
Noah slowed his aggressive forward movement and exhaled in relief. He sidestepped groups and offered quick hellos to people he knew as he passed, working his way toward a seating area off the hall where Julia had disappeared. He wanted to be waiting for her when she came out.
There he milled, chatting with a few acquaintances until Finn spotted him and came over. “Jake and I are about ready to bail. Want to grab Julia and hit a bar with us?”
“That sounds good. I’ll ask her when she comes out of the bathroom, but she might be worn out by all this bullshit.”
Someone called to Finn. He said, “Text me when you’re ready,” and disappeared into the crowd.
Just as Noah turned toward the opening to the hallway, Phillips passed through and disappeared.
He suddenly had to take a leak too? What were the chances?
Noah eased to the opening and glanced around the wall. The hallway was empty except for Phillips, who was loitering. The women’s bathroom door opened, and Julia stepped out, head down as she zipped her purse.
Phillips turned, his big body blocking Julia’s path. “Just couldn’t stay away, could you?”
Julia’s head snapped up; her feet froze. The look that crossed her face could have been surprise or fear, but it was gone in an instant, leaving Noah unsure.