I suddenly did not want to be there anymore. Tipping up my drink, I swallowed the rest of the shitty Cosmo and hopped up from my barstool.
“I’ve got to go,” I said.
As if to underscore my point, Ryker’s cell phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and cursed. “Looks like I’d have had to cut our dinner short anyway,” he said.
Wonderful. I didn’t even get the satisfaction of leaving him at the bar in return for him being an ass.
Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he stood, digging into his wallet and tossing money down to cover our drinks. We hadn’t even had a chance to order anything to eat.
He took my elbow to steer me outside and I was just pissy enough to pull away from him. He didn’t say anything.
When we neared his bike, I passed by it and waved to flag down a taxi.
“C’mon, Sage,” he said. “I’ll take you home.”
“I can get my own ride,” I said stiffly.
He grabbed my arm, halting me. “I don’t want you alone. Not when someone may be following you.”
“Then maybe you should’ve thought about that before you pissed me off.” I jerked out of his hold and slid into the cab that had just pulled up, leaving Ryker staring after me.
“Where to?” the cabbie asked. I opened my mouth to give him my home address and heard the work one come out instead.
Huh.
Well, I supposed that was one way to salvage the evening, watching Parker model suits … if they were still there. It was a while past six o’clock.
I was irritated with Ryker and upset. I’d thought we’d moved past his overt animosity toward Parker. I was with him after all, not Parker. But it was as though he just couldn’t let it go, and I was at a loss as to how to make him. What I did know was that I couldn’t keep having the same argument over and over.
The cabbie pulled up to the building and I paid him before getting out. As I rode the elevator up, I figured even if Parker was gone, I had some work on my desk I could take home. That would help keep my mind off the argument with Ryker.
But I was in luck, as I saw the tailor and his assistant still in Parker’s office. Parker was standing on a raised platform and the tailor was pinning the jacket he was wearing, measuring tape dangling from his mouth. As I got closer, I saw it was a tuxedo.
Wow.
I’d never seen Parker in a tux before, but the wait had been worth it. I drank in the black fabric stretched across his broad shoulders, the lines of the jacket perfectly cut to accentuate his frame.
Tentatively, I rapped on the glass door, then pushed it open. Parker turned around and caught sight of me.
“Am I interrupting?” I asked.
A wide smile broke across his face and I was momentarily transfixed.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “Come in. Tell me, what do you think of this tux?”
I walked into the office, glad I’d been given an excuse to stare. From the back, he’d looked good. From the front, he was James Bond–level gorgeous.
“Um, yeah,” I said, nodding. “That’s … um … really nice.” A massive understatement, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea to gush about how amazing he looked because a) he was my boss and b) I had a boyfriend. Albeit a boyfriend I’d just had an argument with, but still.
“Just nice?” he asked.
I took in the perfectly knotted bow tie, crisp white shirt, cuffs complete with links all the way down to shoes so highly shined, they were military perfect.
“Really nice,” I murmured with a sigh.
The tailor smothered a laugh and I whipped my head around to glare at him, but he was poker-faced as he hung some discarded garments on his rack.
“So what’s the tux for?” I asked, wandering over to sit on the black leather couch in the corner.
“A fundraiser thing,” Parker replied, turning to face me on the dais. The ever-patient tailor turned with him, adjusting his tape measure accordingly. “The Morris campaign for mayor.”
“He’s never gonna win,” I said. “You know that. Not in this one-party town.”
Parker sighed. “I know, but you still have to try. A lot of our customers are going, too, so it’ll be good for business. Maybe pick up a few more while we’re there.”
“When is it?” Chances were my father was also donating to the campaign, but I doubted he’d attend any fundraisers.
The tailor had finished and was removing the tuxedo jacket from Parker’s shoulders. I tried not to stare.
“Tomorrow night. Want to come?”
I didn’t know what to say for a second. Parker hadn’t ever invited me to something like that before.
“You can help me remember all the names of our clients that I should know,” he said when I didn’t immediately reply. “It’s bad for customer relations when I have to ask them who they are.”
True. Parker was amazing with numbers, but not always the greatest at putting a face with a name. Still, I hesitated. “You don’t have a replacement for Monique yet?” I asked.