He tightened his arm around her, guiding her toward the bar nearby. “What the hell are you doing here?” he muttered out of the side of his mouth.
“What’s it matter to you? Not like I’m your client.” It still hurt, his rejection of her. No one had rejected her the first twenty-four years of her life and now all of a sudden it was all she dealt with.
“Well, at least I was invited, which I can’t say for you.”
She winced, hating that he was right, that he had the upper hand. And was clearly enjoying that fact too. “Just let me go so I can be on my merry way.”
“And what’s your purpose for crashing this party anyway, hmm? I’m surprised you’re not invited. I know Intermix has handled Renaldi advertising in the past.”
They stood in line for the bar, Stasia keeping her head down for fear of anyone recognizing her. She hadn’t thought of that, her only focus on getting into the party and getting to Rhett. “Since I’m not considered a part of Renaldi any longer, I wasn’t invited.”
“What about your brothers? They couldn’t get you in?” He sounded incredulous.
“Of course not.” She lifted her head, met his confused gaze. Didn’t he read the gossip mags? They were filled with Renaldi secrets, every last lurid detail. “They can hardly speak to me for fear of being disinherited like I was.”
He glanced around before he spoke again, his grip gentling on her though he didn’t let go. “That’s fucking ridiculous,” he muttered.
She laughed. The polished, indignant lawyer was angry. And she liked it. “Indeed it is. But they’re not here. They’re all in Italy at the moment. And Renaldi hasn’t used Intermix for over a year.”
“Hmm, but Worth uses Intermix.”
Whoops, he caught on. No surprise, the man was too smart for his own good. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She lifted her chin, extracted herself from his grip and stepped away from him.
Though she didn’t leave the line for the bar. She was desperate for a drink. Maybe it would calm her frazzled nerves.
“Don’t lie. You’re not very good at it.” He stepped closer, leaning into her so his mouth rested just above her ear. “I should toss your pretty little ass out of here.”
Was it wrong that she warmed at t
he compliment wrapped into the threat? “I’ll make a huge scene.”
He cocked a dark brow and she looked away. “Oh, really?”
Nodding, she kept her gaze focused on the very busy bartender mixing drinks at an incredible speed. “I’ll make like the bad girlfriend and call you all sorts of names.”
“I’ve been called every name in the book, sweetheart. You can’t shock me,” he drawled like the cocky ass that he most likely was.
She glared at him. “I’ll boldly declare that you’re a terrible lover.”
He shrugged. “It’s a lie, but go ahead.”
“I’ll scream you have a tiny dick too.” She smirked when his gaze hardened. “Oh, and I’ll also say that you come too fast for a girl to get her turn.”
“You gotta take it personal, hmm?”
“It’s the only way to shut you up,” she said gleefully, thankful when the people in front of her grabbed their drinks and left. She stepped up to the bar. “A glass of wine, please. A chardonnay.”
She could feel his gaze burning as he watched her, the waves of anger that vibrated off his rigid body. Well, good. He got to her, now she got to him. Seemed like a fair trade in her screwed up mind.
The cute bartender handed her the glass with a wink and a smile and she took it from him, dropping a dollar in the tip jar before she walked away. “Thanks.”
Gavin followed behind her, not bothering to grab a drink. “If you think I’m going to stand by and let you approach Rhett Worth without intervening, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“Why do you care?” She sipped from her glass, the cool liquid sliding down her throat.
“I don’t want you to disrupt the party or the Worth family.”
“If you didn’t want me to disrupt the family, then you should’ve taken me on as a client. You could’ve handled this entire situation the way you wanted to.” She smirked, though within nerves jangled.