“Everyone is so nice,” Saige whispers.
“They better be. We’re negotiating multi-million-dollar deals with these companies.” I stop and grab two glasses of champagne from a waiter walking by, handing one to Saige.
“So do you know everyone here?” She asks, taking a sip of champagne.
I glance around the room and survey the faces, the men all dressed in tuxedos or suits and the women in evening dresses. “Most everyone. Every once in a while, someone catches me off-guard, but not often.”
“You’re that good.” She smirks.
“I’m that good.” I laugh and sip my champagne.
“So everyone invited is somehow associated with Jackson-Hamilton, I assume?”
I nod. “Mostly they’re business associates or clients, but we also make a point to include our outside legal team, a marketing firm that works with our internal department, and other various vendors. We want to be sure everyone that helps make Jackson-Hamilton successful is here and appreciated.”
Saige hands me her glass of champagne and reaches over and adjusts my bow tie. “Crooked.” She winks at me. “Now it’s not.” She looks at me tenderly and places her hand on my chest.
“Everything about you is breathtaking,” I tell her quietly. In a room full of people, I feel like she’s the only person alive. She looks like a model in her long dress, statuesque and beautiful.
She leans in and rests her head on my shoulder as we take in the chaos around us. People standing around, sounds of laughter, and clanking glasses.
“You two are adorable,” Rowan says, sneaking up behind us.
“Ro!” Saige whips around to face him.
“Whoa!” he says in response as Saige’s lean figure turns toward him. “I swear, if I wasn’t a gay man, I’d be doing everything in my power to steal you out of the arms of Holt.” He grabs Saige’s hands and steps back to take in all of her. I smirk at Rowan and say a silent prayer that he’s gay and not competition.
Whistling, he shakes his head. “You shouldn’t be cooped up in a stuffy Chicago office building. You need to be walking the runways of Paris, my dear.”
I jokingly step toward Rowan with my hand up. “Hey, hey. First you insinuate you’d like to steal my woman, and now you’re trying to ship her off to Paris?”
We all share a laugh, and Rowan gives Saige a side hug. He looks every part the dapper gay man that he is in a fitted navy blue tuxedo and plaid bowtie.
“You look handsome,” Saige tells him as Kinsley and Emery join our little group, followed not long after by Isaiah. Everyone catches up while sipping champagne and I smile as Saige glows with happiness. She wraps her arm in Rowan’s, and they stand off to the side, talking and giggling.
A firm hand grips my shoulder and a thick accent fills the air. “Mr. Hamilton.” Sergio Perez’s unmistakable voice pulls me away from watching Rowan and Saige. I turn to him and politely offer my hand to him, even though I’d like to rip his head off.
Ever the politician that he is, he fakes a tight smile and accepts my handshake. “Thank you for the invitation.” He reeks of whiskey and cigar as he squeezes my hand tightly in a show of dominance. I’ll never submit.
I offer him the most polite smile I can muster. “I’m glad you could join us, Mr. Perez.”
Suddenly, I can feel the air around us chill. Voices become hushed, and Sergio looks over my shoulder, obviously staring at Saige.
“Ms. Phillips,” he says, dropping my hand and stepping aside. He tries to move past me, but I step to the side and place myself in front of him, stopping him from getting near Saige.
“Mr. Hamilton, is there a problem?” His eyes narrow slightly and his lips twist into a smirk before he licks his lower lip like a dog drooling over a bone.
Rage courses through me. “No problem. However, I was wondering if I may have a word with you . . . in private. Preferably downstairs in my office.” I cock my head to the side in a display of cockiness.
“Of course.” He takes a step back, but he never removes his eyes from Saige. “After you, Mr. Hamilton.” He nods.
He holds his arm out in a gesture for me to lead the way and we head toward the elevators. As we walk, I can feel my jaw muscles working, the tension in my shoulders building. Every part of me is instinctively telling me this is not going to go well.
Saige
My heart beats so wildly in my chest, I swear I can feel it pound against my rib cage. Holt’s eyes narrowed and his hands were balled in fists as he walked away.
“We’re going to lose the Perez sale,” I whisper to Rowan, my voice panicked. He stands shoulder to shoulder next to me with his arm wrapped behind my back.
“We don’t want that fucking crooked asshole’s business anyway,” Zay chimes in.
I blink at him. “It’s fifty million dollars, Zay. Jackson-Hamilton can’t lose his account.”